A Helping Hand

In addition to using banners to convey authorial intent and cultivate a sense of identity, good blogs provide background information designed to help readers interact with their posts in a meaningful manner. The value of providing such information cannot be underestimated. In fact, access to information of this sort can determine the extent to which an audience will follow a blog.

As experienced readers know, the subject matter addressed in blogs is potentially limitless. For some writers, current events provide fodder for posts. Others examine issues related to their own lives and experiences. Regardless of their differences, bloggers face a similar problem: their audiences may not be familiar with the subject matter they are addressing. Recognizing this fact, good blogs employ strategies designed to contextualize their posts. This is often accomplished using summative statements and links to other blogs. In the absence of such strategies, bloggers run the risk of losing their audience, thereby failing to impart their intended messages.

Mode for Caleb

The author of “Mode for Caleb” has used his blog to address issues related to the study of history, or instructional strategies. His blog has also provided a space for graduate students too meet and exchanged ideas. That this should be the case is not surprising. As I noted yesterday, his blog employs certain strategies to attract the attention of a particular audience. Despite their shared background, however, there is no guarantee that his readers will share his interests. Some may be pursuing degrees in areas other than history. Others may have happened upon his blog in the midst of a running conversation. To frame his posts for these readers, the author has relied on various strategies, including the use of summative statements and links. These strategies were evident in a recent post entitled “More on Grading." It began with the following sentence:

“S.L. Kim has an A-worthy post at Printculture on how grading affects classroom dynamics."

Despite its apparent simplicity, the opening line served a number of different ends, the most notable of which was the construction of a supporting frame through which the post could be read. The title, for example, indicated that the post was part of a larger conversation. Noting this fact, I searched the blog’s archives and found a post entitled “Grading Papers,” which had been published twelve days earlier. The more recent post constituted an extension of that conversation.

Equally important was the author’s decision to begin the post using a summative statement. Though it was only a sentence in length, the statement framed the post’s subject matter (the relationship between grading and classroom dynamics), presented the necessary reference material, and provided a link to the original essay. In doing so, it prepared the audience to interact with the essay that followed.

Orcinus

The author of “Orcinus” has relied on the use of summative statements and links to frame his posts as well. Because they often pertain to current events, his decision to do so is helpful. In a recent post, “Neo-Nazis and the Mainstream,” the author provided a rather lengthy editorial regarding an individual named Bill White. Though I follow the news, I was unfamiliar with this figure. As if anticipating that fact, the author began the post by placing Mr. White in a recognizable context, one that had occupied the media's attention for the previous week:

Bill White, the neo-Nazi who was chiefly responsible for inciting the riots last week in Toledo, Ohio, is really a classic fascist: that is, he’s a man with no real principles except a real devotion to obtaining power.

In the absence of such information, readers may have struggled to make sense of the post. Even if I had been unfamiliar with the events that unfolded in Toledo, the author employed a second strategy designed to help me. The post’s opening sentence provided a link to an earlier post, one that documented the event in detail. By directing his readers to this post, the author prepared them to participate in a larger conversation, thereby increased the likelihood that they would continue reading. Though these strategies may seem insignificant, their absence can lead to a number of problems, a fact attested to by my experiences reading “Jesus’ General.”

Jesus’ General

“Jesus’ General” constitutes an example of political satire. It routinely assails the policies of the Republican Party, and underscores the hypocrisy of the Religious Right. There have been several occasions when the issues it has addressed have been wholly identifiable. At other times, however, the subject matter has been more obscure. On such occasions the extent to which the authors have provided supporting information has played a significant role in determining the post's overall effectiveness.

An example of a post that I felt lacked sufficient supporting information was “Law and Order President.” The post depicted the presidential seal, and included the statement, “Le Pauvre Homme reports that Our Leader will not tolerate lawbreaking.” Though this sentence constituted a potential summative statement, it was vague, the result being that the reader's ability to contextualize the post was somewhat hindered. To some extent the authors rectified the problem by providing a link that brought their readers to an essay which addressed the White House's recent efforts to prevent a satirical newspaper from using the presidential seal. Absent this information, the post would have made little sense. Still, there is no guarantee that readers will take the time to follow the link. Some may choose to ignore it and move on, a problem for the blogger looking to establish (and maintain) an audience.

A second post published on the same day, “No More,” was even more problematic. It portrayed a black square with the number 1,196. No other information was provided, nor were any links apparent. While I follow the news on a regular basis, the number initially made little sense to me. Searching for contextual clues I could use to make sense of the number, I hurriedly scanned other posts in a search for relevant information, but to no avail. When I inadvertently dragged my computer's mouse across the square I noticed that it constituted a link. Clicking on it, I was directed to a page that provided a running tally of the U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq. Given this information, the post assumed a far greater power, one I might not have appreciated.

As has been seen, effective blogs bridge the divide between the author and audience and provide their readers with the background information needed to interact with posts. By doing so, their authors retain their audiences, and enhance the likelihood that their messages will be heard. Summative statements and links are often used to achieve this end. Their presence, however, does not necessarily guarantee success. As will be seen, the accuracy (or efficiency) of links has the potential to determine whether or not readers choose to pursue a topic.