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March 3, 2009

Could brevity be the soul of blogging?


It is said that brevity is the soul of wit. I believe it's particularly true with reference to blogging, especially in this digital age of microblogging. Blog posts should be brief, concise, and say what needs to be said succinctly. These are the reasons why:


  • There are more than 108 million blogs and most blog authors are also avid readers. Between researching, writing, running businesses and families,and updating their twitter status, there's hardly any time left for reading and responding to blogs.
  • An integral part of being a blogger is commenting and adding value through discussion. Short, crisp posts are easier to read in entirety and allows for meaningful responses.
  • Most people subscribe to a number of blogs through RSS feeds. Catching up on reading all the interesting blog posts, takes a lot of time-- time that we end up borrowing from the next day by staying up late to read. Your readers may not have much time to go through all of your lengthy posts.
One of my favorite reads is Seth Godin's blog. While his writing is geared towards marketing and social media, many of his thoughts can be applied to enriching whatever field you may be working in. His writing is short, crisp,and absolutely hits the spot. In most instances, you don't have to use the scrollbar even once to read his entire piece. But he manages to convey his ideas very well without expansive posts.

As a new blogger, I have a tendency to ramble on, like I'm doing right now. It's because I play devil's advocate in my mind, anticipate arguments and defend those, and write counterarguments and rebuttals, with the result the post ends up being lengthy and long-winded.

I remind myself constantly that there is a comment section which can be put to good use - a place where readers can voice their views and where the stimulating discussion can continue.

Do you think short posts can engage readers better? How do you manage your time to read all of your favorite blogs?

{photo credit: Martin Bravenboer}

4 comments:

  1. I hold Seth up in my head as my shining example of how to get things right. Alas, I rarely succeed, as I am a wordy (insert lengthy swear word here).

    Ultimately, I think we make time to read and consume that which is of value. So I try to make my work of value.

    I have to, because I doubt whether I can ever master this brevity thing all the kids are talking about.

    Recent blog post: Yellow Volkswagens and brown flags

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  2. Colleen, thanks for the comment. Certainly no one stops reading just because the blog is lengthy as long as we're learning and assimilating. It's just that in this age of information overload, I feel there's not enough hours to read up on everything of interest to me. There's so much out there to learn and not enough time.
    I subscribe to your blog and you are wordy, but I love the way you connect seemingly random things and make sense of it and bring it all together so meaningfully.
    As a blogger,I'm trying to challenge myself to see if I can express what I feel and articulate it in as few words as possible.

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  3. I usually read them late at night sitting up in bed, while watching (listening to?) TV.

    Recent blog post: When you work at home, the boss is great!

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  4. You know, I love reading short, pithy posts, but almost always write long ones. And, I'm fine with that. It takes a while to share my thinking and develop an idea. And, honestly, I think readers are hungry for something deeper to reflect upon and consider, or at least, that's my story- and I'm sticking with it

    Recent blog post: Sashay over to Fabulous after 40 for Carnival #104

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