Tonight, I reviewed all of the blogs in the Hall of Fame blogroll. With regret, I removed blogs that had no posts for the month of August. It was with regret, because several of those blogs were quite funny, insightful and well written. I am hoping that it was the dog days of summer and as summer draws to a close they will return to entertain and educate us. If I removed your blog from the Hall of Fame and you post this month, add a comment here. I will reinstate your blog.

Spending several hours reviewing the blogs, I noticed several trends amongst these Hall of Fame blogs.

• The more specific the information in the headlines and in the posts, the more search engine traffic generated.
  Last session, I browbeat poor Anita in to changing the headline on a post on a brain tumor to specifically identify the tumor but she started getting hits off that post soon after she changed the headline
• Blog posts with examples get more comments.
  Quirky Artist gives lots of examples of the art that she creates and receives. In general, the more examples she gives the more comments she gets. The great thing about the Learn to Do it Right blog is how she provides clear and detailed examples. We have a lot of art and course blogs in the Hall of Fame that could really benefit from more specific examples for their readers.
• Bloggers often would mention a product or an article but they rarely shared with THEIR readers THEIR personal opinion or experience with that product or article
  It is when the blogger personalizes the experience, that it becomes interesting. Most of us visit blogs because we think the blog has some authority. They are coming to get YOUR opinion and perspective. You may not always agree with the opinions on For the People, By the People but you will always know exactly what her opinion is.

I hope that you will be able to find the time to explore some of the blogs in the Hall of Fame. They are varied in topics, personality and writing style.

Controversy

Taking on a controversal topic in your blog requires a clear opinion or a keen awareness of your own ambivalence and indecision. Some of us shy away from controversy while others may crave the energy and attention that stirring up a hornet’s nest brings. Some bloggers will try to create controversal headlines to attract readers but fail to follow through in providing information or insight to the conversation.

Is it Art or Porn?

Recently, one of the LVS students successfully presented a controversial subject and offered both information and insight to the controversy while encouraging her readers to examine their own stand. Art is a very personal topic and has certainly been controversial for ages. Add in the religious, societal, personal and political values that we hold in regards to nudity and you are upping in the ante. Bring in the subject of children and without care you have such an explosive topic that emotions and outrage cloud all opportunities for meaningful discussion. In her blog post on the Bill Henson Controversy and nudity in art, she does a masterful job of bringing the current controversy to frame her own questions and musings about nudity in art.

Light and Shadow

From the artist’s perspective, the human form is a interesting collection of angles and curves, light and shadow. Like the choices they make in regards to paints and medium, an artist uses angles and curves to convey their message and to garner an emotional response. Sometimes the choice of nudity is a conscious one, banking on the emotional response of the audience to the nude. Sometimes it less conscious as the artist focuses on the subject not as a nude but light and shadow.  When an artist focuses on the latter, it can be a surprise to them when the audience reacts to the nudity instead of the shadows they lovingly created or captured. The same can be true of the blogger. 

Bringing it Full Circle

When dealing with a controversial subject, you might be posting with a particular focus and expecting feedback on that focus. It can be a bit startling to start getting emotional reactions to what you construed to be the minor facts of your blog post. Blogging can be an enlightening education on the views and ethics of many communities. Quirky Artist explores the diverse reactions to nudity in art, acknowledges her own journey to her current stand. This includes discussing her grey areas and her convictions are clear.  She brings her posting to a close by stating her own personal stand in the Bill Henson controversy. Her headline was not just to entice the reader, she used it to frame the entire post in a very successful way.

I encourage you to visit her post and join in the discussion. Look at how she handled controversy and how you might envision discussing controversal topics in your own blog.