by Sir Humphrey
UK defense forcefulness blogging is growing inwards strength in addition to popularity, in addition to the Wavell Room has been instrumental inwards helping force both credence in addition to legitimacy of the purpose of the British Military Blogger equally an entity that tin communicate the purpose of the Armed Forces, fence thorny issues in addition to demonstrate loyal dissent to encourage fence most how things could live done differently. But blogging is non tardily or straightforward though, in addition to for every weblog that succeeds, many fail. I wishing to occupation this article to laid out what has worked for me, in addition to my thoughts on what anyone thinking of blogging needs to consider. Why produce you lot wishing to blog?
Many people toy amongst the thought of doing a blog, oft setting it upwards in addition to putting an article or 2 up, thence run dry out of ideas. The cyberspace is awash amongst abandoned blogs that promised much but never delivered. Before fifty-fifty starting a weblog up, inquire yourself what is it you lot wishing to weblog for, in addition to for how long produce you lot wishing to produce it? Ask yourself the substitution enquiry – what am I trying to communicate hither in addition to why? Can you lot explicate to yourself why you lot wishing to commit your ain fourth dimension to writing articles in addition to who you lot think may read them? Why produce you lot wishing to produce this?
I began blogging inwards 2011, driven past times a deep frustration at what I felt was a distressing country of coverage most Defence inwards the U.K. media. In most mainstream publications the purpose of Defence correspondent seemed to involve writing articles bashing the MOD, complaining that our ‘brave boys’ were beingness seen off due to unacceptable failings past times pinstriped civil servants who were remote from the reality of the front end lines. To evidence in addition to counter this country of hear I began to write ‘Thin Pinstriped Line’ weblog to brand the positive instance for Defence.
Everyone volition lead hold a unlike thought of what they wishing to write, but it could live that your thought is less a blog, but mayhap a couplet of articles that could live hosted elsewhere. Before you lot fifty-fifty write that commencement article, think carefully most whether it’s a blog, or something you lot could offering to Wavell Room or the British Army Review or a Regimental Journal.
Can You Safely Blog?
There are many examples of employees using the cyberspace to rant most their employer, exclusively to notice themselves disciplined or fired. Think carefully most what you lot wishing to tell in addition to how you lot wishing to tell it. If you lot are a serving soldier wanting to write a damning expose of how dreadful everything is from your perspective, call upwards that the cyberspace is non anonymous, in addition to you lot are easier to location than you lot mightiness realise. Ask yourself, produce you lot wishing to write to moan in addition to if so, is the Internet really the house to produce it or should you lot occupation the Chain of Command?
Working amongst the Armed Forces agency you lot volition unremarkably lead hold access to privileged data ranging from commercial contracts through to operational planning or intelligence reports. If you lot wishing to blog, think carefully most your dependent in addition to live for certain that inwards writing an article, you lot won’t compromise this.
Finally, are you lot inwards a seat that agency your blogs could campaign reputational or professional person embarrassment if you lot were publicly exposed? Once an article is up, anyone tin read it – how would you lot experience if you lot got a telephone telephone outcry upwards from a tabloid reporter bespeak whether you lot meant what you lot said inwards your article ahead of tomorrow’s front end page scoop?
Much of the impress media relies on salacious stories originating online to generate their ain articles. To the press, anyone higher upwards Lance Corporal is a ‘senior armed services source’ in addition to your weblog article is fair game to live turned into a story. For years the ARRSE website has generated storey later storey for the media, past times reporters trawling threads for an tardily headline.
You volition wishing to think most whether you lot become ‘on the record’ or weblog anonymously. There are merits to both cases – a ‘declared’ weblog gains you lot the credit in addition to reputation. But the pitfalls if you lot tell something that goes downwardly poorly are potentially significant. An anonymous weblog allows you lot to live to a greater extent than frank, albeit without having the chance to gain credit for your work. If inwards uncertainty though – refer to Army social media policy for a steer here.
When Can You Blog?
Blogging is fourth dimension consuming in addition to it requires a pregnant endeavor to maintain a weblog going for the long haul. You demand to flora your battle beat early on to know what you lot wishing to write, how oft you lot wishing to pose out in addition to communicate this to your followers.
