Sign in or 
| Version | User | Scope of changes |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 9 2011, 4:43 AM EDT (current) | helenleech | 15 words added |
| Jun 27 2011, 10:52 AM EDT | helenleech | 65 words added, 1 word deleted |
Changes
Key: Additions Deletions
(Guide time: 1 to 1.5 hours.)
Most blogs are like a diary, a record of people's experiences and thoughts as time goes by. But publishing a blog is like somebody putting their diary on the pavement outside their house. Just because it's out in the public doesn't mean anybody will know it's there, or will read it, but if it's interesting word will spread.
Many organisations now have blogs, and use them as a way to publish a steady, constantly changing stream of information - a lot more interesting than a flat, static web page.
You can choose to use a screen name if you prefer to keep yourself anonymous. If you are not sure how much to write, don’t be shy – write as much as you like!
Courtesy of Randall Munroe at http://xkcd.com/239/
Step 1: Go to www.wordpress.com and click on the “Sign up now” button
Step 2: Fill in the form – you need to choose a blog address ie my23things.wordpress.com and a username which can be a made up name if you want eg Julie123 or Mickeymouse27. You will also need to choose a password and provide an email address. Now click on "Sign Up". Make sure you make a note of your username and password and blog address. NB If the blog address and/or username are not available you will need to try another.
Step 3: An email will be sent to the email address you provided to activate your account. Check your inbox and click the link in the message. Your WordPress account will now have been activated. Click on “Log in” and enter your username and password.
Step 4: From this page called the “Dashboard” you will see a menu down the left hand side of the screen with all the sections you need to add posts, change the appearance of your blog etc. To look at your blog click on the name of your blog at the top left hand side of the screen. To return to the dashboard click on “My Blog” and choose “dashboard” from the top left hand side of the screen.
Step 5: To add a new post to your blog to introduce yourself to everyone go to the “Dashboard” page and from the left hand side menu bar choose “Posts” and “Add new”. You will see two text boxes, the top box is to write in a heading ie "My first attempt at blogging" and the text box underneath is where you can write the main text. You can talk about work, or be a bit more interesting and tell us the names of your pets… anything really! You can then click on “Publish” and your post will now be live.
Don't forget your username and password!
NB If you don't want the whole world to see your blog you can change the privacy settings by following these instructions.
As you complete each Thing you will be expected to post an entry on your blog. This will be the way to record your progress on the programme. Eventually this blog could be about anything that you are particularly interested in. You may have a hobby or an interest that you would like to explore further. You may have had an idea for extending your library services through an information blog – or you may just want to use your blog as an online journal. So – yes – it is perfectly acceptable to write about what you had for breakfast!
However – initially the blog will be a way of recording your own journey through the 23 Things programme.There is a lot more that you can do to make your blog more personal. There are many options that you may want to experiment with. You can change the way your blog looks, you can change how posts are displayed etc etc. So now is the time to play around – here are a couple of options you may want to try out:
Many blogs provide commentary or news on a particular subject; others function as more personal online diaries. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, web pages, and other media related to its topic. The ability of readers to leave comments in an interactive format is an important part of many blogs. Most blogs are primarily textual, although some focus on art (art blog), photographs (photoblog), videos (video blogging), music (MP3 blog), and audio (podcasting).
There are many different sites which host blogs. You might want to go and have a look at them sometime.
Would you like to leave feedback on this section?
What is a blog?
Wikipedia says: "A blog (a contraction of the term "web log") is a type of website, usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Blog can also be used as a verb, meaning "to maintain or add content to a blog."Most blogs are like a diary, a record of people's experiences and thoughts as time goes by. But publishing a blog is like somebody putting their diary on the pavement outside their house. Just because it's out in the public doesn't mean anybody will know it's there, or will read it, but if it's interesting word will spread.
Many organisations now have blogs, and use them as a way to publish a steady, constantly changing stream of information - a lot more interesting than a flat, static web page.
Why blog?
People blog because they want to share with others. They may share their opinions, rants on particular topics, or news from a holiday. They may even have a professional blog where they share views on their work, or they may have a blog all about their pet! See, for example, The Polite Librarian.Why are blogs important?
