This post will be short and sweet. With an emphasis on sweet. I’m calling out the sweetness of this post so you know, dear reader, that this is not meant to be snarky. But it’s just something I didn’t know how to say to people in person, so I thought I would write a quick blog post about it.
Notice I didn’t say that I was going to write a blog about it.
That’s because that differentiation is the reason for this post! To call out the difference between a blog and a blog post.
Too often, in conversation, often at a meeting, I’ll hear, “Let’s do a blog about that!” And I know what they mean is to post a story on an already-existing blog. Or I’ll see a social media post asking people to “Check out my latest blog!” And I know what they mean is to read the latest piece of content they’ve produced. (Yes. People can have multiple blogs, sure. But I know that what most intend with the “new blog” comment is that they wrote a new post, that they have fresh, new content to share!)
Maybe it’s a matter of semantics (and maybe I’m being picky!), but, coming from my background in the content marketing world, I think it’s important to distinguish between the two.
In everyday conversation, maybe most people won’t pick up on it, and maybe it won’t matter much at all. It’s probably only a smaller group of people who care… but they matter. If you work in the communications/publishing/writing field and calling a blog post “a blog” is a frequent habit, you might risk sounding misinformed. (Think: in a job interview, to a potential client, to an editor, in a presentation, etc.)
I just happened to see a tweet a little bit earlier tonight, and to say I cringed would be cliche, but I think I audibly sighed. So here I am. Reminding us all that:
A blog is the whole thing. (Like a magazine, newspaper, news program, or bulletin board.)
A blog post is part of the whole thing. (Like an article, segment, or poster.)
A journalist doesn’t say, “I just wrote a magazine!” and a graphic designer doesn’t say, “I just completed a new bulletin board!” So a blogger, professional or otherwise, shouldn’t say, “Here’s a new blog.”
Unless it really is a new blog. 🙂