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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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  6. Hi I can’t get into The Commons either. I registered more than a couple of days ago.

    Secondly, I’ve already published a page – “About Me”. Would you recommend updating that page or writing a new post with the guidelines mentioned here?

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  8. Thanks Blogging101 crew!
    Just made the first post since a tribute post to my Uncle.
    For some reason I forgot to just have fun and flow, so thanks for the self requested nudges, and cheers to you and all the good folks here!
    NO
    Writerspeakerteacher.WordPress.com

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  12. Hello! I have made my blog for the day.
    My main thoughts is: How personal do I want to be?
    I am an artist, making art, and of course my art is a reflection of me and my thoughts and dreams, but I am in some way afraid of being too personal.
    I have made a private blog (365.lenaohlen.wordpress.com) where my goal is to write every day, and then use it, when I think about what to post on my public website http://lenaohlen.com.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  13. guclucy5inc5hipz.wordpress.com/aboutalwayslearningandotherstuff/

    Hello folks.
    =)
    I’m taking the blogging 101 course and here is my finished ‘ABOUT’ page. Obviously, it is not the final revision, as I like to take a ‘with a room for improvement’ approach, to EVERYTHING I do, ALWAYS. And plus… I need to read the instructions for adding tags to my posts.

    Please feel free to add any advice/info/comments both here and on my blog-post, as I would love to know what you all think, if any of you have the impulse to respond or post back to me?!

    Currently completeing two courses, online, but will be back in a short while to check out some of the posts here in blogging 101, to give some feedback to hopefully gain a better insight into blogging, and also to give a bit of encouragement, if I can, to other wordpresser’s.

    Peace, folks, and a lovely day to you all.
    Thanks in advance for your attention.
    =)

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  14. Hi all, I am Angie and my blog is notanothertallblog.com. I started it off as a tall blog – only to try and attract more readers, but write about things that interest me (mainly rock music, fashion, short essays, everything I feel like). Here is my short introduction: http://notanothertallblog.com/about/. I hope to make more connections with bloggers so we can all reach for wider audience. I am an aspiring writer as some of you, too. Do feel free to stop by and follow, and I will definitely follow back!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  17. I created a new blog for these assignments. It’s called Academic Gardening, in case you want to check it out. My other blog is called My Year Away, which is about my year-long sabbatical. I’m looking forward to learning more about blogging–especially how to do all the non-writing stuff that makes a blog better. Looking forward to seeing others’ posts as well!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  18. Oops. I guess I should have included the link to my first Blogging 101 post. Here it is:
    http://cpardun.wordpress.com/2014/09/15/who-am-i-and-why-am-i-here/

    And, just in case anyone is interested, here’s the latest post to My Year Away blog:
    http://carolpardun.com/2014/09/05/all-the-worlds-a-stage-even-when-it-comes-to-the-life-of-an-academic/

    I’m really looking forward to learning from the course experts–and also from the fellow students! Carol

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  19. It was nice to post something up after a little break, I enjoyed the focus of the questions asked, I look forward to reading through the comments and seeing how others are doing.

    Liked by 2 people

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      1. I think you’ve done a really good job! I have been blogging a few months and wasn’t sure if I should post today for fear of it seeming out of context, but you’ve shown that actually, it would be fine. Writing is therapy in itself, but I’m also hoping for a little community by joining this challenge, like you 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

      2. actually I have been blogging writing creating all my life I have manuscripts of a lot of my work I’ve done over the years I love it the only real issue I have is that when I really want to express something I feel is very important to me my computer let’s me down big time to sum it all up into a few words would be passion determination and head strong is who I am and will always be LOVELEELATANYA

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      3. Thanks. If you have something to say then just go for it, sometimes the words just flow and before you know it your 400 words in, other times you will stare at the blank screen with no idea what to say.

        I hope the blogging 101 challenge is good for you.

        Like

  22. If I post these assignments in under my blog address, can they be deleted later? ExceptionalWisdom will eventually belong to the company I work for and I’m sure they don’t want all my blogging 101 posts on there once we go from the free blog site to the business site. Thanks

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  25. Hi Everyone, I registered last week but I cannot get into the commons and I did not receive email. Wondering if instructions were given in email about uploading my post to this forum? Thanks and I am very excited to start Blogging 101 🙂

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  26. I registered last week but haven’t received an email. Please let me know if I can still get involved. Thanks! I will be blogging nonetheless, of course!

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  27. Hi Michelle, Thanks for taking the time to read our blogs. I’ve been blogging for about a month now. I don’t know if I’m getting any better or not, but my topic seems to be of interest to others, which is pretty exciting! However, when I write my blog and add photos to it, it looks completely different when I “publish” it and I have played with it and played with it, so I’ve not published it yet. what can I do? Thanks.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply