Posting

When I was a new blogger (and my blog is coming up on its fifth anniversary), a lot of pixels were spilled on what people called "voice." I've never been entirely sure what that meant... but what it seems to boil down to is that in blogging, evidence of individual personality is good, a sense of humor is good, a willingness to engage is good.

Which your experience does seem to bear out!

I've constantly been surprised that people actually read the ramblings I write on my blog, but one person's ramblings is another person's useful insights. We're all coming from different places, so you may be surprised what other people find valuable.

I like the posts that really show a what the person thinks and what they're about. There are a lot of useful types of blog posts, but my favorite ones are those where a person really puts themselves into their writing.

And I think there's something in this for libraries too. Blogs really give libraries the opportunity to put on a human face. This is something companies like GM are doing with having their CEOs blogging and it's something that can help libraries to connect on a more personal level with their audience. It's not about writing about really personal things, but in writing in a more casual and conversational tone. It's about leveling the playing field.

I share your concerns and hesitations, both from the perspective of a potential blogger, and from the perspective of a reader suffering as we all do from Info overload and time limitations. If I'm going to be creating content, I want it to be 1. useful and 2. non-duplicated. Can we say that about a lot of the blogs out there?

Shireen Deboo, Librarian

South Seattle Community College

I think this is a common thought among bloggers. I've only been blogging for most of a year so far, but I've already read many posts from many bloggers wondering similar things. In fact, I think some of the best bloggers out there are some of the most baffled about why people might read them. Perhaps they're good at it because they're constantly wondering if they're reaching their audience, or because they're constantly trying to keep from rambling. Or maybe they're just good writers who also happen to be modest.

More likely, though, is that your style and content will speak to someone, and those who find it less relevant to their lives, or written in a style they don't like, will simply not subscribe to your blog. I know of a LOT of people have clicked through to my blog and not subscribed, and that's just the way the blogging world works.