Feelin' Googley
Do you know about all the Google tools?
Why Blog?
Everybody’s blogging. Right? So why not you? Herman Melville wrote, "We cannot live for ourselves alone. Our lives are connected by a thousand invisible threads, and along these sympathetic fibers, our actions run as causes and return to us as results." A perfect description of blogging, don’t you think?

The term Blog or Weblog started in 1999, and is defined in Webster’s dictionary as a “diary; a personal chronological log of thoughts published on a Web page.” More importantly, it says that blogs are “typically updated daily” and that “blogs often reflect the personality of the author.” (source)

Will Richardson writes about Blogging and RSS - the What’s it? and How To of Powerful New Web Tools for Educators.

Chris Pirillo wrote back in 2002 the Blogger’s Manifesto that gives you some do’s and don’ts. They may not all apply today. The first seven:
  1. Life is uncensored.
  2. My blog does not capture the full me.
  3. Judge my thoughts, but not me.
  4. If you don’t like what you see, look elsewhere.
  5. I love talking about my life.
  6. I love writing about other people’s lives.
  7. I will post whenever I feel like posting.
First ask yourself "Why do you want a blog?" Check out the Ten Tips for a Bionic Weblog for some ideas. Remember many people who write blogs are just like you and me - maybe not journalists just people who have something to say. We may not even know that we could offend others or provide personal information. This is the world WIDE web so don’t take what people write as personal toward you unless they write about you. LibraryPlanet wrote that any blog should be because you have something to say not because you want attention. (Source) A blog can go unread or linked to by millions.

Some thoughts on blogging:

Meredith Farkas shares that she started blogging thinking it would be great practice for “the real thing” (in other words: publishing). I also thought it would help me to keep up with what’s been going on in the worlds of librarianship and technology.

Eric Kintz wrote on Marketting Excellence that frequency or posting daily is not as important anymore. He gives you reasons why it is the connections and community that make your blog effective.

Will Richardson in Webogg-ed shares multiple sources of why people blog.

Why blog? [source] - here’s a shortened version of a cartoon about blogging: