Social Web Sites by Evelyn Cunico

PenPoints April 2009 / 4

Social Web Sites as Blogging Spaces
By Evelyn Cunico, IWPA Member

At the Illinois Woman’s Press Association November 15, 2008 meeting, held at the Chicago Methodist Temple in Chicago, four panel speakers engaged in an encore conversation on the merits of blogging as one example of Web 2.0 communication. Web 2.0 includes a number of communication tools, including blogs, podcasts, Wikis, and RSS feeds, all characterized by informal social interaction.

Four panelists shared their insights and experiences:

Cindy Kurman Barrie, President, Kurman Communications,
Inc., whose marketing blog is located at http://
gotbuzzatkurman.blogspot.com

Keidra Chaney, emerging media specialist at DePaul University, whose personal blog can be found at http:// www.thelearnedfangirl.com

Marlys Styne, retired teacher and chairperson of the English Department at Wilber Wright College, whose blog appears at http://www.seniorwriter.blogspot.com

Mary T. Wagner, assistant district attorney for Sheboygan County, Wisconsin, whose personal blog can be read at http://www.runningwithstilettos.com

Discussion began with a definition: Blogs are Web sites whose content is written in the style of a journal entry. Some
blogs are business oriented, targeted for a particular industry. Other blogs resemble personal diaries, commenting on any subject of interest to the blogger. A typical blog includes text, photos and other images, and links to other blogs, Web sites, and audio and video files.

To start a blog, register with your e-mail account at a blogging site. For beginning bloggers, panelists suggested registering at a free blog publishing system, such as blogger.com https://www.blogger.com/start

This site helps the user “Create a blog in 3 easy steps:
(1) Create an account, (2) Name your blog, (3) Choose a template.

As panelists interacted with their audience, discussion turned to blogging on social Web sites. Following are a few of many social Web sites that welcome bloggers:

Facebook at http://www.facebook.com

Facebook started in 2004 as a college social networking Web site, and was later opened to teenagers. Facebookdemographics have changed to include many adults over 30 years old. Employees of companies also have a presence on Facebook.

MySpace at http://www.myspace.com

MySpace, one of Facebook’s major competitors, is devoted to blogs. It includes “About Me” and “Who I’d Like to Meet” sections. Although Facebook offers privacy settings to restrict users to a specific network, both Facebook and MySpace are popular with advertisers, so are not good spaces for bloggers who are concerned with privacy issues.

Twitter at http://www.twitter.com

Twitter is called a “micro-blogging” service because it limits users to blogs of 140 characters or less in length. The advantage of Twitter is its immediacy, as users who have signed-up to receive updates may blog in real time. Twitter users tend to be younger than Facebook users.

Flickr at http://www.fl ickr.com

Flickr is an image hosting Web site that is often used by bloggers as a photo repository.

LinkedIn at http://www.linkedin.com

LinkedIn is a social networking Web site that is also used for business networking. LinkedIn users may invite persons to become business “connections,” to help build a contact network. LinkedIn blogs are more formal than blogs on other social networking Web sites.

Panelists stressed that blogging has many facets and purposes. Bloggers can blog for fun, for marketing, and for professional networking. ProBlogger at http://www.problogger. net is a good Web site to consult for bloggingtips for beginners and information on blogging for profit.

Evelyn Cunico is a Chicago area writer and a member of the Illinois Woman’s Press Association.