Blogging in and of itself is an interesting topic to write, think, and read about. I mean there are many great things to read on so many blogs covering all kinds of topics, it is almost impossible to decide what to write about. Today, I decided writing about blogging in general sounded like a good idea.

I’m a person who has a general level of interest in just about everything. Like I mentioned in my very first post, I like to think of M and L Adventures as a “Renaissance Blog.” (Side Note: For all you none geeks out there answers.com defines a Renaissance Man as “A man who has broad intellectual interests and is accomplished in areas of both the arts and the sciences.” That translates to someone who can’t make up there mind because they have interest in everything).

So what does this have to the Renaissance have to do with transparency in blogging? Honestly, it doesn’t have anything to do with it. Rather, it provides a nice segue into the topic. Too many blogs are superficial. People have a tendency to present themselves as something there not. Most of the time this is unintentional, but it happens nonetheless. This superficiality affects what bloggers write and how they present themselves to the world.

There needs to be more transparency in blogging. I don’t mean that you have to expose your private life to the world, but I do feel that it is good to let your blogging motives be known. It will help you make a better connection to your audience because they will feel that you’re not just some lofty person behind the screen who doesn’t share any concerns with them. They’ll feel a part of what you are doing and hopefully they will want to support you.

There is no reason to be worried about staying on one particular subject the entire time. What I mean is let the renaissance mindset influence you a little bit…just not too much because if you change topics too often you will have no reader loyality.

Below are some very basic steps to help you become a more transparent and better blogger:

• Share your blog related concerns
• Don’t be afraid to blog about something that is out of your range of normal topics (it will be a nice relief to your readers)
• Don’t blog for money
• Write about what you enjoy
• If you don’t have a large reader base (like me) don’t sweat it
• Keep writing and enjoy the interaction you do have from your current readers

As your readers get to know you and more transparent post come out you’re readership will hopefully grow—if it doesn’t at least your blogging about something you care about rather than some superficial topic.

Now go, be transparent and share your thoughts in the comments below.
F.Y.I. I plan on writing a series on how to start your own blog in the near future. It seems like there is plenty of information floating around the blogosphere about how to make your blog more successful, but not enough on how to build one from scratch.