The Blogging Explosion Libraries and Weblogs

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The Blogging ExplosionLibraries and Weblogs
Computers in Libraries
Washington, DC

• Darlene Fichter
• darlene.fichter_at_usask.ca
• University of Saskatchewan

March 14, 2003
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Overview

• What are blogs?
• A little history
• Blog dissection class
• Blogs emergent information
• Blog features and software
• 10 ways to use a blog
• How to find out more

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What is it?

• Blog / Weblog is
• A web page containing brief entries arranged
  chronologically
• Can be like
• A journal or diary
• Whats New page
• Interesting links page

To me, the blog concept is about three things
Frequency, Brevity, and Personality. Evan
Williams (creator of Blogger)
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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
• See discussion of terminology on MetaFilter

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A peek at the past

• NCSAs Whats New page June 1993
• Netscapes Whats New 1993-95
• Librarians' Site du Jour Jenny Levine, 1995
• Dave Winer 1996
• Cam World 1997

Created and coded by hand Simple chronological
lists
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Librarians Site du Jour

• November 30, 1995 --You've used their
  publication manual, now visit their web site. Yes
  the American Psychological Association has
  launched PsychNET, with lots of good stuff for
  non-APA members
• http//www.jennyscybrary.com/1995/november.html

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Blogs today

• Range from the simple to the sophisticated
• Few features to chalk full on add-ons and little
  wizards
• Interesting and useful to mundane and completely
  irrelevant

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Blogging explosion

• 2000-2003
• 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

Can you guess what South American country is a
hotbed for blogs?
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In the limelight

• Lots of media hype
• Google bought blogger
• Tripod, the Web publishing unit of Terra Lycos
• AOL is supposed to provide tools

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Dissecting a web log

• beSpacific.com
• Accurate, focused law and technology news
• www.bespacific.com

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Blog entry
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Other features

• Time stamp
• Comments
• Draft mode
• Timed release

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Blogging add-ons

• MyMediaList
• manage book, music lists
• AudioBlogger AudBlog
• phone and leave audio clips
• Bloglet
• set up a email subscribers option
• Blogarithm
• blogs that changed each day
• Blogrolling
• Bookmarklet to add links

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Pop open the hood
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3. Post and publish
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Feature rich blogs

• Powered by PHP, perl or some other scripting
  language and back-end database
• Two examples
• Movable Type
• Pmachine

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Pluses

• Timely
• Get to the point
• Quick to skim
• Human filter
• Contextualized
• Whats Hot
• www.daypop.com

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Minuses

• ROT
• Redundant
• All posting the same stuff
• Obsolete
• Links expire
• Best before date!
• Trivia
• my cat coughed up a fluff ball
• Misinformation
• Rigor of validating information (rumor) varies
  greatly
• Bias

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Resource for emergent information

• Source for emergent information
• Many times daily
• Often before it hits the newsstands
• e.g.
• Viruses and hacks slashdot
• Biz News Jeremy Allaires
• Talks about the fact he is leaving Macromedia
• Nothing official on Macromedia site where it says
  hes CTO

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Searching blogs

• Google indexes many
• Rise of Google bombs a brilliant gag by Adam
  Mathes called his friend a talentless hack
• Directories at www.lights.com/weblogs
• Blogdex (MIT) http//blogdex.media.mit.edu
• LinkhypePopdex
• Ecosystem
• Daypop
• Waypath
• Blogwise geographic categorical index

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Choosing a blogging solution

• Lots of options
• Dive in and try a few for free
• Blogger, Onclave,Web Crimson

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Types of blogs

• Solo
• Community blogs
• Slashdot news for nerds
• LISNews.com

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Hosted locallyor remotely

• Hosted
• Antville
• Blogger
• LiveJournal
• Onclave
• Local Server
• PMachine
• Movable Type
• Grey Matter

BlogComp http//www.urldir.com/bt/
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Client solutions

• Clients
• FogCreeks CityDesk, Windows
• http//www.fogcreek.com/CityDesk/
• Eastgates Tinderbox, Macintosh
• http//www.eastgate.com/Tinderbox/

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Just a few of the factors

• Types of blog
• Features and functions
• Server platform
• Unix or Windows or MAC
• IT help
• Scripting languages
• Security and privacy

Blogging Software for Intranet Applications.
ONLINE, January 2003
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10 ways to use blogs

• 1. New Stuff to Share
• Recommend internet sites tools

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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
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Get interactive

• 3. Talk back
• Books you like
• Let users post reviews and comments

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10 ways

• 4. Staff development
• Fact sheets on new electronic resources
• Tips and tricks
• 5. Share knowledge - KM
• Best practices know-how
• Use for a committee, enable the comment feature
  
• Presentation Blogging for Knowledge Exchange

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IT and budget crunch?

• 6. Automate Managing Links
• Track web site links under review for adding to
  catalog or best sites
• Tips
• Enable the comment button.
• Choose a blog that archives by topic and use it
  for your links

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10 ways

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

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Solve email overload

• 9. Project Tracking and Management
• Provides a record in one place for a team of
  decisions, next steps
• Points for discussion or comment

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Be a leader

• 10. Community information
• Collect and syndicate local city news and
  events or university or college happenings
• Be everywhere.

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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

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Library related blogs

• Gary Price The ResourceShelf
• Jenny Levine - Shifted Librarian
• Jessamyn West - librarian.net
• Stephen Cohen Librarystuff.net
• Complete List of Library blogs
• www.libdex.com/weblogs/

For fun type in librarian in Google
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Finding out more

• Weblogs Compendium
• Articles
• Darlene Fichter - Blogging Your Life Away.
  ONLINE, May, 2001
• Darlene Fichter. Blogging Software for Intranet
  Applications. ONLINE, January 2003

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Thank you!

• Darlene Fichter
• darlene.fichter_at_usask.ca
• University of Saskatchewan Library