Got this from http://www.silenceandvoice.com/blogging/
Posted by JeffreyThanks Jeff.
Comment:
Blogging is just starting to interest me. While trying to find out how to post a pic in my blogger account using scribefire (have not yet figured out how, though...) - having the same problem as in item no. 3, I stumble upon this blog. I posted it here so that I can alway refer to it. Thanks again.
Ruben.
Liveblogging Best Practices
I have completely revised and added to my initial list of LiveBlogging Best Practices that I initially published on 6/26/07. This comes from feedback I received and having reflected on my learning from the 3 separate conferences I liveblogged. [this post was revised later in thesame day with another item (#15) added based on a comment from Robin Yap.]Liveblogging Best Practices
- Have an extension cord. You never know how far away the outlet is.
- Plan on there NOT being any wireless Internet access.
Regardless of what may be expected or promised you never know what may happen with it, who may be downloading every DVD ever made and clogging the network in the process, and how even the most stable technology fails when we may need it most (not to mention when the access is "free" after a daily credit card payment). - Use an offline blogging program.
I am using Ecto for this here. I also tried ScribeFire for Firefox, but I could not get the image uploading FTP to work to save me, and their help pages were not too helpful. I do not mind paying developers for their work, and think those who created Ecto certainly deserve what I paid them for what they delivered. As I am about to migrate from XP to
Vista, it is important to check compatibility (such as with Macs) and have a freely-available trial period. - Have a fully-charged battery. This goes without saying, but often the unstated is forgotten or assumed!
- Create entry shells prior to the sessions. This way, you are assured to have the correct names of the sessions and the spelling of the participants for each entry.
- Disclose what editing is done later.
I consider myself a researcher-practitioner, and as such want full-disclosure of what I liveblog in real-time, as I conduct research with my entries as they are. These are real data, and as such it would be counter to the research process to go back and edit, spell-check, and otherwise clarify what happened at a previous time as the point of
liveblogging is to capture the experiences in real-time. Of course, if I am able to spell-check and otherwise edit as I go, then that is another situation. - Distinguish between internal and external experiences.
I am a constructivist qualitative researcher, and as such do not believe the researcher can separate himself or herself from the research experience. When I am liveblogging a conference, I find myself writing about what I see, hear, and experience, as well as the
meaning-making that occurs in real-time. I cannot separate an objective happening from my perception of it, in that I do not believe there can be any objective meaning or experience apart from one who experiences it. In practical terms, I can record what I hear and what strikes me, but then I often begin to process the experience and add to the meaning-making event. This means that liveblogging makes me more than an active participant--the public-blogging and my ability to discuss my own thoughts and feelings of the event makes me in effect a co-presenter. [I think I will have to revisit this to try to develop it more] - Have a camera and its sync-cord. While picture taking while liveblogging may be icing on the cake, it does add a nice touch.
- Have an international adapter/plug.
Liveblogging in Canada, for example, uses the same plugs as in the US. The AHRD conference I am liveblogging in England means I have another device I have to carry with me if I want to plug in. - Adjust the computer time to the local time. I have blogged around the world, and prefer to capture the sessions in the real time where I am.
- Consider a hyper-link policy.
If I am liveblogging and there is wifi, then it is easy to add links to the presentations or papers or the people who present themselves, However, with the editing policy I listed above (see #7), determine how to find the links and add them, with full-disclosure, at some point in time. This allows the readers to try to see as much of what you experienced while it happens. If there is no wifi available, I consider it appropriate to add hyperlinks after the session when the Internet access is again available. - Plan for breaks. I blogged with a laptop, and had to decide what I was going to do with it when I went to the restroom and getting coffee. Without a personal contact whom I could trust it with when using the restroom or otherwise, it came with me. I had to close it and carry it as a notebook (I wonder if that is how the name originated?)
- Get a comfortable seat. Liveblogging is tiring, so get comfortable because it will be a long session.
- Consider keywords carefully.
I have started to include Technorati keywords in all my posts, and use common keywords if they exist for the event, as well as names of participants and the primary topic. While I blog for many reasons, I want my experiences to be found by those in attendance or otherwise interested in the events I attend (if they so choose). - Tag the posts with an agreed-upon tag.
Technology-related conferences often announce a unique tag that they encourage people to use when uploading posts or photos so they can be found by searchers and other attendees later. However, not all conferences or events do this. If not, create a unique tag for the
event that will be easy to locate and share it with anybody else liveblogging the event (for consistency). Finally, name it in a post so readers and potential searchers will see it.
This list is a work in process, and I hope to add to it as new issues arise or as feedback and research dictates.
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