introduction to blogging

by: jon clark

so what is blogging anyway?

blogging defiiiiiiined

‘a blog is a website in which items are posted on a regular basis and displayed in reverse

chronological order. the term blog is a shortened form of weblog or web log. authoring a blog, maintaining a blog or adding an article to an existing blog is called “blogging”. Individual articles on a blog are called “blog posts,” “posts” or “entries”. a person who posts these entries is called a “blogger”. a blog comprises text, hypertext, images, and links (to other web pages and to video, audio and other files). blogs use a conversational style of documentation. often blogs focus on a particular “area of interest”, such as Washington, D.C.’s political goings-on. some blogs discuss personal experiences.’

blogging defined

‘from “web log.” a blog is basically a journal that is available on the web.

the activity of updating a blog is “blogging” and someone who keeps a blog is a “blogger.”

blogging guidelines

• blogs are usually (but not always) written by one person & updated pretty regularly

• blogs are often (but not always) written on a particular topic

• blogs should be factual, accurate and provide context to the argument or statement.

• blogs should be written as ‘yourself’ to add credibility.

common blog features

• content

• archives

• comments

• links or “blogroll”

• feeds – “RSS, Atom or RDF files”

• article tags

the blog content

• on a blog, the content consists of articles (also called "posts" or "entries") that the author(s) writes.

• typically, blog authors compose their articles in a web-based interface, built into the blogging system itself.

• write relevant and write often – new content is the source of continued readership (and new readership)

the blog comments

• one of the most exciting features of blogging tools are the comments.

• this highly interactive feature allows users to comment upon article posts and link to your posts.

• links to your post are know as ‘trackbacks’ or ‘pingbacks'

the blog archive

• a lot of blogs feature an archive based on dates (like a monthly or yearly archive).

• the front page of a blog may feature a calendar of dates linked to daily archives.

• archives can also be based on categories featuring all the articles related to a specific category.

the ‘blogroll’

• a blogroll is a list, sometimes categorized, of links to webpages the author of a blog finds worthwhile or interesting.

• the links in a blogroll are usually to other blogs with similar interests.

• the blogroll is often in a "sidebar" on the page or featured as a dedicated separate web page.

the blog feeds

• a Feed is a function of special software that allows "Feedreaders" to access a site automatically looking for new content and then post updates about that new content to another site.

• this provides a way for users to keep up with the latest and hottest information posted on different blogging sites.

• some Feeds include RSS (alternately defined as "Rich Site Summary" or "Really Simple Syndication"), Atom or RDF files.

ok, I am ready to start my blog!

choose a niche topic

• something that interests you

• something that is ‘popular’

• something that has competition – just not too much or too little.

• will you have enough content?

choose a platform

• Blogger.com (free)

• WordPress.com (free)

• Movable Type ($$)

• WordPress.org ($$)

choosing a blog ‘domain’

• what is the topic of the blog? • what is your source of traffic?• easy to spell, pronounce, remember & type• up to 67 characters (shorter the better)• consider hyphens or numbers• get a second opinion• use keywords• make it brandable

choose a blog ‘domain’

condor related blogs & blog posts

• arizonatravel.wordpress.com

• girlscientist.blogspot.com

• blogs.britannica.com

• birddigiscoping.com

• lauraerickson.blogspot.com

• birdfeedersbirdhouses.com

• condorblog.blogspot.com

blog resources

• 23 questions for prospective bloggers

• rss feeds explained

• intro to blogging – wordpress

• blogger – help

• corporate blogging guidelines**

thank you!

For copies of this presentation:

e-mail me at jon@jon-lee-clark.com

DM me @jonleeclark