a blogger's tale: the origins of the free movement blog

Free MovementA Blogger's Tale

Statistics• 722,000 page views (c. 2,000 page views per day)

• 356,000 visitors

• 2 min 46 sec average visit duration, 2 pages viewed per visit on average

• 21,500 unique visitors per month

• 33,608 clicks to BAILII in 2012 alone

• 1,560 email subscribers and 1,770 Twitter followers

Blogging beginnings

• Pupilbog

• Online therapy

• Primitive software

• Gained a following

• Landed me in trouble...

All you need to know about me is that I’m a UK-based immigration lawyer.

This blog is aimed at both lawyers and those with a more personal interest in immigration and asylum. I am aware at the outset that these are two quite different audiences, and it may be that I have to be more focussed in the future.

My intention is that this blog will include a mix of news, immigration law gossip (it’s a small world, appropriately enough), commentary and signposts to events, resources, other websites or developments. I also plan to include some advice and resource pages. The commentary will be written with an agenda: I haven’t got a perfectly formed world view or consistent ideology on the subject of immigration and immigration control, but I do believe in minimum immigration controls and a liberal, progressive approach. One of my hopes for the blog is that it will help me reach a more coherent view.

Automation

• Yahoo! Pipes

• Google Feedburner

• Twitter as content links

• IFTTT

Own domain

Lessons learned

Clear aims• to help the editor and other

contributors think through new developments and also

• to provide updates, pointers and links for the benefit of other immigration lawyers

• and for migrants researching their own position.

Authentic voice

• Not necessarily your normal one

• Humanises and engages

• Provides interest to readers

Medium• Language, grammar, sentence structure,

post length is all crucial

• Style matters

• Use of links and sources

• Internet is a visual medium

• Humour or at least humanity important

Building an audience

• Write for your intended audience

• Write regularly - at least twice a week

• Comment on other people's blogs

• Be generous with your praise and links

• Improve your offering

Don't do it unless...• You can write well and clearly

• You have time and will continue to have time

• Willingness to learn a bit about technical side

• You are a weirdo / nerd / geek / suffer OCD / all of above

What did my blog ever do for me?

• Original aims still being met

• Platform

• Profile

• Cold, hard cash - not a lot!