Introduction To Blogs And Social Networks For Heritage Organisations
About The Workshop
Brian Kelly facilitated a workshop on "Introduction To Blogs And Social Networks For Heritage Organisations". The workshop took place on Wednesday 12th November 2008 from 12:30-16:00 at Our Dynamic Earth, Edinburgh. The event was commissioned by ASVA.
Introduction To Blogs And Social Networks For Heritage Organisations
- Title
- Introduction To Blogs And Social Networks For Heritage Organisations
- Facilitator
- Brian Kelly, UKOLN
- Abstract
What can blogs and social networking services offer organisations involved in the heritage sector? In this half day workshop Brian Kelly will provide an introduction to blogs and social networks (which are sometime referred to as 'Web 2.0' applications) and describe how they can be used to raise an organisation's profile and visibility, enable visitors to actively engage in discussions, content creation and sharing of resources and allow resources to me made more widely available.
The workshop will start with an update on blog fundamentals - how the tools for blogging have developed, blog-specific search tools and blog aggregators.
The issues involved in setting up a blog, such as selection of software and hosting decisions, will be discussed. Using examples of best practice, the workshop will move on to policy and procedure considerations such as blog scope, writing style and frequency of publication.
The workshop will then explore other relevant services including micro-blogging applications (such as Twitter), video blogging services (such as Seesmic) and social networking services (such as Facebook).
The workshop will also provide an opportunity to explore ways of measure the success and effectiveness of blogging services, focusing on user feedback and impact assessment.
This workshop will be of interest to those who are new to blogging and social networking service, or those who have experimented with the technologies but would like to learn more about strategies and metrics for developing sustainable and cost-effective services.
- Learning Objectives
- By the end of the workshop session participants will:
- Have learnt about blog features, tools and concepts.
- Have learnt about the potential of microblogging and social networking services.
- Have identified potential challenges to be overcome in order to implement blogs and social networks in your institution.
- Be able to outline policy considerations which best fit their individual or organisational purpose.
- Have learnt about tools for measuring success.
- Have heard about and discussed examples of best practices which participants will be able to make use of in developing a sustainable blogging service.
- Interactive elements
- The workshop session will include brief presentations, demonstrations and group exercises.
- Date And Time
- This workshop will take place from 12:30-16:00 on Wednesday 12th November, 2008 at Our Dynamic Earth, Edinburgh.
- Numbers
- There will be a maximum of 24 participants at the workshop.
Biographical Details
Brian Kelly is UK Web Focus, a post funded by the
JISC and the
MLA which advises
the UK's higher and further education communities and museums, libraries and archives
sector on best practices in use of the Web. Brian is an experienced presenter,
and has spoken at all the previous Internet Librarian Conferences held in the UK.
Brian works at UKOLN, a national centre of expertise in digital information management,
which is based at the University of Bath.
Timetable
The draft timetable is given below:
| Time | Topic | Summary |
|---|---|---|
| 12:00-12:30 | Registration (BK) | Registration and lunch |
| The Opportunities | ||
| 12:30-12:40 | Introduction (BK) | This talk gives an introduction to the workshop and a brief overview of
key blog concepts and provides an opportunity for participants to describe their
interests in blogging and expectations for the workshop. Slides: [MS PowerPoint format] (12 slides) - [HTML format] |
| 12:45-13:00 | Case Study (BK) | A brief presentation will illustrate approaches in setting up and sustaining
a blog service. Slides: UK Web Focus Blog Case Study: [MS PowerPoint format] (11 slides) - [HTML format] |
| 13:00-13.15 | Why Have a Blog? | In this group exercise participants will discuss the various ways in which blog services can be used within their organisation. (Exercise 1) |
| 13:15-13:30 | Why Have a Blog? | This talk summarises a number of different ways in which blogs are being used
in a heritage context. Slides: Why Have a Blog?: [MS PowerPoint format] (12 slides) - [HTML format] |
| 13:30-14:15 | Beyond Blogs: Social Networks, Microblogs and Video Blogs | This talk will describe the potential for Social Networks, micro blogs and video blogs
in a heritage context. Slides: Beyond Blogs: Social Networks, Micro Blogs and Video Blogs: [MS PowerPoint format] (9 slides) - [HTML format] |
| 14:15-14:30 | BREAK | |
| The Challenges | ||
| 14:30-14:50 | Exploring The Opportunities and Challenges | In this group exercise participants will explore the potential benefits which
blogs may provide, but also exaplor the barriers to their deployment and use. Slides: Exploring The Opportunities and Challenges: [MS PowerPoint format] (4 slides) - [HTML format] (Exercise 2) |
| 14:50-15:05 | Addressing The Challenges | This talk suggests identifies the issues which need to be addressed in order
to establish an effective and sustainable blogging service. Slides: Addressing The Challenges: [MS PowerPoint format] (4 slides) - [HTML format] |
| 15:10-15:25 | Group Exercise: Deployment Strategies | Participants will work in small groups in order to identify approaches
to take in deploying, sustaining and justifying a blog service. Slides: [MS PowerPoint format] - [HTML format] (11 slides) |
| 15:25-15:40 | Building A Community: Embedding and Sharing Best Practices (BK) | This talk will provide examples on best practices informed by the experiences
of providing the UK Web Focus blog. Slides: [MS PowerPoint format] - [HTML format] (5 slides) |
| 15:40-15:50 | Action Plans | Workshop participants to agree on action plans |
| 15:50-16:00 | Conclusions | Workshop conclusions and general discussion |
Handouts
A number of handouts were provided.
Cultural Heritage Briefing Documents
- An Introduction to Blogs (briefing no 2)
- Briefing Document: [About] - [HTML] - [MS Word]
- Uses of Blogs In Museums (briefing no 4)
- Briefing Document: [About] - [HTML] - [MS Word]
- Developing Blog Policies (briefing no 5)
- Briefing Document: [About] - [HTML] - [MS Word]
- Planning Processes For Your Blog (briefing no 6)
- Briefing Document: [About] - [HTML] - [MS Word]
- Quality Processes For Your Blog (briefing no 7)
- Briefing Document: [About] - [HTML] - [MS Word]
- Launching Your Blog (briefing no 9)
- Briefing Document: [About] - [HTML] - [MS Word]
- Building A Blogging Community (briefing no 9)
- Briefing Document: [About] - [HTML] - [MS Word]
- Evaluating Your Blog (briefing no 10)
- Briefing Document: [About] - [HTML] - [MS Word]
- Addressing Barriers to Blogging (briefing no 12)
- Briefing Document: [About] - [HTML] - [MS Word]
- An Introduction to Social Networks (briefing no 13)
- Briefing Document: [About] - [HTML] - [MS Word]
- Facebook: Opportunities and Challenges (briefing no 14)
- Briefing Document: [About] - [HTML] - [MS Word]
- An Introduction To Twitter
- Not yet published
- An Introduction To Seesmic
- Not yet published
