Simply Digital

Episode 5: Weblogs

This week, the Simply Digital guys discuss weblogs or blogs. It seems these days that just about everyone has a blog of their own and even corporations are getting into the blogging game. Weblogs are now in the mainstream and no longer just a geeky fad, so if you’ve ever thought about having a blog of your own, this is the podcast for you.

In Episode 5, Michael Ashby and Analog Dave explain the basics of weblogs: what they are, how they work, and how you can get one of your own. There are many different types of blogs and many of them are even free.

Show Notes

• Analog Dave doesn’t have a weblog, although it sometimes feels like almost everyone does.
• Michael Ashby’s blog is at www.mashby.com
• Show Topic: Weblogs
  1. What Is A Weblog/Blog?
     • According to Blogger:
       

       A blog is a personal diary. A daily pulpit. A collaborative space. A political soapbox. A breaking-news outlet. A collection of links. Your own private thoughts. Memos to the world.

     • In other words, a blog can be anything you want it to be.
     • What made blogs so popular, is that the tools used to blog make publishing to the web very easy.
     • Slashdot and Engadget are examples of commercial blogs. Although Slashdot existed long before their were blogs, it is still done in the blog style.
  2. Why Would You Want To Read A Blog?
     • In all honesty, Michael didn’t see the appeal of blogs when first introduced to them by Mike Rohde.
     • Blogs do get the bad rap of being just personal diaries filled with nothing but boring personal minutiae.
     • However, there are plenty of great weblogs out there if you give them half a chance. Especially if you find out a good friend has a blog.
  3. Why Would You Want To Start A Blog?
     • If you have an extended family, you can use a blog to keep them up-to-date.
     • If you’re passionate about a particular topic, then you can create a weblog that deals specifically on that topic. So if you have strong feelings about politics for example, then you can create your own personalize soapbox to voice your views and opinions.
  4. What Types Of Blogs Are There?
     • A Traditional Weblog
       Which is where you post text in the form of articles. mashby.com is a good example.
     • A Moblog
       Which is where you post photos instead of text. Camera phones are perfect for this type of blog. Laura Burstein’s moblog is a good example.
     • A Podcast
       Which is an audio weblog. You record your voice and then post it online for people to listen, or subscribe to. Simply Digital is a good example of a podcast.
  5. What Topics Could My Blog Be About?
     • It could be personal, much like an online diary.
     • It could be cultural, such as sports, or theatre.
     • It could be topical and focus on a specific niche, or topic, such as model trains, gadgets, woodworking, etc.
     • It could be corporate, such as WinMarkets. The CEO of Rubicon Consulting wanted to add a “voice” to her company and have a little bit of fun with it.
  6. What Is A Corporate Blog?
     • One of the key features of a blog is that they can create a dialog between the author and the reader.
     • For that reason, many companies see blogs as a way to communicate directly with their customers and have a conversation with them.
     • A good example is Google’s Blog. Most people won’t read a press release, because it’s typically nothing but “marketing speak”. However, with a blog, since it’s written in a more informal style, customers are more responsive to it.
  7. What Makes A Blog Popular In Search Engines?
     • It really depends on what you’re writing about, but Google and other search engines love blogs because they are updated often.
     • If you write on fairly unique or esoteric topics, then your ranking can be pretty high. Case in point, Michael wrote an article on Grandpa’s Wonder Pine Tar Soap and it’s quite popular with search indexes. (You Can Buy It Here!)
     • Do a search for yogurt packaging and you’ll find an article from our friend Mike Rohde at the top of the list.
     • The most important thing about creating a popular weblog is to post regularly.
  8. How Does A Blog Differ From Mainstream News?
     • Blogs are not held to the same standards as traditional news outlets.
     • Blogs are typically referred to as “grassroots”, or “citizen journalism”, but should be taken with a grain of salt. You have to consider the source, so don’t believe everything you read.
     • That being said, blogs can often do a better job at reporting what’s happening than traditional sources. A good example of that was Interdictor’s Live Journal blog. There was more accurate coverage during Katrina than on any of the major three news networks.
     • So for every example of someone complaining about the lack of quality found in weblogs, there are plenty of examples of people doing really good work as well.
     • If you’re looking for “hard news”, then you’ll want to search CNN over Google.
  9. Where Can You Start Your Own Blog
     • Blogger is a very popular place to start, because it’s free.
     • Another great place to start a free blog is Vox.
     • TypePad is a good blogging solution if you’re looking for a more professional look and feel. It’s a paid service, but works very well.
     • If you prefer to host your own weblog on your own web server, then WordPress, or MovableType will give you everything you need. (Simply Digital uses WordPress for this web site)
     • If your blog is going to be on a certain topic and there is a large web site dedicated to it, then chances are you can create your blog there. It may not have as many features, but you’ll probably garner more traffic when you’re starting out. Michael’s TV.com Blog, or the Cork’d Wine Journal are good examples.
     • Yahoo 360º and Google Pages offer blogs are part of their service offerings.
     • If you’re a Mac user, you can use the iWeb software to publish to your .Mac account.
     • MySpace is very popular “community style” blog systems. LiveJournal is similar in nature to MySpace.
  10. How Do I Make My Blog Popular?
      • Write about what you are passionate about.
      • Write frequently
      • In time, people will find you. Childhood friends, others that share your passion.

A Final Note:
If the idea of starting a weblog sounds like something you’re interested in, then start with one of the free services (such as Vox) out there to see if blogging is for you. Better to start with a free service that you can cancel should the idea wither on vine, rather than invest money in something that could just be a passing fancy. Play with it, kick the tires and see if writing, or posting photos is your “cup of tea”.

If you find that blogging to be more fun than a barrel of monkeys, then you can always move to something with more features, or control. What’s great is that you should be able to move your old posts to your new blog fairly easy.

If you’d like more detailed information on blogging, Paul Stamatiou has written an excellent article on the subject at this link.

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