A road map?

Google the phrase "improving your blog" and you'll find there's plenty of material available on the why of web writing, but precious little on the how. While lots of journalists and communication specialists pontificate on the purpose, place, and theory of blogging, articles that actually describe how to improve one's writing for the digital medium are relatively rare.

Dennis Mahoney's piece on how to write a better weblog is the sort of thing we need more of. Not only does the article discuss the techniques of writing, but also thematic and contextual issues. He pretty much starts the aspiring blogger down the trail with this quote:

The web is a tremendous hodgepodge of media. There are sites about books, sites about music, and sites about sites. Plenty of weblogs center on consuming and critiquing other people’s work, and all this recycling and redistribution has its place—a very important place that we’ll make note of later on. But why not make something new? Instead of linking to a few articles every day, write one. Instead of showcasing and discussing the latest designs, design something. You’ve got this absolutely batty opportunity of instant global publishing. Publish! The world is your oyster!

Of course, the only surefire way to improve one's writing is to write, but a lot of capable people are hampered by a lack of focus or specific thematic ideas. Articles like this fill a necessary role. After all, that's why we have English classes, right?