Thing 3: A Blog! A Blog!

So, what is a blog, anyway? The word is a contraction of web and log, and a web log is a series of posts (articles) displayed on a website in reverse chronological order, most recent at the top. That's it -- nothing too fancy.

Originally developed just as online diaries, blogs have become places for people to express their opinions, write about their lives, and share information and recipes and cute pictures. What makes blogs more interesting is that readers are able to respond and create discussions by commenting on the original post and on other commenters.

As I mentioned in Thing 1, libraries are using blogs in all sorts of ways. How might you find a use for a blog, either in your library or in your life?

Discovery Activity:
Set up your blog for this course at Blogger and comment here with the web address. If you already have a blog, please skip to Step 9.

1) Go to the main Blogger page.

2) In the upper right corner, sign in using your Google Account information. [Google bought Blogger a few years ago, and you use one account to gain access to both services.]

3) This will take you to your Blogger Dashboard. Just like that part of a car, this is where you can oversee everything in your Blogger account. You can edit your profile information, manage your account and create blogs. Which brings us to....

4) Click on the Create a Blog link on the right.

5) Fill out the appropriate fields. The Blog Title is the main title for your blog. The Blog Address (URL) is the web address for your blog. Choose carefully when you pick a blog URL, because you can't change it unless you delete that blog. Think about what you might want to use your blog for after 26.2 Things. Don't just pick anything; give this some thought.

6) Click on Continue.

7) Now for the fun part! Choosing a Template lets you give your blog a look you like. Each template is slightly different in both color and layout. Choose one that appeals to you, click on the radio button (the small circle) next to the template, and then click on "Save."

8) Congratulations again! You've just created your blog, your own home on the web. This is where you'll post the results of the rest of your Thing discovery activities, and where you'll discuss what you find with your running mates in comments. If you want to customize your blog a bit more, read through Blogger's help page on the topic and play around.

9) Please either email me your blog's web address, or better still, leave it in a comment here for your classmates to see. I encourage everyone to follow a few of the 26.2 Things blogs, because you'll learn as much or more from your peers as you will from me.

10) Sit back and relax! On Monday, I'll post the next few Things, beginning with Thing 4: Expanding Your Social Networks...