Blogging

A blog, contraction of the term "weblog", can be thought of as an online journal or log where commentary is posted in reverse chronological order. The term is often used as a verb as well "I am blogging" or "I am going to blog" meaning "I am going to create or edit content in a blog". Blogs can be used for many purposes including the creation of this AurThings program and our Library newsletter, News at 1100. When the comments feature is turned on, blogs are interactive although main content is controlled by the person who created the site, unlike a wiki which contains collaborative content which anyone with access can edit.

Now that you have learned about the AurThings program and how it will work, it is time to set up your own personal blog so you can begin sharing your thoughts, discoveries and exercises.
There are several free online blog hosting services including Wordpress & Typepad, but we recommend Blogger as it is extremely easy to use.

In order to set up a blog in Blogger, watch this brief tutorial from Blogger's start page (optional) and then follow the three easy steps:

1. Create an account. Go to the Blogger start page. If you already have a Google account, sign in at the upper, right-hand section of the start page and proceed from there. If you do not already have a Google account you will need to create one although you can use any e-mail account to set up a Google account, it does not need to be a Gmail address. Click on the large orange "Create an Account" button on the Blogger start page. Your e-mail becomes your user name. Your Display Name is how your posts are signed and you can use your real name, initials or a nickname depending on the level of anonymity you desire.

2. Name your blog. Here you will create both a blog title and a URL for your blog. The blog title will appear on the banner at the top of your blog. The URL is the unique web address of your blog. It can be tricky finding an address that isn't already in use, but if your blog title is unique enough it will often work.

3. Select your template. You can change the template at any time and you are able to customize any template you choose quite a bit through the Layout features in Blogger.



Blogging about the Things
Whenever you complete a Thing, write a post reflecting your experience with the Thing you accomplished. Please clearly label each entry in your blog with the week number and the subject/Thing. So, now that you have created a personal blog, create a post about anything that comes to mind regarding the AurThings program so far. Title the post Week 1: Introduction.

Read and comment on other AurThings bloggers’ posts, too. That’s part of being part of this library learning community. And everyone, likes feedback.



Troubleshooting
Having trouble or want to complete a more in-depth exploration of Blogger's features? You can go to http://www.blogger.com/features, http://www.google.com/support/blogger/ (there are great video tutorials on the left hand side of this site), or view this neat tutorial by Karen Burns from SW Iowa Library Service Area here.



CHALLENGE (0ptional):

1. Add features from Blogger's selections on Layout and Settings pages. Add a blog roll of blogs of your fellow participants or of other interesting blogs you've found Add photos or video. How about a poll?



2. Already have a Blogger blog? Explore other blogging software and compare and contrast features. Which ones have great features? Which one would you recommend?


3. Add third party features to your blog--visitor counts, email subscriptions and more. Feedburner and Sitemeter are two sources of additional features.









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