In Dhiman and Sharma's article, they mention four important qualities of successful blogs. The first mentioned was a 'clear scope'. Why are you (or your library) creating a blog? What is it's purpose? Whether the scope is to market the library programs or to create buzz over new acquisitions, the blogger needs to be aware of what the blog's main purpose is. If you look at the Seekonk Public Library, their blog has a very clear scope -- to market library programs. All the posts discuss up coming adult and children programs within the library. The next quality was a 'well defined audience'. Who are you blogging to? Pick a demographic within your patrons that you want to talk to or get into the library. Once again, the SPL blog is geared towards adult patrons, especially parents. The third important quality is a 'professional look'. Blogs should have a clean and polished look that engages the audience. The SPL blog has a similar design scheme that compliments the public library's main website, very polished and professional. The last quality of a successful blog is 'regular maintenance'. A successful blog needs consistent updates and posts. Your audience wants to read interesting and current information.
What do you think? Do Dhiman and Sharma make a good point concerning the qualities of a good blog? Should we also be concerned with how the content is written in regards to tone and language?
Dhiman and Sharma make excellent points about qualities of successful blogs. I took a look at the Seekonk Public Library blog and while I do agree that it looks polished and professional, I did not find myself desiring to read it, so I question whether it actually engages the audience. Too much text. For the purpose of the blog in question, I think it needs to be more concise. Maybe add a few images?
ReplyDeleteWhat do the rest of you think? Do you agree with me or am I being too critical?
Hi Jess:
ReplyDeleteI like your synopsis of the Dhiman/Sharma article. After reading this article, my reaction was that the public library I am doing some volunteer work for might be better served with a blog than the facebook page they currently utilize. So, your reference here to the Seekonk Public Library's blog was timely for me. I'll definitely take a look at it.
Wendy
Jess,
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting the Seekonk Public Library's blog. One thing I noticed was how short their posts were, and it was much more appealing to the eye and made it more interesting to read. That is one thing I am not good at ... keeping it brief.