Who Really Gets This Stuff?
I've believed for a while now that "boomers" as a whole do not "get" Web 2.0, and that everyone thirty years younger does. Until yesterday, when I read this post on Brazen Careerist. Ryan "gets" it, and basically states my Moonlight Initiative philosophy about blogging. His point, in his own words:

"If you offer intelligent opinions or advice on a credible blog, then you are an expert."

Click on the quoted line above to read the rest of his post.

My thinking has been wrong. It doesn't matter whether your six or sixty. Everyone comes at this stuff from a different angle.

The trick is to not reject it out of hand.

Keeping Your Head Above Water

Once you start treading water in this online ocean of information, it's easy to feel like you're drowning. Especially when you think about implementing what you see. How to keep calm?

Don’t worry about SEO, CSS, AJAX, and all the other all-caps acronyms you see. Ignore them for now. They may not go away, but they won’t bother you for awhile.

Don’t read any blog’s posts from the beginning. Resist the urge to go to the first entry and start reading, like it was the first page of a novel. Start with the post that’s up today. Then, if you’re interested, search out a couple of the blogger’s “top posts” that catch your eye. It may look like War and Peace – but it’s not! It’s also not a movie where you have to start at the beginning to understand anything.

When I started figuring out what all this blog stuff was about, I happened upon Wil Wheaton’s blog. I read that day's post and I didn’t quite understand it. I looked for the beginning, someplace to start, like the first page of a book. But (and this refers to his previous blog) I saw a long list of previous entries and thought “I gotta read all that?” Needless to say, I didn’t. Not that I wasn't interested. It was just that I was unsure about what I was getting myself into.

Why's there a whale accompanying this post? Well, I gradually came to equate reading blogs with a whale feeding on tiny krill in the ocean. I think we're all straining tons of information each day.

The trick to it is read a lot. Don't worry about starting at the beginning. Jump in and see what you can pick up. And then go from there.

The #1 Secret To Successful Blogging

There's really only one secret to successful blogging, and it's something that's true no matter what you do: You just have to buckle down and do it.

If you're starting out, this is the primary goal for, I would say, your first month. Just Sit Down and Post To Your Blog. Maybe not every day, but five days a week. Do that for a month.

Of course, as you work through that first month, you're going to come up against a major barrier: What Do I Post About? To answer that for yourself, resist the urge to read everything you can about blogging, and concentrate on just getting your words online. Don't worry about "finding your niche" or "monetizing your blog" or "search engine optimization." Because if you quit after a short amount of time, none of the rest will matter.

Do, however, take advantage of the wonderful information other fantastically established bloggers have made available DIRECTLY TO YOU FOR FREE that can give you an infinite choice of things to write about. A couple of good places to start, if you're feeling particularly uncreative:

Lorelle's 101 Ways To Create Original Content.

ProBlogger's Declaring War on Apathy.

Liz Strauss's How To Beat Writer's Block.

Individuals beginning blogs are, I feel, the most likely candidates to quit after a couple of days. I've known some people who have done just that. Me included (although I started up again a few months later.)

So, let me revise my original suggestion, and shorten your initial goal: schedule yourself to update your blog Monday-Friday for two weeks. The key is to get some information onto your site. Don't worry if it isn't good, or correct, or whatever. Give yourself permission to write garbage. Deleting your posts about your cat or what you ate for breakfast can come later.

(Of course, resist the urge at all times to write about your cat, or your friend's cat if you don't have one.)

Wiki What?

If you've ever gotten lost in the Wikipedia, then you have at least a passing acquaintence with the world of wikis. But what's a wiki? We can go to the Wikipedia for that - "a wiki is a website that allows visitors to add, remove, and edit content." And that's not their definition - it's from the The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition.

If it all sounds vaguely Hawaiian to you, your instincts are correct. "Wiki" is Hawaiian for "quick."

And if, after you've read the Wikipedia wiki entry, you think "but allowing people to add, remove and edit content from a Web site is just asking for trouble," you're not the first to come to that conclusion.

But with the ever-present online options of password protection, you can get past that fear.

I admit to visiting the Wikipedia often - and that's not because I'm actually mentioned in it. But I find that there's such a huge amount of information there that I can satisfy just about any semi-fleeting desire for an explanation of things I have no idea about.

And I just had an experiencing showing me the dynamic nature of the wiki universe. I was looking for the page that mentioned me, and found it deleted. For the reason why, follow this link to the Wikipedia's deletion log. Suffice it to say I was mentioned in it, at one time.

There's even a place where you can set up your own wiki - for free.

Once you've set one up - what can you use it for?

Boards of directors can use a wiki for editing governance documents.
A collaborative group of people working on a new grant or on a grant report can use a wiki for developing those texts.
Any individual looking to build a base of information can use a wiki to reach out and find others with information to add.

I haven't actually constructed a usable wiki, although now that I've played around with setting one up, I can start to see the options it provides.

