Social Desire

Written on September 18, 2008 – 9:47 am | by Shana Albert |
Photo by JasonRogers

Earlier this summer my good friend, and fellow Collective-Thougthts author, David Harry was interviewed by Garrett of YourSEOMentor.com. In it he talked about the Collective-Thoughts group and what each of our assets to the Collective-Thoughts team was. In this interview David explains how I am the "Emotional Tie" in Collective-Thoughts.

Normally, if any man would declare me "Emotional" I would become raving mad and scream and cry and give him all the reasons that I was not "Emotional"…. Of course, with doing that I would prove, in fact, that I was Emotional after all.

But, with listening to this awesome interview of David I wasn’t in the least bit upset at all…. in fact I was more than thrilled to have that title. And, do you know why? Because he is right!! And, I’m proud to be Emotional….. in my writing, that is.

I’m an Emotional Blogger

Yes, it’s true….. I’m emotional. I’m emotional in reality and it carries over into my writing. But, you know what?? It’s okay. Because I want you to enjoy reading what I write. I want my readers to stay for the whole conversation. And, if being me…. if being emotional keeps you here reading. Then I’m a happy blogger.

People Love Being Entertained by Emotions

What gets people hooked on Talk Shows like Jerry Springer or Jenny Jones? It’s the emotions, the embarrassment, the anger, the craziness. The viewers heart pounds and their excitement builds. The viewers keep watching to see what is going to happen next… to see what is the next thing they will say.

Or, how about romance novels? Its the emotions….. The feelings the author portrays to you. This style of emotional writing that gets the reader imagining what that would be like… remembering what you felt like when you were that happy.

And, let’s not forget those "made for TV movies" that draw us in with those horrific story lines. I’m sure you know the movies I’m talking about, but let me give you an example of a "made for TV movies" plot…The kind of story line where the husband seems to have drowned while on a boating trip with friends…. the Mom then has to raise three children with barely making ends meat only to find out that he never died in the first place, but instead pretending to die so that he can start a new life 3,000 miles away.

What is it that these 3 different story examples have in common?

All three examples pull at your emotions.

Whether it’s anger, horror, happiness, love, lust, fear, disgust, or embarrassment it gets you interested because for the most part you can relate at some level. Even if you can’t relate to the situation you can relate to the way the characters in the story feel…. and it keeps you watching/reading just to get to the end. To find out where the feeling takes you.

Sometimes, its the fact that I can’t relate that gets me. I love watching/reading stories that remind me that even at my saddest times that there are people and situations that are so much worse than my own. It reminds me how lucky I am….. it makes me feel good.

What is the point? What does this have to do with Web 2.0 or Social Media?

Everything. It is the type of Online Conversation I like to hold with you. This is how I relate to my readers. It is how I get their attention and keep a hold of it. Because unless you are holding people’s attention with your blog posts they will leave. Lose their attention too many times & you might lose a reader forever.

Grab your readers with your emotions.

Blogging is your way of holding a conversation with your readers. However, if you lose your readers half-way through your post it is no longer a conversation…. it is more just boring babbling. "Blah, blah, blah, blah".

Have you ever got stuck in a conversation with someone that had a lot to say, but lost your attention because they were soooooo….. boring? I’m sure you have…. we all have. And, it’s not as if they didn’t know what they were talking about. As a matter of fact, the person could be brilliant and be making an excellent point, but if your attention is lost… the entire conversation is lost. There are many different styles of blogging. It’s not as if I don’t ever write in any other styles. But, I believe I am at my best when I’m using my emotions to make my point. Even when I am being more technical or writing a "how-to" post…. my emotions seem to come into it at one point or another.

Ways to add Emotion to a Post

With a face-to-face Conversation there are a couple way of adding emotion to a conversation:

• Vocal Words
• Body Language
• Touch

With a written conversation adding emotion that a reader can feel may be a bit of a challenge, but can be done. There are a few things you can use to help reiterate the feelings you are trying to perceive.

• Pictures - Adding pictures of things can help you express your feeling. After all, have you ever heard the saying, "A picture is worth a thousand words"? It really is.
  
  Photo by Victor Bezrukov
  
• Videos - Another way to easily get your feelings across to your readers would be through video. It’s a way for your viewers to be able to see you as well as hear you while you tell your story.
• Podcast - Express your emotions through sound.
• Written Words - The most obvious method, but not always as easy at it sounds.

In order to get your feelings across to someone with written words you will need to be quite descriptive. Use descriptive words to get your point across. And, to do this you need to change it up a bit. You will need to use Emotional Words.

Emotional Words are what I call words that help you get your feelings across to your readers. These words let the readers know exactly how you feel or were feeling. You need to think of yourself as a storyteller….. you are telling a story.

Emotional Words are more than Happy, Sad, and Angry.

Happy, Sad and Angry are great emotional words & there is nothing wrong with using them. However, you need to open your mind a bit. This is where this area might get a bit difficult for some. There are a bunch of words that portray sad. Another words, were you a bit sad? Or, were you really, really sad? How intense is your sadness? With some help from Ms. West, a Science Fiction Author, here is a chart of Emotional Words and different levels of intensity.

Emotional Words for Blogging

You have readers, but are they listening? Are they staying around to read your entire post?

Make sure you are being a good storyteller…. speak to them with emotions and let them know exactly how you feel. Keep your readers intrigued, keep them focused, keep them wanting more.

I’m an Emotional Blogger. What Style Blogger are you? Check out this Slide Show on Blogging Styles