Ingredients Of A Good Blog

During a normal day I usually read between 30 to 40 different blogs on a huge variety of subjects. Some are good, some are bad, and some are kind of in between. I try to learn from the good ones, laugh at the medium ones, and pray for the bad ones...

Our blog is a few years old now and its been one of the most enjoyable experiences of my long, long life. When one owns a blog, I think there are responsibilities that go along with it so I thought I would print a list of ingredients that I think are vital to a good blog. I'm sure you might have more but here are a few of the KEY INGREDIENTS OF A GOOD BLOG:

1. Truth and integrity. Always be sure that what you print is truthful and be sure to check your sources.

2. Humor. If we can't laugh at ourselves, who can we laugh at. Of course the tennis officiating world is packed with great events of humor.

3. Politics. Politics is like garlic--just a little bit is all you need. I try to keep it a minimum but sometimes it just gets the best of me. The good part of owning a blog is that you get to print what you think is the right political view--and then give just a little bit of room for the opposition.

4. Information. Strive to keep the people informed about events, decisions, and activities that are peculiar to your blog; i.e. tennis officiating.

5. Freshness and vitality. Try to stay on top of the latest issues and events. Its always fun to see people run when I show up with my camera. Down deep I think a lot of them enjoy seeing themselves in print.

6. Discernment. Not all things that happen in life need to be printed on a blog--but some are really good and we all enjoy a good laugh.

7. Constant quest for "betterness." I wasn't sure how to explain this one but it means to always work toward making the blog better, more informative, and more enjoyable.

8. Unafraid of tackling big issues. From time to time, big issues arise in our tennis officiating world. Sometimes I share my own personal opinions, sometimes I let you share yours, and sometimes its good to just STIR THE POT...

9. Have a thick skin. Not all comments are nice and uplifting and some are downright mean and vicious. Learn to appreciate the good ones and pray for the ones who write the evil ones.

These are just a few thoughts... The main thing is to be a blog that is enjoyable and fun!