Blog writing

David Parmet set up a backchannel for the New Communications Forum, so several of us were IRC-chatting during a number of presentations, including David Weinberger’s. During his keynote, Weinberger talked about the human voice of blogs but also noted that you don’t have to be a good writer to blog. True, but I noted that I appreciate good writing and prefer well-written blogs to badly-written ones. I do read blogs by people who can’t spell, make a subject and verb agree, or place an apostrophe correctly to save their lives—but only if their ideas are compelling.

I’m not talking a pretentious writing here, but language is the tool we use for persuasion. Isn’t it more likely that a good writer will make a case effectively than one who can’t use language effectively?

There was some pushback on the backchannel. I thought I’d throw it out here. How important is good writing on the blogs you read?

1. As I did on the IRC chat, I agree with you.  If a point of view or source of information is so original I will make an exception.  But as a rule I read only well-written material.  It doesn’t have to be publishing quality, but it should be reasonably well-done.  As you talked about with podcasts, it doesn’t need to be radio quality, but if you can clean it up and make it semi-professional, it communicates more effectively.

   And while I’m at it, one of my pet peeves is gratuitous use of obscenity in blog posts.  I don’t mind that sort of thing in conversation (and I can talk like a sailor myself at times), but it does annoy me in business-oriented blogging.

   Posted by Chip Griffin  on  03/08  at  04:24 PM

2. Good writing is important to me. I will read something for information and put up with bad writing to get it but I won’t stay subscribed. Whether as a writer or an editor, I’ve always found that a well-written piece is more effective than a poorly-written one. I consider the difference between writing and talking as being similar to the difference between what a person sees and what a camera sees. When we hear someone speak, we fill in all those awkward pauses, repeated words and clumsy constructions. But when we read something, we don’t ignore those things. They grate on us and obscure the message. Similarly, when we look at a person standing in front of us, we don’t notice the tree growing out of their head that is so prevalent in the photograph. A good writer makes sure that the trees are where they are supposed to be.

   Posted by Dave Traynor  on  03/08  at  04:50 PM

3. Good writing is certainly important. As we talked about over lunch, Shel, it’s one of the many factors that influences the overall perception of a blog (or a Web site, or an ad, or an e-mail, or whatever). I don’t require perfection, and I certainly slip up from time to time, but the worse the writing, the greater the distraction from the content.

   Posted by Mike Keliher  on  03/08  at  08:19 PM

4. Of course I agree with the comments here, that I’d prefer to see good writing than bad, but who wouldn’t?
   Isn’t the issue where you would place that on a list of priorities?
   If so, I’d still suggest it was quite high on the list, but beneath originality of ideas and, I think, an open, conversational tone.
   At risk of launching into a bit of a thesis, I made a similar point on my blog recently about podcasting, on the back of a PR Week (UK) opinion piece suggesting that only professional broadcasters should podcast.
   That is clearly tosh.
   The point I made is that I will frequently listen to podcasts which are (at times) poorly produced, so long as their content is good. That includes demonstrating an understanding of the social part of social media.
   At one extreme, you have FIR, for example, which is well produced (though, you’ll admit, not by professionals), invites comments, contributions, reflects conversations, and is inclusive rather than didactic. That scores maximum points from me.
   At the other end of the scale, PR Week (UK) podcasts are strictly one-way. The words spoken are OK, the interviews sometimes enlightening, but the format is a huge turnoff. It doesn’t matter that it’s poorly produced, they’ve lost me long before then.
   Similarly, a blog equivalent obviously wouldn’t get my subscription, but not just because the writing was bad.

   Posted by Chris Marritt  on  03/09  at  04:56 AM

5. I, too, prefer good writing, especially since “good writing” probably gets pretty close to meaning “writing that I like” But that’s not exactly what I meant in my presentation. I meant that because we’re posting so frequently, we generally don’t have time to polish the way we would if publishing in other forms. But (I was trying to say) that not only gives us a less-protected glimpse into the writer, it also establishes an ethos of forgiveness for small errors, and forgiveness is profoundly humanizing.

   Sorry I didn’t put it better in my talk.

   Good to see you yesterday, Shel.

   Posted by David Weinberger  on  03/09  at  05:39 AM

6. Certainly a typo or gramatcial error here or there can and should be forgiven, especially if the idea being written about is compelling enough. (Although too many typos can be distracting enough to make a reader lose sight of that idea.)

   What is critical is the way we use language to persuade. Using the exact right word(s) is what causes readers to identify, what persuades. Conversely, incorrect language usage undermines not only the idea, but often the person.

   This holds true any any form of writing from blogs to press releases to memos to love letters.

   Posted by Jesse Ciccone  on  03/09  at  06:13 AM

7. Sounds like things are fun in Vegas… like Tom Murphy wrote on his blog today, I feel like all the kids are playing outside while I am stuck inside.

   It occurs to me that bloggers who write good stuff also tend to be good writers. Probably because they realized at an early age that good content needs to be dressed in good spelling, grammar and rhetoric.

   Then again, most of the bloggers I read are professional writers… might have something to do with it.

   Posted by Allan Jenkins  on  03/09  at  06:34 AM

8. David Weinberger’s comment makes it sound like there was a pretty fundamental misunderstanding of what the presentation was supposed to be about. It seems pretty clear that many blogs are less polished forms of writing and that rapid, conversation style can be part of the appeal, rather than a detriment. You don’t have to be a New York Times calibre writer to be a top-level blogger, and in fact a blogger might appear stuffy if he writes too formally. A typo on a blog (“I’m not talking a pretentious writing here”) doesn’t have the same effect it would if it were in a printed publication or an online magazine. I think the message that you don’t need to be a Writer to blog is a great one to embrace in what’s supposed to be a wonderfully democratic medium.

