How to "Let Go" and start blogging
Attended keynote address on blogging by Atlantic journalist Andrew Sullivan at the Non-Profit Technology Conference in Atlanta on April 9. The conference title makes most people think it deals with technology, servers, and computers, but the real buzz of the conference is using new social media tools for fundraising and publicity, in short, how to communicate effectively.
Sullivan spoke about his groundbreaking effort at blogging on his "Daily Dish" for atlantic.com, starting in 2000. He shared his experience of posting to the blog twenty times per day, five days per week with a gazillion people following his moves. My first thought was how is the experience of one of the most popular, persistent bloggers relevant to most people starting out or blogging for non-profit organizations.
Blogging has seemed to be more self-centered than a reporter's approach, though some of the best blogs clearly transcend these barriers. I'm thinking of two blogs that have shown me the great potential of blogging.
Oil Wars shows how a frank, open discussion can shed light on a topic -- in this case, Venezuelan society and social movements. This blogger writes with a personal flair, highlighting photos, statistics, government documents to comment on social and economic conditions there. The comments like many popular blogs are frequent and heated -- OW keeps up with all of it. I followed the blog around the time of my travel to Venezuela in 2007 during which time the blog reported on the controversy surrounding the license of privately-held RCTV.
Lawrence of Cyberia frequently reveals "hidden" stories of Palestinian and Israeli history that counters misinformation and myths in US major media and government policy. This blog "uncovers" parts of the Palestine history that are not part of the normal discourse of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, so it's not necessarily a great source for newcomers that don't have a frame of reference or a grasp of the historical context. I found one revealing post on a bus bombing against Arab civilians especially representative of the difficulty in discussing this issue.
In varying ways these blogs inform and educate, but depending on your position on the issue they could also inflame.
Blog as a Broadcast
Much of Sullivan's talk followed his important "Why I Blog" piece written in November 2008. He highlighted several keys to blogs, like how a blog is a "broadcast," not a publication. He emphasized how "it has to move or it dies," losing readers' attention quickly. He described how finding new material is difficult, exhausting, especially since he produces twenty blog posts each day from morning until late at night.
Blogs are not about writing, they are not a web site, he suggested. The key to success is that blogs constantly move, constantly engage, constantly distracts readers. Blogs are not "old form media, old form journalism," he added. He generates much of the blog posts, though another good portion are submitted by readers. Another frequent reader-contributed posts are the "The View from the Window" posts.
Two other key elements of blogging are: "every page is equally accessible" and "everyone reads blogs alone." He noted how readers expect him to write things they agree with. During his first five years of blogging, critics of blogging emphasized how people distrust what's written on the web or on a blog.
Sullivan mentioned his blog is not fact-checked like an investigative article, but that uncorrected errors will drive readers away. One of the qualities of blogging which separate it from traditional journalism is the concept of making mistakes as a means to increase participation. If everyone can comment immediately, then errors, in fact, will be called out quickly.
He discussed several topics as a way to highlight certain qualities of blogging. He noted that when he turned against the Iraq War he lost two-thirds of his readers, especially after admitting mistakes about his position on the war.
Blogs Build Transparency
Transparency can be terrifying, he noted, because everyone has something to hide, has doubts, and makes errors. But transparency is a wonderful thing because of the ability to reveal truth, despite mistakes in fact or judgment. The lack of transparency increases falsehoods and corruption.
He offered specific advice to bloggers or potential bloggers: Think about what's good to keep or not keep; think about why you're trying to hide something from readers.
Blogging is an "accelerated form of letting go." He found that when he changed his style to conversational, though it included incomplete shards, it allowed him to "let go," which is the opposite of publishing stories the old way, where readers are asked to absorb a story without direct feedback.
Blogging has seemed to be more self-centered than a reporter's approach, though some of the best blogs clearly transcend these barriers. I'm thinking of two blogs that have shown me the great potential of blogging.
Oil Wars shows how a frank, open discussion can shed light on a topic -- in this case, Venezuelan society and social movements. This blogger writes with a personal flair, highlighting photos, statistics, government documents to comment on social and economic conditions there. The comments like many popular blogs are frequent and heated -- OW keeps up with all of it. I followed the blog around the time of my travel to Venezuela in 2007 during which time the blog reported on the controversy surrounding the license of privately-held RCTV.
Lawrence of Cyberia frequently reveals "hidden" stories of Palestinian and Israeli history that counters misinformation and myths in US major media and government policy. This blog "uncovers" parts of the Palestine history that are not part of the normal discourse of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, so it's not necessarily a great source for newcomers that don't have a frame of reference or a grasp of the historical context. I found one revealing post on a bus bombing against Arab civilians especially representative of the difficulty in discussing this issue.
In varying ways these blogs inform and educate, but depending on your position on the issue they could also inflame.
Blog as a Broadcast
Much of Sullivan's talk followed his important "Why I Blog" piece written in November 2008. He highlighted several keys to blogs, like how a blog is a "broadcast," not a publication. He emphasized how "it has to move or it dies," losing readers' attention quickly. He described how finding new material is difficult, exhausting, especially since he produces twenty blog posts each day from morning until late at night.
Blogs are not about writing, they are not a web site, he suggested. The key to success is that blogs constantly move, constantly engage, constantly distracts readers. Blogs are not "old form media, old form journalism," he added. He generates much of the blog posts, though another good portion are submitted by readers. Another frequent reader-contributed posts are the "The View from the Window" posts.
Two other key elements of blogging are: "every page is equally accessible" and "everyone reads blogs alone." He noted how readers expect him to write things they agree with. During his first five years of blogging, critics of blogging emphasized how people distrust what's written on the web or on a blog.
Sullivan mentioned his blog is not fact-checked like an investigative article, but that uncorrected errors will drive readers away. One of the qualities of blogging which separate it from traditional journalism is the concept of making mistakes as a means to increase participation. If everyone can comment immediately, then errors, in fact, will be called out quickly.
He discussed several topics as a way to highlight certain qualities of blogging. He noted that when he turned against the Iraq War he lost two-thirds of his readers, especially after admitting mistakes about his position on the war.
Blogs Build Transparency
Transparency can be terrifying, he noted, because everyone has something to hide, has doubts, and makes errors. But transparency is a wonderful thing because of the ability to reveal truth, despite mistakes in fact or judgment. The lack of transparency increases falsehoods and corruption.
He offered specific advice to bloggers or potential bloggers: Think about what's good to keep or not keep; think about why you're trying to hide something from readers.
Blogging is an "accelerated form of letting go." He found that when he changed his style to conversational, though it included incomplete shards, it allowed him to "let go," which is the opposite of publishing stories the old way, where readers are asked to absorb a story without direct feedback.
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