Best/Worst Practices ...

I was throwing together a list of best and worst practices for some community bloggers we'll be inviting aboard (it's gonna get crowded in these parts), and I thought it was actually something everybody should probably see.

They're not cast in stone (well, MOST of 'em aren't, anyway), but I think they're a good start, regardless.

Best practices when writing blogs:

• Create lively, informative entries covering your area of expertise.

• Brevity truly is the soul of wit. While there's no hard and fast rule against epic-length posts, studies show they aren't read well, and you're probably doing yourself and your reader a favor by making your points cleanly and efficiently.

• Frequency will trump length everytime.

• Keep the tone conversational. Consider these e-mails to friends and family.

• Lists and sub-heads are a good way to break up huge blocks of text.

• Provide links to articles within the area of interest.

Poor practices when writing blogs:

• Brazen self-promotion, especially in terms of business interests: Not only is it against the spirit of what we're trying to do here, you'll lose major credibility ... and we would lose credibility, as well ... and we can't have that.

• Plagiarism: Make sure the words are your own. If you reference another site or blogger, that's fine, but quote no more than a paragraph or so, then provide a link back to the original source. Remember, in this age, it's harder to get away with it than it ever has been before.

• Making changes once a post has been published: When a mistake occurs, contact an editor. We'll add paragraphs updating the information and, where necessary, excise the incorrect information. But any changes you make should be, and must be, clearly noted somewhere in the entry. We'll work with you on these situations, but don't take matters into your own hands.


Some of these are pretty obvious ... some maybe not so much. Just stuff to bear in mind as we forage ahead.