Company LOGO Intro to Web 2.0 Using Blogs, RSS and Wikis in the Workplace Presented by: Nicole C. Engard, Jenkins Law Library PBI’s 21 st Century Law Office Management -- July 24, 2006

Background  Berners-Lee envisioned a read/write web  We weren’t ready in the 1990’s for such a big step  We started with a read-only web – a place where everyone could read whatever they wanted, but only a select few (programmers) could write web pages. This was Web 1.0.

Enter Web 2.0  Web 2.0 or the Read/Write Web fulfills Berners-Lee’s original vision for the WWW  The introduction of tools like blogs, wikis, and RSS have made it so that anyone can write to the web  The question is – how can you use these tools to better work-flow in your office?

Blogs & Wikis  Blogs  Updated by one or more set authors  Regularly updated  Used for journal-like content  Made up of posts  Posts sorted reverse chronologically  Sometimes allows for comments  Updates delivered via RSS  Wikis  Anyone can edit  Updated as needed  Used for collaboration on a single project  Made of up of linked pages  Little or no structure  Sometimes allows for comments  Updates delivered via RSS

RSS  Short for “Real Simple Syndication”  Originally used to syndicate content from another web site on your own  Now most commonly used to deliver web related updates  Makes it easy to keep up with content from news sites, blogs, wikis, and web sites without visiting them every day  Requires an RSS Aggregator to use

RSS Aggregators  Also known as RSS Readers  Consider this your inbox for web content  Come in online and desktop varieties  Online readers allow you to access your subscriptions from any computer  Desktop readers are only accessible from your computer  Most popular reader is BloglinesBloglines

Finding Blogs  Ask your colleagues (word of mouth)  See what others are reading  Browse blog directories  Use blog search engines

Some Places to Start  Search  Blogdigger  Bloglines  Google Blog Search - blogsearch.google.com blogsearch.google.com  Syndica  Technorati  Browse  Legal Blawgs (from Rutgers Legal Blawgs  Law Blogs (from U of Akron Law Blogs  Law Blogs (from Internet Public Library) Law Blogs  Law Blogs (from Jenkins Law Library) Law Blogs  Law List Law List  Legal Information Weblogs Legal Information Weblogs

Start Your Own Blog  There are 2 blogging options to consider  Remotely Hosted  Stored on someone else’s server  May have a cost associated with it  Limited control  Easy to learn  Locally Hosted  Technical skills required  Your own web server required (will cost money  Complete control  More of a learning curve

Blogging Options  Remotely Hosted: Free  Wordpress.com  Blogger.com  Remotely Hosted: Fee Based  TypePad.com  LiveJournal.com  Locally Hosted: Free  WordPress.org  Locally Hosted: Fee Based  Moveable Type (

Start Your Own Wiki  Wiki packages offer the same 2 options that blog packages offer  Remotely hosted  Locally hosted  Like anything else hosting your wiki locally will allow for more control over who can edit and read pages  This option works very well for promoting collaboration in your office

Wiki Options  Remotely Hosted: Free  pbWiki.com  WetPaint.com  Locally Hosted: Free  MediaWiki.org  PhpWiki (phpwiki.sourceforge.net/phpwiki)phpwiki.sourceforge.net/phpwiki

Conclusion  Web 2.0 technologies have made it much easier for us to communicate and collaborate across borders.  With the use of the technologies discussed here you will be able to keep up with the profession in a more organized fashion.  Blogs & Wikis are more than just a fad, they’re a new way to communication and collaborate effectively with others in our profession.

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