Who Am I to Disagree? Sweet Dreams are Made of This

Blogging is now 'tragically hip,' I must say. There are, however, certain rules that one ought to adhere to if you are a current blogger, an aspiring blogger, or a voyeuristic 'might be' blogger: 

1. Write it and say it as if you mean it. Unless you are getting paid to do it - write what is on your mind, not what you think is on others. Be true to yourself first.
2. It is ok to have 'advertisements,' but just give it time and 'choose' wisely, else you become a 'splog.' By this, I mean blogs are full of advertisements (and I work in advertising, so I am not opposed to it) there is nothing wrong with using ads on your site) so be prudent if you choose to go down that road.     
3. Write for yourself. Yes, this appears to repeat the First rule... but, I am reiterating the 'notion' that the rules are yours to define. Don't become a prisoner of your readers. After all, anybody who ever created anything didn't do it for other reasons...    except Michelangelo - if you've ever been in the Sistine Chapel - he did that for his God, not yours, unless of course He or She is. You'd have to see it to understand what I mean.
4. Don't listen or buy into anything I am writing here. This is the natural dynamic beauty of the blog... Be YOURSELF!!! You are not me... (fortunately for you), you have not seen what I have seen, you have not heard what I have heard and it is likely that you don't think that The Beatles and the Beagle are a cellular composition of the Garden of Eden.  
5. Spend a tad bit of time understanding how your blog is tabulated (i.e. Technorati, Yahoo, Google, etc.) - but, if it stands alone, that is on its own merit, there is little work to be done to those ends, and it is mostly a maintenance issue. 
6. Comment on other people's blogs, but DO NOT do it for the SOLE purpose of an incantation of your blog. People who love to write a blog, do it for the same reasons that inspired Michelangelo - they are passionate about it. 
7. Write lists - not because 'all bloggers' do it, but because it makes sense. What bloggers do, (essentially) is write memorandums on the internet, therefore - your attention that is garnered, could be snatched up by a Cat that stepped on the viewers hand, or mouse (no pun intended)
8. If you are going to VLOG - and she does this well, and I must say... is getting quite good at an accelerated rate - than do it ... but do it ACTIVELY ... not 'every once in a while' - the technology is there, the need for it is there - what is missing is the temerity 
9. If blogger lassitude slips in, that is OK... take a break! You will write junk if you just try to churn out posts because you want to be a POP blogger.
10. Read these blogs: Logic+Emotion, Seth's Blog, Chris Brogan - they have been doing it for a LONG time. They don't mince words, they will ALSO answer your email, should you have a question about blogging or social media. 

Most of all... among all others... read... read... read... blogs!!! Even if they are nascent... give them a chance... Everyone has to start somewhere... right?