Blogging can be a race, he who posts first wins when it comes to news. Too often that race sadly takes precedence over content. Ben Trombly at Frogstr wrote a thoughtful post on the need to publish with caution. He stresses the need to preview and review your post and I heartly agree. Even news posts can benefit from

• Previewing your post in your theme to make sure that it is legible, attractive and well formed
• Previewing your post to make sure that it is scannable, that your reader can quickly scan your post to identify its key themes and ideas
• Review your post for spelling and grammatical errors
• Review your post for clarity and comprehension
• Review your post for intent, did you end up saying what you intended to say?
• Review your headline to ensure that it captures the attention of your intended audience and the theme of your post
• Review your post to make sure that you will have no regrets tomorrow over what you post today

Since I work with students, I also sometimes see too much fear about the publish button. In Carol’s blog post, she talks about her blogging fears outside the publish button. Her post, however, reminded me of all of my students who are afraid of publishing their thoughts, ideas and experiences. Sometimes this fear is rooted in a lack of confidence about their writing skills or expertise. Most often this fear comes from the belief that they have nothing to offer. Blogging can be a great outlet for self expression, even if the intended audience is just yourself. If you don’t feel confident about your post, keep it private or keep it as a draft, but keep writing. You might be surprised what you come up with practice and patience.