So, you want to be a blogger?

You want to be a blogger? Why not! Free speech! Power to the people! Rock on!


I want you to be successful. If you're reading this blog, chances are you want to be a W101 Blogger. Great! Join the family! There's always room under the pagoda...unless it's a "Meet and Greet"..(those are just crazy busy, lol)!

However, (and there is always a 'however'), might I suggest some tips, gained from experience?
Don't consider them "Rules", they're more like 'guidelines', savvy? "Keep to the Code!"

Item, the First: Do it for the love of the subject you're blogging about. DON'T do it for fame. That's a losing proposition. Don't do it for profit, either..statistically, you will lose more than you gain. Blog about what interests YOU.

Item, the Second: Be yourself. Don't try to be Thomas Lionblood. Only The Friendly Necromancer is The Friendly Necromancer. "But imitation is the sincerest form of flattery". Certainly, copy his dedication, and work ethic, and service to the community, but don't try to be a "Friendly clone". Thomas didn't get where he is by being someone else. TFN is an excellent example of what a blog should be. He has worked long, and hard to become (what I consider), "The Flagship of the W101 Blogging Community".

Item, the Third: Content. This is the hardest of them all. How to fill all that blank canvas? You're on your own, here. This is your blog. You are the Captain of the ship. You decide "what goes, what stays". How often will you be able to update? Content creation is the hardest part of any creative process. (Think of it this way, I had to create this content, so you could read it).

Item, the Fourth: Your audience. I'm gonna guess "W101 Community", on this. But which segment of the community,( if not all). Will you lean more towards quest grinders, PvP'ers, House designers? This ties in to items 1, 2 and 3. If you can find a balance, blog about what you love, being yourself, creating original content, then you're doing well. Your audience will follow you. Do not rely on "I get no comments", or how many people you see following you. I thought I had only 5 or 6 people reading Homework, until I put up a poll. 70+ votes (at time of writing). The audience is out there, and more oft than not, they will watch quietly.

Item the Forth, Part Deux: Bad Eggs. You will get them. How do you deal with dissention? What about a troll? . There are those who will disagree JUST to provoke you. Don't get reeled in, it's a sucker's bet. However, where do you draw the line between flaming, and debate? If you shut down ALL opposing views, (which is an option), then people will not feel they have a voice. A blogger needs readers, like a ship needs a crew.

Item, the Fifth; Graphics. (I" plead the Fifth", on this one). Haha, little joke. Graphics are completly optional. So , you don't have PhotoShop. Neither do I, (though I miss it terribly). Each and every graphic you've ever seen on Homework was done with a 'powerful' graphics program call MS Paint. Yup. That free little paint program that all MS Windows users have. Fortunately, for me, my medium is more the "collage" style, so I have infinite possibilities, only fettered by my imagination, and by recreating it, ala 'Andy Warhol', I reduce the risk of copyright infringement.

Item, the Sixth: Grammar. No, not your Grandma, (though she's welcome to follow your blog, too). Punctuation. Spelling. Grammatical Cohesion. You know, all that stuff that bores/bored you to tears , in school. A little goes a long way. I am constantly re-checking my stuff, (because I have very mild dyslexia). And when words aren't "right", they nag at me. But, that's just me.

Take this famous example:
Cna yuo raed tihs? Olny 55 plepoe out of 100 can.
i cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno’t mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt! if you can raed tihs dgig it or use aentohr srecive wtih the sarhe it btotun bloew!

Freaky, huh?

Item, the Last. Forget everything you just read! Who the heck am I to tell you how to run your blog? Absoloutely nobody. Hence, therein lies the freedom. You are free to succeed or fail by your own merits. I wish you well. I hope that you have gleaned at least something from this, even if it's only a moment of bemusement,

Yes, all the refrences were so I could add this pic.

Be Well!