By Sarah Eutsler
M&M TA
When it comes to blogging, it's all about voice.
Sara Caldwell, University of Georgia student and intern with USA Today College, sat down for a Skype chat with the Duke TIP UGA Media and Message students from Washington, DC, Tuesday afternoon. The students gathered around the large projector to ask Caldwell questions about her work with the publication's college blog, Twitter, and Facebook accounts.
Caldwell explained that blogs differ from hard news stories. She wants writers working for her to work on developing a style and a voice, which is a perk to the style of writing. Hard news stories don't have a lot of room for the incorporation of strong voice. When writing her own blog posts, Caldwell likes to utilize wit and humor.
Aside from voice, Caldwell touched on other key aspects of blogging.
"If you are serious about becoming a blogger, you have to update on a regular basis," says Caldwell. People will become accustomed to reading a blog, but "if all of a sudden that voice stops" people will neglect to read it even when it does become updated. In order to maintain that readership, develop a schedule that is easy to achieve from day one.
Audience is also significant. As the USA Today College blogger, Caldwell spends her time looking for articles to link to and discuss that have a college slant or appeal to the interests of college students. Keeping that audience in mind is important to maintain readership.
Caldwell's talk was the perfect way to get students interested in blogging, inspiring the next generation of media-savvy individuals to get their word out into the blogosphere.
You can follow the live tweets from the talk by searching for hashtag #sarablogs and/or see our Twitter account.
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