I’ve received numerous emails from folks who either have, or want to, blawg lately, asking questions about how to do it, how I do it, what to do. When I respond, there is a tendency to argue with me.
I’ve decided to try something very different for me, and will make this an open thread for anyone who has a question or an answer. I’m no guru. There’s no reason why my thoughts are any more worthy than yours or anyone else’s. Got a question? Ask. Got an answer? Tell. Want to argue about it? Argue.
Have at it all you want, no holds barred.
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Don’t you feel bad that you’re giving away information like this that people charge for? My question though is how do you bookmark a nice post! for later review?
Hi, Scott- Before he moved to prosecution, CrimLaw’s Ken Lammers had a good posting on tips for starting and running a blog.
My articles on the topic are here:
[links deleted]
Jon
what’s a blawg? How is it different from a blog?
Mirriam, you’ve clearly been away for a while. A “blawg” is like a blog, but written by a lawyer. It’s much more clever then an ordinary blog because you can see it has “law” in the middle there. Lawyers can think of things like that because they’re so smart.
Some good posts about blogging can be found at [link deleted]
I don’t know that this description fits anymore. My site is called a “blawg” and I’m definitely not a lawyer or anything close to it.
That reminds me….
Scott, my question is: How can I get the ABA to stop listing my site as a “Blawg”? (yes, they put my new one in there too)
Not that I’m unhappy about being in great company, but they use my real name and make it sound like I’m some criminal that got away in their descriptions.
Feel free to write any wisdom you would like to offer, but no links, please.
See my reply to Jon above.
Windy is mistaken. A blawg is a blog about the law, whether written by a lawyer or not. Lawyers can write mommy blogs and mommies can write law blogs. This is why (as Packratt notes below) the he’s not a lawyer, yet his blog is denominated by the ABA Journal as a blawg. Same with Grits, who is also not a lawyer but his blog is dedicated to legal issues.
So If I write a blog entry about how I hate mommy blogs, will it be a blog or a blawg? I suppose, then, that I’ve got a blog and not a blawg.
We refer to a “blog entry” as a post. An off topic post doesn’t change a blawg to a blog. It’s the thrust of the blog as a whole, not any individual post that defines it.
I’m on the ABA blawg list too. Big deal. Since when do you consider the ABA an authority on blogging?
Windy – it wouldn’t be an authority on blogging, but on blawging. Sheesh, get it right will you.
So, if a blog entry = post, I can call it a blog entry, right?
So, I notice you don’t have a blogroll, but rather only a blawgroll (which I’m not on, so sad for me) Does that mean you don’t read blogs but only Blawgs?
Today, I have nothing to say. Should I write something anyway just for the sake of it? Or, should I wait until I have something to say. If I wait, don’t I risk losing the 11 readers I have?
Why is it worthwhile to yell? Doesn’t yelling just show your frustration and the fact that you’ve lost control of your argument? I mean, you don’t yell at people who don’t speak English, do you? I know lots of people who do, who think that if they talk louder, people will understand. But, its not a lack of hearing ability, but a lack of comprehension that’s the problem.
Why is it ok to be offensive? Isn’t it better to be right?
I’m just trying to figure out how to subscribe to his blawg. apparently I have to leave a comment to do that. I am technodumb.
It was more of a “big deal” when they were the first to associate my name with my blog when I intended to be as anonymous as possible.
Since the cat’s mostly out of the bag on the whole “outing me by name” thing, my gripe is more that their description of the site doesn’t talk about what the subject matter of the site is but describes it’s author (me) by a singular event.
As you say, not so much a big deal anymore. The damage has been done, so to speak.
It was an example, not an endorsement. And you belong on the ABA blawg list.
Ironically, while your comment is meant to be funny, what others don’t know is some of these are the questions you asked for real. For the benefit of anyone who might have those questions as well, here are some thoughts.
You can call it anything you want. Some people prefer to use two words where one will do. Some prefer to use more formal, although odd, language than others. If that’s you, knock yourself out. No one really cares either way, but when you ask, you get answers. If you don’t like them, ignore them and do whatever you like. Seriously. No one cares either way.
No. It does mean that these are the blawgs that I recommend to others. By my including a blawg on my blawgroll, it’s my endorsement of that blawg as being worth the time of others.
Write if you feel compelled to write. Never write just for the sake of it. The quickest way to lose readers, if that’s what matters to you, is to post crap.
Yell is a metaphor. Rather than write cutesy insipid crap, write about something you care about, something that would be worth yelling about. It allows you to not only express yourself on something that matters to you, but provides a purpose for posting. If your posts say nothing, than you stand for nothing. If that’s the case, then your posts accurately reflect your non-yelling nature. Vapid is a choice. If there’s nothing in life that you feel strongly enough to yell about (which is the point of the metaphor), then that will be reflected in your posts.
