With any piece of writing, it is absolutely essential to establish your theme from the outset. Whether you are writing about whether the United States should continue the war with Iraq, why the Yankees lost to the Red Sox in last year’s playoffs, or who The Donald should say “You’re fired!” to next, you need to make that clear right away. Especially when your audience is reading your work at a resolution of 1024 x 768 pixels.

As a blogger, you need to make your point early in your piece — I’d say by the third paragraph at the latest. Your readers shouldn’t have to scroll down their screens to discover that you think the war is pointless or the Yankees’ defense was weak or that Omarosa should be the next to go.

Use the scrollbar at the side of your post screen as a benchmark. If you reach the end of the screen before you reach your point, it’s time to go back and edit. Look for things that can be moved to a later paragraph, reworded, or deleted entirely. The maxim “Less is more” should always be your primary guideline.

In 1787, our founders made good use of this guideline. They had decided to replace our original constitution, the Articles of Confederation, which had resulted in a dysfunctional government unable to carry out many of its basic functions, with a new constitution.

Although the need for a new constitution was very clear, it was also very controversial. What powers it granted to the federal government and the states were subjects of furious fights at the Constitutional Convention that was held that year, in the state legislatures, and among the people. So the new federal government needed to explain and justify its existence and purpose, in clear, concise, and organized terms.

This is the opening of the Articles of Confederation:

To all to whom these Presents shall come, we the undersigned Delegates of the States affixed to our Names send greeting.

Articles of Confederation and perpetual Union between the States of New Hampshire, Massachusetts bay, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia.

Article I. The Stile of this Confederacy shall be “The United States of America.”

Article II. Each state retains its sovereignty, freedom, and independence, and every power, jurisdiction, and right, which is not by this Confederation expressly delegated to the United States, in Congress assembled.

Article III. The said States hereby severally enter into a firm league of friendship with each other, for their common defense, the security of their liberties, and their mutual and general welfare, binding themselves to assist each other, against all force offered to, or attacks made upon them, or any of them, on account of religion, sovereignty, trade, or any other pretense whatever.

And this is the Preamble to our current Constitution:

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Notice how that single paragraph, at the beginning of the document, accomplishes — in just one sentence and fifty-two words — what it takes the Articles of Confederation two paragraphs of opening text followed by three articles to announce, namely, what its writers intend to accomplish in this document.

221 years later, with over 77 million blogs in existence, brevity and conciseness in blog posts are more crucial than ever. If your readers are scratching their heads while looking for your main point as they scroll down, they will leave your blog. So get there fast, and keep them interested in reading your messages.

Today, the opinion of a blogger can send corporations, politicians, and even the director of the Los Alamos National Laboratory looking for shelters from cyberspace bombs.

Online publishing was once known as the “alternative” means of getting your opinion out. If you couldn’t get your article printed on the Op-Ed page of The New York Times, or acceptance editors sent it back to you with a letter stating “This material is not suitable for our current needs,” you went ahead and logically placed it on your own site.

Dr. G. Peter Nanos was the subject of vitriolic posts on the laboratory’s blog

(www.lanl-the-real-story.blogspot.com). This venom came from users demanding his resignation for closing many areas of the laboratory after two false security alarms. See the story at http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/01/national/01alamos.html?th&emc=th.

And let’s not forget Mark Jen, who was fired from Google in January, 2005 for discussing his job too freely in his blog.

The blog format lends itself to whistle-blowing and sensitive information spillover, simply because it’s uncontrollable. Blogs have even gained in popularity in Iraq and other parts of the world that are already subject to heavy censorship by government and other officials. They are seen as an invaluable tool for circumventing established barriers to freedom of the press.

But should bloggers be allowed completely free rein? Is it really desirable that every officeholder and executive decision be subject to the agenda of a blogger, especially one with a personal agenda that doesn’t involve the long-term outcome of a careless post?

The answer awaits…we’re still finding out!

Weblogs, electronic publications maintained as online journals or interactive discussions, have become so popular that as of August, 2008, blogs received 77.7 million unique visitors in the United States, according to Technorati, the blog-tracking site.

Because they are created and maintained by their owners, they allow their authors to bypass the complex submission, distribution, and marketing processes utilized by traditional print publishers. Writers once needed to submit work to an acceptance editor or agent, and then hope for the best. Today a “blogger” can release his/her work to the public with a few quick clicks on a keyboard.

The main drawback? Many weblogs contain errors in their texts, poorly formatted graphics, and malfunctioning links and media. The traditional publishing methods ensure that the material being released has undergone professional editing to improve its readability, formatting, and use of language to optimize the reading and usage experience of its intended audience. The informal nature of “blogging” requires that the owner of the weblog perform these functions, often with little or no training in the use of language, graphic design, and electronic tools such as HTML (HyperText Markup Language).

Clearly, electronic publishing requires skilled editing even as print publishing does, with special attention given to its features and functions that enhance its users’ experience. A blog post with no capital letters, that reeks of emoticons and “netspeak” abbreviations like “gr8” and “BTW” leaves its readers with a much different impression than a blog article containing proper punctuation, a clear, concise message, and correctly functioning links.

A well-written blog will reach out and grab its audience — a well-edited one will ensure that this same audience regularly revisits your site for updates.