Creating a blog from scratch

Blogging has taken the communications world by storm in recent years. The reality is that most blogs never really get started, they are updated less and less frequently, and very often they disappear into the digital ether.

Most people don’t have regularly updated blogs, and even fewer actually take them seriously as a medium of communication beyond their immediate social group. For every great one that’s one our favorites list – mine include Perez, Overheard in New York, Iain Dale, Guido Fawkes, and Queerty – there are plenty that don’t really make the grade. What marks them out is that they are informative, witty, light-hearted, and edgy, and often all of these.

I used to dismiss most blogs as self-indulgent unabridged rant about the world. I have never been to Speaker’s Corner in London’s Hyde Park so why the hell would I subject myself to hearing random people I have never met insist on sharing their online thoughts.

To that extent my view has changed somewhat. I have witnessed how blogs can be a force for good both for yourself and for those who share your interests. I’m proud of the fact that we have managed to keep the blog going with posts almost every day for a year and I think maintained a decent standard of discourse.

When I write my posts I do my very best to think of the blogs that I read daily or a few times a week and what makes me interested enough to go back for more.

The lessons I have learned both from contributing to the Out Front Blog and to becoming more engaged in the blogging world more generally are I think as follows.

1. Be personal. If I want news or analysis even on a niche topic like gay and lesbian communications I go to a vast array of news sites. What makes be interested in visiting other gay blogs is a willingness of writers to relate issues back to their own lives and their own experiences.
2. Don’t be precious. By doing the Out Front blog with colleagues we have not only shared the workload but also offered a whole spectrum of perspectives. Most importantly we look at each others writing before we post. This is not to heavily edit or censor but mainly to keep it focused and stop us from opening the floodgates to a whole bunch of issues that many of us would love to talk about. Just as journalists have their editors, my peers on the blog provide feedback that nearly always improves what finally appears online.
3. Learn about the blogosphere. A decent well-read blog never exists on its own and it’s essential to link to other bloggers not just on the site but in your posts to really get a dialogue started on issues that concern you.

Now, the best and the worst parts of writing the blog.

I will start with the worst. Sometimes it can be a chore when you  simply think you have nothing to say about the world that day or you  suffer a severe case of writers block. In that situation the best advice, which I have not always heeded, is to keep it short, simple and link to someone else. Another bad side can be the limitations. It is vitally important to have a focus for a blog to make sure it maintains an identity and does not stray off into other territories despite the temptation to talk about subjects beyond the scope of communications.

Finally the best moments. It has given me a new incentive to write which I love doing and I have covered subjects as diverse of the marketing power of David Beckham, Tim Gunn, "coming out", AIDS, my obsession with Gossip Girl, Pride, baseball, and most importantly to me what it means to be a twentysomething gay man in today’s society. It also helps to focus my mind on what I think about issues in the news as they come up and think about what I would say about them on my blog. I have also (admittedly rarely!!) had random people who I have never met before tell me they read and enjoy my posts. I usually respond my asking them if they are sure we are talking about the same blog, but it does certainly provide an extra incentive that someone out there is reading and taking notice!

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