The Internet is a very “free” medium with very little or no rules for surfers. Everyone goes where just anywhere at anytime and I guess the “internet traffic police” really don’t have anything to say. I doubt if they even love their jobs…

Some websites and social networks are a bit complicated to handle, at least for the inexperienced. In such a case, a Webmaster might find it necessary to include a HOW TO USE THIS SITE link.

Blogs, on the other hand, are a lot easier to deal with and I bet you won’t find any blog out there with a HOW TO USE THIS BLOG link. Every Blogger assumes you know why you are there, and you know (or can easily find out) how to navigate the blog.

Below are some questions I think you really should ask when you visit a blog for the first time.

What is this blog all about?

Normally, one should be able to tell from the blog’s title and tagline but this is not always the case. If you can tell from just the blog’s title and tagline, then fine. If not, I guess you will have to look harder and find answers for different questions that can answer this.

Who runs this blog?

Not every blogger wants to get public attention further than just a screen name or real name. However, some will be very please to provide visitors with a photo and a short bio. This is usually on a separate page, or better still, on the sidebar of the blog.

What is discussed on this blog?

This question gives a better understanding to question 1. It doesn’t suffice to know what a blog is all about, but also, to know exactly the topics that are being discussed on the blog. A blog’s title and tagline may tell you that the blog is all about politics. To have further details about this, check the “categories” section on the side bar.

How active is this blog?

In most cases, this question doesn’t matter, but in certain cases, especially for political blogs, you must know how current and up to date a blog is. This goes same with blogs that do discuss technology and recent discoveries. Personally, I hate when I visit a blog and discover that the last post is more than a week old. Every blogger who loves blogging can at least try to post once a week. Even if there is nothing to talk about, saying “Hi” to readers is worth it.

Does this blog interests me?

Good question, I guess. Loving politics doesn’t mean you will like just any political blog. The way a particular political blog discusses the United States’ presence in Iraq is very different from the way another one will. If you a very selective person, I guess you will like to know upfront if a blog is worth your time or not.

Interaction, roles and user levels

If you like a particular blog, interacting with it could really be much fun. Personally, I will like to know if readers are allowed to comments or make guest posts. Do I need to register before interacting with a particular blog? After registration, what level am I being awarded – subscriber, contributor…

Will I come back or I am out for good?

Again, this is another interesting question. At times I visit a blog whose content is great, but I may never need to search for what I was looking for, so I just close the page when I am done. Poor, that is too poor for me. If you are interested in a blog now, I bet you will still be interested in it in the future. It is wise enough to bookmark (save) the link or address of the website or add it to a social bookmarking service (will shall talk about what a social bookmarking service is, in the next post).

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