What, Why and How of Blogging

Bushra FaisalMarch 27, 2009

Contents Definition of a blog A brief history of a blog Why create blogs? Advantages of blogging Blogging is global

A Blog is….. also known as a Weblog. often described as an online journal or

diary. a provider of rich content and links to Web

sites and multimedia resources. an easily created and maintained Web site a platform on which users can comment

and participate. instantaneous in online publication.

A Blog is…. a response to current events. a medium of sharing life problems and

situations. A versatile communication tool that can be

used according to individual needs. a social utility, a personal journaling tool, a

community builder and a form of news. an invaluable resource in education that

can be used with many other applications in the classroom.

A Brief History of the Blog Peter Merholz referred to these Web sites

as “We blog” (Wee-blog) in 1999 and this was then shortened to Weblog and now its called Blog

The Blog Boom started with free blog building tools and one of the pioneers was Pyra’s Blogger.

Soon, the publication tools started playing important roles in current events such as the 9/11, Iraq War etc.

(Blood, 2001)

Blogs and Social Interaction “Weblogs are not built on static chunks of

content. Instead, they are comprised of reflections and conversations that in many cases are updated every day (if not three or four times a day). Blogs engage readers with ideas and questions and links. They ask readers to think and to respond. They demand interaction.”

(Richardson, 2008, p.20)

Why Blog? “The main reason to blog is that you have

something to say to the world-and you want to see what the world has to say back.” (Huffington, 2008)

Blogs fit in their world better, they can relate to it and the conversational style makes the online activity more interactive.

Why Create Classroom Blogs? Technology plays a crucial role in the

social life of the students today. The communication technologies has

made their social learning experiences and communication strategies different from what we used (Richardson, 2008).

Advantages of Blogging It’s a fast way to communicate and

interact with others who have similar interests.

It’s great for collaborative activities including idea generation and problem-solving.

Advantages of Blogging Multi-dimensional benefits of blogging

include social networking, current news, educational resources.

Informal language and behavior allows spontaneous reactions of users

Blogging is an Internet-based tool that is open to the whole world.

Understanding “News” Blogging helps in

understanding on-line publication and how each person can post “news” relevant to them on the blog.

(Huffington, 2008)

Blogging is Global Blogging is an Internet-based activity that

allows users from all over the world to participate.

This enriches the content of the Blog and also allows Blogs to be established in different languages.

Languages other than English were used to write Blogs on the blogosphere in late 2006.

Instantaneous Publication Instantaneous publication of blogs and its

comments makes it a powerful tool for motivation and feedback

The nature of blogs make them a platform for collaboration and the sharing of thoughts.

Blogs are usually written by a single author and multiple readers comment on the content

(Chao & Parker, 2007)

Informality of a Blog Marci Boher comments, “It’s the

informality and the immediacy that make blogging addictive for many of us…But its also enormously liberating. You can put all kinds of ideas out there…My thoughts don’t all have to be fully baked.” (Huffington et al, 2008, p.14)

Reasons for Blogging A survey conducted by Pew Internet and

American Life Project in 2006 discovered the following reasons for blogging:

37% used blogs to stay in touch with family and friends

52% blogged for self-satisfaction. 59% blogged as a hobby and spend one to

two hours per week on this activity(Huffington 2008, p.18)

References Blood, R. (2000). Weblogs: a history and perspective.

Rebecca’s Pocket. Retrieved on December 28, 2008 from http://www.rebeccablood.net/essays/weblog_history.html

Chao, J., T. & Parker, K., R., (2007). Wiki as a Teaching Tool. Interdisciplinary Journal of Knowledge and Learning Objects. Volume 3. Retrieved February 13, 2009 from http://www.ijklo.org/Volume3/IJKLOv3p057-072Parker284.pdf

Encyclopedia of Educational Technology. A publication of The SDSU Department of Educational Technology. Weblogs in Education. Retrieved on January 1, 2009 from http://coe.sdsu.edu/eet/articles/bloggingtech/index.htm

References Huffington, A. & the editors of the Huffington Post

(2008).The Huffington Post complete guide to blogging by Huffington Post Editors. NY: Simon & Schuster

Richardson, W. (2008). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful Web Tools for Classroom. Corwin Press. Thousand Oaks: CA

The Anatomy of Blogging.[Presentation] Retrieved on December 28, 2008 from http://www.princeton.edu/as/LNL/presentations/fall2004/blogging.pdf