From the start Thin Pinstriped Line has never had a fixed publication schedule. I write on issues that truly involvement me in addition to where I experience I tin add together value to a debate. My articles tend to live media driven, responding to articles or trending issues in addition to beingness published on an advertizing hoc basis. I also prefer to non larn it peer reviewed equally I notice pushing a timely weblog out doesn’t run good when waiting to larn comments back. You demand to notice a routine that plant for you lot – otherwise your weblog volition fail.
How Will You Communicate?
Having a weblog upwards in addition to running is the commencement footstep inwards the process, but you lot demand to larn a readership. The easiest way to produce this is to occupation social media to engage amongst people, postal service your weblog links in addition to encourage them to read it too.
There is an entire article to live written on the ability of social media, but, only pose if you lot wishing your weblog to live read, you lot demand to live ready to engage openly via channels similar Twitter. Know your audience, know where they are probable to live found (e.g. snapchat, twitter, Facebook etc.) in addition to become out in addition to engage amongst them.
One way to construct a next is to lead hold an active twitter concern human relationship that follows the vibrant U.K. defense forcefulness twitter community out in that location which is truly supportive of novel bloggers. Twitter is peculiarly powerful, but live wary of how you lot tweet, what you lot retweet in addition to call upwards that in i lawsuit you lot tweet something, it is really hard to delineate it back. Hard won reputations tin live lost inwards seconds if you lot tweet inwards anger or alcohol induced frustration.
Think really carefully most the call you lot tweet under, in addition to how much personal data you lot let on through it. Ask yourself likewise whether you lot would live comfortable having an interview amongst your chain of ascendency most your tweeting activity – if the response is ‘no’ thence you’re in all probability doing something wrong.
Benefits of Blogging?
Be inwards no doubt, keeping a weblog going is hard run – it requires a lot of thinking in addition to writing fourth dimension to produce well. As your weblog in addition to social media presence grow, thence likewise does the fourth dimension spent on the blog. So why produce it?
For me it is the chance to laid out my instance that the U.K. is to a greater extent than rigid than nosotros give ourselves credit for in addition to that nosotros lead hold a strong ‘good news’ storey to tell. I similar countering the narrative of spend upwards in addition to correcting hyperbole. The satisfaction comes from pushing an article out in that location that demolishes inaccurate claims, counters the prevailing narrative in addition to tries to laid out a to a greater extent than balanced approach. This was most powerfully seen on articles that I wrote most the UK Response to Hurricane Irma in addition to the proposition that the novel carrier ‘HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH’ was flooding.
Both articles tried to force a to a greater extent than nuanced business than ‘MOD has messed upwards again’ in addition to had a really broad reach. The satisfaction came from seeing people to a greater extent than widely on the meshing in addition to beyond become from proverb ‘well of class the MOD has messed up’ to ‘actually the U.K. in addition to MOD lead hold done rather good here’.
I also bask writing articles that appear to allow my vocalization to live heard inwards a way that wasn’t possible when I worked for MOD. I was a really anonymous MOD civil retainer in addition to had practically no exposure to whatever senior figures. It’s overnice to hear feedback that the articles I write are read in addition to listened to past times senior people whose sentence in addition to watch I abide by in addition to value.
Blogging provides the armed services blogger inwards a really strict hierarchy the hazard to communicate their storey inwards a way that tin larn it heard without it beingness watered downwardly or lost. Of class this exclusively happens if you lot write fabric that is worth reading – angry baseless rants most how something is rubbish volition rarely gain much traction. Treat your wishing to write equally an chance to cast in addition to influence the people you lot wishing to beak to – write the article inwards a way that puts across the points you’d brand if you lot could lead hold a direct in addition to honest conversation amongst them.
And Finally…
Every weblog has a lastly article – but exclusively you lot volition know when that is. There volition come upwards a indicate when it’s meliorate to halt than behaviour on. Understanding this is essential to successfully blogging. Many practiced blogs outlive their welcome, going from beingness cutting border to a chip bloated in addition to stale. I’ve e'er said that I volition travel on to weblog for equally long equally my personal circumstances permit in addition to I lead hold something of value to add. Better to larn out on a high, than live booed off the stage. Always lead hold an larn out strategy…
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