HSMaggie -Blogger extraordinaire

Wow. What a blog. I just reviewed hsmaggie's blog. It was amazing. We are supposed to review another student's blog in class and offer suggestions. I really can't say anything negative about her blog, it was great. The only suggestions I would have that could improve are things that I have heard but haven't implemented myself. Having occasional top ten lists, for blogs is supposed to be a good format because people like to see rankings and it also gives them a knowledge of how long a post is going to be.



The second is to ask questions or take a stand on particular issues. People like to answer questions and share their opinions so if you can make that explicit or have an invitation for them to do so I think you can increase the number of comments, followers and viewers. Taking a stand on a particular issue seems to motivate people, whether solicited or not, to take a stand as well. Either for or against your position. This is obviously a little more controversial but it could raise interest or viewers.

Now that we have those out of the way, here are 6 things that I really liked about hsmaggie's blog.

1. It looks like it is habitual. From my experience and others, diligence is one of the most difficult things to master with blogs. Lots of people have lots of good ideas but being diligent and consistently blogging can become drudgery when enthusiasm wanes. I like how hsmaggie sprinkles her blog with personal insights, experiences and interesting tidbits she finds. She obviously has fun blogging which in turn makes it fun to read. 
2. I like that she was able to combine multiple concepts in one blog. I have gotten behind on some blogs and get overwhelmed at the prospect of having to make a heroic effort to write creative, insightful blogs for each topic. Hsmaggie found out which ones she was missing, wrote a short blurb about each one in one blog and moved on. Done.
3. I like that she has a variety in lengths to her blog. She doesn't force a long blog when there isn't a long amount of content. Some of hers are a sentence with a video. That must help being consistent and forming a habit of blogging.
4. Her blogs cover a variety of topics and include the activities she feels passionately about. In addition to the historical content from class, you will learn more about these topics, cooking, homeschooling, genealogy, freedom, science and many others. 
5. Great use of pictures and video. Lot's of text can be visually daunting.
6. It adds value. When she finds something cool, she shares it on her blog. I was amazed at the video for "rock band of the future" and actually laughed to myself when I saw the sesame street song, There's an app for that. 

All in all I think she is a model student. She really backs up her title, "Life-Long Learning & Me" and demonstrates it throughout her blog. The only advice I have is keep doing the great things that make your blog unique an interesting. More than any specific thing, if you write content or make people aware of things that will improve their lives then you will always have an audience.