How to Create the Best Blog Posts in Open Source Communites
Press Publish. Done.
The best blog post is a published blog post. Period. Putting yourself out there as a blogger in your open source community helps everyone.
Blogging Skills
Features of a successful blog post
- Have a point, keep it organized, supported through the use of hyperlinks and multimedia materials (video, sound, images)
- A clear, unified voice appropriate for intended community. Current contributors? Future contributors the public?
- A title that links clearly to the content of the post
- Use headers to keep it organized
- Define key terms
- Avoid jargon
- Avoid idioms and dated pop cultural references for international audiences
Features of a successful blog
- Short, concise posts that use multimedia materials (video, images) to make a point
- Effective use of hyperlinks to support ideas, to direct readers to relevant, interesting posts, and to strengthen open source network
- A clear, unified voice that continues to grow and develop over time
Qualities of a skilled blogger
Ability to publish. 95% of required skills
The other fiver percent.
- Ability to quickly synthesize and articulate ideas
- An awareness of a wide range of blogging techniques and of how these various techniques reach different target audiences effectively or ineffectively
- Reading with mouse in hand: Engaging with (online and offline) materials as potential material for blogposts
- Willingness to serve as an intelligent filter for a wide public audience
- Engagement with the wider open soource community, including reply posts and webmentions
Modified from on successful blogposts, successful blogs, and skilled bloggers by Jacob McWilliams
