Entry #0 - The Power of Purpose and an Audience
Have you ever wished that you could find a healthy yet delicious meal that is easy to make at home? Maybe you long to learn more about what is going on in the world of investments, or perhaps you want to learn about some beautiful destinations to go to for a vacation! Blogs are an excellent source for all of these types of information, and so much more. There are many different types of blogs out there, and I can almost guarantee that there is one out there for everyone.
Each one of us has completely different desires, interests, and hobbies. While I might be fascinated in world travel, you may prefer to read about meals you can cook at home from your own kitchen. I have just recently started getting into blogs, but I have quickly discovered that there is a blog for just about every topic that you can think of. There are blogs dedicated to world travel, and there are blogs dedicated to food. There are blogs that discuss sports, entertainment, and the lives of celebrities. I even have found blogs that exist merely to discuss the finance and investment world. No matter what types of things interest you, there is bound to be a blog that is focused on it. I have quickly come to realize that I enjoy reading other people's blogs. They cause me to think deeply, to learn new things, and to connect with other people. That being said, not everyone will enjoy reading the same blogs, and it is meant to be that way.
When bloggers create a blog, they have in mind a specific purpose and audience. These two key components of rhetoric are extremely important and impact who reads and enjoys a specific blog. In order to show you how purpose and audience impact a blog, I want to tell you about two particular blogs that I read.
The first blog that I want to tell you about is called Seeking Alpha. Seeking Alpha is a blog dedicated to telling it's readers about recent financial and investment news. When you open up the blog, there is lots of different statistics displayed at the top of the page. If you scroll down, there is a collection of different articles about the most recent investment and financial analysis. I read one particular page about a specific investment company. The page discussed the pros and cons of investing in this company. It was written in a neat and easy to understand manner; everything was sorted well and divided by headlines. The purpose of this blog is to help people learn more about the investment world, and the clear, organized, and professional layout helps readers to feel as though they can trust the information shared. Despite this, I personally did not like the blog.
What is my reasoning, you may ask? The answer is simple. I am not the author's directed audience. The author of this blog is writing to an audience that is involved in investments; an audience that has interest in the the purpose of the blog, which is to tell readers about investment statistics. I am not a current investor, and I don't have much interest in reading about financial statistics. This doesn't meant that it is a bad blog, it merely means that it was not meant for me.
On the other hand, we have The Blonde Abroad, which is a blog that has the purpose of helping people, particularly single women, find the perfect travel destination. When you enter the blogs main page, you are greeted with many colorful pictures of all of the places that the author, Kirsten, has been. The pictures are absolutely stunning, and each page is sorted in a neat and orderly way. I read Kirsten's introduction page, and I really enjoyed it. For the most part, she paid attention to her grammar, and everything was very clear and relatable. She writes as though she is a friend, someone whom you can trust. This personal style of writing really helps the reader to connect with her, which in turn helps her to carry out her purpose. This was a very enjoyable blog to read.
I have never traveled out of country before, but it is my dream to get to travel the world. The entire purpose of this blog is to help people find and see pictures of beautiful places around the world. I loved seeing all of the pictures, and I fit right in with the blogs intended audience, which is young, single women. This blog really inspired me to follow my dreams of traveling, and I am now more determined than ever to travel the world. I have considered teaching abroad after I graduate, and now I am even more certain that this might be the path I want to take. I am very grateful for the opportunity to read this blog, and I am thankful that I found it.
All of us have different dreams that we want to follow, different things that we enjoy doing. Blogs give us the opportunity to explore our likes in more depth; blogs give us the opportunity to explore them with other people. If we dig deep, we can all find a blog or any piece of writing that we can relate to. There is something out there for everyone, we just have to be willing to search for it. We just have to find something that is written for us, something that has a purpose that we can connect with. I hope that each of you can find a blog (or maybe something else!) that helps you follow your dreams and passions.
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