So far at Union Blend we’ve developed, or perhaps stumbled our way into, three general formats for our blog posts
- short tips like this one
- links to interesting online tools and resources (like this post on the RSS toolbox), and
- longer articles on things like the differences between wikis and blogs.
These are just three examples of the 7 basic posting formats listed by Amy Gahran on her excellent blog Contentious:
Wait a minute? Formats? Isn’t blogging supposed to be totally free-from?
Well, it can be, of course, but while we would never argue that you should develop and stick by blogging formats at the expense of creativity, thinking about post formats for your blog can be useful for you, your readers, and for your students if you’re introducing them to blogging.
For blog writers, having a few post formats at your disposal can help you set the scope of your post as you sit down to write. If your blog usually has a mix of short and long posts, for example, it is easier to break up a lengthy, difficult to write post into a series of shorter, more manageable ones. Developing a new format can also spark creativity. This was certainly true for me when Ron posted the first podcasting tip, because it helped me realize that we could use Union Blend to gradually develop a big library of little, but very useful instructional technology tips without trying to write them all down in one sitting.
For your readers, a set of post formats can help develop a set of expectations about your blog. Also, when tied to categories (or tags), post formats can be a great way to provide your readers with an organizational structure that makes your blog easy to navigate. And, at least one blogger has argued that breaking up the rhythm of your blog with a few different formats can make your blog a more interesting read.
For your students, developing, modeling, and perhaps explicitly discussing a few types of blogging formats will help your students understand what you’re hoping to find in their blog writing, and may make it easier for them to hop in and get started when faced with the big empty text box of their first blog post.
See also:
- Doug’s blogging links - a growing list of blogging resources.
Entries (RSS)
July 9th, 2007 at 10:03 pm
The short post is an effective way to sustain the momentum of your blog. There are days were I just don’t feel like posting a long message or getting too deep into a certain subject. A small, quick post keeps you involved with your blog.
Bonnie Shucha, a law librarian and prolific blogger here at the University, demonstrates how to mix up the formats in her WisBlawg.
July 9th, 2007 at 10:11 pm
After some rummaging, I found the links to each of the 7 basic posting formats, and added them into the body of the post (they were previously just a “see also” link).
And then after reading this post on blogging etiquette, I decided I should post this little comment about the change!
July 19th, 2007 at 9:33 am
Thanks for the shout-out to WisBlawg and for introducing me to Wisconsin Union Blend (my “ego feed” picked it up). I’ll definitely blog about it.
July 23rd, 2007 at 8:20 pm
I didn’t know that there were so many formats, but it does make sense to keep your posts in some type of order. Thanks for the info - I’ll start using it in my blogs!
Ken
July 25th, 2007 at 10:27 am
Thanks for the comment Ken. Glad you liked the post!