Classic blog entry formulas

Self-editing applies to the "assignment desk" as well. Where a pro has a boss – or even a handful of 'em – suggesting and vetting story ideas, bloggers are in DIY territory.

And that can be a cold, cold, lonely place some days...

Since regular posting is so important, following are some tried-and-test ways to jump start your blog's entries.

1. The anecdote – a curious thing happened on the way to the Forum...
2. The flashback – revisit scenes from earlier times, perhaps triggered by a current event or news story
3. The sound-off – commentary on news, issues or some rant-worthy incident
4. The rave – saluting others and their achievements
5. The meme – a set of questions passed around by bloggers. Answer, then "tag" others to do the same (see below).
6. The pundit – drawing together several news stories or events to make an observation about modern culture.
7. The curator – cataloguing elements of your life, from purse contents to old ticket stubs. Ideally some conclusion or insight arises from this.
8. The cliffhanger – a series of post, generally short, which knit into a larger narrative arc. A kind of essay-on-installment, this breaks off on a suspenseful moment each chapter to bring readers back to the same bat-time, same bat-place...
9. The review – try something, from an experience to a product, and report back.
10. The debate – comment on another blogger's post, expanding the issue.
11. Q&A – conduct a short e-interview with a relevant party.
12. The newsflash – reaction to a breaking story, including links.
13. The competition – conduct a contest among readers. Offer a small prize, virtual or otherwise.
14. The photo break – Post nothing but visuals, perhaps with explanatory captions.
15. The video dodge – Embed a YouTube video, if you're too rushed for original content.

What to avoid: blogging about not blogging enough or the stress of posting routinely. Who wants to hear you whine? Not even your parents...

And especially not my parents. Who call and critique my blog unbidden.

O joy!

Memes: Oh those crazy kids with their fads...

On a more playful note, let's turn our attention to the real purpose of the internet: to showcase kittens, nudity and dancing babies.

The term "Internet meme" is a neologism describing a catchphrase or concept that spreads quickly from person to person via the web. Basically, they're inside jokes ... just writ large. Memes can range from a questionnaire to an art project to video clips riffing off the same theme.

The term "viral" describes ideas that spread rapidly and organically like this (not, say, through mainstream media or an advertising campaign). As Novelist Neal Stephenson explained in 1992's Snow Crash: "We are all susceptible to the pull of viral ideas. Like mass hysteria. Or a tune that gets into your head that you keep on humming all day until you spread it to someone else. Jokes. Urban legends. Crackpot religions. No matter how smart we get, there is always this deep irrational part that makes us potential hosts for self-replicating information."

Some popular Internet memes:

• Bert Is Evil
• Bonsai Kitten
• The I Kiss You! guy from Turkey
• The Star Wars Kid
• The classic All Your Base Are Belong To Us
• Black People Love Us
• The infamous Dancing Baby
• my favorite PostSecret

These phenomena spread via email, blogs, social networking sites, instant messaging, etc. And yes, they can be deeply, deeply annoying. But they're here to stay and even spawned a whole field, memetics, that explores "transmission in terms of an evolutionary model" and just had its first convention at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology: 2008's ROFLCon.

Memers are very fond of citing Richard Dawkins as the term's originator. Mainly, I suspect, because they want to justify spending hours and hours animating a banana...

I'm sold. Meme me!

In the blogsphere, "meme" (rhymes with "theme") refers to a creative task, which then anchors a post. This could range from a set of personal questions to Photoshopping a raptor head on to a still or video. Here's a flashy twist on the "interview" format, using Flickr and mosaic maker, for example.

The best memes catch on and go viral. Authors tag each other, kind of like a chain letter. But there's no reason you can't borrow some classic formulas. In fact, sites like The Daily Meme suggest thousands of 'em, like listing your favorite bands from A-Z.

Following are a few more ideas from Margaret Mason's No One Cares What You Had for Lunch (an insubstantial book with a great title):

Ceremonies
Cheesy old memories
Confessions
Count your blessings
Critique consumer or pop culture
Curate the web
Dealbreakers
Examine your paperwork
Favorites
Food faves
Inventories
Nostalgia
Phrases
Place yourself (widget maps)
Play favorites
Podcast old voicemail
Scars
Scraps ripped from magazines
Share your expertise
Show some love
Timelines

Memes can be a terrific tool to get writing. They add original content – so key for the searchbots – and vary the texture of your blog, which helps maintain reader interest. But, as with all things, moderation is key. Too much "paint by numbers" material can alienate an audience.