2013 WRITE: BLOG: Blogging for beginners, the virtual world advantage. And a demo of blogging for instruction.

Blogging for beginners, the virtual world advantage.
And a demo of blogging for instruction
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• This article is content for a Q and A session. 
• to be presented at the Nonprofit Commons Weekly Meeting, 
• 8: 45 am SLT on Sept. 13  
• Location Link. Click to go or drag to the viewer screen:
• http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Plush%20Nonprofit%20Commons/95/123/26

• The web link (url) for this current page is: 
• http://virtualoutworlding.blogspot.com/2013/09/2013-write-blog-blogging-for-beginners.html
• At the meeting, post questions in advance by sending an IM to Thinkerer Melville 
• On the web, post questions any time in the comments.
• Presentation is in text. It will mostly be in response to questions.
• Responses will often be links to web pages.

Why Blog?

• Tell people about something important to you
• Blog to tell, publicize, or promote.  Summary
• Maybe you get a rep and get hired as a consultant
• But telling comes first

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How to start blogging

• Blog hosts
• Content, how to get it
• Resources. 
• Promotion.  Get your audience to find you
• Staying. 

• Blog to tell, publicize, or promote.  Summary
• http://virtualoutworlding.blogspot.com/2012/10/kit-promotion-blog-to-publicize-summary.html

Tools

• Collaboration. If it is a group project, get others to help.
• Pictures and graphics. Use these to tell part of the story
• Events.  Use Google calendars for evergreen  content
• Evergreen content remains timely for months or years
• Curating  Help people find what they want 
• Writing  Write for the reader
• Promoting  Get people to see what you are writing

• Blogging in Second Life. How to... Summary
• http://virtualoutworlding.blogspot.com/2013/06/2013-write-blog-blogging-in-second-life.html

Advantages of blogs for instruction

• No publication costs
• No one between you and your readers
• No time between writing and publication
• Update whenever you need to.
• Display inworld for class or poster.
• Answer questions on the article.  

• Blogging as instruction and information in virtual worlds, summary
• http://virtualoutworlding.blogspot.com/2013/07/2013-write-edu-vwbpe-blogging-as.html

Use for instruction in a meeting

• Links to one or more articles
• Bops for shared visuals in SL
• Links for individual consideration
• Invite questions and comments on the article

• Browser on prim, advanced. Videos, Calendars
• http://virtualoutworlding.blogspot.com/2012/10/kit-bop-browser-on-prim-advanced-videos.html

The virtual world advantage

• A community of writers
• A community of potential readers
• A community of bloggers
• A community of videographers

• Collaborators
• Sources of ideas, information and content
• Potential audience

• The writing community of Second Life. What does it offer to writers?
• http://virtualoutworlding.blogspot.com/2013/06/2013-write-writing-community-of-second.html

Helpful web features

• Google search this blog; column on the right, scroll down.
• Google translation of this blog; column on the right, scroll down.
• You can put these in your blog if you use Blogger
• Search a web page with Google Chrome: 
• Ctrl+f. Use search bar, upper right 

Curation by pages

• Top menu here
• Blogger feature
• The items at the top link to ordinary blog pages.
• Pages set up and maintained as summary of contents

Curation by keywords
Themes on this blog are marked by keywords that you can use as search terms.   Search terms  are in bold (keep the caps and colon)

• Art: Three-D builds and digital paintings   ART: 
• Art videos and videos of art  ART:  VIDEO:
• Business  BIZ:
• Comedy and comedy videos  COMEDY:  VIDEO:
• Education   EDU:
• Events: Continuing events in virtual worlds
• Helpful articles for beginners and others:  HELP: 
• Hobbies  HOBBIES:
• How to use your head:  TKR:
• Music  MUSIC:
• Music videos  MUSIC:  VIDEO:
• Performing arts STAGE:
• Promote your project in virtual worlds  PROMO:
• Sights in virtual worlds.  SEE:
• Social media/remote collaboration.  STECH:
• Videos in general  VIDEO:
• Writing in virtual worlds  WRITE:

Tips

• Work your title. It's where your writing meets the road
• Your opening paragraph catches your readers. Or not. Checklist
• Collaborative blogging, invited articles. Overview 
• Invited articles and press releases
• Promote your evergreen content
• Use social media to promote your blogs

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• What do we do in Virtual Worlds? 
• Search on page with Google Chrome: Ctrl+f, search bar upper right 
• Google search this blog, column on right
• or put site:virtualoutworlding.blogspot.com at the end of the search terms
• What is Second Life?
• Annotated screen shots made with Jing
• Creative Commons License, attribution only.
• Second Life, Linden, SLurl, and SL are trademarks of Linden Research Inc.
• This blog is not affiliated with Second Life or anything else.  
• Ads are  from Google

• Drop by my place in Second life
• Location Link. Click to go or drag to the viewer screen:
• http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Cookie/136/100/22
• Feel free to send me an IM, notecard, or friend request.
• Thinkerer Melville/Selby Evans