Don't Screw Up, by Jeffrey Veen

Don't Screw Up

Not a lot of people understand what blogging is. And I'm not being metaphysical -- I mean that the vast majority of people in the world have no idea what we're talking about when we talk about blogs. And most of those familiar with the concept often liken it to crazy hermits pounding out manifestos in their mountain cabins. Marketing this will be an uphill battle.

But I've always seen it as a technological solution for enabling participation. Typing into a text box and hitting the publish button has proven far more successful that angle brackets and FTP servers. People can say what they want, share stuff, and stay focused on communicating rather than web publishing.

So I was eager to have a look at Yahoo 360°, the search company's foray into the blog world. After playing with beta for a while this morning, I was impressed with the level of integration they've achieved with their other properties, and the emphasis on community and sharing. Photos, friends, music, groups!

Still, it's ultimately a blog tool, and the big column down the center of your 360 page communicates this clearly. In fact, one of the last registration steps tells you as much:

And that's how they encourage you to get started, as if they're saying, "Before you tell your friends about your new blog, you better fill it up. There's a big empty space there, and you haven't said anything smart yet. Go! Write! And it better be good!"

In the research I've done for blog-related projects, people have told me over and over that they don't blog because they don't have anything to say. They're wrong about that -- everyone has something to share, even if it's with just a handful of friends or family. But starting people off with a cavernous blank page is certainly not the way to do it.

It reminds me of one of my first trips to the plate in Little League Baseball. I was eight, clutching the bat, terrified. My coach pulled me aside and gave me advice: "Just relax, keep your knuckles lined up and your eye on the ball. Oh, and if you strike out we loose. Go get 'em!"

This entry was written by Jeffrey Veen and posted 29 March 2005 at 9:01 AM. It was filed under Web Design. | View blog reactions

Comments

1. On 29 March 2005 at 9:30 AM Darren James Harkness wrote:

So, that being said, how do you start them off?

I suppose you can point them to examples of good writing, but you run the same risk of intimidating them or giving them imposter syndrome.

The better way might be to populate their blogs with an initial entry that describes what the whole purpose of the thing is, and what kind of content (generally) they might want to write about, which then deletes itself automatically upon the creation of their first entry. This way they're not intimidated by the blank canvas, but you don't have hundreds of "Welcome to your new blog!" entries either.

2. On 29 March 2005 at 10:18 AM Karl Nelson wrote:

Well? Did you strike out?

3. On 29 March 2005 at 10:47 AM veen wrote:

Hit by a pitch - square in the batting helmet. I cried all the way to first.

But we won.

4. On 29 March 2005 at 11:46 AM Tony wrote:

Sounds like you might be advocating something like what Friendster does (I know, not it's note "cool" anymore). They have you fill out a profile, and that is what is posted on your page. It gives people a head start by letting them write about something they are most familiar with -- themselves.

BTW, the link to 360 doesn't work for me, is anyone else having trouble with it?

5. On 29 March 2005 at 2:32 PM David Kemper wrote:

"People can say what they want, share stuff, and stay focused on communicating rather than web publishing."

I wholeheartedly agree with this point on blogs, Jeff.

I started working on 2 blogs (via Blogger.com) a few weeks ago: one focuses on a work-related project, while the other offers my personal observations on odds and ends.

The ease with which one can create and syndicate content is absolutely great.

Nevertheless, I am still somewhat mystified over this entire blog phenomenon. Perhaps I am still too new to recognize its potential.

I work in a university and I wonder if blogs should operate in such an environment. Professors blogging after a class lecture, students blogging about upcoming class projects, librarian blogs???

6. On 29 March 2005 at 6:35 PM Bud Gibson wrote:

The thing that's remarkable is that you cannot see the blog UNLESS you are a member already. So, fear of what others will think should be minimal.

To the last commenter. Blogs are being extensively used at the university level. Have a look at Stephen Downes (easy to find on google). Canada is one of the leaders in this area.

7. On 29 March 2005 at 7:09 PM Jay Fienberg wrote:

It'd be interesting to compare this ("ok, this is the part where we write something") approach with one common alternative: the software assumes you're not ready to write something, but in order to leave a prompt for you, creates a default first entry (which usally says, "welcome to product X!!!", and, in some more obnoxious cases, actually attributes those words to you!).

I think you're right that having the individual write a post as a last step in the setup moves them more into a "it really is mine and I can do this" relationship to the site/tool.

