Definitions Related to Blogging

Blog
A blog is a website in which items are posted on a regular basis and displayed in reverse chronological order. The term blog is a shortened form of weblog or web log. A blog comprises text, hypertext, images, and links (to other web pages and to video, audio and other files). Blogs use a conversational style of documentation. Often blogs focus on a particular "area of interest", such as Washington, D.C.'s political goings-on. Some blogs discuss personal experiences.

Blogs can be hosted by dedicated blog hosting services, or they can be run using blog software on regular web hosting services. In the early 21st Century, blogging has quickly emerged as a popular and important means of communication, affecting public opinion and mass media around the world. (source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog)

Blogging
Authoring a blog, maintaining a blog or adding an article to an existing blog is called "blogging".

Blog Posts, Posts, or Entries
Individual articles on a blog.

Blogger
A person who posts these entries.

RSS
Stands for "Rich Site Summary" or "Really Simple Syndication."

XML
The format in which RSS feeds are created and saved.

Syndicate Your Blog
Make an RSS feed of your blog available so individuals can subscribe to receive your new postings automatically via their favority feed reader or aggregator.

Subscribe to a Blog (or website)
Copy and paste the URL of the RSS feed for a Blog to your favorite feed reader and "subscribe." You then receive new additions to the blog delivered to your computer!

Benefits of Blogs

So why use a blog? What are the benefits to blogging?

Pushing Content vs. Pulling Content

- Easy to create
- Affordability
- Online, worldwide audience
- Syndication
- Searchability
- Accessible outside of password-protected area, such as Blackboard
- Hosted either on blogspot.com servers or your own web server

What are some other benefits to using blogs? Feel free to comment with additional benefits.

Uses of Blogs

Blogs can be used for:

- online journals
- group collaboration
- individual web presence
- group/project web presence
- online publication of research
- online collection of links
- ???

Consider your objectives and keep in mind the benefits and drawbacks of blogs. What other uses do you see to blogs? Please comment to this blog posting.

Drawbacks to Blogs

So why wouldn't you want to use a blog? What are the drawbacks to blogging?

- Online, worldwide audience
- Syndication
- Searchability
- Accessible outside of password-protected area, such as Blackboard

What are some other drawbacks to using blogs? Feel free to comment with additional benefits.

Sample Photos Posting

Blogging doesn't need to be limited to only text! Photos can easily be posted to a blog. Summer is on the way...

Sample Audio Posting

This sample audio blog posting was created via the subscription service available at www.hipcast.com

Sample Video Blog Posting

This sample video blog posting was created with hipcast.com

Sample Posting with Embedded YouTube Video

Here's a sample video from YouTube (slides from Teaching with Technology Institute blog presentation) embedded in a blog posting.



View the source video here.

Sample Posting with Embedded del.icio.us Tags

Samples Course Blogs

Here are examples of course blogs:

- Social Software Affordances
- Advanced Web Communications