Last week’s seminar was regarding the measures of an attractive blog post during which our creative seminar leaders proposed at the the start of it as an inspiration for discussion, three couples of paragraphs, titles, and pictures for us to compare. This was a major highlight of the seminar as it gave us much more specific aspects to think about than seminars with ordinary questions could. We also got to learn what the majority of the class would prefer in terms of blogs.
The first piece of comparison unfolded by the introduction of two paragraphs with one describing the silly scenery of encountering pigeon poop attacks in a park and another depicting the poetic picture of an early-spring park. The majority of the class favored the first paragraph more, claiming its humorous and dynamic style gained it the advantage of being more engaging and attention-attracting. The second, despite being complained by most people of boring, still quite attracted me and Sarah for the charming beauty it presented.
The discussion on titles was a bit more chaotic, which I prefer to give up expounding on the single points and summarize my findings. First is that fictional titles such as “When Pigeons Attack…” with functional indications such as “When Pigeons Attack: A Guide to…” with exaggerated expression of words such as “When Pigeons Attack: A Survival Guide to…” with words that try to make you think you would laugh by saying that you would laugh such as “When Pigeons Attack: A Hilarious Survival Guide to…” with…just kidding. Additionally, I found that titles with contrasts appealing, such as titles that described a peaceful park in Shanghai.
The upcoming discussion around two pictures was somewhat an even fiercer one. One picture was a closeup of a few willow branches, another described the whole (comparing to the first) scenery of a park. Some argue that the first was two simple and ordinary, while the second possessed more varied elements. I refuted by saying that we could witness identical park scenes typically, while few would actually look up closely on a willow tree, which the second picture provided a more unique aspect. I also thought that the second picture had too varied colors and elements, which pretty much made it hard for the readers to find its focus and less appealing.
After the whole seminar, I formulated two wise assertions. First, think before you start writing the post, about what your topic could provide to the reader which other topics cannot. For instance, traveling posts can provide visualization which seminar reflections cannot; while seminars can present explicit and in-depth thoughts and inspirations. That will establish the focus of your post. Second, think about what you can provide while others cannot, for example your own unique aspects of observations, you own logic and way of thinking, etc, because that will be the key for your blog to standout.
Thanks to the seminar leaders, and Dr.Terret of course, for the arduous process of grading.