www.masbakersfield.com

So, You Think You Can Blog?

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While the origin of a “blog” is uncertain and varies depending on who you ask, one thing is certain, they are a very mainstream part of life and are here to stay.

 But what is a blog, exactly?

 The word “blog” comes from the words WEB LOG. In other words, you can log your personal feelings or you can log your favorite books, favorite bands etc. If it's on the WEB and you're keeping a LOG it's considered a blog.

 Another way to think about it is that it's an online diary.

 So how do you start? Well, you can buy your own domain and host your own blog, although that way is more complicated and should probably be left for the computer experts.

You can also find a host through wordpress.com, yahoo.com, or google.com.

 The most obvious and better choice of course, is you can choose to blog on your friendly, local Latino website for community news, events, blogs and social networking, masbakersfield.com.

Once you choose what site you’re choosing to host your blog through, it’s time to pick a name for it. This name/title should reflect a little bit about your personality.

 It can be catchy and should reflect your personality.

 For examples of this, you can look at a few MAS blogs and their blog titles such as ajeno62. Ajeno62's real name is Joe Tetro and he's a local author of a memoir titled "Lost In America: Memoirs of a Maverick."

 His blog is titled "Eternity Wears a Black Patch." It consists mostly of poetry he writes and wants to share with the rest of the world.. or..err… Bakersfield.

 Then there is Joe Serrano. Joe’s a Private Investigator for Serrano Investigative Services. He’s also a bail agent for Gotta Go Bail Bonds and does notary work as a Notary Public. Add to this that he’s a member of the KernCounty Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and you know he’s a very busy man!

 Yet he still makes time once in a while to share of himself in his masbakersfield.com blog.

The name of his blog is “Joe” and as you guessed from the title, his blog is about him. It’s about his vacations with his familia to his hometown Guadalajara, Jalisco or to Disneyland or anything he wants to share with us about his life. He also blogs about different Chamber of Commerce events he volunteers at or attends.

 Another masbakersfield.com blogger by the name of “Social Drinker” titled her blog “Nice Guys Don’t Always Finish Last.” In her blog she discusses anything from her sports teams to social drinking or about things in her life that make her laugh. She blogs about whatever’s on her mind at the time. After all, that’s what an “online diary” is for, right?

 My own blog title “Kick Off Your Shoes And Stay Awhile” reflects what I hope my blog to be. It’s my very own personal journal where I share my thoughts, feelings, funny stories about my life, theatre reviews, music reviews or anything I find noteworthy. I want you to feel comfortable and at home while reading my blog. I want you to feel like I could be your neighbor or your prima. I could be anybody. I could be your mejor amiga. My title reflects that.

 So now that you have a few examples of blog titles let’s talk about different blog topics you could write about. As I mentioned in the examples above, there are political bloggers, personal bloggers, or music review bloggers.

But what else can you blog about?

I’ll give you a few different types of blogs and you can get an idea of what you want your own blog to reflect. Now remember, these are just ideas. And you don’t have to stick to just ONE type of blog.

I know I don’t!

1. Reviews- you can review books, bands, restaurants, styles of clothing… etc. The list is endless.

2. Debates- you can choose a topic, give your own opinion about the topic, then challenge others to change your mind, or at least to give their own opinion on the matter.

3. Lists- You can blog about “Top Ten Reasons to Say No To Drugs” or “Top Ten Movies of 2008” or “Top Five Books You MUST Read.” Another Bakersfield blogger on masbakersfield.com “sister” site, bakotopia.com by the name of Rubicon does this a lot. He’s an employee of Russo’s Book Store so he reads a lot and is always willing to share his favorite book titles with you.

4. Informational- A perfect example of an information blogger is N.L. Belardes. His blog on bakotopia.com “Paperback Writer” started off as a music and book review blog but has slowly evolved into much more than that. His latest blogs titled “A Weekly Report On Nothing” gives you little newsworthy tidbits and his personal opinion on them. This opens up the forum for you to get your two cents in on the local Bakersfield news that are making headlines.

5. Personal- This type of blog pretty much covers everything above but it’s also about you. What happened to you today? What do you have to say about this or that? Rant about your neighbors. Brag about the new CD you bought. Discuss the latest movie you watched. Tell us about your wonderful boyfriend or your funny kid, or your stinky purse.

Ok, so now you’ve picked your blog title, and the type of blog you want to write. Now what? It’s very important to discuss the things you SHOULDN’T write about.

While your blog is your very own journal and you’re free to write about anything and everything, some things are better left unread. First, you should never give real names on your blog. In fact, most local bloggers rarely use their real name, unless they’re prepared for stalkers.

 What if you write about something real personal to you and somebody doesn’t agree with you? What if that person esta loquito and becomes obsessed with you?

 Not that I’m saying it’s going to happen, but it CAN happen, so it’s better to stay as anonymous as possible, unless you can handle the hate mail. Of course this rarely happens and when it does, it’s in very extreme situations, but it’s better to be safe, than sorry, right?

 Also, keep your loved ones names out of your blog. You can give them nicknames such as Dear Husband, or Hermano or something more original than that. My daughter’s name on my blog is Princess Twinkie, my boys are Annequin and Big Mickey.

You get the idea, right?

 Another important thing to remember is do not bash friends or family unless you remain REALLY anonymous. But if they are aware of your blog, it’s best to keep your issues OFF your blog page.

 For example, you get into a huge fight with your novio and you think it’s over for good this time, so you write about it. You get back together the week after your big breakup. A month later, he finds your blog and reads about what a pinhead, jerk, idiota you think he is. This upsets him and he breaks up with you.

This scenario is best avoided by just keeping negative stuff like that out of your blog unless you choose to remain completely anonymous.

 Now that we’ve covered the basics of blogging such as your blog title, your blog content, and what NOT to blog about you should feel comfortable enough to run to masbakersfield.com and start your own FREE blog.

 It’s free. It’s easy. It’s local. And it’s the cool thing to do.

 Come on. You know you want to. Be part of the local Bakersfield Latina/Latino social scene.

 Let your voice be heard.

 You won’t regret it.