Blogs

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Blogs
By Sainul Abideen P Indian Institute of
Information Technology Management-Kerala
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What Is a Blog?

• A dynamic website
• Generally written by one author or select group
  of authors
• Frequently updated, often daily
• Sometimes has a theme
• Food
• Law
• News
• Technology

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What is a blog?

• Wikipedia Definition A weblog, web log or simply
  a blog, is a web application which contains
  periodic time-stamped posts on a common webpage.
• The term blog is used rather than weblog to
  avoid confusion with the word web server log.

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Blogs features content

• Dated/time-stamped posts in reverse chronological
  order, emphasis on currency
• Often allow for comments by readers
• Often include links, photographs, audio clips,
  etc. that interest blogger
• Commonly refer to or post from other blogs

Entry Post Author Blogger
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• Title of blog

• Address of blog

• Link that interests blogger

• Refers to another blog
• Date / time stamp
• Comment feature

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Public blogs issues to consider

• Audience purpose--making it worth reading
• Content--who will be responsible for it?
• Currency
• Maintenance
• Participation--is public allowed to comment?
• Software hosting--free and low cost available

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Blog History

• Before Blogs
• 1980s
• AP wire used as a form of a chat room where
  electronic conversations could be held.
• Ham Radio Allowed others with broadcast
  connections equipment to communicate with others
  directly.
• Ham radio and glogs.
• 1990s
• Usenet, Email Lists and Bulletin Boards are the
  main forms of digital communities.
• Internet forum software created.

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The Beginning Of Blogs

• 1997
• (personal web page) (links)blogging
• Weblog(1997)? Blog(1999)
• 1999
• Usage of Blogs Spread
• Pyra Labs launch Blogger

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Influential Rise of Blogs

• 2001-2002 more rise in blog usage
• 2003
• English Oxford Dictionary includes a definition
  for web log, weblogging, and weblogger.
• How to Manuals Created
• Papers written on the blog as an electronic
  community
• Journalists start researching blogs
• Blogs role in the news, politics and the military
• By the end of 2003, top rated blogs receiving
  over 75,000 visitors daily

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Blogs Go Mainstream

• 2004
• Political Consultants, new services and
  candidates use blogs as tools
• Blogs become standard publicity tool
• Marriam-Websters Dictionary declared Blog as
  the word of the year
• Blogs accepted by the mass media as a source of
  news

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Blogging Stats

• Pew Internet American Life Project
• Studies the impact of the Internet on families,
  communities, work and home, daily life,
  education, health care, and civic and political
  life.
• 2005 Survey
• Approximately
• 13.3 million U.S. bloggers
• 35.9 million U.S. blog-readers

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More Stats

• Bloggers vs. Blog Readers
• Bloggers
• June of 2002 ? 3 of Internet users created a
  blog or web diary
• November of 2004 ? 7
• January of 2005 ? 10
• Blog Readers
• 2003 ? 11 of Internet users read blogs
• 2005 ? 27 of Internet users read blogs

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The Growth of the Blogosphere
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Blog Study

• Findings
• Blogs serve many social purposes. There is
  really no limit to such purposeswhile deeply in
  tune with their audience, the subjects desired to
  keep that audience at arms length. Interactivity
  was valued, but only in controlled small doses.

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Blog Study

• More findings
• One of our key findings was the limited
  interactivity characteristic of the blogging
  experience.
• All bloggers in our sample desired connection
  with their audience, wanted to insert themselves
  into known social spaces to update, inform, or
  advise, to greet or grumble, to confess, create,
  and think.

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Blog Services

• Xanga.com
• Blogger.com
• LiveJournal.com
• ModBlog.com
• Myspace.com
• Blogidentity.com
• Emoblog.com
• Snellspace.com
• Blog-city.com

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Blog Services
Xanga.com
Edit HTML Similar function as Catalyst Simple Site
Insert links or insert pictures
Content Space
Choose a profile picture to represent yourself
Decide if you want your entry to be public or
private
Enable/Disable comments
Display what your currently listening to,
reading, or watching
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Blog Services
Xanga has a function called blog-rings
Blogrings are groups of xanga-users based on
common interests such as the ones listed here
you can also make your own blogring and invite
specific users.
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Blog Types

• Personal an online diary that people use to
  post their day to day experiences complaints,
  poems, etc (thoughtful/Friendblog)
• Topical Focuses on a specific niche, often a
  technical one, like Googles blog, which covers
  nothing but Google news.
• News Focuses on news on a certain topic like
  basketball or cell phone use in high schools.
• Collaborative a blog written by more than one
  person
• Political a free space for comments and
  criticism of other authors.

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Blog Types

• 6.Legal blogs that discuss law and legal
  affairs are often referred to as blawgs.
• 7.Directory useful for web surfers because they
  often collect numerous web sties with interesting
  content in an easy to use and constantly updated
  format.
• 8.Corporate official or semi-official blogs
  posted by employees of corporations.
• 9.Advice provides expert advice such as
  Microsoft technical knowledge.

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Blog Types

• Similarities
• Format similar in most sites minute diffs (i.e.
  font, graphics)
• Profile/bio by creator

• Differences
• Content is different depending on creator
• Personal blogs more intricate (pictures,
  animation)
• Photo blogs (calls for more individual
  interpretation)

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Summary

• Blogs are...
• Having a strong impact on the way that many
  people experience information
• Easy to create maintain, thanks to software
• As varied in content presentation as web sites
• Can play an important part in communication at
  your library--either externally or internally

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Bibliography

• http//www.pewinternet.org/pdfs/PIP_blogging_data.
  pdf
• Nardi, B., Schiano D., Gumbrecht, M. (2004)
  Blogging as social activity or would you let 900
  million people read your diary? University of
  California.
• http//www.wikipedia.org
• http//www.xanga.com
• Gladwell,M. (2000). The Tipping Point How Little
  Things Can Make a Big Difference. Boston Little,
  Brown Company.