A moment in time. Like a single frame in a reel to reel movie, there for everyone to see and just a small part of the big picture.What a Blog looks Like
Looking at the different blogs in doing this exercise has shown me that they can take on different forms. Some of those forms are:-
- A "traditional" Web page, well thought out and prepared information and presentation
- A personal diary or account
- A place to air personal views
- An advertisement on events etc &
- A news item or article
What a Blog can contain
As vast and varied as knowledge is and as vast and varied as people are, that is the limitation of what a blog could contain. Some of the more common contents so far are:-
- Personal experiences and information about anything and everything
- Events calenders
- Biographical information
- Learning forums
Communication
Unlike the traditional Web page, and one of the most significant aspects of a Blog is for the reader to have the ability to communicate with the blogger and the advantage for the blogger in being able to get feedback from the reader or visitor, a two way medium.
A Blog can continually be changing because of the ability for the blogger to easily post new information on the site. This is a useful tool when there is interaction between parties or when information changes or needs to be updated and added to.
Making a Blog count
In the UTube video Blogs in plain English the presenter tells us that there has been 70 million Blogs created since 2003.
Some important points to keep in mind when selecting a name for a blog is who you want to find it. For example, if you have created a blog on the up and coming events in a library the blog would be best to reach it's audience if it includes the name of the library and "events" in the blog title.
Blogs and Libraries
Blogs are already being used in libraries for advertising events and promoting collections. There has to be room for this to be taken further, with more client inter-action. In the areas of acquisitions, there could be a special blog for suggestions of purchase. Maybe in the events blog there could be a place for feedback, after the event has happened. Blogs could be created where clients could share useful websites for homework groups, etc.
This forum has already shown that blogging will become so accessible for all library staff, not to mention our clients, that we all need to be really thinking about the best way forward in how libraries can use this technology, made simple.
