The Cake

Last week, Karen at Celery Tree (she also has her own blog here) posted the Top Ten Rules of Social Media. If you're using your blog to help your career as a writer, I'd definitely peruse the information. So often we writers are told to "build a platform," and the post sums up the basics nicely. For a writer, a blog is a serious business. And as rule number ten says, you need to have your platform.

I don't know about you, but when I first heard it, I was a little vague on the idea of a so-called platform. Was it like a following? I asked myself. What does it entail? Do people just find me? And start to worship me via the internet? (Answers as I've figured out: That's part of it; writing about "your" subject; not even close; are you freaking crazy or something?).

The Celery Tree rules answer a lot of what ifs. A blog isn't a place to stoke your ego; it's a place where you hone your craft, make connections and find your niche in the industry--that niche is what I meant by "your" subject. It's what makes your blog stand out among others. This was something that eluded me for a while, until one fateful day in October when I marveled over the strange, confusing parts of the English language. Now you're graced with etymology once a week (anymore and I might bore you ; ).

That's not the only favored subject in my blog--writing and editing are major topics, and there's more than a little social commentary. But those, I feel, are covered to death by other bloggers. That isn't to say each post on such subjects, by me, you or anyone else in the blogspehere doesn't add something unique! It's just the etymology is what you can always find here on Wednesdays. It's "my" subject. My platform. The rest is just icing.