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Rules to Better Blogging

At SSW we encourage our employees to actively keep blogs about their achievements, discoveries, interests, and ideas. The biggest problem with putting up an article is that once it's up there it's there for the world to see. Do you express yourself properly in blog posts?

This set of rules aims to help you efficiently write clear, effective blogging articles. In some cases you might be interested in seeing our Rules to Better Technical Documentation for comments on how best to express your technical problems.

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  1. Do you know to update a blog?

    Use the word ‘updated’ in capitals and in red. The date should follow.

    E.g.  

    “UPDATED: 1 August 2010 [what you did]”

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    Figure: OK example – Although Peter has the right idea, he needs to think more of a global audience
    http://blog.gfader.com/2010/06/avoid-boolean-parameters-in-method.html

     

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    Figure: Good example – its easy to see when the updates occurred
    http://blog.hinshelwood.com/archive/2010/02/10/upgrading-from-tfs-2010-beta-2-to-tfs-2010-rc.aspx

     

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    Figure: Ultimate example – Mike has gotten into the swing of things
    http://mikefourie.wordpress.com/2010/07/02/windows-live-essentials-wave-4-betalive-sync/

    Read more about Do you know to update a blog?

  2. Do you know to tip, don’t rant

    Probably the best reason to blog is when you have made a mistake, especially if you were pulled up for it by a peer. Post about the mistake you made, why you made it and how you are going to try and avoided it in the future.

    Turn a rant into a tip…

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    Figure: Bad example – It is too easy to rant

    SNAGHTML1b94284Figure: Good example – What started out as a rant about Plaxo became a tip on how to get round it

    Read more about Do you know to tip, don’t rant

  3. Do you know to acknowledge people who feedback?

    If someone gives you feedback and you think it is worth incorporating into the content, you should always name them at the top of your blog post. This makes them feel good and gives your post more credibility.

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    Figure: Bad example, a static blog post. Does not look like it has been updated.

     

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    Figure: Good example, dated and attributed updates give your posts credibility and make them seam alive.

    Make sure that the follow up and aggregate Twitter and Facebook users as well. Make all your readers feel included and you will create loyalty within your readership.

    Read more about Do you know to acknowledge people who feedback?

  4. Do you know how to invite replies?

    Wither you are converting an email to a blog post or writing it from scratch, always invite and instruct discussion.

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    Figure: Bad example, there are no instructions here

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    Figure: Good example – Asking some questions at the end will solicit more feedback

    Although people may not comply, it helps them adjust from the world of email only.

    Read more about Do you know how to invite replies?

  5. Do you know to make what you can make public?

    As long as there is nothing confidential or NDA in the content, any discussion point should be made public. Transparency is the name of the game. The more transparency you have between customers, management and your technical employees the better. This fosters trust and a closer working relationship.

     

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    Figure: Bad example, this is just an email and is hidden from all those outside of the recipients Any answer here would only be of use to those on the list. What if someone new to the company had the issue, or someone outside of the company?

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    Figure: Good example, writing a blog shows both how you deal with mistakes encourages the wider community to contribute with discussion.

    So keep jewels from being left in your inbox. Remember that you are inviting reply’s, and that the gold in this process.

    Note: If the discussion is not worth a blog post, then tweet it and link to the rule.

    Read more about Do you know to make what you can make public?

  6. Do you know to allow employees to post to their personal blog?

    Technical people need a little bit of a free leash in order to be creative. This will benefit the company they work for by demonstrating how technical your staff are, by driving more traffic to your site, and making your staff happier.

     Figure: Bad example, employees must post to the corporate blog.

    Figure: Good example, Allowing employees to post to their personal blog is a win, win situation. But they should do the Gold Plating after hours
    See: Do you know to do the gold plating after hours?

    Tip: Get your employees to add an “SSW” category to their blog so you can aggregate their posts onto the corporate site.

    Read more about Do you know to allow employees to post to their personal blog?

  7. Do you know to do the gold plating after hours?

    There is always the need to Gold Plate a blog post. And this is good. But if you are posting to your blog during work hours you should avoid this. You can always open it up after hours to add this.

  8. Do you know how to document what you are doing?

    If you are recording a choice you should create a rule, if you are explaining how you did something, it should be a blog post.

    If you are writing a really long email, ask yourself if it would be better as a lining blog post rather than a one off email.

    Also see: Do you know to make what you can public?

     

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    Figure: This Rule describes the choice that was made: Do you know how to layout your solution?

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    Figure: This blog post documents the task or thought process: Solution: Do you know how to layout your solution? Hint: If you are really good you will end up with one or more rules, a blog post and a link in your email

    Read more about Do you know how to document what you are doing?

  9. Do you have a 'subscribe' button on your blog? (aka RSS)

    The RSS or 'subscribe' button is a place on your blog that alow visitors to easily receive your blog's updates.

    Blogs that have a visible 'subscribe' button will certainly receive more returning visitors.

    Tip: For Wordpress, there are plugins that make it easy to insert the 'subscribe' button in your WP blog. We recommend:

    Read more about Do you have a 'subscribe' button on your blog? (aka RSS)

  10. Are you still UI aware?

    A blog is still a website that you want people to visit, so it’s important to consider the UI.

    ​Have a look at Jakob Nielsen's advice on the Top Ten Design Mistakes for advice on how you can improve your blog UI.

    Read more about Are you still UI aware?

  11. Do you know that 'Factual Content is King'?

    It is easy to think that "Content is King"; it is a well-known quote from an article by Bill Gates in 1996.  But incorrect content is not  very useful, so we think that "factual content is king".

    You should always:

    • Fix up your mistakes, and
    • Strike through content that is now been superseded, and add a comment. E.g. "This is now not an issue as it was fixed up in TFS SP1"
    Read more about Do you know that 'Factual Content is King'?

  12. Do you post all useful internal emails to the Company Blog

    Most companies have intelligent people who make some relevant and useful points for the greater community or industry, while writing internal emails. Those emails should be published to the company blog for the following reasons:
    1. It provides great content for Google to index
    2. It raises the profile of your company around the topics discussed
    3. It shows the industry that you have intelligent and forward thinking staff
    Read more about Do you post all useful internal emails to the Company Blog