Best Practices for Project Blogs

1. Best Practices for Project Blogs Acceptable Use Policy Recording this talk, taking photos, discussing the content using Twitter, blogs, etc. is permitted providing distractions to others is minimised. Brian Kelly UKOLN University of Bath Bath, UK Email: b.kelly@ukoln.ac.uk Blogs: http://ukwebfocus.wordpress.com/ Twitter: http://twitter.com/briankelly/ UKOLN is supported by: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons attribution 2.0 licence (but note caveat)

2. Personal/Professional Blogs Event Blogs Community Blogs Project Blogs UKOLN Blogs About the UK Web Focus Blog Introduction • Launched in Sep 2008 • 262 posts, 721 comments & over 50K views • Launched in Nov 2006 • 1,000 posts, 4,684 comments & over 385K views

3. About This Session Introduction Since 2006 UKOLN has been pro-active in publishing a wide range of blogs. We can now share best practices & experiences • Why have a blog? • What’s the purpose of your blog? • Who contributes? • What can go wrong? • How can you measure the blog’s success ? • What technical issues should I care about? • Howe do I ensure the content is usable? • How to maximise impact of the blog • Managing the blog when the project is over

4. Projects Must Blog! • Twitter/blog discussion in Feb 2009: • Projects may blog due to peer pressure • If not done for right reasons may be counter-productive • Projects should be open (wider than blogging) • Need to develop productive blogging culture • No, projects must blog!

5. JISC MRD blog aggregator JISC MRD blog aggregator

6. Why Have a Blog? Why Blog? • Possible Reasons • We have to – it’s in the contract! • To disseminate • To encourage discussion • To speculate • To challenge • To use as a CMS for content • To ensure content can be viewed easily on mobile devices • To produce RSS to facilitate reuse • To provide a sandbox for experimentation • To add to your CV • ….

7. Why Have a Blog? Why Blog? • Possible purposes: • To start a conversation in a timely fashion • To publish high quality posts so that JISC PMs can read them on mobile devices • Tip No. 1: Ensure you (& your project team) know the reasons why you are providing a blog. • Note This should be done for members of the project team and the funders

8. What’s the Purpose of Your Blog? What is Your Blog For? • The need to publish the blog’s purpose: • To help user’s understand what your blog is about • To ensure blog authors (possibly distributed) have a shared understanding • So your funders understand the purpose • So future evaluators /markers understand the purpose • To help in the management of your blog • To measure the blog’s effectiveness in achieving its intended purpose

9. What’s the Purpose of Your Blog? What is Your Blog For? • Summary: • Brief summary of top left corner of UK Web Focus blog (visible from every page) • Detailed description: • Detailed summary on page linked to from navigation bar • Covers: • Purpose • Audience • Policies • …

10. What’s the Purpose of Your Blog? The About page for the JISC PoWR project was updated in November 2011 as the description may have implied that the blog was the key project deliverable. • Things to consider: • Is the About page about the blog or the project? • Does the summary change about the project is over?

11. What’s the Purpose of Your Blog? What is Your Blog For? • Tip No. 2: Publish an About page for your blog which is: • Easily found • Clarifies whether the information is about the blog or the project • Makes sense after the project is over • Note This should be done for readers of your blog

12. Who Contributes to Your Blog? Who Contributes? Starting a blog can be an intimidating experience …

13. Who Contributes to Your Blog? Who Contributes? … but so can writing a peer-reviewed paper

14. Who Contributes to Your Blog? Who Contributes? Some people are better at writing code

15. Who Contributes to Your Blog? Who Contributes? Visualisations produced by Tony Hirst • Whereas other can communicate complex ideas in visual ways

16. Who Contributes to Your Blog? Which channels do you prefer? (choose 1) [Research papers] – [synthesis reports] – [blogs] – [briefing papers] – [marketing materials] – [code] – [visualisations] Which communication channels are you happy to use? (choose all that apply) Which communication channels do you try to avoid? (choose all that apply)

17. The Belbin Model 7 comments agreeing including: “I’m the author of a blog devoted to Belbin Team Role Theory … I agree that a Plant/Resource Investigator combo is perfect for the stereotypical blog author.” Blogging and the Belbin Model

