I'd Rather Be Writing

I've decided to write a series of posts about what I consider to be the Seven Deadly Sins of Blogging (because sins always seem more interesting than virtues). Basically, I'm preparing for some presentations on blogging, and I'm hoping to get some scrutiny and feedback on these ideas. I plan to cover each one of the sins in depth with separate posts over the course of the next two weeks. My version of the seven ... Read more..

This is the second post in my 7 Deadly Sins of Blogging series. My version of the seven deadly sins of blogging are as follows: being fake, irrelevant, boring, unreadable, irresponsible, unfindable, and inattentive. A few years ago, I was talking with a guy named Clyde about blogging. He wasn't sure what topic he wanted to write about, and I encouraged him to pick a topic he was passionate about and stick with that focus. Clyde ... Read more..

Being boring is sin #3 in my list of the seven deadly sins (other sins include being fake, irrelevant, unreadable, irresponsible, unfindable, and inattentive). Perhaps a more tactful way of saying something is boring is to say the writer neglects to "keep the audience's attention." I'm always hearing about the short attention spans of online audiences, that readers only skim your content and spend a minute per page. Because of this short attention span, you're encouraged ... Read more..

The fourth sin in my ongoing Seven Deadly Sins of Blogging series (being fake, irrelevant, boring, unreadable, irresponsible, unfindable, and inattentive) is being unreadable. Readability is probably the easiest sin to correct, especially if you're familiar with your stylesheet. Reading Instincts A while ago I moved The Content Wrangler to WordPress and used a Massive News theme as a starting point. I liked the way the Massive News theme looked, but something kept bugging me about it. The text seemed ... Read more..

Being irresponsible is the fifth sin in my ongoing series on the Seven Deadly Sins of Blogging (other sins include being fake, irrelevant, boring, unreadable, unfindable, and inattentive). Blogging responsibly includes awareness of proper disclosure, approvals, and representation, as well as avoiding sensationalism in the posts you write. Disclosure Recently the FTC updated the rules about proper disclosure when receiving compensation for promoting a product or service in a blog post. Fines for failure to properly disclose compensation ... Read more..

[audio:http://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3?http://idratherbewriting.com/podcasts/findability7sins.mp3] Download MP3 Length: 25 min. The sixth sin in my ongoing series on the Seven Deadly Sins of Blogging is being unfindable. (The other sins include being fake, irrelevant, boring, unreadable, irresponsible, and inattentive). Admittedly, lack of findability seems more a sin of omission than commission. Being unfindable seems like a sin bloggers commit against themselves. I've written more than 1,000 posts on my blog, but usually the posts on my home page are the only posts people ... Read more..

The seventh and final sin in my ongoing Seven Deadly Sins of Blogging series is being inattentive. (Other sins include being fake, irrelevant boring, unreadable, irresponsible, and unfindable.) One appealing aspect of blogs over print media is the ability to comment and respond to comments. It’s the appeal of a conversation instead a lecture. Make Commenting Easy In the Blog Herald, Valorie Maltoni says, In this age of conversational marketing, responding to comments helps you show your readers ... Read more..

[audio:http://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3?http://idratherbewriting.com/podcasts/suncoast7deadlysins.mp3] Download MP3 View PowerPoint Length: 1 hour 45 min. Over the last month, you've been seeing various posts on my site about the seven deadly sins of blogging (being fake, irrelevant, boring, unreadable, irresponsible, unfindable, and inattentive). I mentioned at the beginning of my seven deadly sins series that I was preparing for some upcoming presentations on blogging. I first presented on the Seven Deadly Sins of Blogging at WebWorks Roundup 2009. I gave a similar presentation to ... Read more..

Last week while attending the STC Summit, I learned that MindTouch named my blog, I'd Rather Be Writing, the most innovative blog in technical communication. In their post, 2011 Technical Communication Innovation Award Winners, they write, This honor is bestowed upon long-time technical documentation professional Tom Johnson for creating some of the best — and most innovative — original content about the field of technical communication (and related disciplines) on his ultra-popular blog, I’d Rather Be ... Read more..