8. On 29 March 2005 at 9:08 PM John Zeratsky wrote:

I don't think this applies to blogs specifically, but I am fascinated with how Apple handled the "blank-screen problem" in Pages, their new page-layout app. Creating a new document doesn't leave you with a blank screen, but a template filled up with greeked text so you know what you're dealing with.

We (at the University of Wisconsin) are doing the same thing with our new content management system, and I think it will work really well.

9. On 29 March 2005 at 9:10 PM John Zeratsky wrote:

Speaking of Yahoo 360, does anyone have an invitation they're willing to share?

10. On 29 March 2005 at 9:42 PM David Kemper wrote:

Looks like Yahoo 360 is taking a trick from Google's Gmail: create invitations.

John, there's an invitation mailing list on the Yahoo 360 page. Just enter your email address.

11. On 29 March 2005 at 9:51 PM John Zeratsky wrote:

David: If this is anything like the Gmail signup, it will be 6 months before I get an invitation!

Oh well, worth a try...

12. On 30 March 2005 at 3:15 PM Ryan Oswald wrote:

I agree. It seems like yahoo didn't think the design through. Comment #1 (darren) seems to have one solution, but why are we solving yahoo's lack of design? They have people for this job--even if they don't do it well. Corporations like this always end up in control of technology and inevation; so if they can't figure out how to design and implement it then let them fail.

I also agree that the concept of blogs/blogging is not mainstream and often misunderstood. Probably because "blog" sounds like some sort of rodent. So its probably a good idea that the "powers that be" (yahoo, google) explain the concept to users before they start publishing their bank statments (not likely, but you get the point).

*On blogging and education (university courses)
I am a graduate student and I'm currently teaching the web design course at my university. I developed a site/blog for our course and its been a very valuable resource. Students are able to post relevant resources, site examples, questions, comments, and generally just exchange ideas. I am able to post our project outlines and due dates as well as any relevant resources. I beleive this type of communication is essential. You can link to the site from my name here.

13. On 30 March 2005 at 3:54 PM David Kemper wrote:

John: You're right. We'll probably have to wait another 6 months before Yahoo sends out its 360 invites. Heck, Google sent me a Gmail invite a few weeks back long after I had forgotten that I had even added my name to their mailing list.

Ryan: Thanks for the input on how you use blogs in a university course. At McGill, we're big on courseware (WebCT, Blackboard). Perhaps blogs will emerge as another teaching tool.

I agree...The word blog does sound like a rodent. Mmmm, let's see: ejournal? webdiary? iblog???

14. On 30 March 2005 at 6:53 PM John Zeratsky wrote:

Ryan, we've been using blogs in a variety of design and communication classes at UW-Madison for a few years. For example: http://www.tcdocs.com/532/index.php

I'll drop you a line later tonight or tomorrow to continue the conversation (since it is off-topic for this post).

15. On 1 April 2005 at 9:43 PM bunty gill wrote:

if u have any yahoo 360 invites, please send me one

name@gmail.com where name=buntygill

16. On 3 April 2005 at 10:35 PM steven streight aka vaspers the grate wrote:

Jeff, I don't know why this message on the blank space would be intimidating.

When I buy a new spiral notebook, it's full of blank, though ruled, pages. No suggestions or examples of how to fill them. The blinding void, that's all.

Mallarme delved poetically into the absences, as did Maurice Blanchot. They both, especially Blanchot, seemed to write mysteriously, intelligently, evocatively...about void, nothingness, absences, emptiness, non-eventuality.

If a new blogger needs coaxing to write, perhaps he should quit and go putter around in the garden or do a crossword puzzle.

Blogs are just vehicles for instant online content publishing. You're right that everyone has something to say, but do we really want to hear everyone say it?

:^)

17. On 15 April 2005 at 4:40 PM Derek Powazek wrote:

This is so simple, I almost hate to post it, bur here goes: Ask questions!

Ben Brown's new dating site, Consumating, does this really well. In addition of the usual boring bio stuff, the site asks an interesting question once a week. Members are rewarded for answering them with more exposure for their pages.

Yahoo 360 should encourage their users to blog the same way you encourage people to talk at a party - ask 'em a question!

18. On 16 April 2005 at 1:44 AM mike wrote:

Blogs at university: http://blogs.warwick.ac.uk/

Join me for a one-day conference on starting your own company. August 7 in San Francisco.