Blogging Best Practices

The blog I chose to review was a current events blog called “Who What Why: We don’t cover news- We uncover truth.” The blog consists of articles written on various national and worldwide events, however the authors work to approach these stories from an angle different than that of the mainstream media while striving to reveal the underlying context behind each of the stories. The article I read to glean insight into the substance and structure of this blog was entitled, “America’s Policy: War Now, Justifications Later” (McNamara, 2014).

In my observation, this blog does an exceptional job at putting complex world issues into terms that a mass audience can easily understand. What makes the blog particularly effective at communicating information, especially to those who may not be well-versed in the topic at hand, is the fact that it does not simply present evidence to support and explain each article. Instead, the blog takes it a step further by skillfully embedding links within the text of the article to enable readers to easily access critical background information that helps quickly bring any reader up to speed on the underlying pieces of the story that help put it into its full context.  The authors’ straightforward, easily digestible prose, coupled with the links to backstory information is constructed in such a way that it assumes the audience knows very little about the event being discussed, which is why it is so effective at communicating these complex stories.

Since blogging is a much more open-ended and more loosely regulated means of publishing than mainstream media online reporting, I think one of the most essential blogging best practices is, the need to support any content that is published on a blog with evidence that is readily accessible to the audience. It can be much more difficult to assess the validity of information provided in a blog format, so providing quick links to the various sources that were used is all the more important when communicating information via this particular medium.  In addition, it is important not to write in an overly technical manner and instead use language and arrange the story in a way that is easy for people from very divergent professional backgrounds to understand.

Link to Blog: http://whowhatwhy.com

References

McNamara, R. (2014, October 21). America's policy: War now, justifications later [Web log post]. Retrieved October 25, 2014, from http://whowhatwhy.com

SAMPLE PRESS RELEASE:

Penn State Student Website Reports Joe Paterno has Died

UNIVERSITY PARK, Jan. 22, 2012 -- Today, a Twitter post from the Penn State student website, Onward State, reported that famed Penn State football coach, Joe Paterno, has died. While there has not yet been any official statement from the Paterno family confirming the report, the death of Joe Paterno would be yet another blow to the Penn State community as it continues to grapple with the repercussions of the Jerry Sandusky child abuse scandal.

Joe Paterno’s death raises questions as to what the future of the Penn State football program will be and whether or not his legacy will be marred by his alleged involvement in the cover up of the scandal. As a man who dedicated so much of his life and had such a powerful impact on the Penn State community, the loss of Joe Paterno will be felt by faculty, students, and alumni alike.

News of Paterno’s death has already begun widely circulating throughout social media circuits.  Should the Paterno family or Penn State University release an official statement confirming his death, many will likely be struggling not only with the loss of a collegiate football icon, but also with the controversial circumstances under which his legacy came to an end.

SAMPLE FACEBOOK POST:

Today, a Penn State student website reported that Joe Paterno has died. Neither the Paterno family nor the university has released an official statement confirming Paterno’s death, but the news is circulating rapidly via social media channels. The news comes on the heels of what has already been a difficult period for the Penn State community following the Jerry Sandusky child abuse scandal, and has left many wondering what the future of the Penn State football program holds.

Exploring Social Media Tools and Experiences

Three of the social media tools that I have had experience using are social networking sites, Blogs, and Webinars. With regard to social networking sites, I primarily use Facebook. My experience with Facebook has been generally positive because ultimately, social media is what you make of it. While there are certainly ways Facebook can be used negatively, such as in instances of cyber bullying or spreading negative propaganda, I personally have used it primarily to stay in touch with a vast network of family and friends who I likely would not have been able to do otherwise. Facebook has enabled me to share everything ranging from athletic accomplishments to some of my personal artwork, and likewise, it has given me a means to see all of the interesting events taking place in the lives of many of my friends and loved ones. I also like how Facebook tries to innovate and evolve new ways of getting people to interact with one another in the cyber sphere.

The other social media tool I have just recently gained experience with using is, Blogs. As this post demonstrates, my graduate studies at Southern New Hampshire University have afforded my the opportunity to experiment with blogging using Google's Blogger. I have enjoyed learning to communicate using blogs because I view blogs as a forum designed specifically to share your own thoughts, observations, and ideas of the world, while generating discussions that those following the blog can partake in. In some ways, blogs are like a digital version of the classical Greek style of learning and teaching, where knowledge was acquired through questioning and having an open dialogue over a particular idea or observation.

Lastly, a very unique social media tool that I have worked with in the past are Webinars. I am currently enrolled in a Voice Over instruction program through Edge Studio, and many of the lessons for how to establish a career in the Voice Over industry are conducted via Webinars from the social media company, Citrix. In addition, because people from all over the country enroll in this program, many of the personal coaching sessions with professional Voice Overs are done using Skype. I partook in one such coaching session and felt that the feedback the coach was able to provide was just as valuable as if the session had been done in person.

The social media tools that I think will reach audiences most effectively are social media sites such as Facebook. With the number of regular users these sites have when compared to some of the lesser known social media tools, I think these sites will continue to be at the forefront of communicating information. Social media sites are firmly entrenched within our culture and it has become easier and easier to communicate with mass audiences with the click of a button. While all of the social media tools listed above have played a significant role in changing the way we communicate, none has had more of an impact than social media sites owing to the incredible reach they give to each and every individual user.