Personal, Professional or Both?
March 13, 2009 by BloggerNewbie
Thank you for visiting again. I hope you are enjoying my blog.
Click here to subscribe to my RSS feed and get updates automatically.
Please come again!
“Question of the Week? Vote in our Poll!”
Should blogs be totally personal or totally professional or a mixture of both?
The Personal Blog:
If the blog is personal, does a professional post mean anything? Does it carry any weight or offer any authority? Does the ratio of personal posts to professional posts make a difference?
The Professional Blog:
If the blog is professional should there ever be any personal information? Will being personal diminish the professionalism of the content?
Both:
Can a blog be both personal and professional? Can you blog about your weekend plans and activities then discuss business as usual on Monday? Would you or do you like blogs with this kind of format?
What do you think?
Do you see any pros or cons with either type of blog or a mixed assortment?
Toodles – Blog Happy!
__________________________________________________________________
“No question is so difficult to answer as that to which the answer is obvious…”
~ George Bernard Shaw<
__________________________________________________________________
Personal or Professional or Both
- Both (100%, 5 Votes)
- Personal (0%, 0 Votes)
- Professional (0%, 0 Votes)
Total Voters: 5
Loading ...Popularity: 7% [?]
Other posts that might interest you..
Both, sort of. You have to bring a part of yourself to your blog, or why would I read you over one of the other eight gazillion blogs out there about the same subject? On the other hand, I don’t want to hear about your struggle with getting over that guy you’ve been dating. Unless your blog is about dating, of course.
The best blog posts are the ones that take a personal experience and relate it to the topic of the blog. For example, David Risley recently posted about Times Square (he was on vacation) and how it relates to ads on blogs. Personal combined with professional. Perfect!
Good Morning Cindy:
I would also add that it really depends on what you are looking for. Are you looking for the facts and just the facts? Or are you looking to interject and converse? Personally, I prefer the interaction so I agree! And I also agree that I am not interested in what you had for dinner [yeah, unless it's a food blog
]
I agree that they should be both personal and professional. If one only wants to be professional then one should build a basic website that allows only one way communication. It is my understanding that blogging is an exchange of conversation, a sharing of ideas, thoughts, & life experiences etc.
Debo Hobo´s last blog post..Bon anniversaire! Older and Wiser? Give Me Snips and Snails Anyday
I voted ‘both’ which reflects how I see my own blog and most of the blogs I follow.
I always like to have a personal touch in a professional blog which might only be the opinion and personality of the author coming through. Something to give me a sense of the human being behind the blog. It doesn’t need to be ‘how I spent the weekend’.
And for personal blogs I always look for some depth to the writing. I don’t follow any blogs of the ‘I went to supermarket this morning and my cat’s sick again today’. I guess they appeal to some, but I’m just not interested in that type of personal disclosure.
Just wanted to add that the main reason I follow your blog, Dee, is that you strike a perfect balance between useful information, discussions, questions while allowing a lot of yourself to shine through.
It’s the ‘you shining through’ that makes this such an enjoyable place to visit.
Dee,
I think a personal “touch” is fine for a pro blog. The emphasis is on touch. if there are too many posts going into detail about personal trials and tribulations, I lose interest pretty quickly. It’s nice to have a little personality, but constantly including stories of the latest cute thing your kid did moves it out of the pro realm.
For a personal blog, I don’t think the issues is as sensitive. Pepper it with pro stuff, it’s all good.
On a side note, I saw your comment over at Webdesi3, site. I’ve been wondering what happened to Rachel as well. Her site hasn’t been updated for a long time. However, about a week ago I ran across a comment from her on a post somewhere that at the time was only a few days old. Hmmm. I miss her!
George
Tumblemoose´s last blog post..Guest posts are like dating 2.0
i said both, but it’s up to the individual, what their blog is about and how much they want to share. i do like the idea of having two blogs though. one business and one professional – depending on what you are blogging about. good content though is good content. if it’s good, i read and accept it regardless
NaTuRaL´s last blog post..Pet Peeve Friday
Deb:
That is my thinking exactly. If you are too professional to interact then you aren’t really a blog now are you?
Ian:
Thank you so much. I appreciate your kind words – gives me inspiration! Most people have myspace to discuss their grocery shopping and cat experiences. Good place for that.
George:
I say the same as “all of the above” that adding a little personality is what makes a blog a blog and keeps it interesting. I don’t think adding personal opinion detracts from the professionalism at all. We all have our own experiences to bring to the discussion.
Regarding the side note, I haven’t been commenting around enough in the last couple weeks so I haven’t seen Rachel at all. That is strange if she is commenting but not writing on any of her blogs. Don’t know?
Val:
I was thinking a little about my own blog when I wrote this Question of the week because I feel like I haven’t really “found myself” in this blog as far as a niche topic. It is more a little of this, that and the other thing. It makes me wonder what part or topic or discussion brings people to my blog?
I think it should be a little of both. I have two blogs, a professional one and a strictly personal one. On the professional one, I do bring a little of “me” into the posts, but not too much. I may discuss some of my personal “green” habits, or crafts, but I wont discuss my MS, relationships or anything that would be considered too personal for my professional blog.
Carla´s last blog post..Eco Fashion: Do it Yourself – Yarn
Carla:
That is my opinion as well. Like Debo said, if you are totally professional without any personality then it’s a website, not a blog. I don’t think I have quite figured out what my blog is about yet. Can’t decide.