   Posted by Diane  on  03/09  at  11:46 AM

9. Like anything else, good writing can help bring otherwise mundane content to life, make good content exciting, and make outstanding content the stuff you want to share.  If you are sharing true nuggets of wisdom, then the writing may not matter. But it can certainly help!

   Posted by Neal Linkon  on  03/09  at  02:14 PM

10. Diane, the misunderstanding was over one passing point; Shel’s done a good job liveblogging the rest. And now I’ll know to be clearer about the “writing badly” point.

    Posted by David Weinberger  on  03/09  at  02:21 PM

11. I’m not denying the use of third-party sources for a balanced view—whether it’s Google News, whatever comes up on Google, Technorati, or epinions—and I know that a lot of content is being consumed by people reading feeds (and widgets will also be a source of company content that doesn’t require a visit to the company site), but is the importance of a corporate site diminishing that much?糖尿病糖尿病症状糖尿病的症状

    Posted by gasd  on  03/09  at  07:10 PM

12. I’ve always said that someone who can write clearly can think clearly. You don’t have to be “correct” to be clear. I’ve seen great blogs written by non-native english speakers. Clarity is the key.

    Posted by Sherrilynne Starkie  on  03/10  at  01:33 AM

13. David, I think it was me who mistated—you were pretty clear in your presentation, but your comment led me to think about what I’ve been hearing from a lot of people for a long time. I agree entirely that blogs don’t need to be polished—I find a lot of typos in my own!

    I agree completely with Chris, as well—I read a few blogs that aren’t all that well written but offer thought-provoking ideas. Chris, I also think there’s a big difference between over-polished corporatese and solid writing. I wouldn’t listen to a podcast that sounded like it was conceived in a board room and executed in a recording studio by an advertising agency. But there are plenty of great independently-produced podcasts that are done by podcasters who are articulate and well-spoken. (Look at Grammar Girl!)

    David, it was a true pleasure meeting you, too, and your talk was inspiring—people were still buzzing about it at the end of the second day of the New Communications Forum.

    Posted by Shel Holtz  on  03/10  at  08:22 AM

14. Good writing doesn’t mean it has to be polished professional prose, whatever that is.

    For me, good writing is when the author has passion for the subject and is able to convey her opinion or case clearly. Doesn’t have to be perfect grammar or spelling but I do appreciate bloggers who take the time to spellcheck

    It definitely shouldn’t be the stilted corporate speak that we find in corporate brochures. In fact, I hope that the corporate writing we do have to do changes as a result of the direct, clear, less puffy language we use on blogs to become more human and relevant.

    Posted by Susan Getgood  on  03/10  at  12:49 PM

15. I’m glad Sherrilynne brought up the connection between clear writing and clear thought.  There is definitely a connection between good writing and compelling content.  I don’t have to make a trade-off between reading a well written blog and one with good ideas.  They are usually the same.

    Posted by toltman  on  03/10  at  10:04 PM

16. Shel and David:

    As many already said, good blog writing to me is compelling. It conveys a message or a series of thoughts in a fresh way. The voice of the blogger comes through clearly, and reading is inspiring.

    An English as Second language speaker, I tend to be much more understanding of non-natives when it comes to writing. Leaning forward and staying engaged is a good way to get passed a shaky first impression.

    Posted by Valeria Maltoni  on  03/11  at  03:04 PM

17. To me, “good” requires brevity and impact, but also a humanity. It has to seem human and not corporate. And yet, I need it to be punched with ideas, and not fat with trimmings.

    GREAT question!

    Posted by Chris Brogan...  on  03/12  at  05:26 AM

18. So true, Chris. One of my favorite quotes is from Blaise Pascal in a letter to his son in 1656, in which he said, “I have only made this letter rather long because I have not had time to make it shorter.”

    Posted by Shel Holtz  on  03/12  at  06:58 AM

19. Good writing (coherence, progressive order of thoughts, development of ideas) is essential.  Ineffective communication compromises the message (and, quite often, it’s annoying).  Perhaps some bloggers are new to writing, in general, and don’t come from either a freelance writing or a writing for Web background?...

    Posted by Darcy Kelley  on  03/12  at  09:25 AM

20. I think the reader makes judgements about the author and the value of the content in part based upon how well the content is written.

    Good ideas certainly live within bad prose, but they can be harder to find and extract.

    I tend to feel that if something is worth doing it is worth doing well, and if a post is worth posting the author should take the time to polish it (even if it utilizes slang and TXT spelling).

    Posted by David Lowey  on  03/13  at  09:42 AM

21. As a blogger I try to make the writing style a key component of the overall site design.  At BlogCamp Switzerland on March 24th I gave a presentation about photos and writing on blogs which centered on the idea of creating photos and writing with the intent of communicating a certain style, in addition to communicating information.

    If a blog is simply communicating information and reporting on news events, then a particular well-written style isn’t so important.  However, if the blog follows more of a story-telling format, or the writer is trying to illustrate a certain abstract topic, then I think well written visual markers are key to keeping readers interested and willing to return.  In general I think this is only possible by developing a refined writing style.  I’m not sure if I’ve been able to do that on my blog, but it has always been a goal.

    Posted by Boltzmann  on  03/27  at  05:37 AM