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Lecture 2 blogging
- 3. TODAY’S AGENDA 1) Lecture – Blog 2) Blog how-to’s 3) Going live
- 4. Old journalism vs New journalism
- 5. Blogging today has become one of the dominant forms of communication
- 6. Fact: Internet users in the US spend 3x more time on blogs than they do on email. Source: newmediaandmarketing.com
- 7. Fact: Within the next year, blogging is expected to gain a 50% increase in users. Source: newmediaandmarketing.com
- 8. Fact: By 2013, it is projected that 128 million people in the US will be blog readers. Source: newmediaandmarketing.com
- 9. So what is thing you call a “blog?” A contraction of the term "web log.” A blog is a type of website, usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video.
- 10. What’s the big deal? 1) Dynamic content that levels and widens the playing field 2) Engagement with constituents 3) Expand reach at minimal cost 4) Create a distinctive voice 5) Grow awareness of you, a topic, a cause or organization
- 11. And what’s in it for you? Acquiring the tools and the experience to participate in the broader digital and social conversation that is part of journalism today.
- 12. Not being part of the digital conversation means not communicating effectively.
- 14. CONTENT IS KING: Create valuable content and good writing, and the readers will come
- 15. The Other Things That Matter, But Not as Much as Content 1. Social media 2. Design 3. SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
- 16. So what makes good content?
- 17. PICK A USEFUL TOPIC • Write about something that you think your readers will want to know • Is there a question you can answer for them? A question they’ve always had but never dared to ask? • Is there something that is unique, that your readers don’t know? • Do you have breaking news or exclusive information? USEFUL + UNIQUE
- 18. The Theory of Twos • The first TWO words must engage • The first TWO lines must be compelling • The first TWO paragraphs must captivate
- 19. KISS • KISS: Keep It Short and Simple • get to the point quickly • readers are curious…and busy • too much info and too little time • one idea per paragraph • straightforward language
- 20. Online vs. Offline Reading • Offline: read every word • Online: scan • Offline: long paragraphs OK • Online: short paragraphs • Offline: linear (beginning/middle/end) • Online: non-linear
- 21. Omit the Noise, Keep the Signal Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) SNR is a term borrowed from electrical engineering, used to describe the amount of real information in a post compared to irrelevant or useless information. Readers come for the signal, but they leave if the noise level is too high.
- 22. MAKE THE POST SCANNABLE Your reader should be able to quickly glance through the post and pick up the main points without necessarily reading too deeply • Headlines • Subheds • Block quotes • Images and graphics • Use bold or italics
- 23. WRITE GREAT HEADLINES • If the headline is catchy, they’ll read more. If not, you’ve just lost a reader. • Start with the headline so you know where you’re going. • Go back and make the headline better afterwards.
- 24. Style • Write in clear language • Simple ≠ style-less • The tone should be conversational (does it sound like you talking?) • Write your post then go back and: – edit out sentences and words that are unnecessary – revise sentences that aren’t clear
- 25. LINKS, LINKS AND MORE LINKS • Links add: – depth – information – credibility • The best way to grow traffic to your site is getting people to link to your site • How do you get people to link to your site? By linking to their theirs
- 26. Multimedia A blog without multimedia is like a cupcake without icing: functional but lacking. Credit: Zachary Sniderman, Mashable.
- 27. MULTIMEDIA • Integrating visual and interactive elements to your blog post is essential to engaging visitors • Find free-of-use images online (do not cheat, credit images) • infographics, still photos, YouTube videos, your own video/audio, podcasts
- 28. Resources for images • Picasa • Flickr (but check for any use restrictions) • Bigfoto.com • Fotogenika.net • Slide.com And there are many others, just search.
- 29. Resources for video Three popular video sites: • YouTube • Vimeo • Blip.tv They all come with a simple « embed » button promunently displayed by the video.
- 30. Social Media • After you create good content, make sure it’s easy for readers to share it through their social networks • Make sure your social sharing tools are prominently displayed on each post
- 31. Social Media 2 • Share it yourself: Tweet your post, link it to Facebook, post it to Pinterest, etc • Link your social networks together so that you post everywhere with one click • Email: put the link to your latest blog post in your email signature
- 32. Building a Blog: The Basics 1. Pick a useful topic 2. Do good reporting 3. Write a great headline 4. KISS: Keep It Short and Simple 5. Omit the Noise, Keep the Signal 6. Make the post scannable 7. Links, links, links and more links 8. Multimedia 9. Social Media
- 33. Take the time to: • Experiment • Trial and error • Explore the web for tips and tools: there is a TON of info out there • Free training (ie Weebly webinars on basic design) • Read (or bookmark and scan!) lots of news blogs!
- 34. Some great news blogs • The Daily Beast blogs • Slate blogs • The New York Times blogs
- 35. Take-aways 1. Be yourself. 2. Blog often. 3. Be varied. 4. Allow your boundaries to set themselves naturally. Feel free to push them. 5. Spell words correctly and use proper grammar. 6. If you have writer’s block, push through and blog anyway. But don’t publish it right away!
- 36. What if you’re running low? • Check out what’s trending on Twitter, Google trends, Digg, Reddit, your RSS page, or other social media • Plan ahead if it’s relevant: keep an « editorial calendar » of topics you want to cover in the next 12 weeks and a news hook might come up • Write about something that matters to you: if you care it will show
- 37. What is Meta Data? Information about content that enables it to be stored in and retrieved from a database.
- 38. Meta Data examples • Your name • Tags • Keywords • Date • Transcript of interviews • Image information: date created/camera/etc…
- 39. Meta Data examples • Your name • Tags • Keywords • Date • Transcript of interviews • Image information: date created/camera/etc…
- 40. What is SEO? http://searchengineland.com/g uide/what-is-seo
- 41. Be consistent: Consistently blogging good content can mark you as an expert in your field. People are always looking for expert advice. In anything.