After studying a number of the blog entries given to our class, there are a few patterns I've been noticing: techniques that definitely work as opposed to others.
1. Keep it moderately short. Some entries tended to go off on tangents that didn't relate to the main point of the article. Personal connections can be helpful, or humurous even, but they ultimately only help the reader if they are related to what the reader is supposed to be learning.
2. Pictures, videos, and links are all helpful! Not only did they help to illustrate what the blogger was saying, but they also made the author seem more credible. Having evidence to back up the point the writer is illustrating makes the reader more confident in the fact that the information they are learning is correct.
3. Teach or share information with the reader, don't have a blog just be a personal diary. If you're writing for an audience, especially a selected audience (teachers, for example), they are reading the blog for a reason - getting ideas for a class, help for a certain situation, etc. So complaining about how much you didn't want to go to work that morning probably won't be appealing.
I'll try to follow these tips and those of others' that I read :)
