According to Croatian traditional proverbs, “Iver ne pada daleko od klade.” This translates into, “a splinter doesn’t land far from the trunk” or maybe you would prefer the English equivalent, “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” (Some material quoted from wikiquote.com but the entry has since been deleted.) There has to be some truth to an expression that has been around for so long but what does this have to do with a person’s blogging skills?

When you consider parents are the primary source for a child’s perception of what is right and wrong, the attitude a child has in regards to school and work, and of course are the single biggest motivators a child has, could there be a connection to their eventual blogging skills? As much as I’d like to at times there is no denying the similarities of my father and I. They are not all negative attributes, in fact I have a work ethic that is a spitting image of his and that has helped not only at work but also at school, projects around the house, and of course my hobbies. My mother is to thank for my creativity but also for my large nose, thanks mom!

The question we need to ask is what makes a good blog entry? The first thing that comes to mind is that it should be written well, at least to the best of our abilities. What does that mean? It means a good entry should not be a first draft, just like school papers it should be spell checked and revised multiple times before it’s published. Unless you want people bouncing off your blog, each article should be interesting. This is where the creativity comes into play. The information should be so entertaining or informational that the visitors want to get involved and, once they do get involved, you need to interact with them.

The reality is that most of us are painfully similar to our parents, which is a direct reflection of how we’ve been raised. Everything from creativity, confidence, social tendencies, to ethics and morals can be directly correlated with the way we were brought up. We can certainly relate all of these traits to what it takes to create a good blog entry. A blog post must be creative and we must possess the confidence to run with the idea. For a blog to be morally sound we shouldn’t post material that has been stolen or anything we don’t have the right to use. It is our work ethic that pushes us through from the conception of an idea to the finished product. We also have to be comfortable in a socially driven environment so we can easily communicate with people who interact with the blog. So you tell me, should our parents be held accountable for our blogging skills?

Obviously our parents can’t take all of the responsibility for our blogging skills but certainly should be held partially accountable. It’s our parents who help mold us into who we become. So parents and future parents out there, when little Billy or Jane is playing with an imaginary friend, don’t discourage them, at least they are using their imagination. Creativity wouldn’t exist without a solid imagination. Creativity is a universal character trait; it can lead to success in starting a business, acing a college exam, or even writing some great blog entries. Be alert and be open minded, little Billy’s blogging career could be in your hands. If for whatever reasons you didn’t enjoy this article or you just don’t like me I politely ask that all problems be directed towards my parents, in these cases, my parents are to blame.