Now I just need to start producing information for it, and see what happens...

Hot On The Heels...

...of yesterday's post titled 5 Barriers You May Experience When Considering Blogging is Top 5 Blogging Myths at Daily Blog Tips. I feel an exceptionally special kinship to #4: “Why should I blog when I can create a normal Website?” It's very close to the question We already have a Web site - How is this different? in my May 1 post Blogging for Organizations. While you're at Daily Blog Tips, take a look around. It's one of my favorite sites for clear, focused blogging information... and the link to Blogging Basics is a great resource.

[And check out this link to Answers.com regarding "fair use" of the roadrunner picture above...]

5 Barriers You May Experience When Considering Blogging

I'm not sure I want our information housed away from our server.
The major blogging platforms (Blogger, Typepad, Wordpress) have extensive security systems to keep your information safe. And you can always opt to go with your own server to house your information, which may add some setup time up front.

Won't we be giving away the store for free?
To some extent (how's that for a noncommittal answer?) But seriously, you can set up your blog as a members-only site, which you can add to your membership benefits package.

We don't have enough time for our own Web site - how are we going to keep another site going?
Granted, it may feel like your doubling your work load (in the short run.) But once you've got it underway, and with a little planning, you may find your blog is a breeze to manage.

If we’re not housing it, can’t anyone go online and write whatever they want?
Blogging security allows for you to specifically identify who can post information. And there are a number of very effective "comment management" software packages that will block comment spam.

What if the host company goes out of business?
That's always a worry, whether you're dealing with a blogging host or your own Internet service provider. It's always a good idea to back up your online information, whereever it's being housed.

And a question I get asked from time to time:
How do they (the free blogging sites) make their money?
Typepad and Wordpress offer expanded services for a tiered system of payment. And check out this authoritative blog - The Calico Cat - for some theories on how Blogger makes its money.

Intro to Web 2.0

TechSoup (the technology place for nonprofits) has an an excellent Web page summarizing Web 2.0 platforms and applications, titled "What Is Web 2.0 Anyway?" "New media" resources described in a very clear and readable fashion are:

Blogging
RSS
Tagging and Social Bookmarking
Widgets and AJAX Applications

The paragraph on RSS is probably the most succinct and understandable entry on this technology I've read so far.

The article ends with links to TechSoup resources on each of these topics. It's a great place to start if you have very little knowledge (but lots of interest!)

Tiny Dynamos

Marketing genius Seth Godin wrote a fantastic post recently which got me thinking. Titled "Memo to the Very Small," he addresses the problems a tiny business experiences when faced with introducing Web 2.0 and other Internet resources into its day-to-day marketing plans.

What he outlines for small businesses is, I believe, essentially workable for tiny nonprofit organizations as well as individuals seeking to market their passions.

"...should they become experts in the art of building and maintaining a website?" he asks. "We're talking about people who don't like to tweak," he continues.

I definitely see small organizations grappling with expanding their online presence. "How can we make our Web site more dynamic?" I've been asked. These, too, are people who don't like to "tweak." In fact, I've had computer-phobic people run out of the room at my mention of the word "blog." (I don't take it personally!)

Seth proposes a short set of wonderful, easy-to-implement, and dare-we-say-it - fun - activities:

1. Sign up for Typepad's cheapest service and start a blog.
I prefer Blogger (just click on the orange square above and to the left), as I think their site is much more user-friendly (plus they're free), but there are people who swear by Wordpress (also free) and Typepad. The key here is creating a dynamic Web presence that takes little or no technical expertise.

2. Build a Squidoo lens.
Squidoo is another very easy, and fun, way of both getting your message out there as well as linking to resources you find helpful and organizations you work with. It's a way of demonstrating your knowledge while giving potential users a "one-stop shopping" list of tools.

3. Make a sign with your phone number on it, and take pictures of it around your office, your workspace, your basement studio, wherever you do your work.
Seth's idea here is to match in the customer's/user's minds your service/area of expertise with tangible, physical reality. I can see definite uses of this idea, especially for writers and for organizations dealing with abstract concepts that don't easily reduce to a logo and a single picture.

4. Encourage your constituents or partners to build Squidoo lenses about your business.
Here's where Seth's idea really takes off - and starts to build in features that not only make your online presence more dynamic, but starts conversations that may just feature you as the subject (or at least the main go-to person in your area of expertise).

Fascinating stuff from the front lines of the communications revolution!

You Like It, It Likes You

What you can do with a blog:
NETWORK with others at your level of expertise and with the experts in the field.
DEMONSTRATE your knowledge and abilities.
EDUCATE yourself on the newest information.
MARKET yourself and your ideas.

What a blog can do for you:
INVESTIGATE the subject of your passion, and how you relate to it.
EXPLORE the conversations surrounding your passion.
INTRODUCE yourself to the community already at work.

Where Can I Go For More Information on Blogging?

