blogging: what’s the big deal?

prepared by Kathryn Pauldec 2004

bloggingbloggers

blogs

outline

• what’s it all about?– defining blogs– blog lingo

• starting your own blog– learn by doing

• finding blogs• keeping track of blogs

bloggingbloggers

blogs

defining blogs

• weblog, blog, blogosphere, blogrolling• personal diary• group blogs• collective blogs

• http://www.slashdot.com, http://instapundit.com

• political blogs • http://blog.johnkerry.com

• library/librarian blogs

bloggingbloggers

blogs

library blogs - why

• communication (news, events, initiatives)

• example: http://library.usask.ca/news

• new e-resources, new titles, • example:http://collectionsnews.blogspot.com

• subject specific• example:http://www.library.gsu.edu• Science news, Social sciences

• library weblogs organized by country• http://www.libdex.com/weblogs.html

bloggingbloggers

blogs

librarian blogs

• current trends, thought provoking...• open access news• lorcan dempsey (OCLC)

• http://http://orweblog.oclc.org/

• “it’s all good” blog• http://http://scanblog.blogspot.com/

• technology + libraries• http://www.theshiftedlibrarian.com

bloggingbloggers

blogs

starting your own blog

• personal blog - free web based • Blogger http://www.blogger.com/start

• hosted blog using “Moveable Type” software

• http://gateway.uvic.ca/blogs/bloglearn.html

bloggingbloggers

blogs

what’s on this page?

• messages and comments – Dated, short, most recent first

• Login to Blog Learn• First name and first name

– Kathryn, kathryn

• new post• Preview, Draft, Save, View Site,

Comments• Note “Syndicate this site”

bloggingbloggers

blogs

what’s on this page 2 ...

A little bit more...

• how to post a live link• < a href=“ http://…….”>Libraries

Gateway</a>

• how to send an notification

bloggingbloggers

blogs

many, many, many blogs

• size of the blogosphere • Pew Internet & American Life (every 5.8

secs)

• keeping track the easy way• go to Bloglines

• http://www.bloglines.com/

• set up an account• check your email in ten minutes

man

y m

any

man

y m

any

man

y m

any many many many many many many bloggingbloggers

blogs

finding other blogs

• searching the content of blogs

• blogdex - http://blogdex.net/about.asp• daypop - http://www.daypop.com• Bloogz - http://www.bloogz.com/• Technorati - http://www.technorati.com/

• google search tip: inurl:achives blog “google scholar’

bloggingbloggers

blogs

RSS - what is it?• type of xml file• most weblogs produce an rss feed• aggregators - programs that are

able to read rss files• web-based - Bloglines• cut and paste url of the rss feed

into Bloglines• any site that produces an xml feed

can be added to Bloglines

bloggingbloggers

blogs

rss feeds• newspapers - NYTimes

• http://www.nytimes.com/services/xml/rss/

• specific journals• BioMed Central

http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcbioinformatic

• Nature http://npg.nature.com/npg/servlet/Content?data=xml/02_newsfeed.xml&style=xml/02_newsfeed.xsl

• Library science journals - http://dois.mimas.ac.uk/rss.html

• Uof Sask rss feeds for e journals http://library.usask.ca/ejournals/

bloggingbloggers

blogs

rss feeds ..2• database search results

• mypubmed http://www.mypubmed.com/

• myOAIhttp://www.myoai.com/

• hubmedhttp://www.hubmed.org/

• amazon syndicated content• http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/subst/

xs/syndicate.html/103-7640106-5939018• Create your own

http://www.onfocus.com/bookwatch/AmazonRSS.asp

bloggingbloggers

blogs

finding RSS feeds• feedster

• http://www.feedster.com/

• daypop• http://www.daypop.com/

• google search• NYT, Washington Post, Boston Globe,

Forbes• Rollingstone, Wired• Example rss “wall street journal”

bloggingbloggers

blogs

review

• blogging is easy and fun• 2 sides to the coin/blogs + rss• using blogs in your work

(moveable type)• techniques to find blogs/rss feeds

of interest• taking advantage of rss feeds

bloggingbloggers

blogs

bibliography

• Clyde, Laurel A. Library weblogs. Library Management v.25, 4-5, 2004.

• Vogel, T & D Goans. Delivering the news with blogs: the Georgia State University Library experience. Internet Reference Services Quarterly. Preprint. March 2005.

• Wusteman, Judith. RSS: the latest feed. Library Hi Tech v.22, 4, 404-413

bloggingbloggers

blogs