Transcript Working With Blogs and Bloggers What We’ll Cover • • • • • • • • • Some Numbers Types of Blogs Types of Bloggers Why People Blog Why Blogs are Relevant Trustees of This.

Working With Blogs and Bloggers
What We’ll Cover
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Some Numbers
Types of Blogs
Types of Bloggers
Why People Blog
Why Blogs are Relevant
Trustees of This Movement
Should You Blog?
Glossary
Step-By-Step Guide
Some Numbers
• 133,000,000 – number of blogs indexed by Technorati since
2002
• 346,000,000 – number of people globally who read blogs
(comScore March 2008)
• 900,000 – average number of blog posts in a 24-hour period
• 1,750,000 – number of RSS subscribers to TechCrunch, the most
popular Technology blog (January 2009)
• 77% - percentage of active Internet users who read blogs
• 59% – percentage of bloggers who have been blogging for at
least 2 years
Source: http://technorati.com/blogging/state-of-the-blogosphere/
http://thefuturebuzz.com/2009/01/12/social-media-web-20-internet-numbers-stats/
Types of Blogs
• Personal
– Reflect on life, share opinions, use as a creative outlet
• Nonprofit/Advocacy
– Current work, campaign updates, laws that affect
their issue
• Corporate/Business
– Communications, marketing, publicity, products
• Topic/Issue
– Travel, political, music, design, niches, immigration,
health care
Types of Bloggers
• Professional
– Former/current journalists looking for a new medium or
new audience
• Activist
– Citizen activists honing in on stories not covered by
traditional media
• Identity
– Folks motivated by a desire to connect with others like
them (i.e. mom bloggers, LGBT bloggers, etc.)
• Hobbyists
– Folks motivated by a desire to share information with
others who share a passion (i.e. sports bloggers, UFO
bloggers, etc.)
Why People Blog
• Share thoughts/opinions, information/content, news
stories
• Participate in community/conversations and talk
about agreements and disagreements
• Cover what mainstream media isn’t covering
• Give exposure to a topic/issue
• Comment on and/or help spread breaking news
Why Blogs are Relevant
• Timely
• Informative
• Engaging
• Participatory
• Community-driven
President Clinton’s Keynote @ Netroots Nation
“You hold the seeds of a genuine revolution in our public
life, and you do it by mobilizing people, and generating
emotion, but also getting people to think.
People trust you. Even people who read you but who don't
agree with you, they believe that you believe what you
put down.
You are trustees of this movement…
We can't be in the peanut gallery.
We have to be actors.”
President Clinton’s Keynote @ Netroots Nation
http://www.youtube.com/v/c6Iv13jnCnk
Should You or Shouldn’t You Blog?
You should blog if:
• You have something to say that’s worth people’s
time
• You’re interested in inviting conversation
• You have time to write articles that are engaging
and useful
• You’re willing and able to respond to
comments/questions and engage with your
readers
• You’re eager to read other blogs and participate in
the blogosphere
Should You or Shouldn’t You Blog?
You should NOT blog if:
• You’re interested in distributing press releases to a
new audience
• You’re uncomfortable getting feedback through
public comments
• Your organization has several layers of bureaucracy
to publish public-facing information
• Your organization is slow to issue information or to
break news
Not sure? Start small and read other blogs to get an
idea of the blogosphere and its various
communities.
Glossary of Terms
• Blogroll = list of blogs that a blogger
recommends and is reading
• Trackback = notifies a blogger that
someone linked to or referenced
their blog article
• Permalink (permanent link) = the
specific, permanent URL of a blog
article
http://www.frogloop.com
Glossary of Terms
• RSS (really simple syndication)
– Web feed of your blog (or other website content)
that is read through an RSS reader or aggregator
(e.g. Google Reader)
• Vlog = video blog
• Vlogger = video blogger
Step-By-Step Guide
1. Internal Organization
2. Goals
3. Software
4. Blogging
5. Participate & Engage
6. Promote & Track
1. Internal Organization
• Who’s going to be the blogger/voice of your org?
• How much time do they have to dedicate?
• What kind of review process do you need?
• How does this fit into your communications calendar?
• How can you coordinate with other departments to
help generate story ideas?
2. Goals
• What do you want to
accomplish by having a blog?
• Who’s your audience?
• Who do you want to engage
with?
• How often will you update it?
3. Software
• Can your current CMS publish blogs?
• Do you need to explore free software?
– WordPress
– Moveable Type
– Blogger
– TypePad
– Tumblr
– Weebly
4. Blogging
• Don’t just recite/re-post a press
release
• Be engaging and exciting; give
readers a reason to return
• Headline and first paragraph or
two are important to grab a
reader’s attention (just like with
an email blast)
4. Blogging
• Use a natural voice and casual
tone
• Post frequently and be ready to
comment on breaking news
• Pose a question and encourage
people to leave their
thoughts/opinions
• Respond quickly to
comments/questions
5. Participate & Engage
• Introduce yourself to other
bloggers in the space
• Read/comment on other blogs
• Participate in the blog
community; don’t just
plug/advertise your blog
• Understand “gift economy” –
give scoops, interviews, etc.
when appropriate
5. Participate & Engage
• Ask guest bloggers to write
for your blog
• Places to find blogs
– leftyblogs.com
– technorati.com
– blogsearch.google.com
– blogrolls (on other sites)
6. Promote & Track
• Promote the blog
– Website
– Social networking sites
– Email blasts
– Friends and family
– Colleagues
– Appropriate listservs
– Related organizations
www.one.org home page
6. Promote & Track
• Track the metrics
– Views
– Comments
– Posts
– Trackbacks
• Listen to feedback
• Learn from your success
and failures
http://www.flickr.com/photos/10ch/
Contact Info
New Organizing Institute
(202) 558-5585
[email protected]
www.neworganizing.com
www.twitter.com/neworganizing