Guest Post – What Bloggers Can Learn From Journalists

@Craig I completely agree with you. One of the reasons I love blogosphere so much is because there is room and a certain level of tolerance for imperfection. That doesn’t mean that you should disregard spell checking your post or forget to give credit when credit is due, but there is a certain authenticity and voice you hear when you read a blog, a different level of authenticity than I get when I read a newspaper. In turn, I think that is what allows for great conversations to take place. Conversations that we grow from, share with one another, and ultimately learn from. More importantly, while I see many people trying to define the “rules” of social media and the blogosphere, the beauty of it is that there really isn’t (or shouldn’t be) a right approach or a wrong approach. If we continue to fight that, are we going to be able to uphold why we are all here in the first place?

Wow! These are some great tips. The best part is the reminder to also be precise. I notice spelling and grammar mistakes all the time. Even on some of the top blogs. The most common grammar mistake I see is leaving out a word.

This happens all the time and I notice it happens to me all the time. It really helps to reread your entire post again because, sometimes you might say, “will”, when you meant “won’t”, etc.

By the way….nice eyes.

As a former journalist and the editor emeritus at my office, it always amazes me how little people pay attention to spelling and grammar. It only takes a second to copy your entry into Word or some other editor to make sure everything looks okay. Why wouldn’t you want it to be correct? It helps with your credibility. It makes you “smarter” (or at least appear that way). It also shows respect for your readers.

Great tips, and yay for AP style.

Excellent post Anita! EVERY blogger, whether they agree with it or not, should read this post and consider it heavily. Especially point #10… what’s posted on the internet stays on the internet! Your reputation is written right into every post you publish.

Hi Anita,

You have focused and shared the essential requirements for the ‘ blogosphere’ and bloggers wanting more than just passing interest in their thoughts. To be highly regarded and considered an authority takes time and effort.

Thanks to Chris Brogan for finding you and sharing his considerable audience. I look forward to reading more of your work!

Respectfully,

Nicholas Chase
Twitter.com/nachase
http://donotreadthisblogunless.blogspot.com/

Anita, your comments were very insightful and helpful! Thank you! Chris, I so appreciate your blogs that provide tools or helpful strategies for legitimate businesses trying to make it on the Internet. Thank you!!

First, let me say thanks to Chris for the opportunity to guest post on his blog. Second, I want to thank everyone for their comments. I’ve been following the conversation all day, both here and on Twitter. I appreciate the thought that went into each comment, and also appreciate the compliments — and the criticisms. I feel very fortunate that I do something for a living that teaches me something every day — and that includes what I’ve learned here today.

Your post is timely and speaks well of Chris to share his community with you!

Thank you for emphasizing the discipline that journalists earn by studying their craft! Admittedly, my patience to read posts which lack good English grammar is strained.

Here is “The Atlantic” magazine’s Andrew Sullivan’s article “Why I Blog”. Wonderfully composed!

http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200811/andrew-sullivan-why-i-blog/4

Anita,

This was a wonderful and necessary post. I’m sure we all try, at some level, to create writing worth the reading. If we’re not quite there yet, you’ve given a lot of great advice on how to aim higher.

My favorite phrase from this post: “Don’t abuse the privilege.” For me that sums up your top ten in a nutshell. Well said.

Chris,

Great guest post. Thanks for inviting Anita in!

Regards,

Kelly

Thanks for the tips, Anita. I am a writer by trade, but it’s helpful to remember the basics of good writing, whether it’s an article, book or blog entry. If you’re going to take the time to write a blog, make it compelling, relevant, and accurate. You’re right, bad grammar and spelling reflect badly on the writer and undermine credibility.

Great article! Not only is it great advice for bloggers, but it would serve anyone well who writes to an audience- no matter how large or small, public or personal. I wish more people would take to heart “You are what you write” and “Precision is key.” If you want people to take you seriously, write like you want to be taken seriously, not like a teen on Instant Messenger.

I think that a lot of people think that email, blogs, online communities, and other online forms of communication don’t require us to use as much care in what we write because these media are meant to connect people together and be personal. What these people don’t understand is that just because the forum for discussion has changed, doesn’t mean that the quality of discussion should be degraded. When we interact someone online, language is one of the most prominent (and sometimes the only) defining characteristic we have to form an opinion about another person, so we should be even more careful and intentional with what we write.

Great post. With hard work and dedication scribling can be turned into writing. Indeed, we can learn a lot from journalists. After all, a blog is a journal.

I liked this post because it’s nice to come across someone from outside the marketing blogsphere – with fresh ideas.
I particularly liked points 8 and 9.
Just like to add: one of the things that bugs me is when people fail to give examples of what they are talking about (I notice you make a point of giving an example) – in particular case studies.

I’m not sure that ‘writing lasts forever’ (as in point 10). Journalistic output has a rather short half-life in my view. Just to represent the counterpoint, blogging is sometimes more entertaining when it breaks all the rules and is wonderfully amateur.

As a blogger, I appreciate Anita’s advice. I have always had less respect for writers who have poor grammar and spelling. She points this out nicely:

“Precision helps you gain respect and legitimacy because is shows you’re taking your writing and reporting seriously, even if you’re writing humor. At the very least, consult a dictionary, thesaurus and grammar book. All the Web site flash and dazzle in the world won’t cover up poor writing riddled with spelling and grammar mistakes. Trust me: If there’s one typo, one spelling error, someone is going to call you stupid.”

Of course, she makes a typo in that very paragraph. It drives home to me the point of legitimacy. Practice what you preach and be authentic, or I, as a reader, lose respect for you and what you’re doing. One easy mistake like this one is not a huge deal, but if I see more than one, then I just know the person is not taking the time to proof their own copy, which screams amateur.

I had to read the graph again to catch the capitalized “I” you’re speaking of. Make no mistake: copyediting standards for blogs are lower than for print media. It’s just not reasonable to hold bloggers to the same standards as journals which have a second set of eyes at play.

Anita: It isn’t brain surgery. Get over it.

I have generally found that articles in Gannett newspapers are rarely up-front about their agenda; they are rarely objective; and they frequently sacrifice veracity in order to make their point. Our local newspapers are all owned by Gannett, and they regularly misquote, misstate, and mangle stories. As for journalism in general, the lack of spelling, grammar, and understanding of vocabulary makes me cringe.
While it’s true that many bloggers don’t adhere to Anita’s standards, many journalists don’t either. And let’s remember that journalists, theoretically, have formal training, professional editors, fact-checkers, copy-editors, and a support organization. They also get paid to do this. For bloggers, it’s usually a solo operation, and it isn’t their day-job. They do it because the media giants like Gannett don’t want to tell the story the bloggers want to tell.