Blog as a Source of Information & Tool for Communication

1. Blog as a Source of Information & Tool for Communication By Dr.Lalitha Aswath Professor &Chairperson Department of Library & Information Science Bangalore University Bangalore

2. History of Sources • -Mind • - Language (Channel) • - Manuscripts& Inscriptions • - Print • (Primary, Secondary, Tertiary)

3. History of sources continue.. • -Audio • - Visual • - Magnetic • - Optical • -CD Audio • CD Video • CD Interactive • - Internet / WWW(E.R)

4. TYPES • Documentary (Print) • Guttanbergs – Printing (1452) Changes – Social - Economic - Political - Educational - Scientific & Technological - Cultural Activities – H.B

5. TYPES… • Non-Documentary (Non-Print) • Institutions • Individuals • Latest one is blog/blogging.

6. What is a Blog? A “blog” (or “weblog”) is a web site that: • is organized chronologically by date (newest entries are usually at the top); • self-archives by date (done by software); • is updated somewhat regularly with relatively short entries; • includes links, more links, and still more links; • uses a unique URL (called a “permalink”) for each individual post; • uses blogging software (for the most part).

7. What is a Blog… Most Blogs… • are comprised of short posts; • allow readers to comment on each post; • display a calendar or a date list for accessing archives; • include a “blogroll” that lists the various sites that particular blogger reads; • provide an “RSS feed” that “syndicates” the content and lets you read posts in a separate reader called an “aggregator.”

8. The Blog • “Blog” is short for “weblog”, a term coined by Jorn Barger in 1997 and popularized by Cameron Barrett in 1999. • Peter Merholz decided to pronounce the term “wee-blog”, which was eventually shortened to just “blog.” • “Bloggish” sites existed long before 1999, but it was during this time that “like” sites were identified and collected in lists, patterns emerged, and the number of blog sites began to increase significantly.

9. The Blog… • In 1999, a company called “Pyra” released “Blogger,” a service that let anyone publish a blog for free by typing in a box in their web browser. • Today, there could be as many as one million blogs using dozens of blogging products.

10. However • not all weblogs are personal websites • professional associations • Company • not all weblogs contain hyperlinks • Who? • Anybody, who has internet facility can create a weblog;Or, blogs can also be set up on local networks (Internet not required)

11. Why Weblogs? • Do not require special skills to publish your idea/content on the blog • Instant communication/publishing • Easy creation, maintenance & updating • Easy archiving • Free/inexpensive hosting services available (on the Internet) • Free software for setting up your own blog (on the intranet)

12. Why Weblogs? Contd… • Keep informed of latest ideas/research papers/conferences, ongoing events • Easy & quick, spontaneous notification • An economical medium for communication • Online exchange of ideas/knowledge/information • Train students to think differently

13. Types of Blogs • There is a great variety of genres, and homogeneity is unheard of in the blogsphere. Blogsphere provides a host of different types of blogs such as: • Political blogs • Personal blogs • Topical blogs • Health blogs • Literary blogs • Tourist blogs • Business blogs • Educational blogs • Library blogs • Research blogs, etc.

14. Types of Blogs • Australian Net guide in 2003 Sept. listed 5 different types of weblogs – on content & purpose 1. Daily thoughts (short diary entries with photographs) 2. Interesting stuff 3. Thought provoking comment – opinion on current events, issues 4. Family blogs - (group efforts) may/not be accessible to public 5. Information blogs – way for sharing informantion.

15. Evaluation of Blogs • Authority • Purpose • Scope & Coverage • Reliability • Currency

16. Why Librarians should care about Blogs? • They act as information filters to help you handle information overload. • Help you keep current • They allow you to easily disseminate your own ideas, thoughts, or information including information related to your library. • “Telling Our Story” • Community, networking • Publish without trade publications.

