Every 2 seconds, a new blog is added to the millions already available. Daunting, yes, but don’t be overwhelmed. You’re likely to only find a few worth your time, but those could be gold mines for your career. Some of these journal-like entries are written by Capella faculty members and a former Capella president.Blogs (short for “weblog”) vary widely in content and style, but are united in the basic structure of being a series of time-dated entries, with the most recent on top. It’s like a journal, and the old entries never go away; they are archived for future reference. With so many to chose from, you’ll want to be picky about the blogs you follow, especially if you only have a few minutes a day to read them. If it’s not helping you be more effective or get more enjoyment out of your work, find a better blog. Look for the hallmarks of quality and integrity: interesting thinking and writing, frequent entries, valuable links, and transparency about purpose and agenda. Ask around. You might be surprised how many colleagues have a favorite blog that helps them stay current, solve everyday challenges, or simply filter out the noise and deliver the best of the Web. You can also search a blog clearinghouse like www.technorati.com for topics or phrases relevant to your interests. When you find one you like, it might link to others that appeal to you. Charles Tiffin, PhD, Capella faculty chair and co-host of the Public Safety Signals blog, looks for these essentials in a blog: interesting discussion, cutting-edge insights into the profession, and current events. “It provides a forum for like-minded individuals to discuss a topic, share insights, experiences, and best practices and form a community online,” he says. Your comments are valued One nice feature of blogs, as with other new media, is the ability to invite dozens of others to share their comments – a feature not possible with the space limitations of print publications. In a good blog, the comments section is usually also worth reading. A recent study at the University of California Irvine found that "blog readers feel a responsibility to make insightful contributions. … Readers place pressure on themselves to produce coherent, worthwhile comments in response to good blog posts." You can establish yourself as a thoughtful contributor, and others will start watching for your comments. Your Capella online course discussions are great preparation for this. You can show the other blog readers how to add value through concise, relevant postings. Host your own blog You may want to start your own blog to enhance your career or gather others who share your interests. It’s easily done with free blogging applications such as Blogger.com and Wordpress.com. Within a matter of minutes, you can create a professional-looking blog that is visible on the Web. Both Blogger and Wordpress make it easy to customize the look of your blog and publish content. But just as you know the value of a good blog from reviewing others, keep in mind that your readers will want strong material that is updated regularly. Plan on creating “tags” (labels for the topics you write about) to help people with similar interests find your blog. Both of these blog applications allow you to pre-screen comments and reject anything inappropriate. And don’t forget to let Capella know about your blog. We’d love to help you share it with the world through our networking portal, Capella Commons.
Capella-hosted blogs
http://www.theother85percent.com/ —A visionary look at online higher education, by former Capella University president Michael Offerman.
http://www.hrmanagementtoday.com/ —Human resource management in the 21st century, by faculty members Michael Williams, Robert Bigelow, and Jean Gordon.
http://www.publicsafetysignals.com/ —A discussion of public safety issues and why they matter, by faculty members Charles Tiffin and Joe Pascarella.
Tips and tools for blog authors
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