Okay, I have absolutely no readership right now so maybe this isn’t the best forum to ask for help or tips… but here’s what I’ve learned so far from my new technical blog.
Little or no blogging experience + starting a readable and engaging blog = very difficult (especially true for tech blogs IMHO)
My last post, which talked about version control using Subversion, really really sucked. I’m not quite sure what it is about it that I don’t like but the more I think about it the more I’m sure it is something I hate.
Oh well, chalk it up to a learning experience and try to use it as an example of what not to do in the future, blah blah blah…
How to Start off on the Wrong Foot
1. Liberal use of Cutesy Animal Pics from Flickr
I liked the photo I used from Flickr for my very first post but I think that always trying to work in pics where maybe they don’t belong is a bad idea. Compound that error with a lapse in judgement to use fuzzy wild animal pics and I think we’ve identified a definite formula for nausiating readers.
2. No Paragraph Headlines or Discernable Outline to Follow
I don’t know about the vast majority of blog readers out there but personally, I find that it is only the rare occasion where I am able to read a blog from start to finish without the assistance of paragraph headlines (preferably in BIG BOLD LETTERS). It’s almost like I need something shiny and descriptive to grab my attention and hold my hand through the rest of the article. Otherwise I usually find myself skipping through paragraphs and inevitably bailing out and hitting the back button.
3. Jumping into a Topic Without Introducing It
I can think of a handful of exceptions to this such as…
- you’ve blogged about the topic before
- you know your readers are already informed
- or, the topic is self-explanatory
I’m sure there are a half-a-dozen more exceptions to this but the point is - just because your readers are say, technical readers, that does NOT mean they inherently understand ALL technology! It drives me crazy when people learn I’m a “computer guy” and then ask me to come over and fix their DVD player (note to mother-in-law: please take no offense at that remark; p.s. you’re a great cook).
4. Sounding Like a Freakin Nerd
If you try to communicate technical things to technical people - you do so in a technical way right? Sure, of course you do; technical people speak like that because it’s the most effecient way of communicating. By using technical words and acronyms you’re actually communicating more than you’re saying - which is why non technical people usually say something like, “um… you lost me at hello”.
I’m not sure the best way to avoid this when speaking technically because the last thing you want to do is water down or even skip over technical concepts.
At the same time however, I don’t think it’s fair to assume that all technical people learn in the same fashion. Introducing appropriate visual aids or metaphors might actually enhance the readability of your article to ALL readers! :O
5. You Need to Lighten up Buddy!
It all depends on your writing style of course but a bit of humor never hurt anyone. Okay, that’s completely untrue. If you’re not a humorous person, don’t try to be - you’ll only come across as an un-funny person trying to be something they’re not.
I don’t mean to simply say “be who you are”, because you can get that sort of writing advice anywhere. MY point is, keep it loose. Don’t write like a stiff, even other stiffs don’t like to read that stuff (my apoligies to any stiffs who may disagree).
In Conclusion…
We can apply these points and discover a few things we ought to keep in mind when writing a technical blog post.
- Have you used a cutesy animal pic in the last month? Only resort to this if you’re desperate.. or if you’re blogging on the technical merits of taking cutesy animal pics.
- Use BIG shiny bold headings every three or four paragraphs
- Try to include an introductory sentence or two when rolling out a new topic (or at least a link to Wikipedia)
- Visualize a person telling someone else what you are writing. If those people are wearing pocket-protectors then you might want to consider adjusting the tone of your article.
- Who would sound better reading your article? Jon Stewart? Or Ben Stein? “…anyone…. anyone….Bueller… ” (i love that guy)
…Here’s to learning the hard way! Post your tips/comments!
