Now, I must say I’m new to blogging and by no means am a professional blogger, this being my 6th blog post ever. But I have been reading blogs since forever and there’s something that really irks me about a lot of the commercial tutorial blogs, and that thing is the Unnecessary Adjective & Arbitrary Numbered List™.

Let me give a few examples of what I’m talking about:

nettuts.com

5 Amazing New WordPress 2.7 Features

Seriously, are they really amazing? Do these 5 features really amaze? I could call them cool features, even interesting features, but I wouldn’t exactly use the word “amazing”. And why 5 of them? Even if there were only 5 new features to talk about, do we have to put the 5 in the title? Really, what’s wrong with just “New WordPress 2.7 Features”? Does the “5 Amazing” part add anything to the title except to make it sound like Microsoft PR talk?

But then again, just look at the author’s bio. Maybe he really does talk like that all the time. Just look how he finishes off the post:

The new interface and features completely revolutionise blogging, and the tightened interface is a dream to look at.

Yeah, sure, blogging 2.0 is now available with WordPress 2.7! The Revolution has come!

Smashing Magazine

50 Extremely Useful And Powerful CSS Tools

First of all, why 50? For one thing, 50 is just too much for one person to absorb at one time. Wouldn’t it be more useful to separate that that list into multiple posts, such as “Part One: CSS and Typography” and “Part Two: CSS Online Tools”. That way you wouldn’t be greeted with information overload as soon as you click the link.

And now for the “Extremely Useful and Powerful” part. Like, really? All 50 of them? How did they determine that these 50 tools are extremely useful and powerful, as opposed to just plain useful and powerful? But then, I guess for something called Smashing Magazine, you need powerful numbers and adjectives, right? Just look at some other examples from Smashing Magazine:

53 CSS Techniques You Couldn’t Live Without

Really? All 53 of them? I must be dead already.

75 (Really) Useful JavaScript Techniques

Did they (really) need to put (really) in there?

50 Excellent Digital Photography Photoshop Tutorials

Must I go on?

50 Stunning Examples Of Reflective Photography

Sorry, I couldn’t help myself.

Pro Blogger

9 Attitudes of Highly Creative People

Now, Mr Rowse admits it himself, he’s in this to make money. But does that mean the front page of Pro Blogger has to look like Google Adsense? Does every post title have to sound like it belongs in a self help book?

My Rant

I guess these people know what they’re doing as it certainly works for them. Their readers appreciate the up-beat feel and the enthusiasm that the language generates. They know what titles to attract the Digg boys and the Technorati crew. In the end, I guess it’s all about Search Engine Optimisation.

Maybe more people really would click on a link with “13 Fantastic Books Everyone Needs This Christmas” rather than one without the unnecessary adjectives and arbitrary numbered lists, but I don’t like it. To me, it feels like caffeinated, glossed, shallow marketing speak. And since I see it so often, I find it grating.

After many years of procrastinating, I have finally put up my first blog post. Yes, it’s 2008 and there’s something akin 112 million blogs out there so unless you’re specifically looking for me, you probably won’t find this small drop in the ocean. Even so, there are reasons for me starting this blog, some personal, some professional. If you’d like me to bore you, continue on.

Firstly, why has it taken so long?

I’ve owned the mentalblank.org domain since 2004 and have done absolutely nothing with the site except for using it to host files and play around with web designs. Why? I hate writing. Absolutely hate it. I’m a graphic designer and I love photography. If I have a design or an image in my head, I can open up photoshop or take out my camera and make that design or image.

If, however, I have thoughts in my head that I need to put down as words, I’ll be staring at a blank document forever. It just doesn’t work. I know what I’m thinking, I just can’t form those thoughts into words.

Writing has been the bane of my existence ever since high school. Any essays: blank. Science reports: blank ( except for graphs, I loved drawing graphs and diagrams ). Written exams: blank. Art critiques: blank. Bio for CV: blank. Cover letters: blank. Blogs: blank.

Well then, the mentalblank.org domain suits quite well, doesn’t it?

Okay, so why start now?

In a word: practice. As in all things, procrastinating probably won’t make you better at something. The reason I don’t write is not just because I’m not very good at it, it’s also because I’m not very comfortable doing it. It doesn’t feel natural. Some people have writers block. I have it all the t**ting time!

But for the sake of improving myself in this regard, I’ve taken the uncomfortable plunge into blogging.

Why not just start a journal?

What’s the point of writing if I know no one else is going to read it? Not that I’m expecting many people to read this blog, but if I’m doing this to improve my writing in a professional manner, I feel it would be better for me to make my writing public.

This will, hopefully, challenge me to write better. Also, I can put up pictures on a blog. I love pictures.

What will be on this blog?

I have no focus for where I want to take this blog so far. I’m guessing just my thoughts on matters regarding news, technology, design etc. Anything I have an interest in really. I’ll list a few of my interests below:

Design – Since I was a kid, I have always loved imagery. That’s just the way I work. Very visually. I’m tone-deaf and can’t sing two notes if my life depended on it, so thank goodness for design!

Photography – My interest in photography started when I was 12. That’s when I got my first SLR. I loved mechanical things and I loved imagery. Perfect!

Technology – I love gadgets, electronics, mechanical things. I just love the way things work. This ties in well with my love of design and photography.

Foods – I enjoy cooking as much as I enjoy eating. I think of cooking as another form of design. Having a taste in mind, I will set out to make it.

How often will this blog be updated?

Who knows. I’ll strive to update it as often as I can, but it won’t be easy. I’m never in the mood for writing. But if things come up that I’m interested in, hopefully I’ll have the motivation to write about it.

Wish me luck!