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Permalink Reply by Tim Spagnola on September 22, 2011 at 10:32am

Chantelle -

 

First and foremost I look forward to reading your future posts. I am no blogging expert- nor for that matter any type of expert, but to tackle your thoughts;

 

- A theme could help, but I prefer those that have a loose theme more focused on what sparks the interest in the moment. Those appear to draw my interest and produce good content.

 

- I am typo king so not the best to comment here, but I want to hear your voice in your posts. So depending on your target audience I feel a more casual approach accomplishes that goal.

 

- Use Twitter however it works best for you. I have two accounts - one for sharing what I ate, TV I watched, and Foursquare check ins, and I also have my professional account that I use for sharing recruiting news/information and networking purposes.

 

There is no real right or wrong in any of this. My best advice would be to just jump in and over time you will eventually adopt a style that best represents you and works for you.

 

Good luck and look forward to posts.

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Permalink Reply by Chantelle Legg on September 22, 2011 at 10:45am

Thank you for your advice Tim, it will all be taken on board! And let's hope anything I work on will be received well and I won't be eaten alive by the more experienced recruiters! :)

 

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Permalink Reply by Nery Leal on September 22, 2011 at 11:15am

First of all, congratulations on taking the plunge.  It's fun and terrifying at the same time. 

Your blog content can be dictated by you or by your audience.  If you are focusing on a specific niche then your writing will take on a higher level of specificity than, say, a blog about whatever you may find interesting to write about.  You shouldn't write 100% about a topic or you may run the risk of burning yourself out.  Going off topic will allow you to catch your breath and also make you more human to your readers.

I agree with Tim when he says there really isn't any right or wrong way of doing this.  Social media allows for a variety of solutions..all tailored to the individual. 

Regardless, I look forward to your blog.

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Permalink Reply by Tim Spagnola on September 22, 2011 at 11:17am

Thanks for sharing Nery. Chantelle - although Nery has recruiting experience, he is better known for his writing. He is for sure one to listen to.

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Permalink Reply by Sandra McCartt on September 22, 2011 at 11:19am

@chantelle, none of us or 99.9 % of us are not professional writers. A blog or blog posts ,in my opinion, are and should be our own opinions and experiences. My suggestions would be: write from your own experience, share your own opinions and invite other opinions. If you take a stand on an issue be ready to defend your position. Don't moderate comments ( moderating comments irritates most people). Don't post part of a blog with a link to another blog to try and drive traffic to another site. If you have a personal blog site it's fine to put a link at the bottom of a blog post so others can see more of what you have written. Don't blog just to promote your product or service, those posts are just ads and don't reflect much about you.

If you are worried about being eaten alive when you share an opinion, that goes with the territory when any of us flop our thoughts out there for others to review and comment. That it part of the fun and the interaction of blogging.

We all have typos, grammatical errors etc. But try to run a spell check and read over your article and self edit before you post it. If you are unsure of it ask someone else to read it and give you their thoughts before you post it. If someone calls you out on something just be ready to say, "ouch".

Asking questions based on your own experience or relating things that have happened to you and what you think about what happened are normally well received. In the whole big scheme of things , don't worry, just write. If it falls flat or somebody doesn't like it, it disappears quickly and you can do another one. Go girl, do it.

As to Twitter, I have a personal account that nobody but personal friends could ever find. My professional account will never have anything on it that I would not want to see on the front page of the newspaper tomorrow morning.

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Permalink Reply by Chantelle Legg on September 22, 2011 at 11:28am

Hello Nery, Thank you for the advice, I feel my pen and paper will be my friend this weekend, but from Tim's advice I shall be reading your posts before I begin! I am thinking of starting my own blog site, then sharing the relevant posts on here, I think that will give my creative juices the variety they will need!

 

I am always weary of social media, my facebook is private and is for me only, but obviously Twitter does not follow these guideline, I am not sure 2 is for me! I have enough problems keeping up with the accounts I have, so maybe I shall be the mix of professional and the slightly more 'unprofessional' shall we say!

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Permalink Reply by Chantelle Legg on September 22, 2011 at 11:33am

Hello Sandra,

I am not ignoring you, my internet chose a great moment to cut out!

 

I would post the blog as its own blog in this site and not redirect back to my own site, as I am fully aware you would not really be that interested in my football or fashion interests, which I am sure will make there way into my own posts!

 

I am definately used to be called out on my stupidity or spelling mistakes, I have a speak before you think issue most of the time and often say particularly dumb things, which my friends do not hesitate to call me on! But thank you for the advice, I want to use my blogs to get other opinions and also to be challenged on what i think, thank you for the advice!

 

I luckily do not express anything too personal on my twitter so if the papers would like to run a story on my yummy stir fry last night I do not mind :)

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Permalink Reply by Valentino Martinez on September 22, 2011 at 11:45am

Chantelle

If truth be told, tell it. 

Tell your truth.

Be it fickle or funny,

Foolish or sincere.

Let it trickle--

From your heart, from your gut.

Let your truth flow forward.

And we will glow in it because

We will know in it,

It is and was yours to share.

Just tell it, damn-it

For all to hear.

(poem for chantelle - by old whatshisname?)

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Permalink Reply by Chantelle Legg on September 22, 2011 at 12:01pm

Thank you Valentino, that is very poetic :)

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Permalink Reply by Amy Ala Miller on September 22, 2011 at 12:12pm

Chantelle, you've received some excellent advice here - and V great poem!  :) 

 

I can tell you as a relatively new blogger my personal experience.  I blog purely for therapeutic purposes.  It allows me to get things off my chest, if you will.  If I pick up a few friends along the way, great.  I'm sure I learn far more from the discussions and comments than anyone will ever learn from my humble postings.  I lurked around RBC for a long time before I ever posted anything.  I didn't want to get the old internet smackdown.  :)  What I have learned is that most people will passionately agree or disagree, but do so respectfully.  There are always some feathers that will be ruffled, and a very small minority will get downright mean.  If the pushback gets personal, just remember it's not about YOU - some people forget their manners when they get behind the anonymity of the internet.  (Please God don't ever let me be that person.)

 

You will be GREAT.  Now go write something clever.  :)

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Permalink Reply by Valentino Martinez on September 22, 2011 at 12:29pm

@Chantelle--de nada...

Poem or prose or graffiti or sign language or the middle finger--in newsletter or blog form, or whatever--in this day and age (thanks to new and far-reaching new mediums and media)--your voice will be heard. 

How powerful and wonderful is that? 

And the fact that you respect it enough to ask others how it (your communication) should be approached says a lot about you. 

I can only say to you, with respect, "The force is strong with this one."

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Permalink Reply by Valentino Martinez on September 22, 2011 at 12:43pm

@Courtney-WOW your "guides" are well thought out, extensive and truly helpful.

@Chantelle--one gem I gleaned from Courtney's well guided advice is:  Don’t plagiarize content.  If you're quoting me, please reference Oldwhathisname?

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