Ritu MD

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

• Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
• Because it will help you focus your own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

• Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
• What topics do you think you’ll write about?
• Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
• If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.

Earlier this week, state governors around the country started easing restrictions on parts of their constituents’ daily lives. States like Georgia have decided that allowing small business, including barber shops, to open to allow their owners to recover some of the their lost revenue. Is this the right move in light of where we stand in the midst of a pandemic?

• Some say yes. Small business owners have had their revenue grind to a halt since March, when overarching social distancing rules were implemented across the states. As a result, the Federal Government has undertaken its most expensive legislation in national history, the CARES act, to help stimulate local businesses. This included direct aid to some eligible individuals and businesses, and forgivable loans for the a 2 month period meant to be used for employee payroll, rent, and utilities, among other standard expenses.

Even in light of this aid, the real concern of the small business owner is whether their revenue streams are sustainable. Once society is officially given a “clearance” to resume living, is it safe to assume the risk of contracting COVID is negligible? Not necessarily. Because of this, businesses cannot assume their typical revenue will pick up automatically. So, to many small business owners, the sooner we get started, the easier the road to recovery.

Others, say no.

Many point to other nations who have been profoundly affected by death tolls and case numbers of COVID. Meet Italy. Given its high aging population, prevalence of tightly packed communities, and relative lack of medical intensive care infrastructure prior to the pandemic, the country was devastated by loss from the highly contagious virus. There is some light finally showing now, however to demonstrate a “flattening” of the curve regarding incidences of newly infected patients. This likely stems from the country instilling a near martial-law type of social restriction to limit the spread of disease.

Will the US have a grim wake up call to return to near complete social distancing? It depends, of course, on how much quicker COVID-19 spreads, in light of reduced restrictions. Hopefully, we are able to slowly start resuming our lives and regaining our financial independence. I, for one, will be watching with a mask on through a Zoom portal.