17. Orientation of Blogs • Personal Orientation • state of mind of certain people: in some cases, they could provide insight into the minds of the people who committed suicide, people committed crimes, or • people who were victims of crime. EX: blogger by alias of ToTo247 • Language Orientation • Tying together and keeping alive the endangered language. Further more blogs are used regularly by Welsh language activists who also keep the language from being extinct.

18. Orientation of Blogs…. • Teen Age Culture • it is truly a personal online diary, where they can pour out their hearts, minds. • phone conversations and hangout sessions, cementing friendships with classmates, seeking new friends, venting testing, social limits, and getting emotional support. (Kornblum, 2004)

19. Orientation of Blogs…. • According to the Pew Internet and American Life Project which released a report on the teens and blogging, at least 8 million teens blog in the US alone.(2003) • MySpace: s social website exploded to 34 million users in just two years and is dominated by teens of 14 to 34 yrs of age. (Kornblum, 2004)

20. Orientation of Blogs…. • In fact blogs and social sites are so popular that many schools have barred them –asked to dismantle their blogs or face suspension. • Teens not only complain about parents and home work, they share daily dramas, post songs from latest bands, display pictures of themselves on their blogs

21. Orientation of Blogs…. • Females, who tend to dominate blogging according to the report, use it especially to talk about personal feelings , Cassie Lealamanua, 19 yr old college student confesses, her online friends are almost her psychologists ( Confessional booth) • Some will argue that Blog is not only a form of self expression, but when viewed as wider social practice , is in fact civil society (and by extension, liberalism and democracy) in its purest form.

22. The Impact of Blogs • One should not view blogging merely as technological novelty. On Education:blogs often provide opportunities for educators to advance literacy through story telling and dialogue. Story telling and literacy are the foundation of language development, format of blogs is similar to personal diary, where recounting tales and autobiographical events are customary,

23. The Impact of Blogs… • blogs provide an arena where self expression and creativity are encouragedlinkages to other bloggers establish the same peer-group relationships found in non-virtual world • online community,comment and give feed back to other bloggers • to exchange ideas among students, teachers or school administrators

24. The Impact of Blogs… • On Politics • Blogging has done wonders in reshaping politics, particularly in the west • US Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, who had remarked at a party honoring Senator Strom Thurmond – ‘had spent much of his early political career sympathetic to white supremacist’ • Made him to resign his post a leader.

25. Dangers of blogs/ blogging • There have been cases of internet stalking, and many times kids don’t act wisely when online and may be give away too much of their information to strangers or make friends with some one before knowing anything about them. As one news paper reports that blogging has become a “a paedophile’s dream” (BBC news, 2005)

26. Dangers of blogs… • The Scottish parliament has recently created a justice 1 committee to examine a bill to create the specific offence of “Grooming” and bringing in 10 year jail terms for meeting children for wrong deeds • psychologist, warns that such adults often use weblogs to learn about children. • moblogs – mobile blogs allowed even faster transfer of pictures to the internet using mobile telephones with cameras, (BBC News, 2005)

27. Dangers of blogs… • Blogging can also hurt workers: blog posts they write on their own time: writing about their jobs and co-workers. Hence, blogging about work can get an employee in much trouble as blogging during work. • blogsphere coined the term “getting dooced” to describe getting fired for blogging

28. Dangers of blogs… • At google - Jen created a blog, ninety nine zeros which he described as a “Personal journal of my life at google.” The blog, written in his spare time, described what he did at google, the orientation process, the way managed, and other details about the experience of working at Google – got fired. • Blogging can get one fired, but many people are not aware that blogs can also prevent them from getting hired, for a job candidate’s blog is more accessible to search committee than most might think.

29. Role of blogs in modern day life and communication • Two schools of thought • 1. one schoolsays that blogs will ultimately provide a space for change, particularly for marginalized voices (Rebecca Blood) • 2. The blogging will transform into something that would be virtually unrecognizable from its current form.

30. Role of blogs… • There are still a number of questions - as to where the technology is heading? Regardless of whether it stays or disappears, the important fact is that blogging as a social activity has already played a large part in human communication. • It will get more interesting as we observe how it will change in the future.

