Blogging 101
Aaron Schmidt
Thomas Ford Memorial Library
aaron @ lisnews.com
www.walkingpaper.org
Objectives
General intro to blogging
Looking at useful blogs
Determine why/if you want to blog
Learn how
A few advanced topics
Blog?
Short for Web Log
An online diary of sorts
Reverse chronological order
Jorn Barger, 1997
Blogs as Tools
Keeping current in our profession
External promotion/communication
Internal promotion/communication
Self expression and journaling
Useful blogs
www.fordlibrary.org
www.lisnews.com
www.theshiftedlibrarian.com
www.librarystuff.com
www.tametheweb.com/ttwblog
Really Simple Syndication
Known as RSS
www.bloglines.com
“XML”
Why You Should Be Blogging
Easy to update
– Say goodbye to FTP
Nice looking pages fast
Division of Duties
Free, or cheap (minus staff time)
Requirements to Blog
Blog software
– Movable Type, Blogger, TypePad
– Other Web or client software
Server space & a bit of programming
Time
Something to say
Library Applications For
Blogging
New materials list
General news
Programming
**Intranet (Internal staff page)
Internal Communication
Keep staff in the loop
Digital depository for documents
Knowledgebase applications
Blogger vs. Movable Type
BLOGGER MOVABLE TYPE
Housed with them Housed at SLS
– Ads
How I Log in
Posting As Email
The Result
Customizing your Blog
Blog config
– Preferences
• Days dispalyed
• Order of entries
• “Status” of new entires
• Defaults
Cascading Style Sheets
or How to Change the Look of Your Entire Website in under 30 Clicks
Paste Default Styles Into the Box
http://www.movabletype.org/default_styles.shtml
Save and rebuild
Class Sandbox
http://www2.sls.lib.il.us/classblog/sandbox/
Practice Blogs
http://www2.sls.lib.il.us/classblog/cgi-bin/MT/mt.cgi
Creative Passwords!
we’ll change them
First name – first name
Changing Passwords, Adding Users
End of PowerPoint, I’m Going Live