Watch Blogs in Plain English.

Many people say that blogs were the dawn of social media. And according to Debbie Weil in her book The Corporate Blogging Book, “transparency and authenticity are two of the touchstones that make the blosphere go round.” Blogging has been around longer than you probably think. Stop for a minute and consider when you think blogging began (the answer is in the textbook reading; chapters 4 & 8).

In 2002, when a blog search company called Technorati launched, it counted just under 13,000 blogs. By 2005 that number had skyrocketed to 20 million blogs. According to BlogPulse, there were 126 million blogs in 2009!

Blogs are different than conventional web sites. According to Weil, blogging is different because it is:

  • interactive.
  • written in a conversational voice.
  • created using instant publishing software; usually no tech expertise and no techies or IT staff are required.
  • offers an efficient way to alert interested readers every time something new is added – without using email.  (NOTE: we’ll learn more on this in the next unit on keeping current).
  • frequently updated, so that is almost always gets higher rankings in search engine results than a static site.
  • a form of viral marketing.

Today, blogging has become ubiquitous and most internet users have probably visited a blog. The characteristics listed above are important to remember and reflect upon as you engage in blogging for this class. Take a moment to read the list of items above again.

Nothing to be afraid of, right? By far, one of the most successful methods for being a blogger is to read and interact withother blogs. By interact I mean you should be commenting on other blogs and linking where appropriate.

In this class, we are going to build two blogs each. The first will be a personal blog we’ll use to interact and play with thetechnology – you will do for this Learning Module. We’ll also use it to post assignments and provide our class discussion. The second blog we’ll build will be designed to “sell” something – a product, a person, an organization, an idea, etc. – this will come in a week or two.

Blogging allows you to generate conversations using a piece of software that is easy to use and easy to manage. Blogs are typically fast, using a database system in the backend. Blogs allow for multiple authors on the same site.

The Software

The first thing you need to blog is the blogging software. The leading provider is WordPress. WordPress can be installed on your own server or you can use the hosted version. The classes|kenleyneufeld uses WordPress and it is hosted on my server. The version of WordPress that I have installed allows us to all blog on the same platform with individual blogs. You may have already created a blog on this site when you registered.

WordPress

Image via Wikipedia

There are many other options, such as Google’s Blogger. For a complete list and more information about the software, please read Blog Software. Since we are using WordPress in this class, I will focus the remaining conversation on that product.

The Dashboard

When you manage a blog using WordPress, everything you do will be within the Dashboard. This is where you can manage posts, links, pages, users, widgets, comments, plugins, and other settings.

I’ve created a series of screen casts to guide you in using WordPress for this class. For some, you can just jump right in a start setting up your blog. For others, you may wish to pick and choose the tutorials below that will meet your needs. Of course, you can watch all of them too.

It is important that you explore all the options and settings in the WordPress Dashboard. If there is something you don’t know how to do, post it in the comments below and I’ll add it to the list here. Additional help can be found in the WordPress Documentation.

Plugins

Plugins are small pieces of software that do a specific task or add functionality to your blog – it adds the things that don’t come in the base installation of WordPress and they are typically created by thousands of people around the world. In fact, you could build a plugin and submit for use with WordPress.

Each installation of WordPress will probably need/want a few plugins. By default, the installation for classes|kenleyneufeld includes a few plugins that you can activate on your blog. Since new plugins are restricted, you can recommend additional plugins by posting in the comments below and I will review them for appropriateness. Because we are a shared installation of WordPress, you do not have the ability to add plugins yourself. However, once they are made available by the administrator then you could turn on any of those made available. In a normal version of WordPress, you would be able to add, remove, and configure any plugins you like. For example, on my blog misc.joy I use a couple such as Sociable and DISQUS Comment System – both very helpful additions to WordPress.

The first time you launch your blog, you will configure two of the plugins – ReCAPTCHA and Twitter Tools – see Initial Blog Settings video.

Watch Working with Plugins on classes|kenleyneufeld

How to Blog

Once you get the mechanics of the blog site configured and setup, then you are ready to begin posting blog posts. A good book to review is the optional purchase, The Corporate Blogging Book by Debbie Weil. Of course, there are many great sources online to guide you in the blogging process. I will link to a few below, but here are a few highlights:

  1. Catchy, short, and clear title.
  2. Lots of white space; break up the paragraphs frequently for easy online reading.
  3. Add appropriate images and/or videos.
  4. Link. Link. Link.
  5. If you make a change to a blog post after it has been published, the practice is to use strikethrough and leave the original information posted even if it is embarrassing.
  6. End with a question to solicit participation from your readers.
  7. Use the “Insert More” button (in the toolbar – insert-more ) after the first or second paragraph so the home page doesn’t become cluttered with very long posts.
  8. Read. Read. Read. Especially other blogs. See 47 Lists of Bloggers to Watch in 2010 (ProBlogger)

Other sources:

Conclusion

In conclusion, I return to Debbie Weil because she has a great list of tips for writing a successful blog.

  1. Choose the right topic (be sure it’s specific)
  2. Find your voice
  3. Invite a conversation
  4. Package what you write (10 tips, 5 rules, 7 ways, etc.)
  5. Always, always link
  6. Write for Web readers
  7. Write for Google searchers
  8. Publish consistently
  9. Take risks
  10. Have fun

Social Media Bible Textbook Reading

  • Chapter 4, Everyone’s a Publisher, pages 69-94 (optional, but valuable)
  • Chapter 8, The Ubiquitous Blog, pages 161-180