12 ideas for blog posts (and a couple more)

Photo by Steve Bridger used under creative commons license

I’m picking up on a blog post from Paul Bradshaw who has suggested 12 ideas for getting started with blogging.

“I’m currently writing a chapter on blogging for a book on online journalism.  It includes 12 typical blog post types to kickstart ideas.  Here are the examples I came up with…”

 

It can be useful for first time bloggers to hear what other people are doing, this is the original list of ideas (plus a couple of suggested tweaks):

1. Respond to something else on the web
2. Suggest an idea
3. Interview someone
4. Blog an event
5. Ask a question
6. Pick a fight (and respond constructively of course)
7. Reflect on something
8. Do something visual
9. Review something
10. Make a list
11. Write a how to
12. Let someone else post
13. Add glossaries or jargon busters
14. Find, analyse and explain data
15. Hold a themed photo contest and produce a slideshow with commentary

Some of these are easier than others but I’m going to give them a go anyway.  Will keep you posted.

Twitter mosaic

Thanks to @digitalmaverick for pointing out the slightly pointless Twitter mosaic tool, I couldn’t resist giving it a go.  These are my followers … what a lovely bunch!

The future’s bright, the future’s Twitter

[cross posted from www.3s4.org.uk]

2009 has already been a big year for Twitter and it’s only February.  With people like Stephen Fry and Jonathan Ross discussing it on national TV and radio, new accounts are being registered in their thousands.  But what is Twitter and can it really be of any use to the voluntary and community sector?

Twitter is a difficult beast to explain but essentially it’s a micro-blogging tool.  It allows you to post “tweets” with a maximum of 140 characters, reply to other posts that are of interest and follow what others are saying.  It’s easy to build a network of people with similar interests and opinions to you by seeing who others are talking to.  What started with asking the question “what are you doing?” is turning into a key social media tool.

This week alone has been extraordinary in Twitter land.  On Monday we woke up to the thickest covering of snow in London for 18 years and almost immediately people were rating the snow cover in their area out of 10, with results feeding into the #uksnow map.  I used Twitter that morning to find out what was really happening on the trains and on realising we were going to be stuck at home everyone used it to share their pictures of snowmen.  Just last night Stephen Fry got stuck in a lift and kept the world informed about the ordeal through Twitter.  The whole story made it into The Sun.

What might seem like idle time wasting to some only builds on the sense of community between users.  Twitter users working in the voluntary sector are already meeting at an NFP tweetup (using the American acronym for the sector) to talk face to face about issues affecting them.  In this case Twitter is only the tool which facilitates real life discussion.

But what of voluntary organisations?  Can Twitter really be of use?  Organisations such as Bullying UK, the RSPB, Amnesty UK, Voluntary Action Manchester and Dogs Trust certainly think so.  These are just a few of the VCOs using Twitter to get their message out.  These organisations have already used Twitter to update supporters with news, launch campaigns, recruit volunteers, advertise events, ask people to write letters of support, share pictures and stories and seek comment on consultations.  The interconnecting networks of users help organisations to spread their message far and wide.

The best way to understand how Twitter might work for you is to try it out, so why not get started by following someone and then see where they lead you.  The contacts quickly build up and the conversations start.  If you need someone to follow then why not try http://twitter.com/NCVOForesight.

There’s more information about Twitter and how to get started in the How to use new media guide on the ICT website.  Other information about Twitter is bookmarked at http://delicious.com/ICT_Hub/twitter.

A day at the Social Media Exchange – 3

I’m at the third masterclass of the day and it’s not even lunchtime!

Dave Briggs is running this session on “WordPress for good”

WordPress is an open source blogging platform -

• open source means that it’s “free as in beer and free as in speech”
• it produces rss feeds as a standard – helps people to keep in touch with what you are saying
• WordPress has in built commenting facility and loads of other cool tools

Before setting up your WordPress account, you need to decide if you want it to be .com or .org? – .com is a bit limited in what it can do and how it can be personalised

Some examples of typically bloggy type blogs

• http://wp4g.wordpress.com
• http://davepress.net
• http://blogs.dfid.gov.uk – Department for International Development, blogging about their experiences
• http://matthewtaylorsblog.com

And some not quite bloggy blogs

• http://socialmediaexchange.org.uk
• http://lowcarboncommunities.net
• www.walesoffice.gov.uk
• www.number10.gov.uk

What else can you do with WordPress?

• You can categorise your posts as “news” or by project to make it more like a regular website.
• Plug ins add cool stuff to WordPress blogs.
• WordPress can be easily themed around corporate colours, type faces etc.

http://www.wordpressforgood.com has some useful resources for setting up your WordPress blog.

… so, lunch! …

A day at the Social Media Exchange – 2

So, into the second session and i still haven’t digested the learning from the first – i think i’m going to be exhausted tonight!

“using the mobile channel to your benefit – the what, why and how”

I’m slightly worried that i’ve just been asked for my mobile number but i’ve been reassured that it’s all part of the session, fingers crossed!

Apparently the four most used features of a mobile phone are:

• phone (obviously)
• sending text messages
• use as a torch
• use as an alarm clock

80% of people will carry a (web) connected mobile device within 5-10 years

What do you need to think about when launching a mobile fundraising campaign?

• People want a quanitifable object for their money
• They want an instant response
• getting something back
• reward/gratification

What is the journey that people go on when giving through text?

• Receive a call to donate
• Text a keyword to dedicated number
• Acknowledgement of the donation – this may include a link through to a website but be careful as you may lose people
• Money is taken off your monthly bill or pre pay credits
• Mobile companies can take 50% of the donation but work is being done to try and reduce this

Things to remember:

• Pick the right moment to send your text as you can only contact people once or twice before losing them altogether
• Make it as easy as possible for people to give – and include the option to opt out
• Think viral – get people to share with their peers

Some examples of text campaigns:

• IFAW – stop the seal hunt
• BBC World launch in America – interactive billboard
• Make your mark

Text can be used for more than just fundraising, it could be used to keep in touch with activists, renewing membership, recruiting volunteers for an event or thanking people for taking part in something.

Bulk sms is easy to do and not very expensive – use someone like http://www.itagg.com/, http://www.bulksms.co.uk/or http://www.textmarketer.co.uk/.  Search for bulk sms in Google.

I think i’m just about to be texted in the session … waiting … message received.

Off to the next workshop … when’s lunch?