I am a good observer and have a knack for putting things into words. So, here goes my observations on the no-no of blogging:
1) No to black background because it is overused.
2) No to lengthy post. Most new bloggers tend to do this. And heck, I am still repeating the same mistake! People normally have short attention span.
3) No to digress too much. Stick to one topic. Keep the other things for the next blog.
4) No to leaving the blog not updated for several days or even weeks.
Leave a BRB date so that people will return later. This is basic courteousy.
5) No to attention seeking title every day. People will soon learn your trick and never bother to check it out anymore.
6) No to sticking to only one topic, e.g. business or IT. Try infusing some personal thoughts and experience. It makes the blogger human. Otherwise, the blog will be too dry.
7) No to under-estimating your blog. No matter what you blog, someone is bound to stumble upon it. So, write with enthusiasm.
8) No to extreme characteristics. E.g. bitchy but be kind on some days. Too humble but be proud of yourself sometimes. Otherwise, the same extreme behaviour is a pain in the ass.
9) No to boring titles. Make it catchy without telling all you want to tell about what you are blogging. Not easy, I know.
10) No to the statement - I am blogging for myself. Dey, if you are blogging for yourself, for goodness sake, don’t ping it on PPS or anywhere. Keep the URL to yourself! Don’t ler ping and then, say you are writing for yourself.
These are 10 points I thought of. But one wise blogger just wrote a lor-so-fickle (philosophical) blog -DON’T COMPARE CAN AR?
Please add on to the list. I am eager to learn.
Related posts:
2:14 am on April 15th, 2005 1
Blogs and weblogs should be created out of joy, playfulness and creativity to share your thoughts and observations.
Blogs should be as free as air and spontaneous comments and interactions can then flow through indiscriminately, without any deletion.
2:56 am on April 15th, 2005 2
1) No to black background because it is overused.
-its overused yes, but i guess it depends on how you apply it. the templated one on blogspot…ive seen it much too many a time that im not even sure if im on a different blog than the one i just left
2) No to lengthy post.
-Probably this if for those wanting to rope in new readers. From experience, if you have an almost permanant set of readers, theyd usually read till the very last dot. but someone like me, its usually the first part of the entry that determines whether i read the post till the end. even if its more than one screenshot long.
3) No to digress too much.
-Totally agree.
4) No to leaving the blog not updated for several days or even weeks.
-spot on
5) No to attention seeking title every day.
-*smiles* sometimes i dont even know what title to put
6) No to sticking to only one topic
agree
7) No to under-estimating your blog.
-sometimes i treat my blog as a venting outlet, and in times like these i dont really care how i write.
8) No to extreme characteristics.
-sooooo totally agree. its just uncool
9) No to boring titles.
-you said it. not easy
10) No to the statement - I am blogging for myself.
haha. i blog for reasons. but mostly because there are people i know who would read and give feedbacks. even if i was subconsciouly blog-venting, its always nice to get feedback.
6:07 am on April 15th, 2005 3
wow, lillian, this time you’ve certainly surpassed yourself. i must say i’m impressed. keep up the good work.
10:25 am on April 15th, 2005 4
No to Venting on every single blog. We do vent every now and then but if the blogger is always complaining about everything under the sun, I wouldn’t go back to read.
Yes to lots of humour in the writing.
10:27 am on April 15th, 2005 5
No to Venting too often on the blog. We all vent every now and then but if a blogger is constantly complaining about everything under the sun…….
Yes, to lots of humour in the writing.
10:37 am on April 15th, 2005 6
Fuuh!! 10 Commandments of Blogging.
We are not worthy.
11:18 am on April 15th, 2005 7
OMG!!! I got mentioned in Lilian’s blog again !!!! Ahmah Ngo Duck Jor Lar!!!
11:22 am on April 15th, 2005 8
Lilian.. i violate all the 10 commandments of blogging leh..! how..??
11:32 am on April 15th, 2005 9
I personally thing using black is fine if it’s used appropriately. But using black for the sake of using it (and with the wrong combination of colours, thus producing unreadable text), isn’t quite right. I suppose it all boils down to the blogger’s eye for design.
Or maybe it’s just because I like the colour black. Hee.
11:49 am on April 15th, 2005 10
I didn’t thought much about what not to do in blogging… haih..means I have a lot to learn…
i think i don’t mind black backgrounds..everyone has their own style..
12:29 pm on April 15th, 2005 11
mwt - thanks
primarybasic - Wow, I went to yr blog last night (very late) and was sooo engrossed in it. Lovely pics and lovely thoughts. I had even bookmark it for further reading.
Grace/MG - thanks. Black bg is alright but I notice everyone is doing it and yeah with neon green and red letterings sometimes!
James - Just putting thoughts into paper and yeah, I may be vain a bit but individuals who want to start a blog may find them useful. LOL!
Wingz- apasal semua ahmah? You been to where?
Mrs T - Of course, you did not! Your page layout is so sweet, you talk about everything, you separate them into bits and pieces. Your blog exudes love and homely feelings.
Strizzt/drocolshian - Black is ok provided the blog carry the right theme. Thanks for dropping by. New guests are usually served with tea and cookies. Enjoy!
