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Sep 14, 2014

Blogging 101: Introduce Yourself

Today’s assignment: write and publish a “who I am and why I’m here” post.

Welcome to Blogging U! This course isn't currently active, but you can learn more about what we offer and register for upcoming courses on the BU home page.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click “New Post,” and tell us why you’re here.

Today’s assignment: write and publish a “who I am and why I’m here” post.

Why do this?

  • It gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
  • It helps you focus your ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto or a simple outline.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

  • Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
  • What topics do you think you’ll write about?
  • Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
  • If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they evolve as we learn and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where you started, and articulating your goals may give you a few other post ideas.

Feeling stuck? Write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “shitty first draft” (her language). Anne makes a great point — just write, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “blogging101,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.

Here’s the nitty-gritty on publishing a basic post, and here are instructions for adding tags to a post. Welcome to blogging!

Want to chat one-on-one with fellow bloggers? Head to The Commons.

Note: If you registered on Friday or over the weekend, you’ll receive a welcome email and Commons access by the end of the day today (Monday).

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      4. Michelle,

        I’ve been in the middle of moving so I missed the start up of both 101 challenges. Can I still register and start catching up on the previous days’ work now.

        Thanks…Rich Richardson
        writesomethingtoday.com

        Like

    1. If you registered on Friday or over the weekend, you’ll get your email and access tomorrow. We have to add you to The Commons manually — it’s not an automated process. Thanks for your patience! (And welcome 🙂 )

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

  6. Hello, guys! Welcome! Just want to share my first ever post http://waxyworld.wordpress.com/2014/04/16/first-entry-who-i-am-and-why-im-here/. It’s a product of Blogging 101 course and it’s still included on my Top Posts. If you’re a newbie in the Blogging world or in WordPress, I encourage you to take this course. It really helped me to be a better blogger and everything you see on my blog, from appearance to content is a result of Blogging 101! 🙂

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

    1. Good question! You might take today to think about what you’ve learned over the past few months and what’s changed/grown (if anything). There may be a post to write in there, or you may just do some private thinking about what you hope to get out of your blog.

      Liked by 4 people

      Reply

  8. I can’t get into “The Commons” either and I signed up two weeks ago. I registered soon after receiving the e -mail about “Blogging 101” and “Writing 101”. I registered for both but can’t see neither of “The Commons”. Could I have misspelled my blog’s URL or something?

    Like

    Reply

  11. HI Michelle. I’m really new to this. I’m hoping I’ve done the posting correctly. I believe I posted a comment already but can’t find the post. I didn’t explain my blog in depth because I believe it will evolve as the weeks pass.jsc85

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  13. I’m here because I have not been able to open Hotmail and have trouble with Internet Explorer too. So I have received mail through Google and yours is the first I’ve been able to open after all kinds of fixes, calls, headaches and disappointments. Of course I was interested in doing this and had initiated this earlier with my Hotmail and newsletter settings. I can see though I’m having problems even with formatting of this e-mail. Anyway I am obshellums@hotmail.com for what that’s worth.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Just posted this to someone above:

      Good question! You might take today to think about what you’ve learned over the past few months and what’s changed/grown (if anything). There may be a post to write in there, or you may just do some private thinking about what you hope to get out of your blog.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

      1. Hi Michelle, any way I can still register? I meant to do it last week but failed. I’m also semi-new. Blog’s been up for a couple of months. But I’d still love to take this class. Thank you!

        Like

      2. I mean the questions that you used to divide your writing and that are in bold instead of the same typeface as the rest of your post. You probably just thought they were questions! To me they looked like headings in the form of a question used to introduce the theme of the next section of your writing. Sorry for any confusion!

        Like

  18. Hello and good day to all.

    I’m a retiree living in Southwest Florida, I have developed a passion for writing born out of reading books. I never thought I would consider the idea of writing as a passion after 27 years of writing reports for work.

    I here to learn more about blogging, writing and see what other passions I can discover in the world of blogging and writing. I have taken several creative writing classes and I love flash fiction.

    I have evolved as a reader and writer. I not seeking to write the great American Novel, just short stories flash fiction, and poetry.

    I’m inspired by the blogging community and I seek those bloggers who post witty, whimsical, inspirational messages as well as commenting on themselves and pop culture.

    My blog centers around adjusting to the retirement lifestyle and finding your passions. My plans are to travel the US and posting photos of my nomadic adventures.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  19. I love this and everything that this post stands for. I am a new blogger myself. I’m fairly comfortable with expressing myself, but I love that there is a way to connect with other bloggers aside from comments here and there. Love it!

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    Reply

  23. Hi everyone! I have started my blog in May so I think I will use the first post I wrote then to introduce myself, it looks like it answers most of the questions in today’s task. I am just learning about tags and not sure I understand them very well but I guess this is why I’m here: learn more! Here is the link to my first post http://barbaraamalberti.wordpress.com/2014/05/20/the-block-of-the-blog/
    And you can have a look at the About me page if you would like to know more! Thank you all for comments and visits, be kind on my english…it’s possibly not too perfect 😉

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply