Three Things a Missionary Blog is Not

This follows up on my previous post about the power of the personal and also my post about considering the audiences for one's blog. I've noticed in studying some early efforts at missionary blogging that blog posts can sometimes be either too impersonal or too personal. I think this is happening because people are assuming that a blog is more like other forms of communication than it truly is. So, at the risk of sounding like I'm contradicting what missionaries might expect to be legitimate for their blogs, here are three things a missionary blog is NOT:

• A Blog is Not a Pulpit
• A Blog is Not Letters Home
• A Blog is Not a Journal

Details follow the break.

A Blog is Not a Pulpit
In other words, don't post sermons. Don't use your blog to preach.

What? Am I really suggesting that missionaries shouldn't preach? That's right -- not on your blog. Sometimes I think that when they are posting on their blog missionaries believe they are supposed to be writing a homily or a devotional -- what we used to call the "2 1/2 minute talk" for sacrament meeting. I'm not criticizing efforts to be spiritual or to communicate important truths. I'm not saying that you can't or shouldn't talk about spiritual things. I'm not saying that LDS doctrines are off topic. I'm certainly not saying we should avoid speaking about our Savior (2 Nephi 25:26!). No, what I'm really getting at is that general religious messages are generally boring. What does it matter how true the doctrine is if your audience clicks away after two sentences?

And they will click off your blog if your posts are full of abstractions or your religious discussion is not grounded sufficiently in lived experience. If a missionary sounds like he or she is just spouting company press releases or regurgitating a creed, it's chloroform in pixels. "Why Humility Matters" or "Charity Never Faileth" might be profound principles, but they won't come across as true insights unless tightly interwoven with stories about real people -- especially oneself. (A corollary to this rule of thumb is to use official church media sparingly. Why? Because that media is not personal. There are some exceptions to this and I'll bring up official LDS media use another time...)

Rather than thinking of a doctrine to teach or preach, find authentic personal experiences to narrate. Your life is the best sermon people will ever hear, as it's said. Sister Stephanie Smoot exemplified this good approach in a recent blog post, "Getting My Hands Dirty." She shows her muddy hands (a couple of pictures really make it real) and relates how she and her companion encountered an enterprising 10 year old boy whom they helped by picking beets, onions, and carrots. The portrait of the boy was amusing, and the personality of the sisters came through a bit. Not much preaching going on here. She concludes, "Although we didn't get to teach a lesson or pass out a Book of Mormon it was fun to just get out and serve the people." And you know what? I believe her. She didn't even need to quote Mosiah 2:17.

A Blog is Not Letters Home
It sure is easy (either for the missionary's family or the missionary in the field) just to turn letters home into blog posts. But even if this may have some benefit, it isn't the best use of blogging. Why? Because letters home are the wrong kind of personal. They are almost written in family code. Letters home make assumptions that exclude important potential audience members who might otherwise enjoy the blog's content. Of course, interesting and inspiring stories that one puts in a letter home might be very appropriate for a blog post, but there is a difference. Letters home often refer to people without introducing them. This can both be confusing and a threat to privacy. And they are often filled with logistical details not really worth sharing ("Mom, will you send along that wart remover, please?"). And some things you should only share privately with your family members, such as certain sacred spiritual experiences or certain difficulties. This is a common problem across Internet communication. People lack discretion in putting personal information up because they forget they are not just communicating with their customary peers or family members.

A Blog is Not a Journal
I have to be very careful about how I say this. After all, part of the great strength of blogs is that they are indeed like a journal, a sort of online diary. To be good they do need to be personal, just as Sister Smoot's post mentioned above was personal. They can capture everyday life very authentically if written informally and regularly. And they can even be somewhat "confessional" in the broader sense of that term, just like a paper journal. Being personal, casual, and frequent are important traits of online communication generally and should be respected as such.

Nevertheless, like letters home, journal entries can be too personal, too confessional, or not discreet enough when referring to other people. The opinions that one might express in a private paper journal might not be appropriate if broadcast to the world through an online diary. Don't ever put yourself in a situation where some reader might think, "Too much information!" in referring to personal items that you share.

These are guidelines, not hard and fast rules. Obviously one must seek for a balance. If one is either too impersonal or too personal it will turn readers away. Like so many things in life, finding that middle way is the real trick.