Sometimes when I say “that would make a great post” people will go “Nah, I’m not really good at writing“. It’s so frustrating knowing that there are all these amazing ideas out there that could move minds, hearts and actions if they were written or published.
But I get it, writing can be scary. Really scary. Not only do you have to worry about what you say (the content), but how you say it. Have you said it too forcefully? Were you clear enough or do you just sound confused?
There are so many times I’ve said things face-to-face that have “come out the wrong way”, never mind written expression when I don’t have body language and tone of voice to back me up! It’s so frustrating. And then there are all the technical bits and pieces to consider. If you muck up your yours and you’res, your its and it’s, and your their, there, and they’res, (and I’ve messed them up soooo many times), what will people think?
So yes, I do get why writing can be a barrier. The thing is, many people think that blogging is writing. But really, blogging is way bigger that just writing. Which isn’t to say writing isn’t really important, it is. But it’s absolutely NOT the only way to express ideas and NOT the only way to blog.
Blogging is about communicating ideas. Your ideas can be communicated in lots of different and interesting ways. Here are a few different forms of blogging and a few of the people who do it,
- Writing: Writing text is probably the form of blogging that we’re most familiar with, and it’s probably what most people think of when they think of blogging. Writing is a great way to get your ideas across. You can write all kinds of things, including lists, essays, diary entries, reviews, and gratefuls (a very popular topic for bloggers). Anita Heiss is one of our most prolific bloggers who uses text. Anita is a regular blogger who updates her blog on a variety of topics including where she’s travelled, who she has met, her favourite books, and what she’s grateful for.
- Mixing Media: Another prolific blogger is Siv Parker . Siv uses text in really interesting experimental ways of storytelling that oftentimes mixes media – often using Tweets embedded within posts to form a narrative.
- Images: But of course text is only one form of communication. For many people around the world, communicating using images is preferred. You can create posts using images that you have captured with your camera. For instance, Lisa Buxton on Nyumba Learning used photographs to create a post about Survival Day a few years ago. Blonde Ink uses images to feature her fashion favourites.
- Sound: Using sound is an excellent way to also communicate your ideas. You can record sound, edit and upload on most smart phones. Naturally ABC’s Speaking Out program have really taken this form of posting by storm
- Video: YouTube has really influenced popular culture (#charliebitmyfinger). Casey Donovan‘s video blog is great because well, her voice is to die for, but also because she posts when she’s at home and on the road. But even if you don’t have an amazing singing voice, and are just an ordinary deadly person, you can use video blogging for posting about your life or your projects. Summer Finlay is a health professional who is now doing her PhD and she is blogging as she goes. Like using sound, you can capture, edit and upload video posts on most smart phones.
As I said before, writing is important. But you really don’t need to write “a thesis” every time you blog, you don’t even need to include words. I hope that if you have ideas you want to express, but are a little unsure of where or how to start, you might consider using different ways of communicating til your find your blogging feet.
What’s your favourite blogging format?
