Verba Pública

I was reading a post by Jens Harding about good and bad habits in blogs. I call that “meta-blogging”. Writing about what’s going on in the blogosphere is one thing, and talking about how to blog is another, and as Jens says, that’s aimed at an audience that’s only just getting into blogs.

Personally, when I meta-blog, or write about the universe of blogs, I file my posts under the Blogosfera category.

Touching on topics that stray from the editorial line is another matter. The truth is that for a while now I’ve wanted to open another blog where I can write more freely about other topics that have nothing to do with La Naturaleza del Software (The Nature of Software), but I still haven’t found the right name, which is why I haven’t started.

But this post is to tell you about a practice I find really interesting, one my brother Ricardo follows; he joined the blogosphere not long ago.

Ricardo writes about a topic as a series. He analyzes it, digs into it, and at the end he gathers his visitors’ opinions in a special post, which he always titles Verba Pública.

I find it novel, but it also shows a respect and affection for his audience that I wish other bloggers had (myself included).

Normally you answer in the comments section, but gathering the best of the debate in a post is a practice I think we should imitate. Some people already do something similar, but I like Ricardo’s style, which sets it apart with a special title, and that title prepares you for what’s coming. You already know it’s a summary of what was discussed. From a usability standpoint it’s remarkable.