1:57 pm on April 15th, 2005 12
lilian, am guilty of long, long ang very long postings..i know - bad habit! thnaks for reminding.
2:06 pm on April 15th, 2005 13
“No to boring titles”
I suck at this.
2:20 pm on April 15th, 2005 14
Thanks for the very useful tips!
4:30 pm on April 15th, 2005 15
smart!
Thanks for all the tips..
4:34 pm on April 15th, 2005 16
blogs should just be about what the blogger wants it to be, not about what someone else things it should or should NOT be. so what if some people like to write for themselves and ping it just for fun?
4:50 pm on April 15th, 2005 17
why can’t a blogger write for himself or herself? not everyone is out to increase traffic. some just want a place to vent, and to write. And the beauty of blogging is that there ARE no rules, do’s and don’t to follow.
A blog is what the blogger wants it to be, not what someone ELSE thinks it should be.
5:02 pm on April 15th, 2005 18
Hi Eyeris - Are you done yet? If not, feel free to come by often. Thank you.
fishtail, kak teh, oui oui, papi - Glad great minds think alike. I too commit the same thing, so this is just a little reminder to myself as well.
5:59 pm on April 15th, 2005 19
haha. sorry har. i tot my first comment tak keluar keluar, so I wrote it again.
didn’t mean to sound as if I’m rambling. 
6:27 pm on April 15th, 2005 20
I like Blogging No-No #10! Good one! =)
One thing that puts me off when I visit a weblog is the fact that those people rIte Lik dis… i wen2 skool 2dey n i tok 2 ma frenS n lik OMG!!!!!!! tat wuz so kool!~!~!~!
*shudders* I don’t expect to see flawless written English on every weblog but mutilation on English words is just wrong! And it’s a pain in the eye to even read it in the first place.
6:50 pm on April 15th, 2005 21
Text formatting! I had a friend who had a blog, she would shorten all her words, ignore some punctuation, and never puts a space after her fullstops, so a typical blog looks like..
heyz everyonez 2day i did smtng koolz i got a dog OMG OMG HES SO CUTE.then i took him home n evry1 huggeeeeeeed him.i bought him frm a shop… *yadayada*
now, imagine that style, for an obnoxiously long blog, and make it a font size 8 too.
8:59 pm on April 15th, 2005 22
i’ve also always appreciate anyone who’d appreciate sarcasm, however subtle it might be.
9:53 pm on April 15th, 2005 23
Hi Grace! Nice for you to drop by again. What have you been cooking? Had seen that your very mengancam cili crab.
Eyeris - Hahaha, for a while, I thought you are turning into a grandma. I agree with your points but the thing is , the people I hang around with are of the older generation and blogging is a new thing to us. Therefore, I took the liberty of writing the ‘The Dummy Guide to Blogging’ for my bunch of newbies but oldies and sweeties.
Emily & Jinnny - Yeah, I have seen such expressions before. It is like Cameron Diaz talking. With all the bubbles spilling over. I suppose we have been influenced too much by these trend. And I do wonder…how do they do the caps and small letters? Don’t tell me they press the shift key on and off? Is there a way to set these words automatically or something?
9:54 pm on April 15th, 2005 24
(okay maybe i was too subtle. but i was depending on your superiority in… uhm… everything… to decipher it. i was referring to your first sentence of the entry. but nm. the moment has passed. i will make sure everyone reads between the lines next time around ;D! )
10:08 pm on April 15th, 2005 25
oh i am so guilty of No. 4 =p
i love black background.
11 . dont blog for the sake of blogging. (im also guilty of this,at times.)
11:29 pm on April 15th, 2005 26
So black backgrounds are overused, but white ones aren’t?
1:34 am on April 16th, 2005 27
RB , Vincent - You know, there are some girls who can carry off sexy black numbers? And there are some who can’t? You know what’s the difference? They have the touch. For e.g. like Michael Ooi, black bg suits him 100%. But if you have been observing, almost every blog is now black. And yeah, how about white? Hmmm…good question.
1:46 am on April 16th, 2005 28
I often wonder how the Do ThE CaPs aND LoWeRcasE too.. I mean, even with pressing the shift down, it’s quite hard to type, not to mention slow
11:28 am on April 16th, 2005 29
you forgot to mention that S E X sells! muahahahar!
12:06 pm on April 16th, 2005 30
You’ve got the points. I’ll keep it in mind!! Thanx..
1:32 pm on April 16th, 2005 31
4:03 pm on April 16th, 2005 32
a blog with black background rawks ! Period.
X)
12:59 pm on April 17th, 2005 33
Lilian, I have no idea as well. Lol. But I think I’ve heard of this nifty script that could transform your text into alternate uppercases and lowercases. Not too sure though.
12:50 pm on April 19th, 2005 34
blogging need no rules.
if there’s rules, what the hell are we blogging for??
a blog is ur personality,u don’t change your personality just so people will notice you.
11:00 am on April 28th, 2005 35
I think I guilty until boleh dihukum life imprisonment liao.
1:36 am on August 4th, 2005 36
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1:54 am on October 18th, 2005 37
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