The question of “what makes an excellent blog” was somewhat difficult for me to tackle. I believe that question can be addressed in an infinite amount of ways purely because it is an opinion-based question.
Just as the question is opinion-based, so are blogs. Each and every blog is designed to its author’s preference; hence, there can be no bullet point-ed list of how to make an excellent blog. This is not to say that when analyzing a variety of blogs there are not a handful of factors that we can note to be successful. I just find it hard to state a recipe for a successful blog.
However, I believe the individualism of blogs, whatever it may be, is the most prevalent factor to making an excellent blog. The individualism of a blog has a direct correlation to what makes it successful (in the author’s eyes).
The harsh reality is that not everyone who reads a particular blog is going to love it. For example, last Thursday in class, we viewed Humans of New York, a well known and liked blog. Despite the fact I am an avid follower of Humans of New York, my fellow classmates were not slow to criticize its authenticity and credibility.
http://www.humansofnewyork.com/
Going back to my point of individualism, according to Brian Carroll, “…blogging is an exercise of expression, making one’s views public” (140). Blogs are designed/ written around an individuals passion, opinions, political views, etc. Not everyone is going to have the same passion, opinions, political views, etc. as the author of a blog they are reading.
This is where the grey area comes into play when the question of “what makes a blog excellent?” Carroll states: “The Internet has empowered ordinary citizens to become fact-checkers and analysts. People with a wide range of experiences can collaborate online, sharing knowledge, sources, and ideas, and challenging each others’ facts” (143). The Internet has allowed its users to become critics of each other, no matter if they are a college student or a CEO. On the contrary, blogging on the Internet also provides us a platform in which to create a community: “…blogging is also an expression of community, allowing individuals to communicate and congregate” (140). Blogging is used as a means of expression whether is it a blog on politics, religion, food, music, etc. Not everyone is going to think a particular blog is excellent; if that were the case, the Internet/ society would be very grey itself.
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