I got hooked on blogging in 2009 when I became Deputy Editorial Page Editor for the Democrat and Chronicle. In addition to writing editorials and columns for the print newspaper, I shared my thoughts and opinions on a variety of topics through the Editorial Board’s blog.
I grew to love the immediacy of posting a few hundred words and watching the comments come in from readers. We had some lively discussions. Today I write two blogs, and I love it when they resonate with my readers.
But I want to back up here and explain what is a blog, because I still find people who don’t know.
The word “blog” came about as a mash-up of the words web and log. Basically, a blog can be considered a type of online diary or journal. And by diary, I mean a form of documentation that has frequent updates, just as if you were writing in a paper diary. The difference, of course, is that usually a paper diary is meant for your eyes only where a blog is meant to be shared in what’s often called the “blogosphere.”
One of my favorite quotes about blogging is this:
“Just because you write on a blog platform, you are not a blogger. A blogger is someone who wants to record their thoughts and experiences in an open format that others might read and enjoy (or even learn from). … Bloggers want, invite, hope for two-way conversations to occur about what they write about. Writers just want people to read what they wrote.”
–Micah Baldwin, www.blurb.com
I have a passion for introducing people to blogging, and that’s why I’ve enjoyed teaching Blogging 101 at Writers & Books for the past two years. Blogging is a fantastic way to share your thoughts, experiences and even expertise. I’ve had students who now blog about travel, food, gardening, spirituality, politics, humorous takes on life, and more. There’s no shortage of topics, and technology makes it so easy to launch a blog.
Please come join me in the blogosphere. You won’t regret it.
Read more about Jane’s Blogging 101 workshop on July 18 here: http://bit.ly/Blogging101B02
Jane Sutter is an award-winning journalist with more than 30 years of experience in writing, editing, blogging and managing at newspapers, magazines and web sites. She earned master’s and bachelor’s degrees from the University of Missouri Journalism School. She spent 13 years in top leadership roles at the Democrat and Chronicle in Rochester, including as managing editor and deputy editorial page editor. Her career includes stints as a reporter or editor in Iowa, Illinois, South Carolina and Florida. Her business, Sutter Communications, provides a variety of services, including writing, editing, public relations and book publishing. Jane’s book, Sutter’s Sodas Satisfy: A Memoir of 90 Years of Sutter Drug Co., was published in 2015. Jane writes two blogs: http://www.suttermedia.net/blog/ and https://suttercommunications.wordpress.com/. Follow her on Twitter: @janesutter.