Offensive and right aren’t opposites, or necessarily related at all. But fear of offending someone is the stance of a worthless coward, who will change views to avoid the potential of having anyone think ill of them. In order to be “right”, you would have to first demonstrate that there’s something to be right about in a blog entry. Until there’s any substance to a post, no need to worry about either. Insipid crap is neither right nor offensive. It’s occasionally cute, but that gets old quickly.
It actually wasn’t meant to be funny at all. I asked since they were things we had emailed about, and I figured I would post them here for the whole world to see.
Thanks for the insight.
Come on, Scott. Of course your insights are more worthy because of your blog’s success, which is more impressive given your blog’s later arrival on the scene in a crowded market. But since you say people argue with you, perhaps I can step in and try to articulate features of successful blogs:
1. Command of topic – if you are striving for lawyer readers, you need to know your topic – the substance – inside and out. First, familiarity makes frequent posting easier. From what I can tell, Scott can write about the 4th Amendment or New York criminal cases in his sleep. That means he always has a stock of substance to draw on.
2. Frequent posting. OK, not everyone can post 4 times a day, 7 days a week. But as I learned at my (paid) gig at Legal Blogwatch (where Bob Ambrogi and I grew the readership significantly), frequent posts bring people back and also, offer enough variety to capture different audiences. Scott doesn’t do 4 crimlaw posts a day and with more general interest posts like this one, he can expand his audience.
3. Interact with audience – Scott always hops in and interacts with commentors, which builds readership since honestly, many people read blogs just for the comments. As a corollary, you can also build comments if you ask people to contribute their opinions.
4. Be provocative or outraged. If you express an opinion, people are more likely to read it. You see that here.
5. Break or make a story – Scott’s blog has breaking news, but there are others that perhaps fit this bill better (like Eric T. with those April Fools’ pranks)
6. Link to others. Scott does this generously, and it is the one feature of his blog for which he does not receive sufficient credit. Linking to others shows interests and also brings your audience
7. Share yourself. Scott does not write much about himself but there are pieces here and there. Bloggers who share things about their personality and practice add dimension to their blogs and writings.
7. Enjoy it. Successful bloggers enjoy doing it most of the time and their passion just leaps off the page. That is the biggest draw, from this reader’s perspective: the experience be able to spend a few minutes a day with someone who just loves what they do so much so that they do it for free.
I never would have understood that to be your purpose. But since it was, then I am happy to oblige.
First, thanks for your effort. This post hasn’t worked out at all the way I hoped, and it’s an experiment that won’t be repeated. Your post, however, is exactly what I was hoping for.
Hi, I’ve been reading your blog. Does this mean you’re my lawyer now?
Yes. Yes it does. Please send my legal fee immediately.
What’s the best way to link to a blawg/blog post when discussing it? I’ve generally tried to include the name of the blog as the text of the link, as well as a description in the title attribute of the anchor tag. Most people use something along the lines of “the article can be found here” where ‘here’ is the link text followed by ‘h/t X’. I suppose either way informs readers of the source, but is either way preferable for SEO purposes? (search engine optimization for those wondering) And before I get bashed for marketing, I’m curious about the linked-to blog’s SEO purposes, not my own–I just want to give the most credit that I can to others’ blogs.
That’s very thoughtful of you to want to give link love to others, but no legitimate blawger I know cares how you do it. You should link in such a way as makes the post more comprehensible to the reader, just as you’re already doing on your blog. Legitimate blawgers don’t care about SEO. They write because they have something to say, not to increase pagerank.
Fair enough. Alright I’ve got another one: what measures do you take to secure your blog? I’ve got my admin account wrapped up with a diesel password and plan to set up nightly backups. I’ve heard Wordpess is a big target due to its popularity. Other than promptly upgrading to new releases, are there any other security measures I should be aware of?
Never give anyone your password. And don’t use my dog’s name as your password (it’s already taken).
I have a blawg-related question that I’ve wanted to ask you for some time:
Is there any good way for a newer attorney (say, under 5 years exp.) to professionally run a practice-focused blawg? Or does blogging about a specific legal topic necessarily lead to false-expertise?
If it is possible, what advice would you give to a young lawyer/blawger who didn’t want to run the risk of misrepresenting their stature?
[SHG: I’m re-writing this comment because it looks like it didn’t go through when I hit submit. If it did, please accept my apologies for the repeat.]
I have a blawg question I’ve wanted to ask you for some time:
Is it possible for a newer attorney (say, >4 years exp.) to professionally run a practice-focused blawg? Or does writing about a specific practice area necessarily create false expertise?
If it is possible (and the attorney’s workload would permit the time to do it), what advice would you give to a younger blawger to avoid misrepresenting his/her exerience level?
Write whatever you want, and just be honest about who you are and what your experience is. There are a number of lawyers blawging who have limited experience, and they write about it from the perspective of a lawyer with limited experience. There are also a few with limited experience who write as if they’ve had 20 years in the trenches. They often write foolish things and get nailed for it. Just be honest. It’s a good rule to live by.
Patience padawan. Patience.
Hah. Another good rule to live by, apparently.