Transcript Document

Blogs as Writers’ Tools
Presented by
Lexie Smith
of
Lexical Light
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7/21/2015
What is a blog?
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Blog is short for weblog.
Commonly known as an online diary.
More accurately it is an:
easily used
online communication medium
widely available
to serve a variety of purposes
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Individuals, groups, corporations can have blogs
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What does a blog look like?
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Lexical Light
Mommylife
From Where I Sit
The Writing Life
The Thinklings
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Blog History 101
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1997: Jorn Barger uses the term “weblog” to describe
his own site, robotwisdom.com
1998: twenty - three known weblogs
1999: “blog” coined in April; Blogger hosting service
launched
2003: Google buys Blogger; worldwide blog count is
one million in September
2005: Blogosphere reaches ten million blogs in May
2006: As of May 1, Technorati tracks 37.3 million blogs
(compiled from Forbes, November 14, 2005; The Weblog Handbook by Rebecca Blood; and
the May 1, 2006 “State of the Blogosphere” Technorati blog entry by Dave Sifry.)
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Potential Benefits for Blogging Writers
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Write
Network
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Publicize
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give & receive responses to writing
learn from the experience of peers, authors, editors, etc.
connect with readers, family, friends, etc.
promote current book
promote upcoming books
display writing style & ideas
AmazonConnect - author blogs
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Potential Pitfalls for Blogging Writers
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Copyright risks
Safety issues
Distraction from off line writing
Neglect of other parts of life
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How do you become a blogger?
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Create a blog
Maintain a blog
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The Easy Part – Creating a Blog
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Plan your blog
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Choose a blog server
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Free blog server: blogger.com
Paid blog server: typepad.com
Paid blogs may have more features, better tech support
Read other blogs on the server
Start blogging
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Read other blogs, taking notes of what you like and don’t like
about them.
Consider your audience & purpose
Choose your name wisely, it’s part of your branding
User friendly blog providers make it easy to blog.
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The Hard Part – Maintaining a Blog
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Focus your content
Post regularly
Comment on other blogs, respond to your
readers’ comments
Send e-mail reminders of posts via Feedblitz
Read blogging resources
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Lexical Light: Behind the scenes
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Typepad.com
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Final Thoughts
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Don’t be afraid of the blog!
Send me your blog link or name to add to the
ETWC Alumni blogroll.
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