On Blogging Australia

Just in case you haven’t caught on: any budding Aussie blogger in need of a traffic boost between now and the federal election would be mad not to bag the current government. I can (mostly) see where the critics are coming from - the Libs and Nats have some big lampooning opportunities who keep putting their feet in their mouths. Combine this with the poll results that keep getting worse, and you’ve got a winning situation for traffic topics.

Some hints, based on the best (and worst) that I have read of anti-incumbent posts of late:

• try to pick a unique topic or angle - if you are going to comment on the top story of the day (for example, the recent kerfuffle over Mr Haneef vs Mr Andrews), add value to the topic by creating something unique. Repeating what everyone else says in fine detail is going to get you some nods, sure, but will it attract significant numbers of those valuable inbound links?
• remember in your zeal that the Internet has a very long memory - while you may think that a certain MP is a sniveling dishonest little pimp, it is undiplomatic to say so - unless you can be 100% certain that you will never need to work with a fan/relative of his, ever.
• don’t write angry, write clever - despite what your mother told you, sarcasm can be the highest form of wit, especially when you do it well. If you can stand it, work on your vitriolic masterpiece over a couple of hours, revising and honing that razor wit until it is something that will bring tears of laughter and/or shared pain to your readers.

Don’t forget also that the general rules of blogging still apply - getting the word out there about something that you are passionate about is easier if you have more readers.

PS: here’s a thought - there is no doubt a market opportunity for some advertising revenue from a site defending the current Howard government: imagine the traffic you would have received over the last couple of months

UPDATE: I’ve entered this post in Darren Rowse’s 31 Days group writing project.