Using Blogs Effectively Within Your Library Sharing Best Practices

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Using Blogs Effectively Within Your Library
Sharing Best Practices
http//www.ukoln.ac.uk/web-focus/events/conference
s/ili-2007/masterclass/

• Brian Kelly
• UKOLN
• University of Bath
• Bath, UK
• B.Kelly_at_ukoln.ac.uk

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Contents
Case Study

• Introduction
• Case Studies
• Reasons For Having a Library Blog
• Approaches to Providing a Blogging Services
• Institution Barriers
• Addressing the Barriers
• Sharing Best Practices
• Writing blog posts
• The readers
• The funders
• What Next?

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Writing Individual or Team?

• Individual blog
• Single voice (can avoid dissention)
• Build up following I always find that Feed has
  something interesting to say
• But what if authors interests change
• Team blog
• Shared workload
• Multiple voices
• Possible dangers of arguing or blandness

Note approaches taken by CETIS and OSS Watch
Appropriate solution dependent on factors such as
the blogs purpose (e.g. linker or thinker,
effort available, etc.)
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The Writing Style
I am also very interested to hear what UK and
other countries are doing with administrative
blogs, 2.0 portals and Learning 2.0. Please share
your comments here or email me. (Michael Stephens)

• My approach
• Say something new add some intellectual content
• Dont tell people float ideas invite responses

Is Facebook really, as some have suggested,
really a passing fad. Perhaps Spain is, as well
And I wonder if, on 4 April 1975, anyone would
have predicted the growth in Microsoft and when
it stopped being dismissed as a fad?
Does anyone else have example of blogs being used
to provide access to newsletters?
Congratulations to HERO for this development. Now
how many institutions are configuring their
browsers with similar search interfaces for their
institutional Web site, I wonder?
Blogs posts from 28 Sept 1 Oct 2007
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The Newsletter As A Blog
http//scottish-rscs.org.uk/newsfeed/

• How about providing access to your newsletter via
  a blog?
• Workflow processes exist RSS for free
• Comments for free

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Promoting Your Blog

• Technorati Already described
• Blog directories Is it worth it? Which ones?
• Community activities Library lists, training,
  etc. (cf JISCMail list)

• Another approach is to engage with ones peers
• Participate in email discussions mention your
  blog
• Give comments elsewhere, which link to your blog
• And lets not forget real-world marketing
• Flyers, business cards, Videos (YouTube)
• Blog address in email signatures, business cards,
  etc.

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Monitoring

• Monitoring links to your blog can help to
  identify positive impact or criticisms
• You can then
• Build on the successes
• Address the concerns
• This may be particularly relevant to public
  sector blogs

I also have a blogs-impact del.icio.us tag (for
impact reports)
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Ethical Issues

• Whats wrong with this

Your blogs great Thanks sos yours!
or this

• Theres a need to
• Avoid annoying your readers by being slimy
• Falling for automated spam
• So think
• Will readers think He would say that
• Does the spam ring true?

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The Aggregated Blog
http//elgg.jiscemerge.org.uk/
http//www.mybloglog.com/buzz/members/UKWebFocus/

• UK Web Focus is also available on
• MyBlogLog
• Planet OSS Watch
• JISC Emerge

• There are many issues about aggregated blogs
• Who does the aggregation?
• Different voices and opinions
• Loss of stats (revenue?)
• Influencing the community

No easy answers!
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Your Advice Best Practices

• Comments provided here
• Based on UK Web Focus experiences
• Documented on UK Web Focus blog
• Not necessarily applicable in all cases
• What
• Wouldnt work in your environment?
• Examples of best practices can you provide?

Suggest up to 3 top tips to share with others
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Questions

• Any questions?