Blogging

What is a blog:

 

"Blog is a shortened form of the word weblog and refers to a specific variety of website where the content is provided in an ongoing series of dated entries." - Webjunction 

 

"A blog is a user-generated website where entries are made in journal style and displayed in a reverse chronological order." - Wikipedia

 

“A blog is an online web journal” - Beverly's handout "Web 2.0 Tools for Programming"

 

Blog software can be open source or proprietary and either on your library's web server or on another webserver, free or paid. Most people start out blogging on a free, hosted site, such as Blogger or WordPress, and may later choose to pay for more services, such as ad-free or more space, or switch to a paid site or even download and manage blogger software on their own library web server.

 

Let's take a look:

 

Beverly's new personal Wordpress blog for demonstration

Beverly’s Programming Blog for the 2007 Regional Read. An example of a project-based blog. Free hosted.

Book Review blog from the Waterville Public Library. An example of a specific service. Note that they invite their customers to contribute. They also have links to other community blogs. Free hosted.

Blog North Adams by the North Adams Public Library in Massachussetts. An example of a basic library blog. Free hosted. 

Simply Recipes - blogs can be about anything!

What I learned Today from a Library Web Manager. A very rich, sophisticated blog about Web 2.0. Paid or managed on her own library's web server. 

 

How to step by step and demonstration:

 

Blogger: Read step-by-step instructions: Easy Steps to Creating a Blog or view a movie: Start a Blog in Five Minutes [wmv file] 

WordPress: Read Create a Blog using WordPress.com [pdf]  or view a movie on youtube WordPress.com - Step-by-Step Tutorial on How to Blog 

 

 

Create your own blog (worksheetb.txt):

 

1. First, make a list of a few name ideas- short, no spaces!, specific. Be sure to have some variations as the name may be taken.
2. Go to www.blogger.com or www.wordpress.com  and set up an account.
3. Be sure to write down your account username and password!
4. Create your blog and your first post.
5. Be sure to write down your blog URL.

 

Good principles and practices:

 

• The primary principle is to communicate clearly and be forthright. If you create a blog but only have time to post to it once a month, then say so. e.g. "Monthly blog, new posts are entered sometime during the first week of the month" or if you intend to post weekly but go on vacation for a month, let the readers know.
• Keep the comments turned on so readers can contribute, but monitor them so that you can delete any inappropriate ones. 
• As your blog gets larger and archived off the front page, create links to past posts using the blogroll and/or tags.
• Remember, it's out there for everyone to see- don't say anything you would not be willing to have show up on the front page of the New York Times.
• From the guru of usability:  Weblog Usability: The Top Ten Design Mistakes 

 

Homework:

 

1. Post to your blog at least 2 times. Recommended: weekly.
2. Comment on other blogs. Links to participant blogs will be available on the BlogsEtc page.

 

A selection of free blog host sites:

Blog blog.com

Blogger www.blogger.com

Blogo monster www.blogomonster.com

Blogstream www.blogstream.com

Journalspace journalspace.com

Wordpress www.wordpress.com

Xanga www.xanga.com

 

Tips:

 

A blog can be controlled by only one person, additional people may be authorized to post, but they cannot change the settings.

 

In blogger.com, the Dashboard is where you start to create a New Post or to manage Posts, Settings, Layout. Be sure to look at all the tabs under Posts, Settings and Layouts to see everything that you can control. To get to the Dashboard, go to your blog, look in upper right for the sign-in link and then sign-in. Or, go to www.blogger.com and sign-in. However, if you then View Blog, there's no consistence link back to the Dashboard; instead, there's a link in the upper right to Customize which links to the Templates Page Elements. From that page there are tab links to Posting, Settings, or in the upper right to the Dashboard. This may change- Blogger is changing daily!

 

The first time you add a picture you must accept the terms of service.

 

Reduce your pictures before uploading them to save space on your blogger account.

 

When editing Template Fonts and Colors, to get to the Font selections, scroll down past the colors and select a page element.