University of Minnesota System-Wide Equity and Diversity Action Network (SEDAN) Blog

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University of Minnesota System-Wide Equity and
Diversity Action Network (SEDAN) Blog

• By Jody Gray
• SEDAN
• February 25, 2009

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What is a blog?

• According to Donna Wentworth, Web Publications
  Editor at Harvard University's Berkman Center for
  Internet and Society, a weblog or blog is
• "... a website updated frequently with links,
  commentary and anything else you like. New items
  go on top and older items flow down the page.
  Blogs can be political journals, news digests,
  and/or personal diaries they can focus on one
  narrow subject or range across a universe of
  topics. The weblog form is unique to the Web,
  highly addictive, and may be changing how we
  communicate with one another." (http//blogs.law.h
  arvard.edu/about/)

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Why use Uthink and not LiveJournal or Blogger?

• No advertisements.
• Integration with the U of M Central
  Authentication Hub (x.500) for access to the
  system using Internet IDs and Passwords. This
  means no messy username/password maintenance for
  us, and easy access to the system for
  students/faculty/staff.
• Allows students, faculty, and staff the
  opportunity to create multiple blogs, really as
  many blogs as anyone wants.
• Allows blog owners to easily attach other
  authors to their blogs to create team blogs,
  class blogs, club blogs, etc. Blog authors can
  attach anyone that has an Internet ID and
  Password (including guest Internet IDs) to his or
  her blog.
• Allows blog authors to upload graphics and other
  multimedia (doc, ppt, pdf, etc.) to their blogs.
• Creates the necessary blog directories (the main
  directory and the archives directory) on the fly
  without any administrator intervention.
• Uses of one of the most popular blog software
  packages in the world Movable Type.

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Some specific ways to use Uthink Blogs

• Use UThink to rapidly publish new ideas and areas
  of research to a much wider audience than ever
  before, and receive comments on your entries
  thanks to Movable Type's comment functionality.
• Use UThink to track areas of research interest,
  web sites about a particular topic, or happenings
  in a particular field. With the categorization
  functionality of Movable Type you can quickly and
  easily manage entries on all your research
  interests. In addition, each blog comes with its
  own search engine so you can quickly find past
  entries
• Use UThink to create a newsletter, or a faculty
  group blog to keep everyone up to date on
  departmental matters. And thanks to UThink's U of
  M Internet ID and password integration you can
  attach all of your colleagues from any of the
  four U of M campuses as authors
• Create a blog for colleagues around the world.
  UThink recognizes guest Internet IDs.

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Logging on

• http//blog.lib.umn.edu

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x.500 username and password

• All members of SEDAN are already authors

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As members of SEDAN you have already been added
as an author to the SEDAN blog.

• The first time you log in this blog should be in
  your administrative page.
• To create a new entry click on the Create a new
  entry on this weblog link.

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Basics of an entry

• Give it a title
• Assign it a category
• Enter the body of the text

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Formatting options

• The formatting options in the Uthink blogs are
  similar to formatting using Microsoft Word. You
  have the capability to bold, italicize and
  underline text. You can also insert a link to an
  external url and create a link to your email
  address.

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To Publish

• The default setting for creating an entry in this
  blog is Unpublished.
• This provides the opportunity to save the entry
  as unpublished (it will not be visible on the
  web) and preview what it will look like before
  you decide to publish it to the web.

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Published blog

• Above is what the published blog looks like.

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Notifications
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Send the notification

• This sends an email to sedan_at_umn.edu

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Blogging Basics (SEDAN) workshops

• Friday February 27, 2009 1000 am 1100 am in
  Walter Library Room 310
• Thursday March 5, 2009 100 pm 200 pm in
  Walter Library room 310

• Register at this address http//www.lib.umn.edu/
  registration/eventidXX204 or contact Jody Gray
  and let her know you will be attending
  grayjl_at_umn.edu or 612-624-9913.

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Jody L. Gray

• Diversity Outreach Librarian
• University of Minnesota Libraries and
  Multicultural Center for Academic Excellence
• grayjl_at_umn.edu
• 612-624-9913