How To Bore People And Irritate Complete Strangers

Everyone has felt the need to shove his or her opinion down the throats of others at one time or another. And with technology making everything at our fingertips, it’s no surprise that the popularity of the online journal, or blog, has caught on. There are literally thousands (if not millions!) of blogs on the internet ranging in topics from personal stories and diaries to gossip columns to news and/or technology articles to recipe blogs to porn blogs. If you can imagine it, it can be blogged about. But how do you write a blog that people want to read? There are a few easy steps to writing a blog that will not only allow you to express yourself creatively but help you to create something that others will follow obsessively, like an MTV reality TV show.
The first and the most crucial step is coming up with a topic or direction for your blog. This is the essential decision that must be made before you can even begin writing. My first piece of advice is that whatever you do don’t write about your life. Unless you are a leader of a country, you are an adventurer or you have super powers, don’t write about your everyday life. As interesting as you think your trip to the grocery store was, unless there were aliens, dragons or the return of Jesus, it wasn’t that interesting. Trust me. Pick a topic that will interest a broad spectrum of people like a movie or music review blog or a blog about shoes or something else. Whatever you do, choose a topic that is interesting to a large group of people not just you and your friends and family.
Remember, the idea is to generate interest in what it is you have to say. If you are going to write a blog about politics or social issues, you don’t want to write it in a way that excludes people but rather you want them to sympathize with your views and want them to come back and read it again. When I began writing this blog, I decided to write about things that I think are important. Whether they be how to make yourself a better person or the American healthcare system, fictional stories or news that I felt relevant to other topics I write about. My main goal is to share my opinions with sincerity, honesty and hopefully -when called for- some humor. I want others to be able to enjoy what it is I am writing even if they don’t necessarily agree with my views.
Next, you have to decide on a domain name. And don’t just go for the boring, “My blog.“ You want to choose something that is catchy and easy to remember and also gives the reader an idea of what the blog will include. For instance, if you are writing a recipe blog, you would want to choose a name that might have something to do with food or cooking, like “Jim‘s Hot & Healthy Meals.“ Whereas, if you were writing a gossip blog you would want a name that reflects that instead of a name like “Timmy‘s Sweaty Ass.” It doesn’t make sense, so be mindful of what it is you are writing about. And let’s face it, no matter what the blog is about, with a name like that, you can guarantee that NO one will read it. I chose “No Reservations Taken” because I felt it reflected the idea that I wasn’t going to hold anything back in my writing. If I thought something should be written about a certain way, I wrote about it that way. No holds barred, if you will.
That brings me to my next point, and also another piece of advice- if you can’t take criticism, then don’t put yourself out there. There is no way that you can please everyone all the time. You have to be comfortable with what it is you write before you put it out there for the world to see, dissect and re-interpret. I have an issue with criticism sometimes and to be honest, I know that some of my views are not popular with people that love me, so I know that they aren’t going to go over well with complete strangers. But, I decided that if I put myself out there I have to accept what comes with it- the good and the bad. If people want to comment and tell me that they disagree or that I am a terrible person for believing what I believe, I accept their views. But that doesn’t mean that I have to accept abuse and neither do you. Remember, no one is forced to read what you write so always thank them for their comments and tell them politely that if they don’t like what you have to say, there are thousands of other blogs for them to read.
Another great idea to add something interesting to your blog is to add images and videos. They add another element to your blog and help to make your blog stand out among the ocean of others. I have yet to add any images or videos to my site because the opportunity to make them has not presented itself yet. But as soon as I have a way to add them, you better believe you will have an audio-visual experience to rival that of the best that technology has to offer. Or, you will at least have something to look at other than my words.
And finally, you want to write articles (or posts) that attract readers. The easiest way to do this is to write engaging stories and to allow the reader to see things from your point of view in clear and concise language. Remember, the readers are the ones receiving your message so you want to convey it in a way that is easy to understand and digest. If you were writing a technology blog you would want to use language that people interested in technology would be able to understand. Likewise, if you were writing a blog about painting, you would not want to use a lot of techno-talk that had nothing to do with painting.
Once you have mastered the art of writing your blogs you can be the next great internet craze. As long as you follow these steps you will be a great writer. OK, maybe not a great writer, it may take a little more than these steps (like a little talent, maybe?) but you will least have created something that is interesting and something you can be proud of in the end.