Discussing the findings from the blogs from my fellow students was very fun. I was able to learn about their personality and what there likes are in life. Many people chose to be more professional and others make it more personal. The choices we make in communication, written, or verbally say a lot about how others learn. Finding those that posted on my blogs were those who could relate to my blog. Those I feel did not find my post interesting did not really have anything to say. There is a preference in what will make others interested and trying to reach a wider audience means more visual aids. I think someone who has a business with roofing and tiles will not run to my blog because it is more intellectual and not hands on with building. If I had a blog title in there that was about roofing and tiling maybe I would reach those in the field. The website from De’ Airra was about writing and journaling and she had some very good things to say about my blog. So I can see who will be a follower and who will not. Now to look at other elements to blogging would be to evaluate design and visual appeal.
One of the most important things to remember when creating a blog is your audience. Finding what will communicate your ideas most affectively. Communication is through sound, touch, hearing, and listening. And bringing in as much as you can will only but make the experience better and more entertaining. Many web blogs are very visually boring since there is no interactive. Using good media technology such as YouTube or other networking sites like face book or LinkedIn. From the students in my course I have read their comments as to my page layout, which ties into my theme of my blog. I have also had remarks about my wording and how easy it is to follow them. To me I see that many people like to have ease with how things look more than what the content is really about. Also high end blogs, I have noticed less writing at first and more color, design and interactive tabs that bring videos and sound. I will work at trying to integrate more into my blog that gives a deeper look at communication with interactive tabs such as videos.
I will also want to maybe change some colors on my site, and do not want to exceed more than three colors on my site, for it may become distracting.
The three web blogs that I have looked at are as follows: De’Airra http://comm21century.blogspot.com, Benjamin, http://gilesroofingconstruction.blogspot.com/2011/02/our mission-giles-roofing-construction.html, and Felicia: http://felicia-themusingsofabusymom.blog.com/ What I have noticed from all of these sites is the layout ideas. They showed a balance of ideas based on details on the page. Much of what Felicia had on her page seemed to be well rounded with ideas, theme and images. The site from Benjamin was not yet that advanced since he only had a theme on his cover page of writing and the background design that was perfect for his title. There was not enough dialogue so the balance was not that structured. The layout was simple and not yet developed enough yet since he is still in the progress. The functionality of Benjamin’s site has a lot of potential because of his business idea. A business blog I think can serve many purposes rather than just journaling thoughts like my blog or like Felicia’s site that is an attempt to get people to donate for fundraising. The attachments on the blog, the history of past projects is what shows credibility and with more time, so many more possibilities can be added creatively to both Felicia’s site and to functionality. The beginning stages of all three web blogs, I see is a first stage of catching the attention of an audience and showing purpose of the blog. My blog is more of a communication blog where I would people to add thoughts, add life experiences, add discussions and I would want to bring an innovative approach to certain topics such as art, education, or linguistics of communication. Depending on the theme of the website I would want to also show quoted materials from my courses at Ashford University as well as videos about current communication in the world. The effort to inspire and connect with others is my main goal.
Components to effective blogging are as stated from the “7 Elements to Make Your Blog Look Great” by Michael Martin. Structure, balance, color, small detail, clarity and emphasis, remark ability, and functionality. Since communication can tape into your senses it is very important to use these seven steps when creating a blog that will serve a purpose and bring your audience in closer to learning from you and create a connection of lasting impressions.
Another large factor in building sustainability for future bloggers is developing a forum of communication that develops a learning curve. The website called, “Blog: Training and Development” retrieved from,
I really loved this site because it has some great advice on designing communication that brings in continuous learning. That is something that ties into my perspective of Life Long Learning in my blog. To know your audience, you’re subject, and yourself. If these three points can be made strong in the form of communication there will be a large network of people that will want to visit your blog. By making the message memorable and adding in my education I can make my communication blog pretty powerful. I was suggested by my instructor to add in more citations professionally so that it would give me larger voice. That is something I will be working on since it will bring a stronger purpose to the quality of my site. Jack Show who is the maker of the blog titled, “Things you should know communicating credibility” has created a forum of discussion on managing ideas with blogs and ways to create training through communication.
Also through the process of evaluation in communication there are the details of getting your point across. And just like my degree program at Ashford University we have learned about technical writing and the importance of grammar. Two references that pertain to making a better blog is the writing aspect of communication. The first reference is from the website (http://blog.sponsoredreviews.com/ A note reference on this website titled, “New English Grammar Rating Filter” by Jarrod Hunt speaks about future advertisers. Not only is building a blog simple and an audience perspective is needed but also the innovative eye as an advertiser will help to enhance your blog. The editorial quality of your blog with good grammar is a way to keep ideas clear and keep fluency about what ideas you are trying to combine. Another asset to building a blog is using images. Article posted August 21st, 2007 called, “Using Images in Your Posts: The Guide gives you tips on adding images in reference to making your blog be like a MySpace account. Building credibility and interest is all about images and networking.
Even though we find credibility in visual affect such as keeping our blog entertaining, we also have the break down of language and use of words. I also believe there is a form of technical writing to communication and blogging. In chapter eleven of my textbook, Technical Communication, by John M. Lannon it speaks about sentences that are more active than passive. Writing information that the audience can process easily. Which means I would not get that into depth with communication that maybe only teachers and students of the subject would understand. Also the conciseness of how I used my words and the redundancy that may make the blog boring. And most of all about presentation would be the fluency such as the sentences used and the length of them on the blog. Too long of essays would bore me personally as well. Also the word choice and the tone of writing need to be clear and not misspellings of words and keeping sensitivity to others and culture differences as well. Just like in verbal communication and relating intercultural so too, does the language we write have to show concrete word phrases. Creating a readable style is keeping the, “wording simple, familiar, unambiguous, and free of useless jargon.” (Lannon, 2008, 220)
Reference
21st Century Skills, Educations & Competitiveness. A resource and policy guide.
(2009) Tuscon, AZ Retrieved on March 21, 2011 from
Micaheal Martin, (2010) 7 Elements To Make Your Blog Look Great: Pro Blog
Design, Design a better blog. Icons by Function. Retrieved on March 21, 2011
Shaw Jack, (2010) Things You Should Know Communicating Credibility: Training
and Development. Free Management Library, Copyright Authenticity Consulting,
LLC; Retrieved on, March 21, 2011, from www.managementhelp.org/training-
and-development/2010/11/77/three-things-you-should-know-about-
Communicating-credibility/
Advertising & Blogging (2011) Review of textbroker.com-content marketplace with
60,000+ writers. SponsoredReviews.com. Retrieved on March 20, 2011 from
Lannon, M. John, (2008) Technical Communication, 11th ed. A Pearson Education
Company, New York, NY
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