This article, What Makes for a Good Blog?, made me think again about…well…what makes a good blog. I touched briefly on what I think makes a good blog – the person who writes it – in another post, but it wasn’t until I read this article at 43 folders that I was reminded of what it REALLY is: obsession/passion for a subject:
Good blogs have a voice. Who wrote this? What is their name? What can I figure out about who they are that they have never overtly told me? What’s their personality like and what do they have to contribute – even when it’s “just” curation. What tics and foibles fascinate make me about this blog and the person who makes it? Most importantly: what obsesses this person?
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Good blogs reflect focused obsessions. People start real blogs because they think about something a lot. Maybe even five things. But, their brain so overflows with curiosity about a family of topics that they can’t stop reading and writing about it. They make and consume smart forebrain porn. So: where do this person’s obsessions take them?
It’s been repeated and repeated that a successful blogger is a passionate blogger – I certainly believe that’s true in my case, and in the cases of other bloggers I know who are “successful.” I am OBSESSED with online shopping, coupon codes, and eco-fashion, and I write about those things because I have to share! Of course, I tend to read blogs by people who are also passionate about shopping & fashion and/or usually share my aesthetic and love for independent design.
Great writing and good blog design can initially bring people to a new blog, but the passion & person behind it are what KEEP people coming back.
Why do you read the blogs you read? What do you think makes a good blog?
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{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
i tend to like blogs that keep pushing it to the next level. there are a lot of great blogs out there, but not so many of them i notice REALLY push themselves. they get good, get traffic and then rest on their laurels and egos.
that's a great point jennine – i guess that's why i tend to like the really personal blogs, because the person HAS to evolve and grow and change over time – well, in theory anyway – and it's interesting to see how that changes the blog.
I agree, it's all about passion.
I completely agree with the 'personality' aspect. What keeps me going to blogs? I think it's the 'friend' factor – I like to know mundane things about people, like what they do in their day-to-day life. It may be mundane to them, but since I am usually on the other side of the world, it's interesting to me! I am also more likely to visit a blog that has developed a personal relationship with me through my own blog or through Twitter or something. That way, it feels like visiting a friend!