I have to respectfully disagree. I think imposing such artificial limits on blog postings is ultimately not good for both writers and readers, i.e. the entire blogosphere.

Complex thoughts/arguments often require several levels of discussion; sometime circuitous paths of logic, taking us through several layers of analysis, maybe even a few digressions, before arriving at a point. Such is the nature of human discourse.

To expect blog postings to be limited to a single “thing”, in my opinion cheapens this discourse, rendering it a meagre shadow of what it could be. Yes, we live in a age that rewards the sound-bite, the quick-n-dirty, the skimmable – but we should not allow ourselves to slide too far down this slippery slope.

What of nuance? Of layered expression? Of subtlety? Of carefully considered debate? Why should we mandate that all degrees or directions of thought be disaggregated into separate posts?

The practicalities of skim-based reading habits should not dictate the nature of content generation. Rather, reading habits should conform to the realities of deep content. Sure, one might hope (for convenience's sake) that the opening paragraph of a length text might hold the summary of the exposition (I've done it with this reply), but that does not mean that the meat of that exposition should be omitted.

For me a blog post, both writing and reading, can be (and maybe even should be?) more than a quick drive-by, lest we descend into meaningless one-sentence ping-pong-like drivel. The continued richness of the human conversation demands it!

[Admittedly, to date I've not been an avid blog writer. I do however dabble in writing, and read a shatload of blogs everyday, so I feel I'm not completely out of my element here.]

Great points by both of you. I think it helps readers and search engines alike when blog posts have a headline and content that correspond well in terms of their scope and breadth. You can have a really long post about sea otters that covers a lot of mini-subjects within the larger realm of sea otter-dom … but at least it's still about that one thing. That said, you could split things up into smaller chunks – sea otter news in Sri Lanka, sea otter mating habits in springtime, etc. It does depend somewhat on your readership.

Anyway I went to the store the other day and … oops, this applies to comments too. 🙂

Your title should speak.Opening line always attract people.More you say stories lesser people would like to read but then even if u just say few lines readers will think its just news..

FOCUS – This might be part of why the Blog of the Day Awards are so popular … Each award is about one thing – the blog of the winner.

A couple of times we had multiple winners in a single post and those posts are among the least popular on the entire site.

You make an interesting point and BOTDA mentioning FOCUS is the one thing that will bring clarity to your writing.

One of the popular tactics I see on some blogs are link lists – which I choose to ignore – because they typically have no focus. Usually, they cover multiple topics or simply reflect what the blogger read that day. Who cares what you are reading? What I care about is 'what you think about what you are reading.

Blog posts should be about one thing?

If people wrote focused sentences about just one thing – that alone would make their blog more readable and cogent.

Dude, a better title would have been “Blog Posts Should be About One Thing and I'm Getting a Haircut today.” Then both people interested in good blog posts, and the style and hair-conscious would have read this!

No, seriously, I agree. Besides, my title would have driven away the bald blog contingent (bbc).
So, Easton — what store? What did you buy? . . .

Thank you to everyone who commented. I think it's a worthwhile discussion.

Mat – I'm glad you disagreed with me. A little discussion/controversy doesn't hurt!

I don't think the concept of “one idea per blog post” drives us to one-line ping pong drivel (although I love your phrasing.) As well, blogs aren't the same as other forms of text, say books for example, where there's more opportunity and more likelihood for depth.

As for writing blog posts to meet the needs of people who skim – I see your point – but I also think by doing so you're meeting the needs of customers. And the fact remains, we're all busy people, consuming oodles of “stuff” – personally, a blog post isn't the place for long discourse. I suppose it depends on the blog and the audience, but generally, I think long discourse is better left for face-to-face.

Nuance, subtleties and even long blog posts can all be managed within the framework of “one idea per blog post” though…

Rut roh. I'm doomed.

I agree in principle and practice Ben – especially since I'm a rambler in speaking – lord knows I can carry on – Often I approach the post as a speech – opening, body, conclusion.

At the same time – there is a place for multiple topics in a blog. I think it depends. Focus does seem to be a key. It's not likely Busy Mom is doomed 🙂

Bob
bbc

Bob – multiple topics in a blog is fine – multiple topics in one post is another story. It's just too hard to follow, read quickly, enjoy and process. Also, remember, part of blogging is generating discussion – having a rambling, multi-idea blog post doesn't encourage commenting it encourages confusion.

Did you get that from Seth Godin? I think I remember something similar in his ebook 'Who's Out There'.

Maybe great minds think alike. Anyways, I certainly agree. A blog isn't a novel, people have limited time. Staying on focus is key.

On the other hand, people like Steve Pavlina have done great by making every entry a thousand words, so who knows.

John – I'm sure Seth has talked about focusing on ideas. If you read his book “small is the new big” it's all (mostly) very short anecdotes that are hyper-focused on getting one point across.

As for Steve Pavlina – he's done a great job, and yes, his posts are longer, but I bet if you look at them closely you'd see they're also very focused on one idea – maybe bigger ideas that require more detail and explanation. Remember: it's not the length of the post that I'm talking about here as much as the focus of it.

Thanks for the comment!

I know I read so many blogs that anything more than four or five paragraphs makes me think twice about even starting reading.

The more focused and targeted the post, the more likely I'll stick around to hear what you have to say…