Sour Duck's Blogging Basics: Introduction

Welcome to Sour Duck's Blogging Basics.

This is a quick and dirty guide designed with the new or nearly-new blogger in mind, and supplements my presentation at BlogHer.

The introduction follows the table of contents.

1. Attribution & Disclosure
2. Comment Policies
3. Commenting
4. Trackbacks
5. Further Reading

Introduction

Etiquette and why I don't like it

I don't like the word "etiquette". It makes me think of Miss Manners wagging her finger in reproach at me. It is a word that sounds uptight, takes itself too seriously and yet still connotes triviality. Which is why I've jettisoned the term "etiquette", along with "manners", in favor of blogging basics, a title that immediately conveys this is a guide written for beginners.

My intention is to smooth the path for new and nearly new bloggers.

However, keep in mind:

Blogging is a risky business

Blogging is a risky business because writing is a risky business. It opens you up to public scrutiny, can expose your most private thoughts, and therefore makes you incredibly vulnerable.

Furthermore, writing is easily misunderstood. People can take things personally that aren't personal. People can be threatened by what you write, and respond with a personal attack on you, not your ideas.

The online world lends itself easily to escalation of skirmishes, both because people are distanced from each other (we see only text on a screen), and because of its immediacy (post in haste, repent at leisure). Whether a conflict occurs on usenet, in a forum, or on blogs, it's usually easy to trace it's escalation.

So bear in mind that no amount of policies, courtesies, or careful pointing to other points of view can erase the inherent riskiness of blogging.

I refer you to Kirsten Anderberg who also notes that "writing is risky business" in "Risking Mistakes Is What Writing Is All About". Her piece partially shaped my thinking on this topic.

Taking a sanguine view

A good approach to take as a blogger is to assume that sooner or later, someone will voice disagreement with what you've written, and their response may be anything from polite disagreement to a personal attack.

While you cannot control what someone says about you or your ideas, you can decide how to react—if at all.

Second tip: as with life in general, it's a good idea to develop a thick skin.

Finally, bear in mind that conflict is not necessarily bad. It makes us uncomfortable to varying degrees, but it can also shake you out of routine thinking, and stimulate your thinking. This all impacts your writing.

So a little conflict now and then can make you a better writer.

Pointers to further reading

I'm aware that beginners are often thirsty for more information once they've mastered the basics. To this end, I've included pointers along the way to further information or discussion at a more advanced level.

I've used my Sour Duck icon:



to visually flag these pointers.

There's also a reading list at the very end. My inclusion of these works does not mean I endorse everything they say.

I want you to visit these links, but don't check your brain at their URL. You'll find conflicting advice. Read the debates, weigh the arguments in your mind and decide for yourself.

That's part of the fun of blogging, finding out what works for you and expressing that. It's your own little corner of the online world.

Or, to quote the tagline at Arse Poetica:

"Who shall say I am not the happy genius of my household?" —William Carlos Williams