31. Blogs in Social Sciences http://educational.blogs.com/edbloggerpraxis/ - Education at all levels KG to PG. - Authors include teachers in schools to faculty in universities, editors of professional journals & news letters. http://eiquest.shef.ac.uk/infolit/ - UK Sheffield University for sharing relevant items and info. relating to info. literacy world wide.

32. Blogs in Social Sciences… • http://jerz.setonhill.edu/weblog/index.jsp - provides annotated links to Internet resources (articles, essays, web pages) relating to literacy. • http://privacydigest.com/ - privacy & civil rights, privacy on internet, credit cheques, credit card privacy, caller id, e-voting etc. • http://www.instapundit.com/ - current events around the world, reports censorship, Internet news.

33. Blogs in Science & Technology • Cosmic Log http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/ • Astro Blogging http://astro-blogging.blogspot.com/ • biocurious http://biocurious.com/ • blogSci – blog of science http://blogsci.com/ • FuturePundit http://www.futurepundit.com/

34. Blogs in Science & Technology… • Stem Cell Research Progress Blog http://www.newdrugs.com/stemcells/ • Science in Action http://sxxz.blogspot.com/ • Useful Chemistry http://usefulchem.blogspot.com/ • Real climate http://www.realclimate.org/ • Philoneist http://www.philoneist.com/

35. Library Blogs that can help you • Librarian.net – http://librarian.net/ • LISNews.com – http://www.lisnews.com/ • Library Stuff – http://librarystuff.net/ • LibraryPlanet – http://libraryplanet.com/ • The ResourceShelf – http://www.resourceshelf.com/ • The Shifted Librarian – http://theshiftedlibrarian.com/ Read them all at LISFeeds! • http://www.lisfeeds.com/

36. Topical Blogs that can help you • Alberta Gaming Research Institute Library Weblog http://www.abgaminginstitute.ualberta.ca/agrilibrary/blogger.html • beSpacific http://www.bespacific.com/ • Catalogablog http://catalogablog.blogspot.com/ • Education Librarian http://www.educationlibrarian.com/ • EngLib http://www.englib.info/ • Labor & Employment Weblog http://radio.weblogs.com/0126851/ • MedLib http://www.medliblog.blogspot.com/

37. Finding & Searching Blogs • Weblog specific search engines and/or directories • Daypop – http://www.daypop.com/ • Feedster – http://www.feedster.com/ • Blogdigger – http://www.blogdigger.com • Blogstreet – http://www.blogstreet.com/ • Blogdex – http://www.blogdex.net/ • Google Blog Search - http://blogsearch.google.com/ • Blog Search Engine - http://www.blogsearchengine.com/ • Technorati - http://www.technorati.com/

38. Finding & Searching Blogs… • Libraries and Blogs • Peter Scott’s List – • http://www.libdex.com/weblogs.html • LIS Blogsource – • http://www.lisblogsource.net • Library Weblogs ODP – • http://tinyurl.com/ew7o • Blog Without a Library • http://www.etchesjohnson.com/nolibrary/

39. Blog Hosting Services • Blogger http://www.blogger.com • TypePad http://www.typepad.com • Movable Type http://www.movabletype.org/ Many more…

40. Let’s Create one using Blogger.com • Go to a Blog Service Provider’s Website (e.g. www.blogger.com) • Create an account • Name your blog • Choose template • Start Publishing That’s all it takes! Let’s try it out…now!

41. http://www.blogger.com

42. The Three Steps Click Here

43. Create Account

44. Fill in the required information and… Click Here

45. Name Your Blog Blog Name Check availability Blog Address Click Here

46. Choose a Template (Layout) Click and… Click CONTINUE

47. Start Posting Click Here

48. Posting Give a title Type the contents Assign “Labels” (keywords) Click “PUBLISH”

49. Published! Click Here

50. Blog Address Blog Name Date Published Blog Archive Time Published