Jack of All Trades....

Webster's New Millennium™ Dictionary of English defines a “blogger” as “a person who keeps a Web log (blog) or publishes an online diary” (http://www.dictionary.com). However, despite my amateur status as a blogger, I have already come to realize that that simple definition, while one-hundred percent accurate, barely scratches the surface of what it is to truly be a blogger, and a successful one at that. A blogger is required to wear many hats. The rather crude figure below provides a representation of some of the many roles that a successful blogger must play:

Writer: The fundamental role of a blogger is to be a writer. Without writing, there is no blog and no further reason to explore the other roles. The blogger must enjoy writing and must exhibit some level of skill in the art in order to maintain a readable blog. When speaking of writing as a vehicle to merely convey thoughts into words in a grammatically-sound manner, blogging does not differ very much from writing using a traditional medium. Writing a blog, just like writing any other piece, requires audience analysis and a determination of who the ideal readers of that piece will be in order to target that group effectively. However, even while targeting a certain audience, a blogger is instantly, in the words of Jeff Jarvis who blogs at http://www.buzzmachine.com, “published to the world.” This brings a certain level of additional responsibility and caution to a writer as far as blog content is concerned.
Reader and Researcher: These two roles are intertwined. Bloggers must be knowledgeable and passionate about the topic of their blog. Random ramblings about nothing in particular may be acceptable in a personal journal, but will result in no readership on an online journal. Where knowledge is lacking, research is required. The successful blogger should realize that he or she blogs within an online community, the blogosphere, where reading other blogs and material to learn and solidify ideas is almost as critical as writing one’s own blog. Even in a traditional setting, as in blogging, readers and researchers often make the best writers.
Listener: This aspect of blogging is unique to this form of written communication. This hearkens back to Jeff Jarvis’ comment on the instant publication to the world of the content we choose to enter into our blog. Jarvis goes on to say that, as a result, we “get a reaction from the public immediately” (from student journalist Brian Stelter’s article entitled “Confessions of a Student Blogger” Quill; Aug 2006, Vol. 94 Issue 6, p31-32, 2p). A good blogger is responsible for reading and reacting to appropriate comments in future postings. Often, the readers of your blog will shape and guide the content of your future entries by telling you what does or does not interest them.
Moderator: Blogging is one-half writing and the “other half” (as Southwest Airline’s blog at http://www.blogsouthwest.com calls it) is interacting with readers. Essentially, a blogger must function as a moderator of any discussion that his writing generates. In order to maintain the blog as a good representation of what the blogger intends it to be, effective bloggers should be able to steer discussions and respond to readers, while still remaining in control of their blog and the message they wish to convey through it.
Expert on Ethics: Ethical principles apply to any form of public communication. However, as alluded to earlier, blogging brings a higher level of responsibility, given its immediately public nature. A good blogger should familiarize himself or herself with the legal and ethical rights and responsibilities of a blogger. A site such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation's legal guide for bloggers at http://www.eff.org/bloggers/ provides insight into the rights of a blogger.
Strategist: In order for a blog to be strategic, an effective blogger should have and adhere to a clear objective. A strategy is simply a plan of action. A strategy may be easier to come up with in the case of corporate blogs (for example McDonald’s blog at http://csr.blogs.mcdonalds.com/ is about corporate responsibility, while one of Hewlett-Packard’s blogs at http://h20325.www2.hp.com/blogs/smb deals only with small and medium business topics). However, even an individual blogger must have some type of strategy behind his or her blog. This is similar to defining the purpose of a traditional report in its introduction, but is slightly harder to adhere to in blogging, given that the subject of the postings is not necessarily always continuous.
Collaborator: This role of a blogger is a compilation of the roles of reading, listening, and moderating. An effective blogger is a collaborator working in an online community writing, reading, commenting, interacting, and bringing thoughts, ideas, and people together through his or her presence in the blogosphere. A writer using a traditional medium does not need to function as well in this role as the writing is generally static and does not involve interaction.
Designer: In the words of Brian Stelter who runs a blog called TVNewser.com (http://www.tvnewser.com), “Bloggers live and die by the Internet traffic their blog attracts.” So in order to keep readers coming back to the blog, a good blog must have an effective, usable, and eye-catching design. An article by Barbara Ivy Lim at http://www.multipleonlineprofits.com/The%20Importance%20of%20Blog%20Design.htm suggests a few tips to make a blog stand out from the millions of others in the blogosphere. A writer in a more traditional setting is, similarly, responsible for good design in his or her document.
Creative Thinker/Entertainer: Last, but certainly not least, a good blogger, just like any good communicator in any setting, should be capable of thinking creatively and writing in an entertaining manner. This does not mean that the topic needs to be light or entertaining in nature, but just that the writing needs to be interesting, informative, and relevant. With the exception of blogs that are mandated by schools or corporations, blogging and the reading of blogs are predominantly voluntary efforts put forth for the sheer enjoyment of the activity. A boring blog will certainly not attract readers looking for an enjoyable online read.

These are just a few of the obvious roles of a blogger that came to mind. There are, no doubt, several others. As my experience with blogging and my skills as a blogger evolve, I am certain that additional roles will become more obvious.