HARTLAND TOWNSHIP, Mich. — Meet Lily. She's my daughter who was born at 2:07 p.m. Friday, sharing her birthday with my wife’s.
Obviously, I'm a proud papa — why else would I post a photo of her here as I did on Facebook? But a larger question looms, especially for journalists — how personal should their blogs be? Is it OK to venture away from the main topic, as I have here, and detail a little about my own life? What would be too much information?
Tell me what you think (in addition to how cute you think she is) to earn some EC points.
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Congratulations Chris! I wondered all weekend if your wife had the baby yet, and I'm so happy to hear that both mom and baby are healthy. She is absolutely precious (and I'm not just saying that for the EC points). And, that's so special that she shares her birthday with her mommy!
ReplyDeleteIf you are writing a blog that you are being paid for, something for your job, I would say avoid personal posts (like the one above). But, if this is a blog you put together that has one overall theme, but you have the blog for your own use and nothing else, I think it's okay to venture off topic every now and again. It's definitely okay to allow life to take over occasionally. I think sometimes it's refreshing for your followers to have a "break" from the normal posts.
As far as too much information, I definitely do not think you offered too much in your blog. I think too much information would have been if you wrote 1,000 words all about your new baby, how she was born (natural or C), how long your wife was in labor, that type of thing. But, if your personal blog is not about this particular topic, I think too much information would be when those who read your blog would be uninterested. So, too much information would be anything that would not matter to the normal reader. Sure, the birth of your daughter doesn't truly matter to your students (unless you have a friendship with the students), but it's still okay to share a little bit of your life now and again.
She is beautiful!
ReplyDeleteI think it depends on the topic of your blog. I plan on starting a weight loss blog on the M-Times Web site about me and my need to not have a spare tire, and everything I do within the week to make that happen. Whether it be new recipes, how much I work out, and even how much I weigh at the time of that post.
I think that at times it is ok to be personable with your blogs. But at the same time you need to stay on topic. To me though, announcing a birth is acceptable, because everyone likes to celebrate new babies.
This comment is for Amanda, before I begin my other comment. (Amanda, you are beautiful and do not need to lose a "spare tire," but good luck with your blog, I look forward to hearing about your stories.)
ReplyDeleteChris-
You baby girl, Lily, is absolutely precious. Congratulations. I do believe that staying on topic is very important. However, I do not believe you are being paid to write this blog (am I correct?) and therefore find it to be ok to go off topic and announce the birth of your daughter, especially with it being your first. Its nice that you provided a picture of her, because it definetly helps with the visual aspect of your blog.
I expect to meet her in person some time soon.