What Makes Blogs Different from Articles

Blogging is all about self discovery. As you blog away on a topic of interest, and share it in a story-telling format with the world, you realise how enriching the whole experience can be.

I’ve blogged for more than six years now… I enjoy it because it’s a dynamic platform, and gives you instant results— You can publish as soon as you like, you get responses within minutes of publishing, and you connect with people who feel for the same issues, and provide you with their valuable insight on the subject.

Blogging is exciting because it’s interactive, contrary to writing articles for traditional formats (which I enjoy doing too), that tend to be more one-sided and author-driven. Articles are a difficult format to gauge and track engagement. You don’t know their exact circulation and views, and also the time one has spent reading it.

As a content consultant, I write for all formats, but blogging is definitely my favourite… Here’s why:

It’s about personal experiences: Blogs are personal accounts made useful for the reader. It’s the author, and not the subject, that is at the fore. People want to know about people — their stories and opinions — and that’s probably why thought leadership has become such a huge phenomenon.

One of my most widely read blogs The Death of the Monthly Salary worked because I didn’t hesitate to share my doubts and fears, which I realised later were also the doubts and fears of many, who had hesitated to give up their full-time jobs.

It is not a mere compilation: While listicles may have become a trend a few years ago, using one number and points to attract the reader into opening a quick read, the ones that do eventually make an impact are those that have personal anecdotes to support the points being made.

When I wrote 10 Ways To Add Yoga To Your Everyday Life, I made sure every point listed was explained through a previous learning of mine. This approach not only corroborates the idea, but also gives the reader greater insight into your personality.

It is not just information: You’ve probably read travel articles that have factfiles largely sourced from Wikipedia, or other online sources. But a blog talks more about what the travel experience did for the writer…what thoughts it triggered in the author, and how the experience transformed him/her.

A blog of mine, that continues to be read, is titled Can We Live and Let Live? It was written after my visit to Jaisalmer in Rajasthan, where I saw an abandoned cursed village that is now a tourist site. In the blog, I question why people have to be vengeful, and hence bring in a philosophical component rather than just making it a vanilla travel story.

It needn’t have structure: Blogs are fluid, nothing is predetermined — not the style, word count, nor the tone. It needn’t also have a beginning, middle and end… It could be just one thought that you illustrate with your life experience or with a little research. It is this fluidity that makes blogs more approachable and less serious.

I often use poems in my blogs… This helps me showcase a poem, and the corresponding thought that goes with it. One such blog was, This is My Salvation which spoke about how writing is almost a meditative practice for me, and provides a liberating feeling, akin to that of ‘salvation’.

It helps develop your unique voice: Blogs are an opportunity for you to express yourself in a unique way. There is no mandate besides the basic premise of your blog. This gives you the freedom to experiment with subject, thought and language, and ultimately make your writing a powerful tool that truly connects with the reader.

And, there are ways to express yourself better through this platform, some of which are mentioned in the blog 6 Tools for Better Self Expression.

The biggest plus about blogs is their ability to bring you closer to yourself… As you sit in front of a blank page, you discover what makes you tick, what you feel strongly about, and what you would like the world to know about you.

You eventually become a more authentic person — sharing your life and experiences freely, getting closer to the core of your being…discovering who you are, and who you want to be!

PS: If you liked the blog, do leave a comment, applaud it, share it with your network, or follow Pink Pinjra for more posts!