Last Wednesday, Sasha and I had a little talk over iced tea while everyone was playing badminton. We were discussing blogging nuisances when the topic of speaking and blogging came up. But since we were so fired up with the nuisances, we weren’t really able to discuss it more in detail.
Sasha said she blogs the same way she speaks, and I think even The Jester-in-Exile agrees to that. But me, I can honestly say that the way I speak is very different from the way I blog.
You see, I had a bit of journalism and creative writing background in me. I took up an elective in Creative Writing under Danton Remoto and had tutelage in journalism from required seminars and my colleagues (under Sunday Inquirer Magazine’s Ruel de Vera’s supervision) during my editorial stint in the school paper. So yeah, that’s one of the reasons why I am able to show a very small fraction of me through my blog, and why I’m able to write long entries instead of short ones.
My blog posts here in Kutitots are similar to editorials, or feature articles. I tried to write like Abe once (you know, short and concise), but it didn’t feel right. I tried Marc’s comedic blogging style, but it didn’t feel right either. It didn’t feel me.
Everyone has their own style of blogging (or writing). You have the editorial-type, complete with an opening, a body, and an ending. There’s the poetic style, which you wouldn’t understand without reading twice (or thrice). The double-meaning posts. The straight-out reportage. You even have those that seem to have more links in the post than actual content. But let’s not forget the “write as you think†blogs, which I believe most of us are doing.
It would be wrong to say that one style is better than the other. After all, the blogging style you would adapt will be consistent with your blog’s purpose. If it’s a tech blog, you’ll use a blogging style appropriate for a tech blog. I normally write editorial-type posts here in Kutitots, but if you take a look at my Pinoy Dog-Lover and My Pet Hamsters blogs, I write differently—conversational, instead of editorial. In My Filipino Wedding, it’s a bit like feature writing. See? You don’t necessarily have to stick to one style of blogging. As long as it’s consistent, it’s effective.
Consistency plays a big role in establishing your blog’s identity online. But now isn’t the right time to talk about this. I’ll just tell you more at the iBlog3 Blogging Summit on Saturday. I’ll be speaking at four in the afternoon. Hehe. Bitin ba?
I’ve already asked you guys the question of why do you blog. Let’s have a bit of fun before iBlog3 (and yeah, I need some blog case studies to discuss, so your comment will also help)…
How do you blog?
hay sana maka silip man lng ako sa iBlog3. naka night shift ako nyan! ill try. ehehe monday after iBlog ill be leaving for legazpi. Yay!
Daan ka na Eric! Hanggang afternoon naman yun
ill try after my work.. lapit lng naman office ko sa UP. 🙂 i really wanted to attend this blog summit since year 1 pa. hanggang ngayon drawing pa rin ako. ehehehe
pano kasi im on a night shift for 7weeks already.
cross my fingrs!! .X.. hihihi
I think we’re in the same league with regards to ‘how do I blog’. I barely speak in english when I’m offline unless inside the classroom confines (or the occasional atenista conyo speak). I can’t really say either if my blogging style’s random since what I post isn’t really calculated that much, and I don’t necessarily blog for my readers to associate themselves with but rather, personally. ewan labo, haha. maybe I should just write a separate entry for this before it gets too long.
ngayon lang ako nakapagbloghop ulit ng maayos. -_-
I’m torn between my old writing style, which dates back to my highschool days when I was still with the school paper and head writer for the theater club, and my sort of newer, more casual writing which has been gracing my blog for the past weeks now.
So far, no one has said anything about my style of writing or blogging. Paranoia sometimes seeps into me whenever this question of how do I blog pops up into my mind.
Perhaps some one could come over to my blog and give me critique? It would be something that’ll be greatly appreciated.
I think, like Sasha, I write the way I speak. I literally hear the words in my head as I type them – and I stop typing if it doesn’t sound natural to me.
Basically, if you read my entries out loud, it should sound like something you’ll say in actual conversation. Nope, not everything sounds right, but that’s what I try to do.
Of course, you can argue that this still falls under the “write as you think” model.
just like you said, Gail, no style is better than the other… and as for my posts, i use different styles according to the current whim or nature of the post… iba-iba, ika nga…
Thank you for the kind event plug and look forward to your talk in iBlog3!
How I blog? Mine is freestyle which tends to reflect the mood I’m in.
How do I blog? hmmm… much the same when I have to make a point during conversations. In normal talks I use our local medium, though. When it comes to style, I think we all experience shifts of creativity, to analytical/editorial, to easy conversation-type of writing. I think it depends on your subject or topic, and your mood at the moment. 😉
Ate gail,
“You can blog anything but you can’t blog everything”
-MiGs