What is the downside to blogs and blogging?
The very things that make them popular also make blogs unpopular. The
fact that anyone can publish anything instantly to the web can be both
good news and bad news. Just because you CAN publish something doesn’t
mean you should. There have even been some legal battles involving
bloggers who publish information they shouldn’t and corporations have
reprimanded or even fired bloggers for negative or blatantly untrue
things they have posted to their personal blogs.
Many schools and districts block all blog sites even though many of them
contain good, reliable information mostly because of the potential for
abuse. Unfortunately many schools and districts also prohibit teachers
and students from creating blogs. There are, however, safe blogging
sites and procedures, and in many schools and districts where blogs and
blogging were once prohibited, they are now embraced because teachers
have shown how they benefit students in so many ways.
Another downside is that blogging takes time. Even if you post only a
short paragraph each day or each week, it is an additional
responsibility and an important one if you are going to maintain
readers’ interest and keep them coming back.
It's very important that you read and respond to others' comments; when
users see that you are are actively participating in the blog, they'll
be more apt to post more comments and respond to others as well.