18. Who Contributes to Your Blog? Who Contributes? • Tip No. 3: • Since not everyone should blog but every project must have a blog … • Identify the good, keen bloggers • Provide opportunities for reluctant bloggers • Consider inviting guest bloggers to add variety • Provide blog profiles to be able to differentiate different ‘voices’

19. When Things Go Wrong When Things Go Wrong • Your Input: • What can go wrong (has gone wrong) with your blog? • Feel free to mention: • Technical issues • Content issues • People issues • Resourcing issues • …

20. When Blogs Break blogs.ukoln.ac.uk/jisc-beg-dig-pres/ Fatal error: Call to undefined method Arras_Widget_Tag_Cloud::WP_Widget_Tag_Cloud() in /opt/wordpress/wp-content/themes/arras-theme/library/widgets.php on line 328 When Things Go Wrong • Problem • Spam comments spotted in blog • But blog not available?! • Solution • Arras theme incompatible with upgraded PHP library • Blog viewed on mobile device, with mobile theme enabled • Updated version of theme installed • Note • Issue of ongoing maintenance for legacy blogs

21. Spam 10 days of spam • Blog comments can attract spam: • Comment moderation is a barrier to people • You’ll need a spam filter • I try to delete spam daily • Comments should be disabled when blog is no longer active

22. When Things Go Wrong When Things Go Wrong • Tip No. 4: • Things can go wrong, but planning can minimise problems • Spam filters • Spam management policies • Managing switch-off of your blog after project ends

23. Measuring Success Measuring Success • User Input: • How should we measure the success of a blog? • (Why do we need to measure the success of a blog?)

24. Measuring Success The purpose of the blog was informal note-keeping using a familiar, easy-to-use tool. Should usage stats matter? Is this blog unsuccessful?

25. Measuring Success Measuring Success Top 3% of all blogs Top 13% of technology blogs • According to Technorati Tony Hirst’s Ouseful.info blog is in: • Top 3% of all blogs it has indexed • Top 13% of Technology blogs • based on index of > 1M blogs • There are needs to identify indications of success • Demonstrate value to funders • Identify & learn from effective & flawed strategies • …

26. Comparison With Peers Authority measures blog's standing & influence on scale of 0-1000 (high good).Ranking given for Technorati Authority of all sites (low good) • Search Technorati for ‘jisc’ helps to spot blogs with high ranking: • What can we learn from these? • Can we help ensure JISC (outreach) blogs are highly ranked

27. Ebuzzing (was Wikio) Together with display of trends for ranking, nos. of posts, links and backlinks, OUseful had peak at #18 in Nov 2008 What happened from Jun-Sep 2010? Ebuzzing also provides metrics for (registered) blogs List of top technology blogs shown

28. Evaluation Why not ask for feedback from your readers?

29. Measures of Failure Measuring Success Reviewer: This project should not be funded since the poor quality of the blog for their previous project demonstrates a lack of interest in providing quality user-engagement/dissemination functions • Proposal for new project submitted. • Blog required and dissemination counts for 20% • Reviewers look at blog for previous project: • Purpose unclear and undocumented • Only three token posts • No closure of blog • Comments full of spam • Dynamic widgets broken • …

30. Measuring Success Measuring Success • Tip No. 5: • Have plans for (easy) ways for measuring success of you blog • You’ll need to understand risks of not doing this (which may be a legitimate decision) • Surveys may be useful but time-consuming • Avoiding failure may be a success criteria! • Note registering blog with Technorati & EBuzzing • Is trivial to do and may provide evidence of successful strategies • The value may be in the aggregation of blogs

31. Interoperability Issues Thanks to Amber Thomas for granting permission to share this example – she has updated her blog settings! BK “What technical advice should I give?” TB “Don’t truncate RSS feeds!” Context (for end users): On the bus, catching up with RSS feeds on iPod Touch. If text truncated I normally don’t see full post (and am likely to unsubscribe from such blogs)

