I tend to get this question a good bit since I blog about personal stuff at times. And I think yes is the answer to that question, if the readers don't feel as if they "know" you then what really makes it a blog.

Now I'm not saying giving out all your personal info and what not but put in some life stories.

I think it is definitely related to the content on your site. I have a blog which is just about veterinary clinical pathology (which is incredibly uninteresting for most people), and I am trying to attract readers who want to participate in intelligent conversations that are very on topic. Having said that, I agree that most blogs are more interesting when they are more personalized.

I think a blog should be about something that interests you... it doesn't have to be too personal... but your writting shouldn't be impersonal or too formal... it should be personal to the extent that a bit of your personality comes through to your readers... Now getting readers to your blog.... that's what I wanna know... Apart from putting a link to your blog in your forum signature, how else can you get readers? How do readers find my blogs amoung the myriad of other similar blogs?

It should be personal in the aspect that you write in the first person and discuss your experiences related to the subject, but not so personal that you talk about feeding your cat or that you got into a fight with you boyfriend.

I think the level of personal involvement really depends on the topic of your blog. For me, I like to know who is writing a blog so I usually check out the about page. If your about page is sufficient, that's great and I will definitely hang around and see what you've written.

Now, I don't want to hear about your cat getting sick or the personal problems you've had with your girlfriend. Leave that off. But I think if your personal experiences help you get a point across, then you should definitely include them in some way.

-Nick

Nickohrn definitely hit the nail on the head! I totally agree with him!

Blogging with a personal touch can be a great content enhancer. It adds a deeper insight when you have personal knowledge of your subject. However, you have to remember to keep your personality solely on the subject without going too far into your personal life. It is a challenge to find a fine balance in between those two areas.

This seems to be a hot topic lately - I just blogged about it yesterday in response to another blogging friend posting on it, as well.

Basically, I say Yes! I would love to know 'who' you are, you can read what I wrote here:
(nope -not yet...lemme get my post count up...heehee)

I do agree, however, that my readers probably don't want to read about the raucous fight I had with my hubby last night (theoretically, of course ) or that my MIL is being a b*tch.

You just have to get personal without getting I-wish-you-were-my-therapist personal! :thumbup:

Originally Posted by lisaroberson

You just have to get personal without getting I-wish-you-were-my-therapist personal! :thumbup:

Exactly.

Yes, a blog should have some kind of personal touch to be good in my opinion.

//Andreas

I think it should be inbetween personal and impersonal

A blog is meant to be your opinion on a subject. So, yes, it should be personal.

I don't necessarily think a blog should be personal in the sense that you know the owner or anything about them. If that's the type of blog you have then fine. But I think a blog should have a personality, hopefully of the owner. Whether that blog's personality is silly, sarcastic, or examines obscure subjects in minute detail, it should reflect some sort of viewpoint or attitude, rather than be a cold, analytical typical website.

It can help establish a rapport with your readers. Help them identify, build a relationship, increase the trust factor. On the flip side, I use pen names and such because of security/privacy issues I've had in the past.

I think theres a fine line between sharing and retaining some amount of privacy, like bookworm said, it might be helpful to get a pen-name. That being said, a little personality gives a blog a definite unique feeling. Just as long as your not going on in great detail about the lint in your dryer or something like that.

a blog must not be pesonel at all

mix and match will be good. don't put in too much personal info that doesn't relate to the business, a good balance of those will bring interest people to read more into the blogs