Weblogs: Internet Publishing Made Easy
by
Will Richardson, Supervisor of Instructional Technology
Hunterdon Central Regional High School, Flemington, NJ
http://www.weblogg-ed.com

Weblogs are a relatively recent Internet technology which allows people to publish
a wide variety of content to the Web without any knowledge of HTML code or file
transfer or even page design. Basically, if you can write and send an email
message, you can now create and maintain an Internet presence to share
information with peers, collaborate with far-flung associates, manage projects, or
just post pictures and videos of the kids.

Originally created as online journals, estimates are that there are now upwards of
3 million Web logs in existence, and there are thousands coming online every day.
Their creators range from students to teachers to journalists to businessmen to
housewives to even the homeless. Since most Weblogs are easy to use and cost
little to maintain, they can be seen as providing digital paper for anyone who wants
to publish.

In its most basic form, a Weblog is maintained by one person who posts information
on a regular basis for a small audience of friends, family, or like-minded readers.
Blogs, as they are called, are most often highly personal, and they are peppered
with hyperlinks to interesting stories or sites, or most likely to other bloggers.
Often, one person’s thoughts will be excerpted in another Weblog, which in turn will
be read and excerpted in others. In this way, Weblogs have facilitated the formation
of online communities where people of similar interests or affiliations or even
afflictions can connect and communicate. Some of these early bloggers have
amassed large followings of upwards of 50,000 unique visitors each month. Others
are content to write to small, esoteric groups who may share an interest in, say,
Siamese cats. Some write just for themselves.

While most Weblogs feature only one author, many are collaborative in the sense
that many participants can contribute content. In fact, most Weblog software
programs allow for the site creator to invite others to join in the fun. MetaFilter
(http://www.metafilter.com), with over 17,000 members is one such site. Typically,
posts are about interesting news or links which then garner dozens of comments
from readers.

One area where Weblogs have begun to take root is in education. Many colleges and
universities including Harvard (http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/directory/36/harvardWeblogs),
UC Berkeley (http://journalism.berkeley.edu/events/weblogs.html), Florida State
(http://cyberdash.net/enc110174/index.php) and many others have started offering
space to professors and students to use in a variety of ways.

First, Weblogs serve as classroom portals where information about the course
including syllabi and homework assignments are updated by the professor. Some
feature a post for each session outlining what materials will be covered and
supplying links to additional information.

At Florida State, writing teachers have been using Weblogs as a way for
students to maintain electronic writing folders. Students can archive their drafts,
get feedback from the teacher and peers, keep a writers notebook and ultimately
publish their work. The Weblog gives students the ability to easily reflect on their
work and to share it with a real audience if they so desire.

In addition, they can be used as electronic portfolios of work. Some schools are
experimenting with having students use the Weblog to collect best practices with
reflection and for eventual presentation. The Weblog allows a variety of audiences
such as parents, peers, community members, counselors, and other invited
individuals to observe, give feedback, and even mentor students as they work through
the curriculum. Another strength of most Weblog software is the ability to set various
levels of permission and access that, along with appropriate policies and instruction,
insure compliance with CIPA and other Internet safety regulations.

But education is not the only arena where Weblogs are finding new and effective uses.
Politicians, led by presidential candidate Howard Dean (http://www.deanforamerica.com),
are finding Weblogs to be a powerful tool in connecting with potential voters. While the
Federal Government has yet to catch up, many local (http://edenprairieweblogs.org) and
state (http://kelsorat.com/weblogs/bulletin/) groups are using the technology to publish
information for constituents. These agencies also use Weblogs as knowledge
management tools, storing, archiving, and linking information which can be searched and
catalogued in a variety of ways. For these groups, the ability to publish and store large
amounts of information for easy retrieval has begun to change the way they do business.

And speaking of business, corporations from Microsoft (http://blogs.gotdotnet.com/)
to Macromedia (http://www.markme.com/mesh/) to Dr. Peppers new Raging Cow drink
(http://blog.ragingcow.com/) are starting to see Weblogs as a way of collaborating,
sharing information, and even marketing. Some smaller companies have even taken the
giant leap of allowing consumers to interact with CEOs and customer support through
Weblogs. Finally, newspapers and journalists are really catching the blogging bug. The
Dallas Morning News (http://www.dallasnews.com/index.html), the Providence Journal
(http://www.projo.com) and MSNBC.com (http://www.msnbc.com) are just a few of many
media outlets who are starting to see the advantages of quick, interactive publishing. So,
how do you get started blogging? Weblog software comes in a variety of flavors, and new
blogging services are coming online every day. What you choose is dependent on your
needs, but there are a few popular programs and services that can get you up and
running with a minimum of effort and cost.

The most widely known service is Blogger (http://www.blogger.com) where you can have
a basic Weblog up and running in a matter of minutes. Free server space means your site
will carry an advertisement, but if you’re so inclined you can upgrade to Blogger Pro for
$35 a month. Blogger will allow you to add members to collaborate on your blog, but there
is no built in commenting feature. Remember, however, that Blogger is not the only choice
in the free category. For a complete list of blogging tools, see the Weblogs Compendium (http://www.lights.com/weblogs/index.html).

If you have your own server and would rather host your Weblogs locally, Moveable
Type (http://www.moveabletype.org) and Manila (http://manila.userland.com) are two
more powerful options. Moveable Type is free to educational institutions and provides
a full feature list upon which to build not just a Weblog but a Website. Similarly,
Manila, which costs $299 a year for an educational license, is a powerful content
management tool that allows for the creation of upwards of 500 full-featured
Weblogs/Websites. And there are many more higher-end programs that businesses
and universities are experimenting with, and more are on the way.

So, if you haven’t started blogging yet, what are you waiting for? The tools are cheap,
the technology is easy, and there’s an audience of millions (billions?) just waiting for
your content. If you have something to say, Weblogs are a great way to say it.