Self-Educate, Blog it!
Today I am flying the South Carolina State Flag, the patriot flag I fly when my blog subject is “relatively calm” politically. Everybody seems to have a blog, they are like opinions … everybody has one! (Cleaned that one up, huh?). There are probably as many reasons for writing a blog as there are people to have reasons, but I do believe there are some “drivers” that are common. Among them, the most important is “to educate.”
When you begin blogging, you’ll soon discover the most important driver of all is “self-education.” It is amazing what you “don’t know” and what you “thought was true” and what your “opinion really is.” It is self-discovery in its purest form. Try it, its fun and its free.
Blogs: Most people start a blog to voice their opinion on a subject, and there are blogs on every possible subject. Don’t believe me, Google “Blog Butterflies” and you’ll get the LA Butterfly Blog … and yes, it’s about butterfly sightings! But being a “political blogger” myself, we’ll stick to that subject and allow others to tend to “gardening” and “car facts.” So you are interested in politics too? You have an opinion and want to tell people what it is? Start a blog.
Free Blog Sites: There are literally hundreds of FREE blog sites where all you have to do is “sign up” and you have your own blog instantly. Here are some examples:
… so all you have to do is sign up, give it a name, and you are a blogger …. uh, no … almost, let’s just say you have a blog site. You have taken step one, and discovered you know how to “sign up” … now, how about being a blogger?
Start Simple: If you start with a simple blog site like Google, WordPress, Blogster or Blogger and try to “keep it up,” freshened with new information daily or even weekly, you may find that blogging isn’t for you. You may actually have more fun making bookmarks of your favorite blogs and reading and commenting on them. Keeping up a blog is like having a pet … you always have to take care of it … feed it or it dies. But let’s assume you enjoy this strange mental outlet. Now What?
Blog Content: This is where the rubber meets the road. What do you put into your blog? Well there’s always, “I hate Obama!” or “George Bush did it!” And you’ll find thousands of those sites out there. If that is you “driver” … then I’d suggest using a “talk back” website like “The Daily Koz” for liberals or “The Free Republic” for conservatives. On these sites, you can find a subject that interest you and “talk back” (comment) on the post, or post something yourself. (Be careful, these folks are pros and have certain rules for posting … study either carefully before posting yourself). But making a comment is easier, it’s quick, and it gives you that outlet of “saying something.”
Do the Research: You will start looking on the Internet for information for your blog. Rarely are you and I in a position to be the on-site reporter … so we have to rely on others. But are they telling the truth, are they promoting hoaxes, who can you trust, who do you avoid, news-wise?
- Find Truth: Easier said than done. But if you are going to have an “opinion” on something, is it “meaningful” to you to be correct in your opinion? Can you back it up with facts? If you can, then your opinion counts, and your blog will count and be counted. Backing up your opinion with facts makes you credible. Using links to do this helps … BUT ONLY IF the links are credible! If you are just passing forward “talking points” or what you “heard somebody else say” … then you will be wasting MY time … I won’t read your blog again.There are ways to “filter” for the truth … here’s one:
- Recent Example: The recent AZ law on Immigration is “racist” allowing the police to “profile” based on color or national origin. You heard this on outlet after outlet, read it in the newspaper, saw it on the internet. But how often did you see the actual LAW’s LANGUAGE on this?
- The attorney general or county attorney shall not investigate complaints that are based solely on race, color or national origin.
- Oops … somebody lied! In fact a lot of people lied didn’t they? That wording above is directly from the bill, anyone caught profiling would be in civil court in a flash! So such talk is someone’s “opinion” of what the law says, not EXACTLY what the law states. You see, people reported on what they “Hoped” the bill would say … not what it actually says. (I don’t know about you, but I’ve had enough [false] Hope to last a lifetime!) Discovering a “truth” like this gives you a “filter” to work with for the future … anyone who said the law allows profiling now should be on your “they lied, and I can’t trust them” list. Often you’ll find YOU don’t like the truth, but KNOW what the truth is before you post.
Political Emails: If you watch your “political emails” you’ll see that about 50% of what is coming at you is NOT TRUE! If you are of my ilk, you would love to believe that Obama uses his left hand to cover his right lung during the National Anthem … its even proven with pictures. BUT IT IS FALSE! Make yourself a RULE. Don’t ever pass on or quote a political email without passing it through: Snopes, FactCheck, Truth or Fiction, and or Politifact. (I have these linked on The Patriot’s Flag under Rumors on the Research Page). If you do not check these out, YOU WILL GET BURNED! Nothing is more embarrassing than to pass one of these conservative hoaxes on to a liberal who will LAUGH at you in a return email with a link to one of the above proving it false. Avoid that, check it out!.- I often wonder “where” these false emails come from. It is either far-right folks just telling lies, or far-left folks setting people up so they can take them down with the truth. I would like to take BOTH parties out behind the barn! Regardless of who is to blame … don’t fall for these … check them out!
- Blogs vs News Outlets: In getting information, KNOW there is a (slight) difference between “blogs” and “news outlets.” Blogs are opinions, news outlets … when they are reporting the NEWS part of a story and not their “spin” on it, are more reliable that while I inserted (slight). But when CNN reports on a Pew Poll that says 70% of Americans are for stopping illegal immigration … there might be some truth somewhere in that cloud of information. CNN tends to report only the lib side, so when you see them reporting the “other” side, take note. But consider everything you read “spin” and go for more than one source to get at the facts. On MSNBC the other day a commentator-ess said “The Arizona Immigration Law makes a crime to be an illegal immigrant” … Huh? (… and these are the “pros.” Even YOU can do better than that!)
Let your driver be “To Educate” If you can get your reader to say, “hey, I didn’t know that!” or “darn, I never thought about it that way!” … then you have succeeded in “educating” and you have probably also created a successful blog post. To simply write “Obama is a Socialist” over and over in 20 blog posts will be boring for your reader … and eventually it will bore you and you’ll go on to another hobby. (Model sailboats are fun).
Self-Education, is the Best Reason for Amateur Blogging. The most important reader (and sometimes the only reader) of your blog is YOU. So when you can say “hey I didn’t know that!” and you are the one who discovered a proven fact … then the whole reason for amateur blogging is fulfilled. YOU are educated, YOU have the facts, YOU understand what is going on around you and YOU have the information YOU need to make up YOUR mind. And with your new fact-checked philosophical foundation, you can take on your debating opponents with ease. So if your ilk is “political” and you have done your homework with your blog … YOU will know which lever to pull in the voting booth … and WHY! You might even be able to convince someone to pull the RIGHT (as not in “left”) lever next time!
The best part about amateur blogging is self-education.
Enjoy it!
