Some of you might not know what the term “booyah” really means and how it applies to what you are doing with your blogs.

So here’s the definition from Wikipedia.com, “Booyah or Booya is a food that is prepared like a stew, but on a very large scale. It takes many cooks to prepare the food, and it is usually meant to serve hundreds or even thousands of people. The name booyah is also used to describe the event surrounding the meal, and is probably a degenerated form of the name bouillabaisse, or as a mis-interpretation of the French word bouillon by a newspaper reporter (see history).”

As a former VP of Future Homemakers of America (junior, senior year in high school), I can tell you that Booyah is good, and it’s a great way to build community while you’re cooking your stew.

How does it apply to blogging?

The best form of blogging is the kind that comes from many chefs, diverse spices and lots of interesting ingredients. That means you start the base of the booyah with your blog posts and then you encourage others to actively contribute to the stew as well.

Here are TEN ways you can encourage folks to contribute to the feast of booyah:

1. Start each blog post with an inviting flavor and enticing question.

2. Encourage others to chime in (throw their own ingredients in) and give your base-booyah a little stir.

3. If the booyah gets too hot, don’t worry - you can chime in with a comment or two and bring it back down to simmering.

4. Simmering is good. Simmering is valuable. Simmering creates fantastic booyah.

5. Make your blog posts two or three parters so that folks can come back and add more salt and pepper to the booyah.

6. Love your booyah. Treasure those who are contributing to the feast and encourage them to invite others to share the experience.

7. Don’t let the booyah burn. Once it’s at its very best in terms of texture, taste and “booya-bouyancy”, thank everyone who contributed and begin again.

8. Share your booyah recipes freely and generously.

9. Pass the booyah on and on and on. You can do this by contributing to other bloggers posts and adding a new ingredient in comments to them!

10. Go back and look at the definition of “booyah” - pay close attention to “usually meant to serve hundreds or thousands” and always make it a goal that your booyah will truly serve your readers.