02 Aug 4 Mistakes To Avoid on Your Cross-Culture Blog

There are plenty of benefits to blogging while you’re abroad. But if you aren’t careful, you could run into some pitfalls as well.

To help you avoid the mistakes that we see over and over again on blogs around the world, we compiled this quick list to keep you on track:

Missed Opportunities

You will be hard pressed to find a more captive audience than when people are following your blog while you’re abroad. People want to live vicariously through your adventure, and they will be inspired by it.

The true power of your blog is that it will multiply the number of people who get to benefit from what you’re experiencing abroad. You will inevitably be learning and growing through your cross-cultural exchanges, but so will your readers! Don’t miss the chance to multiply your impact by promoting cross-cultural understanding through your blog posts.

Think of yourself as a digital Ambassador. You represent your home country to your host community. And you gather valuable insights from your host community to share with folks back home. You get to explore the best of both cultures and demonstrate their value to each other. You’ll likely become an expert in the downfalls of both cultures, as well, and will thus have the tricky responsibility of painting an honest and balanced picture for your readers.

Too Much Info, Too Little Editing

The people who read your blog will either be interested in you or what you’re doing – or both – and there’s no doubt that they’ll want to hear from you. But even your closest friend is going to struggle if all of your blog posts are overwhelmingly long and rambling.

Consider what things might be most interesting to your audience. A play-by-play of your entire day may be too much information and better left to your personal journal. Instead, try to share only one theme or story per blog post and practice editing your thoughts into something cohesive and easy-to-read.

Always proofread. Your readers are taking time out of their day to check in on your blog, so make sure you’re publishing something of quality. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but a sloppy blog post is not going to inspire people to come back for more.

Risky Business

Many new bloggers forget how public their blog really is. Although you may assume that only friends and family are reading, unless the blog is password protected, the truth is that any random stranger can find it.

That’s why it’s always wise to limit what personal information you share on your blog. Publishing your address, or even sharing pictures of your front door, could be problematic if it falls into the wrong hands.

Consider having another method to share private or culturally sensitive information only with people you trust – whether it’s a private facebook group, e-mail list, or in one-on-one conversations.

Watch Your Language

When living abroad, you’ll probably experience all kinds of new things. It’s easy to let words like “weird” or “crazy” slip out when describing incomprehensible cultural things to people back home.

Remember that what may be “common sense” where you come from, may not be “common” or “sensible” in other cultures – and vise versa. It is important to guard against our natural tendency to be critical of cultural practices and attitudes which are different from our own.

Try to look at cultural differences objectively, avoid words that portray them negatively, and use your blog to promote cross-cultural understanding by explaining the Why behind these behaviors and attitudes in your host culture. You don’t have to like it or agree with it, but you can help others understand why it happens.