Blogging Basics Web Logs For Libraries

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Blogging Basics Web Logs For Libraries

• Carrie Bickner
• INFOLINK
• May 13, 2004

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Blogging Basics

• What is a blog?
• A brief history of the blog
• Personal, corporate and community blogs
• Library blogs
• Writing for blogs
• Blogging software

Blogging Basics Web Logs For Libraries by
Carrie Bickner, May 2004.
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Why Are You Here?

• How many of you read a blog?
• How many of you have a blog?
• What kind of librarian are you?
• How are you thinking about using blogs at work?

Blogging Basics Web Logs For Libraries by
Carrie Bickner, May 2004.
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What is a Blog?

• The term blog is short for web log
• Blogs are journal-like web publications
• Blogs were originally created by individuals
• Those people are bloggers
• The act if updating a blog is called blogging

Blogging Basics Web Logs For Libraries by
Carrie Bickner, May 2004.
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A Brief History of the Blog

• The first blogs started to appear in about 1998
• In 1999 the first blogging tools emerged, acting
  as a catalyst for a blogging boom
• Pitas, Pyra, Blogger and several other free blog
  tools hit the scene
• A Blogging culture started to develop
• Blogging is now a much larger world

Blogging Basics Web Logs For Libraries by
Carrie Bickner, May 2004.
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Characterists of a Good Blog

• Good blogs tend to be
• Updated frequently
• Topically focused
• Nicely written
• Immediate

Blogging Basics Web Logs For Libraries by
Carrie Bickner, May 2004.
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Personal Blogs

• Meyerweb
• Textism
• My personal favorite

Blogging Basics Web Logs For Libraries by
Carrie Bickner, May 2004.
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Corporate and Community Blogs

• OReilly Press
• Web Logs Inc
• Exploit Boston
• Metafilter

Blogging Basics Web Logs For Libraries by
Carrie Bickner, May 2004.
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Library Blogs

• How can libraries use blogs?
• Library news/updates
• Book clubs and other online communities
• Community events/calendars
• Free CMS (Content Management System) for non-blog
  content

Blogging Basics Web Logs For Libraries by
Carrie Bickner, May 2004.
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Library Blogs

• In my work blogs have inspired
• A Teen Poetry Journals
• An Adult Literacy Journal
• Public Relations Efforts
• A Digital Library

Blogging Basics Web Logs For Libraries by
Carrie Bickner, May 2004.
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Library Blogs

• Roselle Public Library's Blogger Book Club
• Stark County Law Library Blawg
• Urbana Free Library Construction News
• Moraine Valley Community College Library
• Source Why and How to Use Blogs to Promote Your
  Library's Services by Darlene Fichter
  http//www.infotoday.com/mls/nov03/fichter.shtml
  November/December 2003

Blogging Basics Web Logs For Libraries by
Carrie Bickner, May 2004.
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Writing for Blogs (and the Web)

• About Web Readers
• When people read on the web, they have less
  patience, and are more skeptical
• Web readers skim for relevant information, and
  read in detail once they have found what they
  are looking for

Blogging Basics Web Logs For Libraries by
Carrie Bickner, May 2004.
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Writing for Blogs (and the Web)

• Writing for Web Readers
• Be straightforward and sincere
• Keep sentences and paragraphs short
• Chunk long copy into sections
• Use descriptive headers

Blogging Basics Web Logs For Libraries by
Carrie Bickner, May 2004.
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Writing for Blogs (and the Web)

• Is there a better way to express this thought
  from the Moraine Valley Community College web
  site?
• The Library is pleased to announce the
  publication of its new blogs, which are listed
  below with links to the most recent
  entries. Information
• posted to these blogs is intended for academic
  purposes and does not represent the opinion or
  endorsement of Moraine Valley.  The information
  offered here has been posted by library faculty
  members with all efforts to be accurate and to
  fulfill our mission to efficiently provide
  instruction and information resources to
  students, staff and faculty of Moraine Valley. 

Blogging Basics Web Logs For Libraries by
Carrie Bickner, May 2004.
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Writing for Blogs (and the Web)

• Is there a better way to express this thought
  from the Moraine Valley Community College web
  site?
• Keep up with the latest from MVCC with our new
  library blogs (disclaimer). 

Blogging Basics Web Logs For Libraries by
Carrie Bickner, May 2004.
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Writing for Blogs (and the Web)

• Staffing Requirements
• Hire people who can write well
• Give staff enough time to write every day
• If you have reader feedback, make sure you have
  the staff to moderate all comments

Blogging Basics Web Logs For Libraries by
Carrie Bickner, May 2004.
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Setting up and Maintaing a Blog

• Steps for setting up a library blog
• Select a host
• Select software
• Design or select a template
• Write

Blogging Basics Web Logs For Libraries by
Carrie Bickner, May 2004.
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Blogging Software

• What to look for in your blogging software
• Active developer and user community
• Easy-to-use interface
• Features that suit your needs

Blogging Basics Web Logs For Libraries by
Carrie Bickner, May 2004.
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Blogging Software

• Blog features to consider
• RSS (Really Simple Syndication)
• Comments
• Trackback
• Post dated entries
• Multiple authors

Blogging Basics Web Logs For Libraries by
Carrie Bickner, May 2004.
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Blogging Software

• Blogger -- easy to set up quickly
• Movable Type -- advanced features like RSS and
  categorization, caters to organizations as well
  as individuals
• Zope -- customizable, but needs serious IT
  support
• Other blog tools

Blogging Basics Web Logs For Libraries by
Carrie Bickner, May 2004.
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Blogging Basics Web Logs For Libraries

• Carrie Bickner
• NFOLINK
• May 13, 2004