32. Interoperability Issues Note that searches, auto-categorisation, etc. is based on RSS feed content. Restricted feed content = limited value. • ISKB: • Harvests content from key resources including blogs • Allows us to observe developments

33. Interoperability Issues Technical Issues • Tip No. 6: • Provide a full RSS feed for your blog • It’s trivial to do • If you don’t: • Humans may not see full post, especially if they use offline devices • Software will not be able to harvest full post

34. Usability Issues Less clutter than Web browser view My morning’s reading: posts viewed in mobile RSS client But some features don’t work (Java, Flash, ..) • Who normally reads blog posts: • On a mobile device • On desktop PC

35. Interoperability can be achieved by writing style and links, with no technology needed 

36. Note: • Growing importance of personalised newspapers • Need to stand out form the crowd • In a mobile world: • Which posts stands out?

37. Usability Usability • Tip No. 7: • You can’t ignore mobile devices • Even if you don’t read blogs on a mobile device, your readers might • Mobile usage will grow • There are some simple techniques you can use to enhance experiences on mobile device

38. What About Twitter? • Is Twitter: • Trivial & time-wasting • Valuable for rapid discussions with peers • Useful for marketing

39. Twitter Evidence (1) URL Bit.ly/foo+ gives usage stats

40. Twitter Evidence (2) Total of 287 downloads from Opus (top 10 in UKOLN) "Openness in HE: Open Source, Open Standards, Open Access" paper on ways of exploiting openness: http://bit.ly/a9wglM #UniWeek #UniofBath • Probably: • A tweet on 17 June 2011 • A marketing opportunity (Promote #UniWekk campaign on Twitter day) • Use of popular hashtags 8 citations of paper according to Google Scholar (note 2nd highest no. of UKOLN citations in WoK is 37).Downloads is first step to citation (paper by Les Carr et al) What happened in June 2011 which caused spike in downloads for peer-reviewed paper on “Openness in Higher Education: Open Source, Open Standards, Open Access”

41. Twitter Practices Be an active member of your community and share resources and add your comments • But avoid overt marketing with immediate RTs: • We know it’s the same person (or close friend) • I’ve seen message twice – I’ll not RT & add to ‘spam’ Instead: • Defer RTs (for >1 hr) • Add own wording / commentary Be a leader and highlight resources of importance to your community

42. What About Twitter? Twitter • Tip No. 8: • You can’t ignore Twitter • Build up your community (100-500 followers to ensure critical mass) • Engage in relevant discussions • Tweet about things you care about • Tweet links you feel are useful

43. Commenting & Linking Many blogs publish automated ‘trackback’ links to their posts This illustrates benefits of citing posts and posting quickly (avoid slow editorial processes if possible – can be better to be first than be best)

44. Commenting & Linking • You may prefer to be notified of comments: • By email • In your RSS reader • You may also wish to have comments to blogs of interest in this way Comments can be indicative of community building (but may be difficult on project blog)

45. Comment on Other’s Blogs Comment in response to post on Google Scholar Citations (& question on proactive use of service)

46. Email Matters • What if your users: • Are not into blogs • Don’t use RSS readers • Encourage them to sign up to an RSS to email subscription service e.g. • Feedburner(93 subscribers to all posts) • WordPress(85 subscribers)

47. Comments, Links and Email • Tip No. 9: • Comments, links and email matter • You can encourage comments by your writing style (e.g. open questions • Providing links to relevant resources helps users in following ideas • Providing links to blog posts can generate traffic back to you blog • Posts can be delivered by email (but you’ll have to make it obvious how to do this)

48. You Are Not Alone! • Work collaboratively: • You are not alone • You gain benefits by sharing • Research360@Bath MRD blog plans covers: • Content for static pages • Content for blog posts • …

49. You Are Not Alone! • Research360@Bath MRD blog plans covers: • Content for sidebar • Target audience • … • Provided under a Creative Commons (CC-BY) licence 

50. You Are Part of a Community Why not write a post about how you’ve implemented your blog? Other may find this useful, and they may be motivated to give you suggestions on enhancements • Tip No. 10: • Don’t reinvent the wheel! • Learn from what others are doing • Share what you’re doing