PUBLISHING ONLINE Chapter 2

Overview Blogs and wikis are two Web 2.0 tools that allow users to publish content online Blogs function as online journals Wikis are collections of searchable, linked Web pages that users can create or edit collaboratively A Web site is a collection of related Web pages that are usually hosted on the same server

Overview

The Structure of Web-based Applications Blogs and wikis both offer users a simple way to publish content to the Web without the need to know HTML HTML uses tags to instruct a Web browser how to display a Web page Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) is a complementary technology that specifies fonts, colors, layout, and placement

Understanding Blogs Users update their blogs by entering new content using a blogging application Collection of all bloggers (people who post to their blogs) and their blogs is referred to as the blogosphere A permalink can be used to link to a specific article on a blog Blog members read and follow a blog Blog is an abbreviation for Web log

Corporate Blogs

Understanding Blogs Citizen journalists share their thoughts about news and events

News and Opinion Blogs

Web-Based Blogging Applications

Interacting with a Blogger Blog Components of most blogging applications include the ability to: Create and edit blog posts Configure the blog’s settings Select a design template and customize its layout

Interacting with a Blogger Blog To create a blog post, enter the title of the post Use the text editor to perform basic text formatting Create hyperlinks and upload images and videos You can edit or delete posts

Interacting with a Blogger Blog The Settings tab contains options for specifying: Blog’s title and description Whether the blog should be added to Blogger’s blog listings Whether search engines will be allowed to index the blog when a new post is submitted Formatting settings Whether to display blog comments and mobile settings Permissions settings

Interacting with a Blogger Blog

The Layout tab allows you to configure your blog by customizing: Page elements Gadgets / widgets Fonts and colors Templates

Blogging with Multimedia

You can embed content in a blog or on a Web page

Blogging with Multimedia

Most video-sharing Web sites contain the embed code that you should place into your blog application’s HTML editor

Blogging with Multimedia Video blogs are blogs whose posts primarily contain videos recorded by or featuring the owner of the blog

Extending a Blog’s Value After creating a blog, you should publicize it to increase traffic Include blog URL in signature Add links/information to social networking sites Become an active participant on other blogs Back (inbound) links and outbound links Post reciprocal links Notify search engines (ping) when there is updated content

Extending a Blog’s Value

Understanding Wikis A wiki is a collection of Web pages where users can add, discuss, or edit existing content that they, or others, have created Contributors of wikis usually have to register to be able to make changes Wikis have an open structure allowing users to create new pages and link existing pages Wiki comes from the Hawaiian word for quick

Understanding Wikis

Many wiki providers host wiki applications on their own servers and allow contributors to use their features at no cost They charge additional fees for increased storage Domain names assigned by hosting services typically contain elements of both the provider’s and user’s domain name Custom domain names are shorter and easier to remember

Understanding Wikis

Wikis can be used in many different settings, such as in a college information technology course Students can post and share their notes Users can create or edit an article using a WYSIWYG editor Wiki administrator can track how page was modified over time, and who made each change Revisions page

Understanding Wikis

Wikipedia Successful online encyclopedia generated by contributors Contains more than 3.1 million articles Sandbox page helps users learn how to use the wiki application software New articles are first posted in a private section until reviewers provide feedback and corrections are made Moved to live site after corrections are made

Wikipedia

Google Wave Integrated collaboration tool that combines features from blogs, wikis, instant messaging, and Streams of communication are called waves Waves are composed of blips

Google Wave

Summary Blogs and wikis facilitate the process of creating and sharing online content Three-tiered architecture of Web applications Blogging is a popular tool for individuals and organizations Blogs usually are authored and maintained by individuals, whereas wikis reflect the knowledge of a community Wikis are a useful collaboration tool 35