on blogs and blogging
DESCRIPTION
If you can write an e-mail, you can write a blog. Everyone is blogging about various issues: Food, politics, news, fashion, photography, design, travel, etc… Unlike websites, blogs are interactive. The following presentation prepared by Think Media Labs will help you get in the loop of blogging and of how to start and improve a successful blog.TRANSCRIPT
vBlogs and blogging
What is a blog?• A blog is a website with descriptive entries,
commentary, pictures, and video.• Topics: display of your creative work,
events you participated in, something you saw, exploring a passion, documenting your life, sharing information, news,...
• Prerequisites: If you can write an e-mail, you can write a blog. No software necessary.
vAnatomyof a blog
What is a blog?• A blog = a web + a log• A blog is a website that is frequently
updated, with the most recent entry on top• Blogging is now the most popular online
personal publishing platform• Blog authors, known as bloggers, can write
about anything• According to Wikipedia, as of 16 February
2011, there were over 156m public blogs
• Blogs are interactive to distinguish them from websites
• Visitors can leave comments• Blogs appear in different forms and are
based on a template• Basic templates are free. More refined
ones are bought for an annual fee• The most popular blog hosts are
WordPress and Blogger
• Layout can be as simple or sophisticated as the author chooses
• Typical design: title banner at the top, a side bar and the content taking up the remainder of the space
• Sidebar includes an “About me,” an archive of past posts in date order, and anything the author wants to add
• Blogs can display text, images, audio and video
Types of blogs:• News• Personal diary• Specialized subject• Aggregator• Fashion• Food• Sports• Photography…
Blogs can be linked to each other and to Web pages
v
Websitevs.
Blog
A website and a blog are not the same:
Blog• Content is regularly updated• Not formal• Interactive• Informative and educational• Interactivity about industry/customer
issues• Some people have a blog
Website• Content is static• Formal/professional• Interactivity does not exist. There is only
one-way communication• Transactional• Communication about products and/or
services• Almost everyone has a website. In fact, it is
almost a requirement in business today
vThe diversity
of blogs
• The impact of blogs has been growing• It is affecting the mainstream media and
is widely acknowledged by governments• Newspapers, magazines and television
-- labeled “old media” -- have been suffering as a result of the growing number of blogs
• Bloggers sharing and connecting information in real time and are quicker
Political blogs• Since 2002, and with the invasion and
war on Iraq in 2003, blogs gained in political momentum as a way of covering the news in a non-conventional way
• One of the first political blogs in the region to address a wide international audience and make a big impact was “Where is Raed” by Iraqi Salam Pax
Aggregator blogs
Blogs that lead to books
Photography blog
Technology blog
Food blog
Activist blog
• A four-hour training will never be enough to go through 156 million + blogs
• The idea, however, is to look at the development and impact blogs are having on traditional media, marketing and PR
• There is a blog for practically every subject, from personal, corporate, genre…
• The community of all blogs is the blogosphere
Blogging and advertising
• Blogs can be monetized (?)• Some feature advertisements for
financial gain or to promote a cause• Some companies create a fake blog
to promote a product
Blogging for a cause
Blogging code of conduct
• Take responsibility for what you write• Don’t say something online that you
wouldn’t offline• Do not use abusive language• Eliminate anonymous comments
v