PTR Writer Weighs in on Blogging

Pass the Remote staff writer LillyKat weighs in on the importance of responsible blogging in the premiere issue of Blogger Reps Newsletter. The new e-newsletter, a trade paper for those in the blogging community, invited our own LillyKat to write her op/ed piece "Why We Write: The (Blog) Sequel." In the article, she discusses the duty of a blogger. "Not surprisingly, blogs have become a powerful vehicle of communication and expression. As such, I think we bloggers need to remember that we have a responsibility to contribute to that community, not to detract from it," she writes. But she also expresses her own reasons for blogging:

That’s what appeals to me about blogging: getting creative; finding something to write about that interests me, but which also interests others. Whether its my journalism degree kicking in to find a “story,” or just the natural writer in me, the challenge is never ending.

Blogger Reps Newletter is a publication of Blogger Reps - the Blogger Relations division of Sociable Agency, a PR/Marketing firm dedicated to assisting companies promote their products through social media in a manner that is both respectful and organic. For more, visit the company's official site.

LillyKat's Full Article...

WHY We Write: The (Blog) Sequel
By Lilly Kat

It’s been an awkward couple of months in my area of the blogging world.

We at Pass the Remote been dealing with a big white elephant: the ongoing strike of the Writer’s Guild of America, who, as of this writing, just settled with the AMPTP. This has made things challenging for us given that we’re a television blog. Although we’re not quite desperate enough to write about American Gladiators or Who Stole My Wallet (OK, so that one is not a real show, but anything goes with the networks these days), we are getting creative.

That’s what appeals to me about blogging: getting creative; finding something to write about that interests me, but which also interests others. Whether its my journalism degree kicking in to find a “story,” or just the natural writer in me, the challenge is never ending.

Yet, there seems to be this confusion (or is it mockery?) about blogs nowadays given that everyone and their brother can claim to be a blogger.

“Once hailed as the pioneers of citizen journalism, Internet bloggers are, according to a new survey, mostly self-indulgent diarists interested in one topic above all others: themselves.” (AFP/File/Fred Dufour)

Ouch. Now, I don’t think all bloggers fall into this category, but some do. Enter what I like to call responsible blogging. That is, just because one can blog doesn’t mean one should blog.

The Internet revolutionized how we communicate; how we get our information; how we contribute to a community. Not surprisingly, blogs have become a powerful vehicle of communication and expression. As such, I think we bloggers need to remember that we have a responsibility to contribute to that community, not to detract from it.

Good bloggers are good writers: keep the audience interested, informed, and inspired. After all, isn’t that what good writers do?


And, we also have LillyKat to thank for the brand-new AWESOME PTR logo at the top of the page!