Blogging
From ByteWiki
The following points have been taken (almost) verbatim from the excellent IBM and Sun corporate blogging guidlines. ByteClub might not be corporate, but we could certainly learn a trick or two from those who are. Another online resource for blogging guidelines is Charlene Li's Public Wiki
This is not meant to be an official doctrine for ByteClub bloggers, but it should give people something to think about to help us be better netizens.
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Individual Views
The views expressed in the ByteClub blogs are those of the individual authors.
Public Discourse
Blogs, wikis and other forms of online discourse are individual interactions. When posting to your blog, or the ByteClub wiki, you are personally responsible for the post. Be mindful that what you write will be in the public arena for a long time (ByteClub googles well. People will read what you write). There are plenty of accounts of people loosing their jobs as a result of what they have posted in blogs. This is known as being Dooced. Not only may others read what you write, but they may remember it as well.
Respect Your Audience
Respect your audience. Don't use ethnic slurs, personal insults, obscenity, etc., and show proper consideration for others' privacy and for topics that may be considered objectionable or inflammatory -- such as politics and religion. ByteClub is first and foremost about sharing and fostering the enjoyment of things technical. Don't spoil it.
Who Else Is Blogging?
Find out who else is blogging on the topic, and cite them.
Don't Pick Fights
Don't pick fights, be the first to correct your own mistakes, and don't alter previous posts without indicating that you have done so.
Add Value
Try to add value. Provide worthwhile information and perspective.
Be Interesting
Writing is hard work. There’s no point doing it if people don’t read it. Fortunately, if you’re writing about a product that a lot of people are using, or a topic people are interested in, and you know what you’re talking about, you’re probably going to be interesting. And because of the magic of hyperlinking and the Web, if you’re interesting, you’re going to be popular.
Another way to be interesting is to expose your personality; almost all of the successful bloggers write about themselves, about families or movies or books or games; or they post pictures. People like to know what kind of a person is writing what they’re reading. Once again, balance is called for; a blog is a public place and you should try to avoid embarrassing your readers.
Write What You Know
The best way to be interesting, stay out of trouble, and have fun is to write about what you know. If you have a deep understanding of some chunk of Solaris or a hot JSR, it’s hard to get into too much trouble, or be boring, talking about the issues and challenges around that.
On the other hand, a Solaris architect who publishes rants on marketing strategy, or whether Java should be open-sourced, has a good chance of being embarrassed by a real expert, or of being boring.
Quality Matters
Use a spell-checker. If you’re not design-oriented, ask someone who is whether your blog looks decent, and take their advice on how to improve it.
You don’t have to be a great or even a good writer to succeed at this, but you do have to make an effort to be clear, complete, and concise. Of course, “complete” and “concise” are to some degree in conflict; that’s just the way life is. There are very few first drafts that can’t be shortened, and usually improved in the process.
