Briggs Chapter 2

Chapter 2 of Mark Briggs’ “Journalism Next” textbook focused on advanced blogging techniques.

Briggs claimed that a blog has three defining characteristics: a reverse-chronological story update order, posts with a headline and a body, and a space reserved for reader comments.  Blogging was also explained in a way that it fits the roots of immediacy and reader interaction in journalism.

Most importantly, Briggs explained that a good blog is a continuing conversation.  He felt that all journalists should have a blog, and that the best blogs have high reader input.

The chapter also covered many blogging terms that everybody should know, such as a permalink, which is a permanent link to a blog post that can be sent to friends and other people.  A trackback is a way for bloggers to know who is linking their articles on other websites and blogs.  A blogroll is a list of other blogs that are of interest to the blog writer.  A widget is a small add-on accessory to a website such as a tag cloud or calendar.

Blogger.com and WordPress.com are both excellent places to start a blog, but paying for a hosted blog offers you even more functionality and design options than a free blog.

Building an audience is very important with a blog.  Briggs outlined ways to gain exposure for a new blog, which includes putting the reader first, making posts scanable, and being direct with the reader.