When it comes to creating a blog, as in any other type of writing, what we say-content- is very important. But it is also true that how we say it and, especially, how we present it to our audience- form- is essential in captivating our reader. As Baptiste Alchourroun states in the article “Why We Love Beautiful Things” (http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/17/opinion/sunday/why-we-love-beautiful-things.html) “Good design, often in subtle ways, can have dramatic effects.” There are a number of factors which writers should bear in mind when creating a blog if they want it to be popular and attractive.
First, authors should try to “build communities” ( Brian Carroll, “Writing for Digital Media”) as they create their blogs. Readers should be given room to express their opinion, give feedback on the various posts, and ultimately, be able to interact with each other.
Look at the following blog, http://www.theconnectivist.com/2014/09/bridging-the-digital-divide-students-get-wired-at-home/ There is a section at the end of the post for comments. Here, authors can gather information about the impact of their publications on the audience. According to Pete Rorabaugh, the “Growth (of ideas and composition) is determined by the encouragement and critique of the community. […] We create the choir as we preach, and the choir creates us.” So this feedback section and the interaction among readers are of vital importance to turn readers into “active partners rather than passive consumers.” (B. Carrol)
Another factor authors should bear in mind when writing blogs is keeping pages easy to be navigated, read and explored. Readers need to be clearly guided in the process of reading the posts. Moreover, It is advisable to include pictures, videos, and hyperlinks; in a few words, to make the blog multimodal. This will make it much more appealing and captivating. Going back to our initial example (http://www.theconnectivist.com/) , there is a section in this blog in which we are directed to other pages, which we can access if we want to read more about the topic.
Finally, blogs should be updated frequently. Carrol suggests writing every day. The frequency of updating may depend on the topic of your blog; but frequently bringing it up to date is out of the question. I think a source of inspiration for writing regularly is curiosity. Every day, we should try to look at things from a different perspective, thus becoming “Explorers of the World” (Keri Smith). This process will lead us to authenticity, which audiences will surely appreciate.