Well, for more information on blogging:
Blogging 101

Resources for getting up and running:
Blogging Starter Checklist

Successful blogging through learning from the mistakes of others:
43 Web Design Mistakes You Should Avoid

Two excellent summary of the challenges of blogging:
10 things they didn't tell you about blogging
10 more things they didn't tell you about blogging

Advice for tiny businesses which can be implemented by organizations:
Memo to the very small

Blogging for Organizations

It used to be so simple. Mail a quarterly newsletter. Build a Web site. Distribute a news release. Email a resume. Develop a CV.

Then Web 2.0 burst onto the scene, with blogs, RSS, social networking and wikis.

Organizations and individuals now feel the pressure to not only understand these new media opportunities, but adopt them as well.

The trouble is, there's too much information out there. It's easy to become overwhelmed by the sheer number of blogging programs and other online services. How do we cope? Where's the best place to start?

Start here: consider how a blog will help communicate your brand, mission, vision and values and become a dynamic component of your communications plan.

PART 1: I KNOW NOTHING ABOUT BLOGS!

What is a blog?
Blog is short for “Web log.” It’s a Web site, with some limitations, that allows anyone to easily add text without knowing having to learn CSS, HTML, Java, and other Web-based programming. The limitations usually center around “bells and whistles” such as drop-down menus, animation, etc. Even these few limitations, however, can be worked around or even made into features on a blog site.

We already have a Web site - How is this different?
A blog is basically a Web site - but it's a Web site that allows you to quickly and easily post your most up-to-date information. You don't have to know HTML and other Web programming language to make changes yourself. Think of a blog as somewhere between an email and a full-fledged site.

Why not just send out an email every day?
One word: SPAM. All of our in boxes are flooded each day with worthless information, making it difficult for us to concentrate on those few emails that are relevant to our work. You could send something interesting each day to your constituents and networking contacts, but it would battle for view along with the dozens, if not hundreds, of junk email solicitations constantly streaming into our computers. Developing a blog allows for the customer or audience to seek you out every day, if they know they’ll find something interesting and relevant for them.

PART 2: I’M INTERESTED, BUT I HAVE SOME RESERVATIONS.

Where am I going to find the time to get up to speed?
Many people share your predicament - especially when you find that there are now approximately 57 million blogs out there!

57 million blogs? Where do I start?
Start by getting familiar with one of the blogs referenced below. Or go to www.technorati.com or Google (click on “more” on Google for blog search) and do a search on one your key words. See what is revealed, and glance over the blogs that are returned to you. Put the URL of any blog you find interesting in your “bookmarks,” and make a point of visiting it for a few minutes every day for a week.

Specifically for organizations: How is this relevant to our mission?
There are quite a few blogs covering management, fundraising, and communications. You may find one of the following helpful:

Fundraising and Donor Relations: Donor Power Blog

Communications and Marketing: Katya’s Non-Profit Marketing Blog

Management and other resources: Nonprofit Blog Exchange

How much is this going to cost?
Blogger, Wordpress offer their services for free. Other programs charge less than a yearly subscription to a national magazine or newspaper.

PART 3: I’M CONSIDERING…BUT WHO’S GOING TO RUN IT?

Who should write for it?
Your audience might respond best to the thoughts of your board members and upper level management. Or you may have a dedicated volunteers who would jump at the chance to publish online. It’s up to you.

Do we have to put something online every day?
It helps to post something of value to your blog at least 3-4 times each week. Think of it as saying something interesting to your audience every day. You don’t have to write a white paper, news article, or doctoral dissertation each day. Think about small snippets of information your audience would visit your site every morning to find out. References and links to timely news articles, updates on organizational news, or even your top leaders weighing in on current issues of importance to your constituents, make good blog posts.

How do we keep just anybody from gaining access and writing whatever they want?
For any blog, you have the option of specifying exactly who is able to gain access to your blog. This can be done through easily set up passwords, or you can contribute a list of individuals who can download information. However, it could be very beneficial to your mission to let the blog be accessible by all. You could even find that mainstream media starts visiting your blog for up-to-date information… and will contact you for more!

How much time is this going to take?
Once you map out your blog, and decide to update frequently, that update may take 15 minutes to an hour each day.

How do I get members/subscribers/affiliates/customers to pay for this service?
That’s a tough one, and no one’s come up with the definitive answer. Almost everyone, though, expects to find information for free online. Very few newspapers require paid subscriptions to access their Web version (The Wall Street Journal being the biggest exception.) The Internet has revolutionized the way we create and disseminate information. What was once a “fee-for-service” is now a “service-for-free.” Many organizations find they are rethinking their communications plans, and some are even finding new ways of communicating with their audiences. It’s up to each organization to analyze their fee-based offerings. And there is information out there to help with this analysis.

PART 4: WHAT'S MY ONE "TAKE AWAY" IDEA?

Something Interesting
Think of a blog as a way of saying something interesting to your audience, customers, constituents, members, or grantees, every single day.