Blogs
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Contents |
Technology Session: Blogs
January 15, 2007
Munyonyo, Uganda
What is This Technology About?
The name ‘blog’ is derived from ‘weblog’ i.e. a log on the web. Logs are typically records kept of daily activities. This probably influenced the origins of blogs as informal online journals.
A blog today is a social, interactive, networking tool that can be used within a network to:
- Disseminate information
- Build knowledge e.g. generating content on an area of interest
A blog host provides space and the tools for creating and maintaining a blog.
How to Set-up a Blog
Free Blogs
There are services that offer free creation and hosting of blogs e.g. www.blogger.com (has step-by-step instructions which lead you through creating a blog), www.wordpress.com (more complex than blogger to set-up, but with more features), www.iblog.co.za (has a lot of options, but unreliable – blogs can disappear), www.yahoo360.com.
Advantages:
1. It is free to create and host a blog
Disadvantages:
1. These services often offer limited space
2. They might offer a limited variety of features and formatting options
3. There is the possibility of less efficient security for the blogs (a perceived risk).
4. There is less security of information e.g. blogs might disappear or be deleted for no reason, or be unavailable for long periods while maintenance work is being carried out.
5. Overall less efficient service
Paid Blogs
These are services that you pay for in order to create and host blogs e.g. www.typepad.com, www.moveabletype.com.
Advantages:
1. These services offer more space.
2. They offer a wider variety of features and formatting options.
3. Blogs created and hosted with these services should be more secure and less likely to disappear or be deleted.
4. Overall more efficient service
Disadvantages:
1. You have to pay for this service.
Features of a Blog
- Some websites can offer blog creating and hosting, or wiki pages (this allows you
to make the website more dynamic) e.g. www.yahoo.com, www.google.com
- Most blogs offer an RSS option i.e. readers can read the latest blog posts in a RSS reader or have the latest posts delivered to their desktops
- Blogs can be authored by a single blogger or a team of bloggers
- Most blogs can be set-up with a variety of access restrictions i.e. some blogs can
be made open to anyone to read, while some can be set so that only authorized people can read it. Some others are viewable by anyone, but only authorized people can comment.
- Most blogs are text only or predominantly text, however it is increasingly popular
to include multimedia files (audio or video), photos. Bandwidth limitations in Africa can make uploading and viewing multimedia files difficult.
How blogs can support network communication & collaboration
- Blogs can be used to disseminate information between network members
- Network members can give comments on a posted document or piece of
information
- Blogs have traditionally been viewed as informal interactive tools, however the
degree of informality depends on the blog author and context of the blog itself
Examples:
- A teacher can use it to communicate with parents of his/her students
- Students can submit assignments or school projects on a blog rather than handing-
in a paper and comment on each other’s work
Advantages of Using Blogs
1. Blogs can be used to facilitate collaborative project work within members of a network
2. Blogs can be used to overcome the challenges of physically separate network members
Disadvantages of Using Blogs
1. Blog content is not copyright protected. ‘Creative Commons’ licenses are used by many bloggers and these grant varying levels of use by others e.g. some allow use of blog content as long as blogger is acknowledged; others allow blog content to be amended or built-upon; some other licenses do not allow any copying or modifying. However, I am uncertain about the legal authority of these licenses.
2. Blog content and identity can be vulnerable to hackers, especially where blog host does not provide secure access to the blog account.
3. Using blogs requires Internet access
4. Total anonymity of bloggers or commentators is not guaranteed. This could be a problem where the blogger wishes to remain anonymous or in societies where free speech is restricted.
5. Comments on the blog will not always be positive or constructive, necessitating regular monitoring.
