j’s scratchpad

Blogging and University Communication Offices
Jessica Baumgart
PIO Meeting
September 19, 2006

The World as a Blog: http://www.brainoff.com/geoblog/

My Credentials

• Involved in the Berkman Center for Internet & Society’s blog project since April 2003

• Co-lead their blog group
• Have been blogging since April 2003 on several blogs using different software and in several contexts
• Specialist in blogs and new technology

Why Should We Care about Blogs?

• Blogs are amazing communication tools, both internally and externally

• Blogs are good sources of information

What is a blog?

• Definitions vary

• Blog software enables easy updating of Web pages
• Bloggers don’t necessarily have to be tech savvy
• There are many different kinds of blogs, different kinds of platforms for blogging
• Can blog on the Web, on an intranet, etc.

Why Blog?

• Communication

• Knowledge management
• Networking, fostering community
• Sharing sources
• Easy to archive and retrieve material

Why Read Blogs?

• News

• Professional development
• Be/stay informed
• Get someone else’s personal perspective, view of the world
• Time management

How to Find Blogs

Search Engines

• Some general Internet search engines

• Special search engines targeted toward blogs and feeds
  • – Feedster: http://www.feedster.com/

  • – Technorati: http://www.technorati.com/

Other Means

• Directories

• Professional colleagues
• Other blogs
  • – Blogroll

  • – Links

Blogging at Harvard

• Weblogs at Harvard Law, the Harvard blog host: http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/

• Thursday Meetings at Berkman, a group for those interested in blogs and technology:
  • – Blog: http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/thursdaymeetings/

  • – Yahoo! Group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/berkman-thursday/
    

A Sample of Blogs

Brown University’s Media Relations: http://www.brown.edu/Administration/PAUR/media/

University of Wisconsin-Madison Clipsheet: http://www.uc.wisc.edu/clipsheet/

HLS’ J.D. Admissions: http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/admissions/

HLS Class of 2006 Blog: http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/HLS2006/

Campus Tap: http://campustap.com/

Life@UVM: http://adms.blog.uvm.edu/

HBS Associate Professor Michael Watkins: http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/MichaelWatkins/

Andrew McAfee: http://blog.hbs.edu/faculty/amcafee/

Anthropologist Ian Gilby’s Blog from the Field: http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~primates/

Richard Bradley: http://www.richardbradley.net/shots_in_the_dark.html

Blogs for and by Journalists

Boston Herald Weblogs: http://www.bostonherald.com/blogs/

The Boston Globe’s Blogs: http://www.boston.com/news/blogs/?p1=FromTheGlobe_Blogs/

The Poynter Institute: http://www.poynter.org/

Jay Rosen’s PressThink: http://journalism.nyu.edu/pubzone/weblogs/pressthink/

Thank you!