Because they're a new form of publishing and reading - our core business. There are now thousands of blogs which are the equivalent of bestsellers, followed by huge numbers of people. Have a look at this list of blogs that eventually mutated into books: http://www.avclub.com/articles/why-buy-the-cow-27-popular-websites-that-became-bo,2535/. Closer to home, the book Blood, Sweat and Tea was based on the blog Random Acts of Reality written by a London ambulance technician. However, the fact that they resulted in books is irrelevant: as they stand, blogs are widely read and an important way that people share information.How libraries use them
See this example at Manchester libraries who use Blogger, one of the many free applications available on the Web. Newcastle, too, have an excellent blog using Wordpress (the application you're about to use, below.)Set up a blog of your own
As you’re working through the rest of your 23 Things you will be asked to carry out various activities, and you will need to record them on your blog. You can include anything you like about your 23 Things experience. This might include what you’ve done, whether you think it’s useful, what you thought was easy or hard, where you got stuck, how you overcame your sticking points, anything you’ve found that others might find interesting – whatever you like really.You can choose to use a screen name if you prefer to keep yourself anonymous. If you are not sure how much to write, don’t be shy – write as much as you like!
Courtesy of Randall Munroe at http://xkcd.com/239/
Set up your blog
For this exercise we are using WordPress, a free online blog hosting service. (You might want to print out these instructions so you can follow them step by step.)Step 1: Go to www.wordpress.com and click on the “Sign up now” button
Step 2: Fill in the form – you need to choose a blog address ie my23things.wordpress.com and a username which can be a made up name if you want eg Julie123 or Mickeymouse27. You will also need to choose a password and provide an email address. Now click on "Sign Up". Make sure you make a note of your username and password and blog address. NB If the blog address and/or username are not available you will need to try another.
Step 3: An email will be sent to the email address you provided to activate your account. Check your inbox and click the link in the message. Your WordPress account will now have been activated. Click on “Log in” and enter your username and password.
Step 4: From this page called the “Dashboard” you will see a menu down the left hand side of the screen with all the sections you need to add posts, change the appearance of your blog etc. To look at your blog click on the name of your blog at the top left hand side of the screen. To return to the dashboard click on “My Blog” and choose “dashboard” from the top left hand side of the screen.
Step 5: To add a new post to your blog to introduce yourself to everyone go to the “Dashboard” page and from the left hand side menu bar choose “Posts” and “Add new”. You will see two text boxes, the top box is to write in a heading ie "My first attempt at blogging" and the text box underneath is where you can write the main text. You can talk about work, or be a bit more interesting and tell us the names of your pets… anything really! You can then click on “Publish” and your post will now be live.
Don't forget your username and password!
NB If you don't want the whole world to see your blog you can change the privacy settings by following these instructions.
As you complete each Thing you will be expected to post an entry on your blog. This will be the way to record your progress on the programme. Eventually this blog could be about anything that you are particularly interested in. You may have a hobby or an interest that you would like to explore further. You may have had an idea for extending your library services through an information blog – or you may just want to use your blog as an online journal. So – yes – it is perfectly acceptable to write about what you had for breakfast!
However – initially the blog will be a way of recording your own journey through the 23 Things programme.There is a lot more that you can do to make your blog more personal. There are many options that you may want to experiment with. You can change the way your blog looks, you can change how posts are displayed etc etc. So now is the time to play around – here are a couple of options you may want to try out:
Activities
1. Change the look of your blog through templates- Go to the “Dashboard” and click on “Appearance” from the left hand side menu (or click on the down arrow next to “Appearance” and choose “Themes”)
- Choose a “Theme” and click on preview to see how your blog will look
- If you don’t like it, click the X in the top left corner
- If you do like it click ‘Activate’ in the top right corner and you’ve got a new template.
- From the “Dashboard” click on the down arrow next to “Appearance” in the left hand side menu and choose “Widgets”
- You can drag widgets from here to any sidebar (called “Widget areas”) on the right to activate them. Just drag the widgets back to remove them from the “Widget area”
- e.g. if you want to add a calendar, click and hold on the word “Calendar” and drag it over and drop it in the “Widget area”. You now have a calendar on your blog. It’s that easy!
Recommended followups
As we've said there are millions of blogs on the internet. Some are fascinating, some are, er, well, less so. Wikipedia has a massive list of what it views as being some of the more interesting or noble: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_blogs.Take a look at this list and pick a couple to have a look at. If anything catches your eye, put it in your blog!Many blogs provide commentary or news on a particular subject; others function as more personal online diaries. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, web pages, and other media related to its topic. The ability of readers to leave comments in an interactive format is an important part of many blogs. Most blogs are primarily textual, although some focus on art (art blog), photographs (photoblog), videos (video blogging), music (MP3 blog), and audio (podcasting).
There are many different sites which host blogs. You might want to go and have a look at them sometime.
- Blogger (and you can find a guide to setting up a Blogger account at http://learning.digitalunite.com/how-to-start-a-blog/)
- LiveJournal
- Newblog
- Open Diary
- Wordpress
Would you like to leave feedback on this section?
