Common Craft Video
What are blogs?
Blog is an abbreviation of ‘weblog‘. As the name suggests ‘weblogs’ are logs or diaries which are online. Each entry written on the blog is called a ‘post’.
The term weblog is generally attributed to Jorn Barger and was first used in 1997. Wikipedia has extensive entry on the history of blogging if you’d like to learn more about where all this started.I blog, therefore I am?
In recent years blogs and blogging have become mainstream and thousands of new blogs are created every day. It seems that everyone blogs - from politicians and heads of state to celebrities and captains of industry. Even librarians are at it! Blogs can and have been used as review sites, staff intranets, political forums, and for educational programs (like this one!). Some blogs are highly successful due to the personality of the blog’s author, while others rely on amusing pictures of cats.Blogs are generally fr ee to set up and run and this makes them a great way for anyone to get information out to a potentially unlimited audience.
How do blogs work?
Most blogs are written using specific software which is often freely available. This usually involves signing up for an account and getting a free blog or blogs. The software provider ‘hosts’ your blog online which is great as then you don’t have to worry about any technical issues (usually!), all you have to do is write your post.
In our CHPLearning program we’ll be using Blogger (because it’s the software we’re familiar with), other companies providing hosted blogging include WordPress.com, TypePad and LiveJournal.
I’m sorry, I don’t speak Blog…
As with all this new fangled Web 2.0 stuff, the blogosphere has its own jargon of pings, trackbacks, mem es and, well, blogosphere. This useful glossary will have you talking like a true blogger in no time.
Ok, you got me! Now where can I find these “blogs” you speak of?
Finding blogs can be a bit of a challenge but there are many search engines dedicated to just this activity. Probably the two best known are Technorati and Google Blog Search.Now you’ve got a bit of background about this technology, let’s start blogging!
Discovery Exercise:
Since you have read the introduction to the CHPLearning program (link) & familiarized yourself with the 7 ½ Habits of Lifelong Learners (link), it's time to crea
te your own blog to begin recording your thoughts, discoveries and exercises. For this program we will use Blogger, a popular free online blog hosting service that is easy to use.
1. Create Your Blog –
Watch Me! and then follow the instructions to setup a blog for yourself through Blogger.IMPORTANT NOTE: How you choose to identify yourself on your blog is your choice. You can blog under a screen name, anonymously, or as yourself. Your blog will be linked in the CHPLearning Participants Blogs list so participants can share and learn from one another's blogs.
2. Share Your Blog –
Email your blog’s address to your supervisor (along with your
anonymous
username if you have created one).
Leave a comment on the CHPLearning blog/ e-mail Deborah Lammers with the address of your blog, so we can add it to our blogroll!Links to all the blogs will be put up on the CHPLearning blog (link). When posting please bear in mind that work colleagues will be reading your blog, but you can make it as formal/informal as you like - it’s your blog.
3. Write your first postAfter completing each topic, you will create a new post on your blog. Things to write about include: what you thought of that week’s technology, what you learned and whether or not you think it would apply in a work context (whether personally or as a part of the services we provide). There are no right or wrong answers!So your first post should be about blogs and maybe what you think of the CHPLearning program so far.
You are now a blogger! But wait, there’s more…
Once you’ve created your blog here are a few important things to know:
- To add posts, edit or change the setup of your blog:
but yourself.
- To view your blog:
write down your blog address.
- Privacy on the internet is never absolute. This also applies to your blog; to keep your blog private (people will not easily be able to find your blog, it won’t come up in a google search, etc.) go to the Settings tab of your Blogger account & change the selection from “Yes” to “No” for the “Add blog to our listings” & “Let search engines find your blog”
And if you’ve still got time or just want to show off…
Bling Your Blog –
Create an avatar -- a visual representation of yourself.
chance for your creativity to come out! Have fun!
Go to Yahoo Avatars and create a character representing things about yourself. Here's a
- Save your avatar and export to your blog. When on your Avatars.Yahoo.com page, go to the "home" tab and look to the right column. Choose the option: "EXPORT: Use your avatar in web pages and blogs and more." In the center of the page, one option is your avatar's HTML code. Copy the code, then head over to Blogger. At your blog’s Dashboard, select the Layout tab. Click “Add a Gadget” from the Preview pane & then scroll down the pop-up window until you find "HTML/Java Script” about halfway down the list. Click the “+” plus sign to add this option to your blog. You will then be asked to name your new item, this could be anything you choose to refer to your new avatar (i.e. “Me” or “Avatar”). Now you will paste the HTML code in the “Content” section of the window. You can now drag that PAGE ELEMENT to wherever you want your avatar to appear on your blog. You can do this...yes, you can!
From your Blogger Dashboard, click on the ‘Template’ link next to your blog
Select the ‘Pick New’ tab to preview templates & see how the look of your blog can change
If you want to try a new look, click ‘Use This Template’ and your blog will be republished with a fancy new look.
If you do not like how it turned out, simply return to the ‘Pick New’ tab & select your old template or try another one!
Widgets are bits of code which you can add to your blog to perform different functions (it’s easy, don’t worry!). For example you can add a calendar, or a list of your most popular posts.
To find out more about widgets and how to use them, check these out:
Blogger has many wonderful widgets ready to add to your blog with the click of a mouse! Check out their offerings in the Layout section of your Dashboard and click on “Add A Gadget.” Bet you can’t stop at just one!
15 Useful Widgets and Scripts for BloggerAdd a Twitter Widget and more from BloggerBusterWidgetbox is full of Blogger friendly widgets that do everything from adding video feeds & Google Site Translator to sharing your Skype status!
And if you’re not a cat person, you can always add some cuteness with The Daily Puppy
