Social Butterflies Meet Online Communication

Let me ask you a question. Do you like expressing your opinion? Talking? Writing? Personally, I am a “big talker” socially, but not so much at school. I love talking and asking questions about things that I find interesting or about my hobbies. I enjoy sharing and debating my opinions when I feeling strongly and knowledgeable about a subject and I love the art of communication overall. Ironically, my college offered me a communications class that revolves around social media and has allowed me to blog about really fun topics. Although, if you read thoroughly above, you would see that I’m a talker, not so much a writer! The thing about blogging is, it is not like an essay you have to write for your history class, with the correct grammar and punctuation, blogging is just like having a conversation, except it is conducted with online readers.

For those who are new to the idea of blogging, let me start off with this idea. Blogging is just fun. It doesn’t feel like work. It isn’t stressful. It can be an interactive way to get one’s thoughts, ideas, and opinions out for others to read and respond to. With that being said, I do have 5 key tips to keep in mind if starting a blog. 1) I suggest having a strong title to draw the audience in. Picking a topic is decently easy if it interests you, but getting readers to notice your topic is really important. You want something that is interactive,

or funny, even serious would work, but it has to be eye catching so the reader is intrigued. 2) Along with an interesting title you want an interesting opening sentence that keeps them reading. You’ve already got the reader drawn in with the title, don’t lose them with boring content. 3) Make sure each post has visuals to catch the reader’s eye. If someone SEES and READS something, they are more likely to remember it and relate better or even talk about your piece more. 4) Say enough in your post that your point gets across but do not make it too long. We’re not writing a novel here people and no one will remember it if it is too long. Lastly, 5) The most important of all….. (drum roll please)….. HAVE VOICE! When writing a blog, you want to write like you are talking to someone. Let’s be real, no one likes having a conversation with a monotone, straight faced, less than interesting person. So liven up that post, add your own voice to it, get the readers involved, and have them feeling as if they know you and are really TALKING to you.

All of these tips were important for me and still are relevant to keep in mind when writing my own blog posts. Before staring my social media class, I had an idea of what a blog was but had never written one, let alone read one before. I have learned a lot when it comes to having more voice and drawing a reader in. Never having written a blog before but being used to essays had involved having lot of evidence to talk about and then analyzing that evidence. A blog is completely different, it is so free and empowering. My experience with my blog thus far has been a complete blast and I would definitely recommend it to others who just want to talk and expresses themselves. I would have to say I believe that I have improved most in my voice, which I think has a lot to do with becoming more comfortable and confident with writing my posts. As for interesting titles and topic sentences, I think they have been pretty good at pulling my readers in for the most part, and did a good job at keeping them reading. Of course, I am always looking to improve.

My blog helped me open up to social media in a whole new way, allowing me to talk on topics that I like in a communicative and fun way. It helped me be more confident due to the fact that it allows me to express my thoughts and not have anyone aggressively come at me with a counter argument where I have a tendency to be less confident and avoid conflict. It is relevant

to my life, keeps me busy and keeps me wanting to look for topics to blog about. I highly recommend blogging to you if you love communications. Blog away!