Now that there are so many ways to share content, blogs need to redefine their role in the digital era.
In a previous process posts, I have laid out the ways the internet has shifted and how this has affected my outlook on this course. After all, it is so centred around the blogging format. I posed a very important question: Are blogs still relevant?
What I have come to realize is that, in order for this website to succeed, it’s important that my written content should be mindful of its role within the larger internet space. By this, I mean that the foundation of my blog must be built with attention to broader contexts.
With that spirit in mind, I have reflected on my approach to blogging as a publishing format. Thinking about the content that is already out there, and what I might do to improve, I have compiled the following conclusions. They are a quasi-mission statement that I will refer to moving forward. By having these guiding beliefs, I believe I can create better content. Here, I am asking myself: How can I make the most of the blogging format?
1. A blog post is not a social media post.
One of the biggest lessons I feel everyone can benefit from is an understanding of digital formats.
Thinking back to Marshall McLuhan’s “medium is the message“, we should keep in mind that blog posts can and should do different things than social media! It seems obvious, but it bears repeating. In my opinion, social media content should be seen as much more ephemeral: users are presented with a high quantity of quick content.
Conversely, blogs are based more in text, and are accessed through search engines. Publics find blogs that provide good explanations to their questions, investigating topics they care about, or when looking up a specific brand. (For me, this really influences my choice of titles—I aim for clickability!) Blogs posts are more likely to have a “long tail“, meaning that users could very well be finding and reading content from 5+ years ago. This all applies regardless of whether you consider your whole website to be a blog or whether you simply have a blog component within your site.
2. Content should be tailored.
It’s therefore super essential to consider which types of content belong where. In building this Visual Mediator brand, I see this website as a repository. While social media works well for hosting videos and promotion of the brand, websites serve a more archival purpose. This is where credibility and information-based content reigns supreme, including longer-form content.
3. At the same time, because content is widely accessible, it should be broadly digestible.
Visitors who make it onto your site should be able to understand no matter their background.
