1. How to start blogging

2. How-To So, you want to be a blogger. Or at least, to start reading these things. Where do you begin? First, start out by getting the feel for the bloggernacle. You probably want to spend time lurking and commenting first, so as not to inadvertently violate any social norms. Typical evolution of the species: Lurker → commenter → blogger → therapy

3. Lurking “Lurking” is a lot less creepy than it sounds – it just means reading blogs Aggregators (sites that collect posts from popular blogs and put the list in one place) are a good place to start out, LDSBlogs.org has one popular aggregator, and LDSelect.org is another From an aggregator, readers can click through to read the blog posts that interest them.

4. Lurking Or, you can just go straight to the blogs: Some of my own favorites include: –Timesandseasons.org –Exponentblog.blogspot.com –Bycommonconsent.com –Feministmormonhousewives.org –Millennialstar.org –Sunstoneblog.com There are dozens of others – take a look around, figure out which blogs you like best.

5. Commenting Feed your addiction – make comments! Check with the comment policies of each blog – make sure your comment fits with that blog’s policies. Check back in to see if others have responded to your comment. Much of the benefit of bloggernacle blogs is the back and forth of the comments. It may take a short while to get the hang of making comments – don’t give up early.

6. Blogging Finally, you can start out your own blog. Popular blog software platforms include Blogger, wordpress, typepad, and movable type. Cheapest and simplest: Blogger. Blogging platform, owned by Google, very popular. And it’s free! Many (but not all) new blogs start out on Blogger. Many long-time blogs are still there. Go to www.blogger.com for information.www.blogger.com

7. Blogging Other options: Typepad (a fee-based service, costing $5-10 per month) is also quite popular. Typepad is also relatively user friendly. (www.typepad.com)www.typepad.com For the most control and flexibility, use standalone software (Wordpress or Movable Type) and your own hosting. Wordpress and a basic version of Movable Type are free; a domain name costs $10 per year; hosting typically runs about $10 a month. www.wordpress.org and www.movabletype.comwww.wordpress.orgwww.movabletype.com

8. Blogging How to get people to read your stuff? –If a blog falls in the forest, and no one is there to read it, what happens? You’ll need to drive traffic to your blog. How? One way is to comment on existing blogs, and develop a good reputation. Another is to enter into back-and-forths with other blogs And, you should ask to be listed on aggregators like LDSblogs.org.

9. Blogging Surgeon General’s warning: Blogging can be addictive. My wife will attest to this! She waits for the day I join the local chapter of Blogaholics Anonymous. (But I really don’t have a problem. I can quit any time I want.) (Really!)

10. That’s it And now you know how to start blogging! If you’ve got any questions, feel free to shoot me an e-mail. (kaimi@timesandseasons.org)kaimi@timesandseasons.org My slides are available on request. (To the righteous, of course!) And I’ll see you around the blogs!