Via BetaAlfa hittar man Washington Posts interna riktlinjer för bloggar. Onekligen är det lite intressant att läsa.

Även om det är för en tidnings bloggar kan de 9 punkterna vara väl värt att fundera över för andra bloggare också:

  1. What’s the blog’s topic or what event will it cover? Blogs with relatively narrow topics do better than loosely defined blogs. Either way, the topic of each blog needs to be clearly defined. A strong personality or voice can serve a similar defining function (Achenblog, the Kurtz media summary).
  2. What’s the competition, and how will your blog win? You’re unlikely to find many topics that someone else isn’t already blogging about. Identify the competition and tell us why your blog is special.
  3. How will your blog supplement what appears in print and online? Blogs on washingtonpost.com must contain original material – newsworthy reporting, useful information and/or strong commentary. Some of the best blogs have a live and fresh feel precisely because they take readers inside the news. Outline how your blog will relate to existing print and online features.
  4. How often will it be updated, and at what time(s) of day? Blogs need to be updated at least once each weekday.
  5. Who will write your blog? Blogs usually benefit from a distinctive voice. At the same time, reporters can’t offer personal opinions on a blog in a way that would not be acceptable in the newspaper (critics exempted, for example). Proposals should include at least three “test posts” to judge whether the writer can produce posts with effective and acceptable voice.
  6. Who will edit your blog? Blog items need to be edited. Your proposal needs to say who will edit blog copy.
  7. Who will moderate comments on your blog? User comments typically account for 10-25% of a blog’s traffic and are a key to success – but need to be moderated. Who will review comments that appear to violate the site’s discussion policy and delete them if necessary?
  8. How and where will your blog be promoted? Successful blogs typically “live off the land” by attracting bloggers who link to them and a loyal audience. But promotion on washingtonpost.com and in print is helpful, particularly at launch. Work with appropriate editors on both sides on a realistic promotion plan.
  9. What names and “taglines” do you propose for your blog? Since many names are already taken, you should include several possibilities in your proposal, and do a quick web check to make sure none is in use.

Egentligen är det bara punkt två jag reagerar lite på - What’s the competition, and how will your blog win?

Jag tycker ju inte att man behöver tänka vi och dem, och att man måste “vinna”. Att hitta sin röst och bidra till konversationen är det viktiga.