Blog Jazz
Jazz musicians have a lot to teach us about leadership, teamwork and the like. That, apparently is an oldie but goldie in management thinking. Perhaps they can do the same for blogging?
One Professor Knudsen from Norway makes the point that
"Communication is not just about words, but about moods."Companies, he claims, need to create the right moods or atmospheres for their staff, and to understand how to shift tempo when circumstances require. But should we as bloggers be doing that too?
Mood and emotion is obviously a key part of communication, but it's difficult to see how they can effectivly be conveyed in blogs outside of the words. I've had a quick think, and have come up with this by-no-means-exhaustive list of mood conveyors.
1) Conveyor: Emoticons
One obvious contender for best user of moods in blogs is Lilia's Mathemagenic, where you'll find smilies, frownies, winkies and a list of other emoticons dotted through the entries - and to good effect.
2) Conveyor: Language
This might or might not be cheating, but I'm going to make a distinction between style of language and the actual words. People write in different styles - some formal, some less so. (Personally how I write here is different to how I write in, say, a business report or a letter to my bank manager. ) And different styles, formal and informal, mixing and matching them allows for a lot in the way of mood expression.
3) Conveyor: Editorial Choices
Kevin Aylward has "one thing to say about blogging rules: FUCK THAT!" [Thanks Lilia for the link] It's his blog, his choice of content - he's the editor. And so you get the mood.
Wizbang [Kevin's very own] is whatever I feel like it should be that: week; day; or post. Nothing more, nothing less. Some days it will be funny (I hope), other days it will serious, some times it will get personal, often it may be lame (sorry).In short, Kevin will "shift tempo" as and when. (As an aside, it'd be interesting to know whether subscribers (of kevin's or any blog) shifted tempo with him.
4) Conveyor: Graphic Design
A lot of you might be reading this in an aggregator, but my guess (from a peek at the stats log) is that a fair few of you still use browsers. So there is design. Now, ahem, at the moment my site may not be the best example. But, other people's site designs do have an impact on mood. There a professional looking ones, quirky,plain or cluttered and those that have pretty much kept the blog software's original templates. All impact mood.
5) Conveyor: Non-text
Last on my list is diagrams, pictures, movies - everything that isn't text. These are separate from Graphic Design in that they miay be one off additions to the site. A picture of where you are now say. Pictures, they say are worth a thousand words. Movies? Sound snippets? How much are they worth.
6) Conveyor: Comment
Look at the comments or trackbacks to a post and you get a pretty quick "mood hit". Admittedly, the ones I read are all pretty polite, criticism is friendly, but there are discernible styles nonetheless.
Links:
Jazz & Business Independent