Scottfunkel’s Handy Blogging Guide

Blogging has taken the world by storm. It has proven to be an easy way for people to get their voice, message, or idea out there. People publish blogs as a way to show off their business or family, to report on current events such as news, politics, and sports, or just as a way to simply get something off their chest. With the high customizability of blogs these days many people make a statement not just with words, but also how those words are presented. And it has come to my attention that while some people have great ideas, the way they present them makes it near impossible for us, the readers, to get what they are trying to say. To help you avoid unnecessary distractions for your readers, I have compiled a short list of tips to help you make your blog more readable.

So here it goes: Scottfunkel’s Handy Blogging Guide


Accents and emphases: My high school English teacher, Mrs. C, used a great analogy when teaching us about writing.

She told us that she had many scarves in a drawer at home. She liked to wear them to add a little more flavor to her wardrobe. So one morning when she was getting ready for the day she put on one of her scarves. She then saw another scarf in her drawer that she thought was very pretty, so she put that one on over the first. She then spotted another good looking scarf and decided that one looked good too, so she put that one on as well. This continued until she had several scarves around her neck, each one prettier than the one under it. She then asked us what she would look like if she had come to school that day wearing so many scarves. We all agreed that it would look gaudy and cluttered to have so much “flair” on at once, and that one, and in a rare instance two, would add plenty of accent to her outfit. Anymore than that would be overkill and distracting.

The same rule is applicable to our writing. A few accents will help you cause certain words or ideas to stand out to your reader. If you emphasize too many things, it’s the same as emphasizing nothing. It would be the same as highlighting every word in your scriptures. If everything is underlined in red, then nothing stands out. So use your “quotes,” underlines, italics, and CAPITALIZED WORDS sparingly, not on every other word, and they will have more impact.


Make it readable: Don’t use a light colored font on a light background, or a dark font on a dark background. Duck hunters use camouflage, or clothes that have a similar color and texture to their surroundings, so that ducks won’t be able to see them. Deer hunters on the other hand wear blaze orange so that they stand out to other hunters to avoid being accidentally shot. So when you are choosing a color for your text, think Deer not Duck.

All caps and italics should be used as accents and not in general. All caps is known as shouting and all italics seems like slurred speech to me, either way it can make a post hard to read if either of these is done throughout.

Punctuation and spelling: I know there are a ton of rules for punctuation and grammar, but at least use the most basic. Capitalize the first word of a sentence and all proper nouns (names, titles, etc.), and end each sentence with either a period (.) exclamation point (!) or question mark (?). It’s pretty simple. And while we’re on the subject of exclamation points, one is great, two every once in a while, and anything more than that try using more descriptive words instead, avoid excess scarves.

I think that bad spellers are a product of this technology age we live in, and all of us have grown to fall back on a spell checker. So before you post something to the World Wide Web, run the spell checker.

And use paragraphs for Pete’s sake.

Consistency: Pictures are a great way to illustrate your blog and help convey your message. If you are going to caption your pictures, either always caption on top of the picture or on the bottom, don’t switch. That way no one wonders why Grandma Smith has a mustache in her picture when it is really a picture of Uncle Jim and you just switched captioning styles.

Add-ons: Add-ons such as music players can help you create a more complete experience for your readers. If you choose to put a music player on your blog, please don’t stash it somewhere deep in the bowels of your blog where not even a bloodhound could track it down. Put it near the top and make it visible so that it can be turned down or off for that matter without a ten minute search. I want to read about your weekend adventure, but I can’t concentrate if I have “Dancing Queen” blaring.


I hope these few simple suggestions will be of some help. I don’t mean to stifle anyone’s creativity; I know that it is hard to find that fine line through style and structure, but when that balance is struck your voice will shine right on through.

Happy blogging!

Can life get any better?

I submit that it canNOT!

Yesterday was a great day. Around noon I made my way down to LaVell Edwards Stadium hoping to watch an exciting football game. Let's just say that what happened next was way more than I could have ever dreamed of. BYU gave UCLA a major beat down. 59 - 0.

Max Hall threw for seven touchdowns before he sat down halfway through the third quarter. The offensive line hasn't allowed a sack in three games nor have they been called for holding. The defense blocked a field goal and caused several turnovers. UCLA couldn't even score on our second and third strings.

In commemoration I decided to compile a list of ways to describe what UCLA went through:

• A rec league beat down
  
• Taken behind the woodshed


• An old fashioned butt kicking


• Humiliated


• Annihilated


• Trounced
  
• Blown out
  
• Beat like a red headed step child
  
• Schellacked

(If you have any other suggestions please leave them in the comments.)

After the game I made my way up to Thanksgiving Point to see my main man Ryan Shupe and the Rubberband play. I'm ashamed to say that I hadn't been to a concert in a while, and was on the brink of losing my Shuperfan status. The only complaint I have about Ryan Shupe concerts is there are so many songs that I want to hear that there is no way they could play them all in one show.

They opened up with "Walk the Walk." They were sure to include mainstays such as "Phideaux," "Simplify," "Banjo Boy," and of course "Dream Big." Ryan was sure to include "All I Need is You" from the new album and we even got to see the new video for "Be The One," also from the new album. They also played the crowd favorite "Corndog Song" and Ryan even did an impromptu rendition of the old favorite "Go to Hell." They finished off the set with the energetic "Hey! Hey! Hey!" I knew that there was only one way that they could end they show with a bang. After they came back on for an encore and played a laid back "Hope," they went out with a bang with their very own, ever evolving rendition of "The Devil Went Down to Georgia."

Afterwards I thanked Ryan for a great show and then we talked music for a few minutes.

So from between screaming my head off at the football game and singing at the top of my lungs at the RS&RB concert, let's just say that I had a hard time singing the hymns at church today. Whenever that happens I know I had a really good Saturday.

After the concert we came home and relaxed on the couch while watching the highlights from the football game on ESPN. (Also, read more about it here.)

Can life get any better? I submit that it canNOT!