Let's Look At Some Blogs!

Remember the field hockey video story? Here's the blog version.

Lots of hyperlink use here, which is good. But what could you have done to further use hyperlinks, and use hyperlinks more diversely? How about linking to pics of some of the paces you describe -- the interior of the bus, or the restaurant at which the team ate? You could shoot pics and upload it to a photo sharing service like Flickr, for which I have a link right here.

Of course, you could have also linked to video, like the one you did for this blog topic in the first place.

This isn't criticism, folks. I'm just trying to broaden your mind set as to what you can link to. Think about all the social media tools you use in everyday life, and think about how best to incorporate those tools in your story-telling. Better yet, think about good ways to use multiple tools at once.

This blog about the UM-Illinois game liberally uses hyperlinks, but one of those links was out-of-date by the time I got a chance to read it. Try to make sure your hyperlinks stay evergreen -- that is, no matter when it's linked to, it's still in context and hasn't become outdated or stale.

This other blog about the MSU-Minnesota game was very light on links. And one of the links simply took readers to a Google search. Part of me says it's good, that it gives the reader many options in getting additional information; but another part of me says it's lacking focus and direction and may simply confuse a reader.

Let's look at this blog, which is devoid of any hyperlinks. The topic is a bit more vague, but let's try to be helpful here. What could be some good hyperlink sources? Let's problem-solve this.

On another point regarding blogs, you can get a sense of how you can turn a news story into a blog by looking at this Gawker.com blog post based on a news story you have have heard about on your own: Michigan's ban on energy drink/alcohol mixes. Oh, and whaddya know, this blog links to -- and even credits -- The State News!