692R-2008-Book-Blog

•	Vocabulary in the margins: •	Examples in the margins: •	Statistics/Fast Facts for the margins: o	# of “mormon/LDS” blogs : o

WHAT IS A BLOG ANYWAY? -	Anatomy of a blog o	People : conversation •	Authors •	Contributors •	Readers o	Content •	Posts •	Comments •	Media •	Photos •	Video •	Links •	Tags -	History: original purpose -	Evolution/Faces of Blogging -	Future?

WHAT ARE THEY GOOD FOR, ANYWAY? Personal Expression: Family Connection: Professional Promotion:

BUT, WHAT IF… -	What if someone posts inappropriate comments to my blog? -	What if someone posts negative feedback on my blog? -	What if someone misuses my comments or posts? -	What if I don’t have anything to say? -	What if nobody reads it? -	What if I don’t write well/express myself verbally well? -	What if I don’t have time for it?

OK, HOW DO I GET STARTED? So, what if you’re not ready to jump in with both feet? No worries. Blogs, by their very nature, support a broad range of participation levels. If you want to just get your feet wet first, try simply commenting. Find some blogs that you think are interesting—you can start with the ones listed in this section, or the family blog of one of your relatives—and simply join the conversation. Offer your congratulations on an announcement, compliment a photo, maybe even suggest another perspective on an assertion. ''**To find out if your family member has a blog, do a Google® search of their full name. [or, you could just ask them ☺] The most vital blogs, of sole or group authorship, succeed because they attract and support an active community of readers. You can play an important role in helping your favorite blogs, the online voices you’d like to be heard more widely, grow by actively participating in those conversations. **Here’s a screencast about making comments on a blog that could help you get comfortable with the process: Another way to become part of the blogging community without actually taking on your own blog is to become a contributor on a group blog. One of the group blogs included in this section might be just your style, or you could do a simple Google® search for a blog that fits your interests even better. Often the best way to go about this approach is to become an active commenter, posting frequently on the site, making thoughtful arguments, drawing connections to other groups and individuals, and then approach the authors (in a private email, rather than a comment on the blog) about the possibility of your contributing posts. You could also set up a blog of your own and invite a group of friends and/or colleagues to contribute their thoughts as well. ''**You’ll find a good tutorial on adding authors and contributors to a Blogger blog here: If, on the other hand, you are ready to jump in and give blogging a try, the following tutorial will get you started. We talked earlier about several of the most popular blogging platforms. For this tutorial, we’ve decided to walk you through the set-up process in Blogger.
 * To find blogs that fit your interests, try a tag search within Blogger or Wordpress, or a simple Google® search for keywords like: LDS Family History Research, Young Mormon Moms, LDS Seminary Teachers, Mormon Quilters, etc.''
 * And one on creating a group blog in Wordpress here:''

TIPS FOR BEGINNING LDS BLOGGERS: -	Tap in to the resources already available -	Join the conversation! -	Develop and stick to a tempo -	Keep it short and simple -	Strive for “Focused but Flexible”