Transcript Technology Tuesday Webcast Series: Want To Go Blogging? March 9, 2004 Presenter: Lori Bowen Ayre [email protected].

Technology Tuesday Webcast
Series:
Want To Go
Blogging?
March 9, 2004
Presenter: Lori Bowen Ayre
[email protected]
Agenda

What are Blogs and Bloggers?

Blogging and Libraries

Planning Your Library Blog

Best Practices

Reading Blogs and RSS Feeds

Where to Learn More
Bloggers
Residents of Planet Blogistan
or
Web + Logs
In The Beginning…All Blogs
Were “Personal”

chronological lists of links to stuff that interests the author
(blogger), interspersed with information, editorializing and
personal asides

often impassioned and sometimes sloppy; they frequently
surprise and just as frequently lose focus
-Rosenberg (1999)
Today, Web Logs Are…
also a tool to do what we've always done:
collect, categorize, and make information
accessible. After all, adding a blog to your
library's site is free and easy. It is also a quick
way for you and your staff to communicate
information to your public and, if you choose,
to provide a forum for your public to join the
discussion.
-Blake Carver (2003)
Library “Organizational” Blogs







news about the library or community
new arrivals: books, VCRs, CDs, DVDs
list of upcoming events
staff picks for the week
most circulated/requested books
new in the children’s department
teen book club
Blogging and
Libraries
Why do I care?
How Public Blogs Benefit the
Library
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
website can be a destination for library
and community news
can be responsive to patron feedback
can quickly respond to current events
can allow for interaction between patrons
and library using comments
more involvement with website by multiple
staff members
Escondido Public Library
Library
Provides
Online
Book
Club
For Kids
http://bloggerbookclub.blogspot.com/
Library’s Genealogy Blog
“Enriching Lives with Ancestral Ties”
http://www2.sls.lib.il.us/mt/enriching/
Redwood City Liblog
Planning Your
Library Blog
Components of a Blog



sequential entries
most recent on top
updated frequently



informal feeling
clear theme or purpose
available for syndication
Marin County Free Library Blog
Blog Planning Steps


define purpose of blog
set expectations
 who
will post entries?
 are comments from public allowed?

if so, what is policy on deleting posts?
 how



often will blog be updated?
define style and accessibility guidelines
define how posts will be archived
consider getting help with set-up
 easier
to “blog” than set up a “blog”
Purpose of Blog

who is it for




the community
your patrons
other librarians
what kind of information can visitors count on
finding





acquisitions news
readers’ advisories
news about events at the library / in the community / in the
library world
book reviews
opinions and editorials
Expectations of Bloggers

decide who will be the authors

define topics/events for each author

schedule how often does each person posts

provide guidelines for length of posts

decide if links will launch in same window or
new one -- make sure authors know how to do it

if using images, make sure authors know how to
upload
Expectations of Public

provide mission
statement
 purpose
 theme
 frequency

of updates
can public provide
feedback?
 comments
 email
Archiving Blog Entries



old entries always
available by date
can also be available by
topic
define topic categories
before starting
“Tame the Web:
Libraries and Technology”
Archive Categories
 should
relate to mission
 limit number of topics to
10 or less
Source: http://homepage.mac.com/mstephens7/B143020931/
Choosing the Right Technology

can you answer “yes” to following questions?





we have a server that can be used for our blog
we have a person who can download and configure blogging
software
we have a person who can integrate our existing website with
new blogging page so blog page has the same look and feel and
we have links between home page and blog page
if you can, you can install blogging software
if you cannot, you should use a hosted service
Blogging Software

Movable Type





Typepad



http://www.typepad.com/site/features/
desktop blogging software inexpensive but not free
Pmachine



http://www.movabletype.org/
desktop blogging software
free for non-commercial use
MT provides installation services too
http://www.pmachine.com/
content management software or
available as hosted service
iBlog


http://www.lifli.com/Products/iBlog/main
.htm
desktop software for Max OS X
Hosted Blog Services

Blogger.com

http://www.blogger.com/
 yourname.blogger.com or you can host blog on your own
domain

Blogspot.com

http://www.blogger.com/blogspot-admin/
 yourname.blogspot.com

tBLOG



Xanga



http://www.tblog.com/
yourname.tblog.com
http://www.xanga.com/
xanga.com/you
…for more see
http://www.lights.com/weblogs/hosting.html
Advantages & Disadvantages of
Hosted Service

advantages
 no
setup
 anyone with login can
contribute
 great way to try it out

disadvantages
 templates
are
restrictive
 URL not on your
domain (usually)
 free services are
limited
Best Practices
Each blog entry should….


have a title
be dated


be signed by author
optional: visitors can
post comments
Source: http://www.theshiftedlibrarian.com/
Most Recent Entries are Always
At Top of Page
Source: http://www.lessig.org/blog/
Archived
Entries
Available by
Date and Topic
Source:
http://www.workingfaster.com/sitelines/
Frequent Postings

blogs should be updated 2
or 3 times per week

the more frequent the
updates, the more likely
people are to return
Available for RSS Readers


an RSS reader (or news
aggregator) is software
that allows user to collect
all new blog entries (RSS
feeds) in one place rather
than visiting each web log
sequentially
a blog is “syndicated”
when it can be read by
RSS readers

formats that can be read
by RSS readers are:





XML
RSS 1.0
RSS 2.0
RDF
the blogging software
usually makes
“syndicating” very easy
to do
Reading Blogs
Staying in the loop with RSS
Feeds and Blogrolls
Benefits of Reading Blogs
increase awareness of library issues
 networking opportunities
 venting

“…weblogs have become an outlet for the average librarian to
connect with others around the world, exchange ideas, and
belong to a group.”
• Steven M. Cohen’s November 9, 2003 Library Stuff post
entitled “The ‘New Breed’ of Library Weblogs”
Steven M. Cohen on RSS feeds:
In order to keep current, like many librarians I had all of the
web sites that I visited daily bookmarked (about 50) in my
browser at work and I would painstakingly visit each site
throughout the day [….]
Now, I get almost all of the content I want from all of these
sites delivered to one place as soon as the site is updated,
saving precious time.
The most amazing part is that I am notified when any of
the sites I subscribe to are updated within minutes. And I
didn't have to be an experienced techie to set-it-up.
Subscribing to an RSS Feed

copy the link

paste in “subscribe” box of your RSS Reader
A Peek at an RSS Feeder: Bloglines
Blogrolling

definition: (noun) The section of a weblog that
lists the sites that the blogger reads on a regular
basis. This is usually located on the side of a
blogger's frontpage, or on a separate page linked
off of the frontpage.
Source: http://www.microcontentnews.com/resources/glossary/

benefits
 great way to share RSS feeds
 the new “bookmarks” or “favorites”
How to Learn More
Online Course: “The Beginner’s Guide
to Weblogs and RSS”

Steven Cohen online course via Learning
Times

4-week course - live online session once per week
sessions: April 6, April 13, April 20, and April 27, 2004
from 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm EDT (GMT -4)
$150
http://www.learningtimes.com/rss115.shtm



Good Books on Blogging

Essential Blogging by
Powers, Doctorow,
Dornfest, et al. O’Reilly &
Associates, 2002. $29.95
http://www.oreilly.com/catal
og/essblogging/

We Blog: Publishing Online
with Web Logs by Bausch,
Haughey & Hourihan. John
Wiley & Sons, 2002.
$29.95.