I just finished Rebecca Blood's Weblog Handbook. This text is a guide to starting and maintaining a weblog. It's a quick read, as it's pretty short.
As promised by reviewers, Rebecca stayed away from the mechanics of blogs and blogging, which change way too frequently to bother printing in a book, and focused instead on the fundamentals. She attempts to educate the reader on a wide variety of issues ranging from what a blog truly is to how can you increase your traffic.
The most valuable part of the book, for me, was the list of Do's and Don'ts to be a quality blogging. For example, reminders to cite your sources, or how to handle corrections in a smooth fashion will help minimize the number of screw ups a newcomer to the blogging world will have.
Is this a must read? No, not really. If you've heard the hype about blogging and want to get in on the action this is probably a good place to start. Also, if like myself you've slowly been blogging more and more, you might want to read the book just to see if you are missing anything.
In fact, if I were to make a "Get Started Blogging" kit, it would probably include:
- This book
- An account and and blog on blogger
- A list of 5 blogs you should be reading daily
- A bloglines account
Overall, I give Rebecca Blood a lot of credit. She's made a timeless text in a space that typically has a shelf life shorter than a carton of milk.
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