A blog is shorthand and derived from the term that means "Web log." Blogs are an online, chronological collection of personal commentary and links.
Easy to use from anywhere with an Internet connection, blogs are a form of Internet publishing that has become an established communications tool. Blogging has evolved from its origins as a medium for the online publication of personal diaries to a respected vehicle for editorials on specific topics, which can generate a strong sense of community.
The key uses of blogs include:
- Customer communication. Discuss and comment on current trends, questions, and events happening.
- Brand exposure. Promotes the brand and key content and information, while providing unique opportunities to highlight your site and offerings.
- Inspire participation and conversation. Expand the voice of FCOB and encourage a personal dialogue. Encourage the community to respond and comment to share thoughts.
- Feed blog content to Fisher's website and other networks. Blog content provides a central and user-generated repository of content (posts) that can be RSS fed and integrated into Fisher's website and other social media networks and tools.
How Do Blogs Work
A blog can be thought of as an online journal comprised of one to multiple authors. Bloggers enter posts into a blogging application, add formatting or hyperlinks, and saves the post. The application adds the entry to the blog, making the content available online and alerting users who have subscribed to that blog's content.
Entries can include text, hyperlinks, images, or multimedia. Visitors can read postings, submit comments, find blog entries by date, and search the site by keyword. Most blogs allow visitors to subscribe using an RSS feed or another service. Effective blogs tend to be updated on a regular basis.
Through linking, commenting, and feedback, good ideas spread quickly through the informal network of blogs (the "blogosphere"), while unpopular ideas are simply ignored. Being referenced by a popular blogger brings instant attention and often credibility, and repeated linking enhances the reputation and authority of a blogger. Through this system of recommendations and referrals, a collaborative filtering capacity has emerged in the blogosphere.
Blogging Technology and Services at Fisher
Blogs outside of FCOB's network of servers should not be created by units within FCOB.
FCOB offers full-service blogging capabilities utilizing Wordpress technology designed for multiple users. The Office of Information Technology Services provides central administration for support, so there is tighter security and ease-of-use for staff, student administrators, and blog authors for logging in and posting.
The Office of Information Technology Services provides standard FCOB designed templates that can be used for the look and feel of each blog. Each template offers the basic elements and element customization, such as RSS feeds, text fields, search, tag clouds, categories, pages, navigation, and an admin section.
In addition to the technical creation and setup of the blog, Fisher's Web Services team can assist and provide guidance in the areas of content, training, marketing, sustainability, and ethical considerations when working with a blog.
Before considering the creation of a blog, you’ll need to:
- Establish a clear purpose and goals with a plan.
- This will help determine what type of blog that will be sustained and what type of content and marketing plan needs to be created.
- Contact the Office of Information Technology Services to schedule a brainstorming meeting to discuss blog ideas and the proposal preparation process. This includes an overview discussion on resources, time, and sustainability.
- A key decision is… what is the blog's plan for use and who is the audience? If a blog does not have a plan to be updated frequently or have solid authorship, is a blog really necessary? Make sure there is valuable content in relation to the marketing mix of the program area and if it successfully "tells the Fisher story" as outlined in FCOB's strategic initiative.
- Turn the notes from the notes from the meeting into a proposal and set a second meeting to discuss. A "blog type decision guide" is available in the downloadable "Blogging Guidelines" document.
- The process of approval and stages of setup will vary based on the type, purpose, college unit, audience, etc of the blog at this point.
- Identify at least two administrators.
- FCOB requires two staff and/or faculty administrators for all official FCOB blogs. If an administrator leaves FCOB for any reason, that administrator is required to find a replacement or contact the Office of Information Technology Services.
- Are content creation pipelines and procedures established?
- In order to sustain a blog, content must be authored, scheduled, and moderated. Text, photos, videos, and audio creation processes must be determined before proceeding. If authors are needed, processes and contracts may need to be determined if authors are students and/or compensated.
Blogging Ethics and Etiquette
While participating in the blogosphere, it's important to remember that each author represents him/herself individually AND the entity that hosts or represents the blog.
Following some of the basic ethics and etiquette below will help ensure that value is provided to the reader in a safe way and that the community can appropriately participate.
- Be honest and fair in gathering, reporting, and interpreting information
- Never Plagirize
- Identify and link to sources; it's good to reference other blogs too
- Give visible credit to Photographers
- Distinguish between factual and opinionated statements
- Treat people and organizations with respect
- Show compassions and respect people's willingness to be private or not named
- Ask permission when using quotes, information, etc. if possible
- Respect the policies and trade secrets of organizations where insider information is accessible - do not share information that should not be shared
- Show good taste
- Avoid getting in arguments or personal wars with others
- Be accountable
- Fix mistakes promptly and apologize
- Disclose affiliations and conflicts of interest
- Be careful of favoritism
- Keep in mind that the blog is available to a global audience
- Each author writes their own content
- If there's a question about whether or not something is legal to do, don't do it
- Deliver value to the reader
- Write accurate content and be insightful... free of grammar and spelling errors
- Be brief and to the point - short paragraphs are skimmable; lists are great
- Do not blog to overly promote, advertise, or link for the sake of linking
- Do not write to try to influence search results or rankings
- Establish consistency in posts and/or topics
- Establish a rough posting schedule, topic themes or series, or approach
- Blogs take time to gain momentum and awareness... be patient
Use the guidelines and chart below to understand and participate on an FCOB blog as a commenter on another blog (more specific guidelines for FCOB blogs is determined based on each blog's purpose):
- Keep communications professional and relevant.
- Blog comments should be appropriate and represent FCOB professionally.
- Maintain a professional voice.
- Always uphold the best interests of Fisher College of Business. FCOB is an educational institution, and even informal communication that has errors makes us seem less credible.
- Refrain from political statements and affiliations.
- This includes unofficial sponsorships, promotions, and endorsements of entities and products.
- NEVER disclose non-public information about FCOB.
- Never post any copyrighted or other intellectual property rights of others.
- This pertains to all copyrighted material, including (but not limited to) text, music, video, and software.
- Do not use a blog for any illegal activity or any other activity that does not represent FCOB's best interests.
- Refrain from behavior that interferes with the rights of others and the duties of FCOB.
- Do not use profane, obscene, or abusive language, including racial or ethnic epithets.
- Do not harass users
- With deliberate, repeated behavior that is intimidating, hostile, offensive, or adversely impacts FCOB social media users.