j's scratchpad

Leveraging Blogs, Feeds, and Wikis
Jessica Baumgart
Web 2.0
Organizers Collaborative: Grassroots Use of Technology
Saturday, June 17, 2006

Why Should You Care?

• Tools are great and powerful

• Reach lots of people

Presentation in 4 Parts

• Blogs

• Feeds
• Aggregators
• Wikis

Weblogs

What is a weblog?

• Definitions vary

• My definition: A Web site running software that eases updating.

Characteristics

• Blog software enables easy updating of Web pages

• Bloggers don’t necessarily have to know HTML
• There are many different kinds of blogs, different kinds of platforms for blogging
• Can blog on the Web, on an intranet, on your desktop, etc.

Feeds

Feeds

• XML file on a server

• Usually appears when there’s new content
• Most people use software to read them
• Possible to route feeds to Web sites

Two Main Kinds of Feeds

• RSS: http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss

• Atom: http://atomenabled.org/
• Both are XML feeds
• Differences: http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/jkbaumga/2004/10/30#a2044

Feed Relationships

• XML –> RSS –> Atom

• RSS is a kind of XML feed.
• Atom evolved from RSS.

How to Create a Feed

• Write your own

• Third-party solutions
  • Like FeedBurner: http://www.feedburner.com/ and many others
• Keep copyright and licensing issues in mind

Signs Something Offers a Feed

• Icons

• Text
  • Subscribe

  • Syndicate
• What works best? http://bokardo.com/archives/interface-elements-for-providing-feeds-and-having-people-subscribe-to-them/

Enclosures

• Send files via feed
  • Podcasting

  • Vlogging, or video blogging

Aggregators
or news readers
or news aggregators

Aggregators

• Aggregators read feeds

• Many kinds
• Good aggregators should handle various feeds and files
• Public vs. private aggregators

Web-based Aggregators

• Bloglines: http://www.bloglines.com/

• My Yahoo!: http://my.yahoo.com/

Desktop Aggregators

• NetNewsWire: http://ranchero.com/netnewswire/

• Pluck: http://www.pluck.com/
• BlogBridge: http://www.blogbridge.com/

Wikis

What is a Wiki?

• Web site allowing users to edit it

• Word comes from Hawaiian: wiki wiki = quick

Characteristics

• Typically has a visible edit button

• Wiki syntax is easy to learn and use
• It is not HTML
• Many different kinds of wikis
• Can have a wiki on the Web, on an intranet, on your desktop, etc.

Why Use These Tools?

• Easy way to put information on the Web or get information

• People look for them now
• Trust, like what Justin mentioned
• Participation
• Engage the community

More Reasons to Use the Tools

• Communication

• Collaboration
• Knowledge management
• Annotated list of links
• Networking, community building
• Sharing sources
• Easy to archive and retrieve material

Using Multiple Tools

• Using a combination of tools might be best

• What goes where?
• Posting the same item in multiple places
• Managing multiple tools

Why Use Others’ Tools?

• News

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

Are they really just for young people?

• No!

• Many people with limited tech skills find them easy to use
• Low learning curve on many tools

Thank You!