Blogging, to me, always sounded like a dirty word. The kind of word that keeps gossip, baseless opinion and ill-researched ‘facts’ circulating the web, eventually ending up in essays. Now I have a blog and through this hypocrisy I have come to realise, it is really worthwhile.
It all came down to an assignment (most of what is studied through media is followed by addiction, i.e. Twitter), where I had to blog once a week on the same topic. After the initial “what the hell do I write about” it was suggested, in a rather obvious fashion, that I write about what I know.
Mark Twain defined an expert as “an ordinary fellow from another town.” It sums up the idea of blogging, someone else’s research and ideas put into legible order for the reader to decide what’s relevant within their searching escapades.
Successful blogs thrive from expertise. They break news, offer insight into world events and solutions to personal crisis. Blogs are an updated version of the magazine. How many times have you read an article in the paper and wanted to know more or perhaps hear it from an insider? Blogs offer a stronger case on a particular topic.
In such a fragmented society, blogs are necessary in order to touch on an assortment of tastes and cultures that may well be looked over in mainstream. I guess it all comes down to what tickles your fancy followed by a short sentence and click of the search button. Blogging is a platform for knowledge, much more personalised than a page from Wikipedia.
So what do I know? I know coffee. It has been pumping through my veins since I had my first sip. Eight years of playing with caffeine and working in customer service means I’m two years off being an expert according to, well, chess players. In the scheme of things that’s eight years more than some people. Perhaps I equal my barista counterparts, but I do have something to say on the matter that may shock, intrigue and hopefully not offend my readers.
La Trobe University houses my workplace, a small purple and red-coloured café where stressed out students pop by and rehabilitate. They have given me the inspiration to write about coffee in a way that may help others learn more about the second most traded commodity in the world.
Each blog post concentrates on a general question that arises while I converse with our diverse clientele. Through research and writing I aim to answer those queries, which will hopefully cover the questions of those that stumble across my new addiction.
Meghan Lodwick is a Bachelor of Journalism student at La Trobe University. Her blog is called For the love of beans!
