---
title: "How to read a blog"
description: "A decoder for the stock phrases bloggers use, each of which has lost its original meaning."
canonical: https://tomsharman.com/bookshelf/trust-me-im-lying/how-to-read-a-blog/
updated: 2026-11-03
---

# How to read a blog

> A decoder for the stock phrases bloggers use, each of which has lost its original meaning.

Ryan Holiday's framework, from Trust Me, I'm Lying, pp. 126 to 231.

Framework 5 of 5 from [Trust Me, I'm Lying](https://tomsharman.com/bookshelf/trust-me-im-lying/index.md) by Ryan Holiday. Category: Storytelling.

## The steps

1. **"According to a tipster".** The tipster may well be a person like Holiday tricking the blogger.
2. **"Leaked" or "official documents".** Someone just e-mailed a blogger, and the documents are probably fabricated.
3. **"BREAKING".** The story reached you before any attempt at confirmation.
4. **"Updated".** Nobody reworked the story, they pasted a note at the bottom.
5. **"EXCLUSIVE".** The site and source struck a deal, or the site took a story from a smaller site.
6. **"We've reached out for comment".** An e-mail was sent minutes before publishing, after the story was already written.
7. **An attributed quote.** The blogger probably took it from elsewhere and buried a link.
8. **"Which means" or "will result in".** The writer likely has no training in the field and no consequence for being wrong.

## Where it comes from

From chapter: Book Two: The Monster Attacks: What Blogs Mean, pp. 126–231

## The animation

24 seconds, 4:5, no sound.

- MP4: https://tomsharman-downloads-006143767029.s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com/downloads/bookshelf/trust-me-im-lying/how-to-read-a-blog.mp4
- MP4, dark: https://tomsharman-downloads-006143767029.s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com/downloads/bookshelf/trust-me-im-lying/how-to-read-a-blog-dark.mp4
- Still: https://tomsharman-downloads-006143767029.s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com/downloads/bookshelf/trust-me-im-lying/how-to-read-a-blog.png
- Still, dark: https://tomsharman-downloads-006143767029.s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com/downloads/bookshelf/trust-me-im-lying/how-to-read-a-blog-dark.png