on weblogs

(some notes/talking points)

what is a weblog?
* asterisk
* eowyn797
* Talking Points Memo
* Metafilter
* Pierce College News
* (this!)

what services? (login where I have an account) big 4:
* Blogger
* LiveJournal
* Movable Type
* WordPress
* lots more, including “home-grown” (missouri! but the about missouri link is broken)

syndication
* specs blah blah blah
* easy to read lots of stuff
* oddball uses
* readers: Bloglines (show Dorothea’s feeds), Feed on Feeds (ouroboros, show mine), FeedDemon, NetNewsWire

why would you? (as org)
* easier to write
* Google likes ’em
* build communities (comments, syndication)

how to start
* figure out what you need & know
* budget? (0 to hundreds, depending)
* evaluate the tools (where’s that grid?!)

things to watch out for
* problems with comments (spam, flames, etc)
* writing becomes more important
* reinforces web as a process, not a product: are you ready for the committment?

resources
* books (essential blogging, we blog, rebecca blood’s handbook, genius strategies)
* sites (tool-specific, plus The Kitchen)