1. The Blogging Explosion Libraries and Weblogs Darlene Fichter darlene.fichter@usask.ca University of Saskatchewan The Education Institute January 18, 2005

2. Overview What are weblogs? How easy is it to publish? Library weblog tour Blog dissection Choosing blogging software

3. What is it? A blog / weblog is A web page containing brief entries arranged chronologically Can be like A journal or diary ‘What’s New’ page A page of interesting links “To me, the blog concept is about three things: Frequency, Brevity, and Personality.” Evan Williams (creator of Blogger)

4. Weblogs are more They have been called personal web publishing communities* Weblogs don’t stand alone Relate / link to other blogs and the world Connect people together with a common interest *Dave Winer http://newhome.weblogs.com/personalWebPublishingCommunities http://newhome.weblogs.com/personalWebPublishingCommunities

5. Terminology Blogger – person who maintains a blog Blogging – the act of creating a blog Blogrolling – moving from blog to blog Blogrolodex – a listing of other blogs Blogorrhea – hundreds of posts per day about anything Blawgs, Klogs …

6. Blogosphere – Pew Internet and Life 8 million American adults say they have created blogs Blog readership jumped 58% in 2004 and now stands at 27% of internet users 62% of internet users say they do not know what a blog is The State of Blogging 1/2/2005 http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/144/report_display.asp http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/144/report_display.asp

7. Blogging explosion 2000-2004 Tools that made it easy to publish No need to know HTML No need to know FTP Add / edit content anywhere, anytime Dozens of features – dynamic, quick and easy to develop Millions worldwide Trivia: Can you guess the most popular word searched on the Merriam-Webster dictionary site in 2004?

8. Blogs are in the news Lots of media hype Google bought Blogger Blogs and 911 Blogs and US election Corporate use of blogs Sun Microsystems, Microsoft, Macromedia, Salon, …

9. Library weblogs Hundreds of library and librarian weblogs Finding Library Weblogs http://library.usask.ca/~fichter/weblog/library_weblogs.html http://www.blogwithoutalibrary.net/links.html

10. How easy is it to publish? 1. Login 2. Type your entry 3. Publish it!

12. Type and Publish Post Simple Formatting Options

13. Blog post as part of another page

14. Questions

15. Tour

16. 10 ways to use weblogs 1. News Recommend internet sites & tools New acquisitions, databases

19. Promote it! 2. Marketing Promote library events and programs Let visitors subscribe via email Distribute headlines (RSS) My Pick: Announce movies, link to trailers, reviews

21. Get interactive 3. Talk back Books you like Let users post reviews and comments

23. Internal communications 4. Library-wide or departmental Announcements News

24. Share knowledge 5. Share information Best practices – “know-how” Use for a committee, enable the “comment feature” Presentation Blogging for Knowledge ExchangeBlogging for Knowledge Exchange

26. Projects 6. Project blog Post items for comment using the blog Upload plans or documents Post documents for revision rather than using Track Changes in Word Automate useful links on your web site Set up topics Post new links or recommended sites Use for staff or public

27. Professional development 7. Professional / personal development Reflective nature, adds focus 8. Résumé Professional blog Write about your interests and what you find interesting

28. Solve email overload 9. Project tracking and management Record decisions List next steps and action items Post items for discussion between meetings or for feedback Keep an open, transparent record of the project

29. Be a leader 10. Community development Collect and syndicate local [city] news and events or university or college happenings Be everywhere Set up and host blogs for everyone

32. Blogging and libraries Lots of opportunities for libraries and librarians Lightweight content management solution Easy to publish Inexpensive (free) Multiple contributors Lighten web maintenance workload Guerilla KM tool Help experts share their knowledge with others

33. Questions

34. Exploring weblog features Data Library Blog - staff news and information for the data library How do I … Where to look Procedures and policies – fire drills Passwords for resources

35. Basic blog layout Blog Title Blog Entry Side Menu

36. A close look at a post Title Description TopicsAuthor

37. More details Title Description Comments Posting Time Permanent Link

38. Side menu Search Archives: Date Archives: Topic

39. More side menu options Headlines Monthly Archives Links to Other Sites Headlines in XML Weblogs allow you to “syndicate” your headlines or full entries as XML or RSS feeds entries.

40. Other features Draft mode Off line editing Spellchecking Timed release Long entries Multiple blogs Track back

41. Questions

42. Choosing blogging software Lots of options Dive in and try a few for free: Blogger, Blogsome, Typepad BloggerBlogsomeTypepad

43. Types of blogs Solo Community blogs Slashdot – news for nerds LISNews.com Librarian and information science news

45. Locally or remotely hosted? Hosted Blogger Blogsome Typepad $$ Typepad LiveJournal Local Server ExpressionEngine $$ ExpressionEngine Movable Type (Free & $$) Movable Type WordPress

46. Local installation Pros Control – preserve your data Uptime dependent on your server Most need access to server to install Often have to upgrade software to get new features Usually upload pictures and files Cons Less control – may loose data if blog host disappears Uptime dependent on a remote “free” service No technical support needed for installation

47. Other factors Features and functions Search, spell check, multiple authors, … Server platform Unix or Windows or MAC IT help Scripting languages Security and privacy Blogging Software for Intranet Applications. ONLINE, January 2003

48. Finding out more Weblogs Compendium Finding Library Weblogs Weblogs - Organizational, Workplace and Enterprise Blogs Weblogs - Organizational, Workplace and Enterprise Blogs Articles: Why and How to Use Blogs to Promote Your Library's Services – Nov / Dec 2003 Marketing Library Services Why and How to Use Blogs to Promote Your Library's Services

49. Questions

50. Thank you! Darlene Fichter darlene.fichter@usask.ca University of Saskatchewan Library