This document discusses blogs and Twitter for individuals and institutions. It provides an overview of what blogs are and why people blog, both for personal and professional reasons. Popular blogging platforms like WordPress are recommended for starting a blog. The document also covers using Twitter to join online conversations and promote services. Institutions like libraries are encouraged to use Twitter to interact with users and promote events. Overall, blogging and Twitter are presented as ways for students, professionals, and organizations to participate in online discussions.

1. Blogs and Twitter
for Individuals and Institutions
Presented by
Graham Lavender
McGill Library
October 22, 2010

2. Everything I know about blogging I learned
from John Dupuis

3. • Join the conversation
• Promote yourself
WHY BLOG (OR USE TWITTER)?

4. “A blog (a contraction of the term "web log") is a
type of website, usually maintained by an individual
with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of
events, or other material such as graphics or video.
Entries are commonly displayed in reverse-
chronological order. "Blog" can also be used as a
verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog.”
- Wikipedia
WHAT IS A BLOG?

5. TOP 10 BLOGS

6. • “Biblioblogosphere”
• LISWiki
• Walt Crawford’s Liblog Landscape
LIS BLOGS

7. • Currency
• Wide range of viewpoints
• Learn about the community
WHY YOU SHOULD READ BLOGS

8. • Ask your friends for recommendations
• Blogrolls: read your favourite bloggers’
favourite blogs
• Set up an RSS feed reader
• Leave comments
HOW TO READ BLOGS

9. • You are an exhibitionist
• You were inspired by a really excellent talk
• You enjoy writing
• You want to impress potential employers
• You want to become a participant in the online
conversation
REASONS TO START YOUR OWN
BLOG

10. REASONS TO NOT START YOUR
OWN BLOG
http://www.flickr.com/photos/remibridot/2218573670/

11. http://www.flickr.com/photos/verityatthedisco/4193432039/

12. CREATING A BLOG
• My advice: sign up for a free account at
WordPress

13. MY BLOG
http://inspiredlibraryschoolstudent.wordpress.com/

14. • Have a focus
• Write at least two interesting posts before you
start advertising
• Don’t obsess over the layout at first
• Advertise, advertise, advertise
STARTING YOUR OWN BLOG

15. • Start with your friends, classmates, colleagues
• Add yourself to the LISWiki
• Leave comments on other blogs, especially
ones on a similar topic
• Write posts linking to posts from other blogs
• Add your URL to your email signature and
business card
ADVERTISING YOUR BLOG

16. • Visit your favourite blogs, and try to discover
some new ones
• Don't worry that you always have to be 100%
original and groundbreaking
• Solicit guest posts
• Don't take yourself too seriously
STAYING MOTIVATED

17. • Established bloggers want to help you
• Not many ILT students and information
technicians are blogging
• Start thinking and writing about the trends and
issues they don't teach in school
• You have more to say than you think
FOR STUDENTS

19. McGill Library has two blogs:
• The McGill Library Blog (for students, faculty,
and other clients)
• The McGill Library Staff Blog (for McGill
Library staff)
MCGILL LIBRARY BLOGS

20. MCGILL LIBRARY BLOG
(FOR CLIENTS)
http://blogs.mcgill.ca/library/

21. MCGILL LIBRARY STAFF BLOG

22. • Prepare a business case
• Start with a small group of people who are
ready and willing to post
• Create guidelines
• Get support from the top
• Don’t worry that it will be as hard to maintain
as a website
LESSONS LEARNED: THE MCGILL
LIBRARY EXPERIENCE

23. MICROBLOGGING (TWITTER)
Micro = very small
Blogging = blogging

24. • I wrote about the CLA on my blog
• I blogged about the CLA
• I posted a blog post about the CLA
But
• I wrote about the CLA on Twitter
• I tweeted about the CLA
• I posted a tweet about the CLA
WORD USAGE

25. http://www.qwantz.com/index.php?comic=1417

26. • Like blogging, but each post is limited to 140
characters
• Popular with celebrities and “celebrities”
• Post to Twitter through text message, browser,
or desktop application
Lifehacker’s Five Best Twitter Clients
TWITTER

27. LET’S TRY IT OUT

28. Twitter is:
• More immediate
• Less flexible in terms of length & content
Why not do both?
TWITTER VS. BLOGGING

29. •What I’m doing right now
•What I’m going to be doing in the near future
•What my friends are doing now/in the near future
•What you should be doing now/in the near future
TWITTER FOR INDIVIDUALS

30. At McGill:
•Promote new services and events
•Interact directly with students (examples: #1,
#2)
•Tweet while working on chat reference
•Cheat sheet of possible tweets
•Training (more than you might expect)
TWITTER FOR INSTITUTIONS

31. • Accept that it will be scary
• Use it to join the conversation
• Use it to promote yourself
• There’s nothing stopping you – DO IT!
CONCLUSION

32. Thank you!
Look me up online:
The Inspired Library School Student
Twitter: @guybrariang
My shared items on Google Reader
Facebook
LinkedIn
Flickr
THANK YOU