Analzying Functions and Substance of Blogs

Choose a blog and analyze the functions and substance of the blog as a form of writing and information delivery. In your opinion, what are the “best practices” when creating a blog to ensure appropriate form, function, and substance? Provide a link when responding to classmates and post your opinion along with your rationale.

Link to Blog:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/manoj-jain-md-mph/ebola-quarantine_b_6009176.html

The blog I choose to write about is, Rethinking the 21-Day Quarantine for Ebola Contacts, written by Manoj Jain, MD MPH.  Manoj Jain is one of the contributors that posts blogs for the Huffington Post.  In this piece, he is discussing how we should be rethinking the amount of time that Ebola patients are quarantined because 21 days may not be enough time.  He states that a few weeks ago, their infectious disease physician group was notified of a patient who had returned from Liberia and was vomiting, this patient had also had several family members die of Ebola (Jain, 2014).  Although they were panic stricken at first, it turns out the patient had returned from Africa three months earlier, so Jain’s team felt comfortable telling the ER Physician that the patient’s risk for Ebola was almost zero (Jain, 2014).  His point though, is that if the patient arrived 23 days ago, would they have let the patient go home just because it was outside the 21 day window?  Because there is so little known about Ebola, Manoj Jain states that it would be beneficial to extend the quarantine time.  The CDC is already under a lot of scrutiny and has lost a lot of trust with the public, if someone presents symptoms after 23 days of exposure, then public fear may increase (Jain, 2014).

This type of blog is genre and media specific.  The target audience is for readers of the Huffington Post Healthy Living blogs.  To have a reader return to a blog, a bond between reader and writer must exist (SNHU, 2014).  The writer has to keep in mind who will be reading their work and how it can affect them; following ethical codes should be part of their criteria in creating a blog.  In my opinion, Manoj Jain used many reliable sources; he provided a picture of a strain of the Ebola virus and included at least six links to other sites. Adding these things keeps the readers interested and shows that they are a credible writer.  At the bottom of his blog, he provides contact information so readers can follow him on Twitter as well.  Jain did a good job of providing his knowledge to the public; he presented his opinions backed by credible sources of information.

The first step in creating a successful blog that provides appropriate form, function, and substance is to figure out why someone would be reading a blog, what information are they looking for, and how will your blog help in providing that information (SNHU, 2014).  By anticipating the need of the reader and being one step ahead while providing up to date information, you will build a trust over time if this is repeated (SNHU, 2014).  The next step should be the design of your blog, make sure it is visually appealing and delivers information that is either hard to find elsewhere, or is easier or more fun to read on your blog (SNHU, 2014).  Something else to remember while creating your blog is to make sure you are following ethical guidelines.  There have been many defamation suits as well as threats and other legal issues due to writers not following a code of ethics (SNHU, 2014).  If you cannot take responsibility for what you write, then think twice before publishing.  Commitment-Phobs need not apply to be blog writers, as creating one takes time, commitment, and care to maintain the relationship with your readers.

References:

Jain, M., (2014). Rethinking the 21-day quarantine for ebola contacts. Retrieved from www.huffingtonpost.com: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/manoj-jain-md-mph/ebola-quarantine_b_6009176.html

SNHU (2014) Module 8 – Overview: The Blog COM 510-X1509