First...
To begin you need to set up your very own blog so that you have a place to record your thoughts about the rest of the discovery exercises. Although there are other blogging options available*, for this program I recommend you use Blogger. Blogger is a free online blog hosting service that is very easy to set up and use, really!
Creating a blog using Blogger takes just 3 steps:
- Create a Google Account.
If you created a Gmail account in Task 1 , or if you already have a google account, you simply need to sign in with your email address and password. - Name your blog.
You need to choose a unique address (URL) for your blog in the format http://(xxx).blogspot.com/, where (xxx) is the part you choose. This is the address where people can view your blog. If you want to remain anonymous choose a blog name that doesn't identify you, ie. choose disgustedlibrarian not Martinsblog. - Select your template.
Blogger provides a selection of templates for your blog. Choose one that you like. You can edit the look and feel of the template once you have set up your blog if you like.
*Please feel free to use a different blogging service if you are more comfortable with it.
Then...
Add a post or 2 to your blog. To do this simply go to Blogger and sign in. Once signed in you will be presented with the Dashboard screen. Just click on the New Post button and away you go.
Post about something from the 25 technologies in 50 minutes webcast or the KPMG report that took your interest in Task 1.
Next...
Register your completion of Task 2 on the Learning 2.0 Tracking log. Make sure you enter the address of your blog and the permalink (the URL) of your post about Web 2.0.
Hint: view your blog and look for the permalink (it's often the date of the blog post) on your post. Right-click the permalink and select Copy Shortcut. Then login to the tracking log, update your profile and paste the link into the Task 2 box.
Finally...
The following discovery exercises are not compulsory but you may find them interesting and they will give you a deeper understanding of blogs.
Explore a bit further by:
- Playing with the look and feel of your blog. From the Dashboard click on the Layout link. Choose Fonts and Colors to edit the look and feel of your blog. Choose Page Elements to add extra bits to your blog, eg. add a picture or a poll to your blog or remove the bits you don't want.
- Read some other Librarian's blogs Such as Information Wants to be Free, The Other Librarian, David Lee King, and you must check out The Annoyed Librarian.
3 comments:
Please note: when you register on the tracking log you must enter your real name to be eligible for 1 of the incentive prizes. The tracking log is the only place that your real name is recorded and only you, senior managers and the program administrator can see your real name. You can remain anonymous to all other program participants by choosing a blog address that doesn't identify you.
Martin - I think participants need to know that if they are going to use Blogger for their blog, it is essential that they have a gmail account. From task 1, I thought that because I had a web-based email account (not gmail), that that would suffice. It was no bother to sign up for gmail - but I had to backtrack a little.
A note to clear up any confusion.
You don't require a gmail account to sign up for a blogger blog. If you don't want to sign up for gmail you can sign up for a google account using any existing email address (e.g. yahoo or hotmail) as part of the process of registering for blogger. Your existing email address then becomes your username for your google/blogger account. Once you have signed up for a google account you can then access all of google's services including Google Reader, which is the recommended reed reader in task 3.
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