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 e-mail 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 Post2. TechCrunch3. Mashable4. Gizmodo5. Engadget6. The Official Google Blog7. Boing Boing 8. Lifehacker9. Ars Technica10.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. • http://search.creativecommons.org • On Flickr, you can check the only search for creative commons option • Brush up: http://w2.eff.org/bloggers/lg/faq-ip.php

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 blog4.) Post to your blog (“About Me”) 5.) Add a blog roll6.) Join a community (make three comments on any of the blogs that you

are now following)

RESOURCES • Copywriting: http://www.copyblogger.com/copywriting-101/ • Keywords http://www.copyblogger.com/keyword-research/ • 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 1st person and present tense (since this is not yearbook

writing)• Do not state obvious- be descriptive! (writing mini lesson tomorrow)

• Log onto www.wordpress.com and create an account