Upriver, ID

I am new to this whole process–the Horizons activities, committees, and blogging (blogging for its own sake as well as for the UpRiver committees. I’m not sure I know what to think so far, but here are some of the things I’ve observed:

1. There are not many who are doing the blogging for our area.

2. There are not many who are accustomed to checking the site or commenting on the blogs.

3. Richard Pullman is faithful with all of the committees and keeps a list of email addresses of members to contact with new information (and I believe he maybe puts them on a listserv? that lets them know when a new post has been made to the blogsite.)

4. For basic writing, blogging is not hard.

5. If you want to “dress up” your blog you should have some knowledge of html and how to use it.

6. I use a Macintosh computer at work and when I am resting at home. I haven’t tried the site on a PC yet. On the Macintosh it is not readily evident that a person can read comments or leave comments. The little notations (indicating categories and comments) following the blog are so dim that they are almost unreadable.

I like

the concept of blogging–I think. It is an informal way of communicating with anyone who wants to read it and comment on it. I haven’t quite figured out what I should include in a blog. I understand that it should be interesting enough to read, that it should have a catchy title to grab the reader and make him or her want to read it, and that it should be informative enough that the reader leaves with a better understanding of what is happening in the community. At least that is what I think I’m supposed to understand. I am not sure of how much information should be included. We do have a newsletter, and, I’m assuming, there are minutes from committee meetings. I don’t know how much of any of that should be included. Anyone want to let me know?

I don’t like

my ignorance of the whole thing. I am looking forward to a blogging class soon and wish I had attended the one that was already held–but, of course, I was not involved then and did not know about it. Anyone else who wants to learn should stay in touch and get connected with the next class offered. I also don’t like the cumbersomeness (is that a word?) of it. I want to add color and underlining so people can know when they arrive at a link that will take them somewhere else–like the headings of the articles that let you see what comments have been made or the words comment or leave a response to let you know you can post your own comment.

I have been playing with it, though, and am learning. I think I will get the hang of it after while and it won’t be so hard.

The UI Horizons Team could possibly have a site or make comments to a blog telling how to make it better with specific directions. Just because someone is attempting to do this doesn’t mean he or she is experienced or has had a class. Classes may be few and far between or scheduled at inaccessible times and places so a reference work that is accessible on the web to give guidance could be a big help. There is also the possibility of giving a web-based class. I have taken college classes that way. They do work.–Other than that, encouragement through comments, or whatever, is also a good idea.

Thanks for making the site and the training available!

This entry was posted on Monday, March 24th, 2008 at 7:30 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.