Module 1:Reading and Commentingon Blogs

Beth Kanter, Beth’s Blog

Beth Kanter, Presenter

Photo by Steve Goodman

The Big Picture Frame

• Presentation• Follow up Assignment• Reflection Questions• 5 Sessions• Web Resource Page

Session 2: How To Use Blogging Platform

Session 3: The Art of Blog Writing

Session 4: Blogging: Building yourblogsphere radar

Session 5: Incorporating Bookmarks,Photos, and Videos

Learning Objectives

• Why reading/commenting important• How to use RSS Reader• How to find blogs to read• How to comment thoughtfully on blogs

Blogs are Social Media

The Trust Factor

Blogging is more than the act of writing

Blogging is not a monologue

It’s a dialogue!

Transparency

Source: Alan Levine – CogDog Blog

Defining Your Beat

List your top three topics in yourbeat

For each one, get more specific andlist three top sub-topics in thatbeat

Extra credit: If you are alreadyreading blogs, include three blogsthat you enjoy reading aboutyour topic and why.

Starter Pack

Blogs will flow through your beat ..

Reading Blogs

There are two ways to consume information on the web

RSS Reader

• How to set up bloglines

• How to add the subscribebookmarklet to their browser

• How to subscribe to a blog

• How to organize andreorganize folders

1. Sign Up

2. Subscribe ToolOn Browser

3. Add Blog Subscriptions to Your Reader

4. Organize Feeds

Live Demonstration

•Starter pack of feeds•Adding and organizing

Reflection Question:What is the best way to organize yourfeeds for reading?

• Set up aside a small block of time to readyour feeds everyday

• Clean house often, RSS subscriptionstend to pile up

• Don't feel like you have to read every poston every blog, use the "Mark Read" option

Good RSS Habits

How To Find More Blogs

•Check out the blogrolls ofblogs you are reading

•Follow the links to other blogsfrom the blogs you are readingand add them to your reader

•Follow the links to other blogsfrom people who comment onthe blogs you are reading

Do this first …

And add the good ones toyour reader ..

• Who's the author?• Is the blog updated often?• How long have they been blogging?• How many community affiliations? (Flickr,

widgets, blogrools, badges, etc)• Are there lots of comments?• Is the writing good?

Accurate? Authentic?• Is there content that you might

incorporate into a blog post?

• If you decide to add it to your reader,check the side bar (or blog roll) for othersimilar blogs

Two excellent places to search …

TechnoratiGoogle Blog Search

How can I be efficientreading blogs? How toorganize my feeds?

Improve organization offeeds

RSS Reader

What do you wantto know?

Why?Keyword

Before you start searching

Create a spreadsheet or open a word document so you can take notes

How is this different Google Search?

•Fewer Results

•Easily filter results to see whatpeople are saying within last hour

•You can subscribe via RSS

Commenting on Blogs

It’s a conversation, not a monologue

• Commenting is the life blood of bloggingand key to building a community

• They’re a way to get more minds into thestory.

• They’re a way to annotate someone’sthoughts such that the ideas can take onanother dimension.

Read someone's blog post and start aconversation:

Before you leave a comment, ask yourself:

•What did they say well?•What did they miss?•Answer questions•What are other people saying•How does it apply to you•Look forward•Look backward•Ask what if?

ASSIGNMENT FOR NEXT TIME

1.Set up a RSS reader if you don’t already useone

2.Add at least 5 blogs to your reader using thestarter pack

3.Think about a strategy for organizing,adding, and pruning

4.Add at least 5 blogs by referral5.Add at least 5 blogs by searching on

Technorati or Google Blog Search6.Add one or more Google Blog Searches to

your feeds