What's on your mind before blogging?

What were you thinking before start a new post on your blog? What did you have in mind when you try to compose a new idea? -- These are some basic questions we ask ourselves while blogging.

Different kind of questions will result different outcomes. According to Tom Haskins, another way to understand the differences between blogs (and between blog postings) is by the questions inherent in whatever approach we take. When we change our questions, our blog changes accordingly.

Four kinds of blog	inherit questions
Distraction blogs	What can I say today?
Archive blogs	How can I help others today?
Conversation blogs	Where can I jump today?
Democratic blogs	What can this blog to do help?

What can I say today? - When all we're thinking about is what to say, the value of our words will be insignificant. We are showing off to get attention or relief of some kind. We are implicitly self-absorbed and insensitive to others.

How can I help others today? - When we think about caring for others, we will write different words. We will wonder about how to offer a better perspective, lower other's anxiety, offer a different solution or save others the trouble of a long search for answers.

Where can I jump in today? - When we see blogs as intangible conversation threads, we wonder how to contribute. We realize what has not been said, what needs clarification, what others are not seeing yet and what direction the dialogue could be headed.

What can this blog do to help? - When we use our blogs to make changes in the world, we put the blog to constructive use outside the blogosphere. We wonder how the blog can help formulate a consensus, build a constituency, gain support for a change or facilitate a complex decision.

The first three questions are enamored with blogging tools. They have us under their spell online. The fourth question turns things around so we are tooling around. Instead of being beholden to the tool, we put the tool to our uses in the real world. The value of blogging is increased exponentially when its premise is reversed like that.


Related post : Your blog value
Source : growing changing learning creating by Tom Haskins