Week 2 - Blogs
In week two, we will be talking about blogs and all of the things that libraries can do with this tool. A blog is a website with entries that are listed in reverse chronological order. They will often have links to other pages and commentary on anything from what someone's dog did that morning to political commentary. Blogs started out as a way for people to keep online journals, but they have become much more then that.
Objectives This Week
At the end of this week, you should:
- have a general understanding of the technical principles behind the way blogs work.
- have a firm grasp on blogging terminology.
- understand the basic differences between the major blogging platforms.
- have formulated your own ideas on how to write good blog content.
- have explored library blog “success stories” and be able to discuss your own ideas about what constitutes a “successful” blog.
Presentations
A 21st Century Printing Press: Blogs as Publishing Mechanism - Rebecca Hedreen, Distance Education Librarian, Southern Connecticut State University
Using the Tools: How Millenials Use the World Wide Web - Jami Schwarzwalder, Recent Graduate, Indiana University MLS Program
Activities
- If you haven't already done so, introduce yourself on your blog! (When you were accepted into the course, you were given a username and password to log into Drupal, the content management system we're using for this course. More info on how to post to your blog, check out the course wiki).
- Explore a few of the examples below and think about what makes a blog "successful" (e.g.: what makes a blog work?). Post your thoughts & ideas to your blog.
- Take a look at some of the blogging tools outlined in this Wikipedia article. If you were to start a blog for your library, which blogging tool would you use and why? Post your thoughts to your blog.
- Take a look at the details for your final project, the proposal, to become familiar with the requirements. Start thinking about what technology you may want to focus on in your proposal.
Readings
"Anatomy of a Blog" - as the title suggests, this article outlines the elements and features that make a blog a blog. A great place to start if you have limited experience with blogs from Academic Blogging.
Darlene Fichter. "Why and How to Use Blogs to Promote Your Library's Services" - an overview of the technology, things to consider before setting up a library blog, and some possible uses of blogs in libraries from Marketing Library Services.
Greg Schwartz. "Blogs for Libraries" - more examples of the potential uses of blogs in libraries from Web Junction Resources.
Advanced Readings
"Blogging Strategy 101: A Primer" - while this article discusses blogging from a corporate perspective, it includes a number of useful tips & strategies that could easily be applied to libraries from Scout.
Joseph Anderson. "St. Joseph County (IN) Public Library: How Do You Spell "Blog"?" - an overview of how one public library uses a blog for outreach from Web Junction.
Rebecca Blood. "Weblog Ethics" - a discussion of the importance of being an "ethical blogger" from Rebecca's Pocket.
Examples
Below you will find examples of libraries who are using blogging for different purposes and examples of popular tools (platforms).
Blogging School Libraries
Gargoyles Loose in the Library
Blogging Platforms
WordPress.org - a free, open source blogging tool for those who have their own domain & hosting package.
WordPress.com - free, hosted blogs using the open source blogging platform, WordPress (no domain & host required, your blog will be at http://yourblogname.wordpress.com).
Blogger - owned by Google, Blogger provides free hosted blogs as well as a blogging tool for those with their own domains.
Weblog Matrix - a handy tool that will compare the features of many different blogging platforms