Technorati now tracks more than 112 million blogs.  whut?

- some history of the phenomenon can be found at Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_blogging_timeline
- you might find this entertaining: http://www.masternewmedia.org/independent_publishing/blogging-how-to-blog/guide-to-publishing-first-blog-20071104.htm.htm
- let’s assume you’ve already covered the technical details like “where”.  i recommend http://wordpress.com/ as a great place to start.  let’s also assume that you’re reading this because you really are just getting started, and details like linking can come with experience.

- the first law of blogging: the more frequently you post, the more traffic you will have.
- tell people about it.  don’t be self-deprecating when you do it.  this is seriously cool shit.
- be consistent– keep it coming.  you will get the same devotion back that you put in.  this is part of your day.
- “they” will tell you to pick a subject and stick with it, so you can become a world-famous authority on it and have thousands of readers. i say there’s no better subject than your own life, and it’s probably the subject on which you’ll have the easiest time remaining the authority.
- people love pictures.  they really love pictures of themselves.  take pictures of friends and their friends and post them right away.  within hours, if possible.  same goes for stories.  yay iPhone!
- a great example of a personal blog, http://dooce.com, which makes enough money through ad revenue to support author & family, has a huge readership built purely by word of mouth.  in a fiasco now known as getting “dooced”, she did get fired for blogging about work.  she sure showed them.
- a personal feel is a must, but keep in mind that nothing on the interwebs ever goes away. there are a million teenage girls out there who will have all sorts of myspace regret in a few years. don’t say it if you ever might have cause to regret it. definitely don’t take a picture of it.  it’s kind of like a tattoo, but getting rid of a tattoo is easier.
- blog about what you know.  you dig your own hole if you’re speaking out of ignorance.  get informed about all sides of any issue before spouting off on it.
- posts should be geared toward generating return readership– everybody should want to read regularly and tell their friends.  what’s coming up?  and how’d that thing go?
- posts don’t have to be epic, but they should be about something.
- be honest.  invite comment.  follow through on promises.
- if a blog is successful there will be critics.  you don’t have to endure them if it doesn’t further the conversation.  it’s YOUR web space.  it is NOT a public forum.  that said, you asked for it.  best be prepared to defend yourself.  again, get yourself an informed opinion, or you’ll just sound like a republican.  i kid.
- what’s going on elsewhere on the web that interests you?  especially if that elsewhere is talking about you at the same time.  you are part of the blogosphere.  a big part of blogging is how you connect with the rest of the web.  what’s cool to you?

Now that you’ve got the mindset, what will you actually talk about? If you were getting interviewed by HairAmerica, what would they want to know?  What if it were GQ?  Esquire?  Vogue?  Cosmo?  How about Letterman?  What is it about you that brought them to your door?

If you start from the perspective that you can talk about absolutely anything under the sun and you just let the ideas come, you’ll have an easier time saying no to what doesn’t fit your venue, rather than struggle for something that fits perfectly.  Blogs grow naturally like a stream of consciousness.  That’s a good thing.  If you keep it up, you will win.  That’s the rule.

Davin wrote a great page on the subject here.  Don’t miss it.