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My first presentation on blogging 'way back' in 2007 to the California Condor Association http://cacondorconservation.org/. The idea was to give the Conservation board a 'how to' tutorial highlighting blogging basics.
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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**