Bloggers are into blogging for a variety of reasons. Most of the very first used their blogs as personal journals, until it grew into an extension of their professional practice. Web designers and open source hackers immediately come to mind. Niche blogs on specific interests and discussions are some of the more recent uses of this medium, now frequently tied up with other advanced technologies.
But what has always been common in almost all weblogs?
Sharing. Blogging and the world wide web in general has always been about sharing — the collaborative use of information for everybody’s gain. Almost every weblog has something to share, though the usefulness of that something is almost always questioned. Personal journals are for sharing of experiences, while weblogs on photography or web design are made to fulfill specific needs in their field of interest.
However, today’s bloggers are riddled with the problem of having too much information. There’s an over–abundance of news read and passed around that I find it hard to determine what I should simply consume and what I should blog about. Add to that the fact that almost every breaking news story on every topic is reported and discussed in other weblogs and communities.
Despite all information coverage, we should be careful not to be too active nor passive — blog and share what you think adds value for your readers. Not any more, not any less. The bits of information you know are just as good as how you use it, and just as good as how it affects others positively. Blog too less and your readers will find other more reliable sources, but blogging too much and you also end up suffocating them with information overload.
A helpful tip on finding fresh and useful information to share is by utilizing a wide range of potential sources. By adding variety, you don’t run the risk of publishing similar set of discussions as other weblogs serving the same niche. More importantly, don’t hesitate to question the relevance of what you write. Think that your readers know a bit of everything, and instead try to further their knowledge on the topic at hand.
How about you, how do you find new topics to blog about?
