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Presentation to GRAMNET on the Free Movement blog, social media and its uses. Personal perspective. Some of the images a bit low resolution, sorry!
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Free MovementA Blogger's Tale
Statistics• 722,000 page views (c. 2,000 page views per day)
• 356,000 visitors
• 2 min 46 sec average visit duration, 2 pages viewed per visit on average
• 21,500 unique visitors per month
• 33,608 clicks to BAILII in 2012 alone
• 1,560 email subscribers and 1,770 Twitter followers
Blogging beginnings
• Pupilbog
• Online therapy
• Primitive software
• Gained a following
• Landed me in trouble...
All you need to know about me is that I’m a UK-based immigration lawyer.
This blog is aimed at both lawyers and those with a more personal interest in immigration and asylum. I am aware at the outset that these are two quite different audiences, and it may be that I have to be more focussed in the future.
My intention is that this blog will include a mix of news, immigration law gossip (it’s a small world, appropriately enough), commentary and signposts to events, resources, other websites or developments. I also plan to include some advice and resource pages. The commentary will be written with an agenda: I haven’t got a perfectly formed world view or consistent ideology on the subject of immigration and immigration control, but I do believe in minimum immigration controls and a liberal, progressive approach. One of my hopes for the blog is that it will help me reach a more coherent view.
Automation
• Yahoo! Pipes
• Google Feedburner
• Twitter as content links
• IFTTT
Own domain
Lessons learned
Clear aims• to help the editor and other
contributors think through new developments and also
• to provide updates, pointers and links for the benefit of other immigration lawyers
• and for migrants researching their own position.
Authentic voice
• Not necessarily your normal one
• Humanises and engages
• Provides interest to readers
Medium• Language, grammar, sentence structure,
post length is all crucial
• Style matters
• Use of links and sources
• Internet is a visual medium
• Humour or at least humanity important
Building an audience
• Write for your intended audience
• Write regularly - at least twice a week
• Comment on other people's blogs
• Be generous with your praise and links
• Improve your offering
Don't do it unless...• You can write well and clearly
• You have time and will continue to have time
• Willingness to learn a bit about technical side
• You are a weirdo / nerd / geek / suffer OCD / all of above
What did my blog ever do for me?
• Original aims still being met
• Platform
• Profile
• Cold, hard cash - not a lot!