BLOGGING BASICS

“BEATBLOGGING” Build a social network around a traditional reporting beat, and bring stakeholders on that particular beat together. Then, lead, coax, and weave a discussion and see what they say to one another.

WHY BLOGS? Every college journalist should keep a blog; showcase work A good blog is a continuing conversation You facilitate it, but if it works, your audience may dominate it If that happens, you win! So does your news organization Blogs are not magic Writing a successful blog takes dedication and determination A blog is simply a form of communication now essential to news organizations Blogging can help you cover a beat and build a loyal community of readers whose interactions contribute to your coverage

BASICS Fast Interactive A different way to publish content Definitions of a blog: Frequently updated with entries in reverse chronological order Each entry, post, has a headline and body. Most entries include links to other news and information on the Web and many contain photos/graphics Contains a link for comments to let readers post thoughts

WHY ARE BLOGS IMPORTANT? Information revolution Changed web publishing Changed journalism Accountability of writer Interactions Consumers of news no more Citizen journalism

BECOMING A BLOGGER Before you write, you need to read to understand this medium Scan the top 100 blogs at Technorati.com Find blogs that cover a subject related to your beat RSS feed and blog rolls on Word Press Learn the language Post: an entry on a blog Permalink: a link available on each post that provides direct access to that post, usually with comments visible. Helpful to other bloggers to link directly to a given post or link to a friend. Trackback (or pingback): mechanism for communication between blogs; helps readers follow a conversation Blogroll: collection of links usually found at the sidebar; to inform readers of the sites the writer visits Vlog: blog with video commentary (aka video blog) Moblog : blogging from a mobile device

MAKE A PLAN, CREATE A BLOG Research your beat and read other blogs covering similar subjects Determine the goal of your blog Be sure you communicate to readers your purpose and goal Name and theme choices To create a basic plan, answer these questions: What will you name your blog? What is a good short description of or catchphrase for your blog? What will you write about in your blog? What is its mission (2-3 sentences)?

CUSTOMIZE APPEARANCE Basic CCS (Cascading Style Sheet) to customize the look On the Dashboard: Page Elements Fonts and colors Edit HTML Pick new template Widgets Extras Custom image header Edit CCS

TOP 10 BLOGS (AS OF 2009) 1.Huffington Post 2.TechCrunch 3.Mashable 4.Gizmodo 5.Engadget 6.The Official Google Blog 7.Boing Boing 8.Lifehacker 9.Ars Technica 10.TMZ.com

BUILDING AN AUDIENCE Put the reader first Organize your ideas Be direct Be the authority, with a personality (and even sense of humor) Writing is more fun when someone is reading it Regularly publish high-quality posts Write effective headlines Participate in your community

BUILDING AN AUDIENCE: READABILITY Make your posts scanable; use bullets, breaks, etc. Use different typographical techniques Link, summarize, analyze Attribution is important, and in a blog, attribution is the LINK Sprinkle with links to other sites, news articles, blogs, etc. Be specific with headlines Include keywords to increase search results Have a good attitude When in doubt, ask for readers opinions Enjoy yourself! Do not worry about the number of readers…. Use photos and screenshots Would you read a newspaper or magazine with NO photos? Nope. On Flickr, you can check the only search for creative commons option Brush up:

ACTIVITY 1.) Find three blogs that cover topics you find interesting and determine: - each blog’s biggest strength - how each blog plays to that strength - how each blog builds community through interactions and links 2.) Complete the quick plan: - what will you name your blog? - what is a good, short description of or catchphrase for your blog? - what will you write about in your blog? The mission (2-3 sentences) 3.) Create a blog 4.) Post to your blog (“About Me”) 5.) Add a blog roll 6.) Join a community (make three comments on any of the blogs that you are now following)

RESOURCES Copywriting: Keywords Blogs on blogging: Copyblogger.com Problogger.net Weblogs.about.com

WORD PRESS AND BEAT ASSIGNMENTS Let’s get started! Brainstorm ideas for your beat and get a story idea started Remember- you may not also have “sources” to interview, depending on your beat, but you should ALWAYS have either a quote or a link. Links replace quotes, and/or can be used in addition to. You still need an angle You still need a headline, lead, paragraphs, photos, etc…. You can use 1 st person and present tense (since this is not yearbook writing) Do not state obvious- be descriptive! (writing mini lesson tomorrow) Log onto and create an accountwww.wordpress.com