Friday, January 28, 2011

Results of a Fine Class!

Since the start of this class I began to develop new skills in blogging and research. I believe I just experienced an evolutionary process in technology. This experience happened just after taking my first class in the M.S.Ed IT degree program.

I simply have a strong curiosity for technology now and I am looking into other projects like the blog I recently created for my relatives and I. Just today I came into the office and logged onto my newly created and unofficial blog. I posted two different articles one political and one technological. I have received 11 reply postings thus far, one from different relatives.


Well, since I first informed them of my newly created blog they have become curious and they are now entertained with blog site. I seem to be the first one in the family to create one. I have a big family so I expect lots of dialogue in the next few days. I think I’m going to open it up to my many friends now. They may learn to communicate more effectively like what topics to discuss and how to go about writing about them. I might have started a new concept for them although we’ve already been behind the curve for some time.
Hopefully in a few months I can start one for my co-workers in reference to the field of work we do. This project will bring my co-workers and I into contact and interaction enrichment. Heck, with this tool I will probably double my knowledge of work subjects and new technology.

It is amazing to be able to share ideas, resources, and experiences with does you work with. It just makes sense so why did it take me this long to discover this? With a little more practice I feel confident that I will be able to apply everything I learned in this class. I will be familiar with my blog’s many features, marketing methods, managing and maintaining it. I am really glad I took this class and look forward to more, a lot more.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Plan for Marketing the Blog

     You've made a blog, you've posted a couple of your own personal articles, and now you're sitting there wondering if anybody in the world is going to want to read your post. There are a few tricks-of-the-trade when it comes to successfully marketing a new or continuing blog, and, actually, they are somewhat simple to understand, but difficult to master.
      The first tip to successfully marketing any blog is content. Your blog must have good content that keeps the readers and followers of your blog coming back time and again. Content is paramount in the blogging world, if you are not going to take the time to research and spell check your post then just save your readers the trouble and do not post it because you will lose their respect if you do. Blog readers in particular are tough critics, but they should be because they can fact check your post at the click of a mouse. When creating a post you should take your time, even develop a first draft and come back to it again later on to improve upon it. You may not receive a huge following if you only employ the content strategy, but your followers will be loyal to your blog because of the quality of the content.
      Another strategy for marketing your blog is to keep your content updated and current. If your followers come back to check your blog on a regular basis and they find nothing new then you will eventually lose followers and viewers due to lack of new content. Remember what I said earlier about bloggers being tough critics? They will expect effort when it comes to your blog and you must provide this through updates and new posts on a regular basis. Your goal should be to keep your blog fresh and updated, but not so much so that your followers are unable to discuss your posts without you posting ten other things while they are typing one comment.
      Blogs should have a particular topic because viewers of your blog want some sort of organization. As a blog author your blog should have a focus and stick to that focus so that you do not alienate your followers by the different material and topics from post to post. Finally, and importantly, make sure that your blog design fits your subject matter and is not dull. Your content can be amazing, but if you have a white background with black Times New Roman writing your potential viewers may lose interest before giving your blog the chance it deserves. It you, and I, follow these marketing tips I believe that our blogs will gain loyal and consistent followers.

My Plan for Connecting to Other Blogs

       The goal of any blog should be to connect to other blogs and bloggers who share a common interest in the material the blog presents. However, quite a few blogs fail to accomplish this fundamental goal. This may happen because the blog owner only cares about his view and refuses to acknowledge those who comment or other blogs on a similar subject. One goal I have for myself and my blog is to never forget that every person who comments and who reads my blog is a person, not a statistic for my follower or comment total.
       If my peers in the blogging world take the time to read what I have to write and comment I am going to take the time to comment back and maybe even visit their blog and make a comment of my own. An important principle to remember is that blogging is a community, and nobody wants to be the person in the community that cares so much about himself and his world that he allows his dog to leave droppings all over the neighborhood and refuses to apologize or clean them up.
       That example may be a little over the top but the point is clear that people, including bloggers, want to be respected. The blog host can respect his viewers and followers by being real to himself/herself and write about subjects that they understand and can speak about intellectually. Bloggers will appreciate an honest and trustworthy person that takes the time to respond to comments and posts additional content regularly. By holding true to the principles I stated above I will make real connections to other blogs and bloggers.

Report on Connections to Other Blogs

      Connecting to other blogs seems as though it should be an easy and simple matter; however, sometimes finding relevant blogs to connect to is more than a little difficult. I believe that the purpose of connecting to other blogs should be more than the simple “I would like to have more blogs connected to my own.” I want the blogs connected to my own to be meaningful, useful, and above all, supplemental to my blog. For example, it makes little sense to me to have an education blog connected to a birdhouse making blog.
      The blog connections I have made thus far have not strayed from my immediate classmates blogging on the same subject. I do not see this as a problem. In fact, I see it as a good foundation to connect to other bloggers about similar subjects. The purpose of blogs and bloggers is to connect like-minded people who enjoy some of the same activities or at least have a few common interests. This is not to say I want a bunch of followers saying how right I am all the time because without differences the blogs might as well be combined into one blog.

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Better get going here!

I find myself pondering a little too excessive so I'll start posting like everyone else.
Oh, wait, I need to do more research here and then I'll post. Oh by the way, hope everyone had a great weekend. I wish everyone a great week to come.

Friday, January 21, 2011

Review of Use of Blogs in Society: How are blogs used and why

The beginning of internet posting, broadcasting, and publishing has been met with more than a little skepticism from accomplished scholars and authors. With the birth of Wikipedia and the ability for any person to post anything they want the best quality of the internet, freedom of information flow, turned into its Achilles Heel when it comes to quality publishing.
One scholar, Sramana Mitra, from MIT, states that blogs fall into the category of “Democratic new media publishing”. She is basically stating that blogging sets would-be authors and writers free from the shackles that publishers use to hobble their efforts at finding an audience for their voice. She believes, and I share this conviction, that blogs and internet media will eventually rule the democratic world.
            Blogs provide much more than an outlet for the frustrated writers of society, they provide a fast and easy means of communication. Imagine an entire community of experts, separated by time and distance, but comingling their ideas and theories in a blog format where they comment on each other’s ideas. Who knows how much faster scientific knowledge would progress if this became commonplace for professionals in all fields. Blogs, in modern society, can provide this. However, blogs can also be used in the field of education, and I will speak more about that topic in my next post.

Features of the Blog Post: Multimedia Use

The effectiveness of using multimedia devices (pictures, video, etc.) to enhance your blog.
The difference between having a link to a video and having the actual video on your blog site.
Even though it can be difficult at times to add a video or picture to your blog, I believe that having the actual video in the blog makes it look more professional and it acts as if we are the ones providing the information, not the linked website. This allows your following to stay on your blog from the start of their experience to the end. I am not against linking to other sites or giving credit where credit is due, I merely suggest providing the greatest amount of information on the blog itself. This allows your blog to be information based, and not rely on continuous linking to other sites and other information.