PART 1 - Find three blogs in your current job and/or anticipated career field. (Two ways to search blog, if you haven't done so before is to use: Google Blog Search and Technorati). You can search for Blogs or Posts about a particular topic.
On the class wiki:
| Blog Name | Blog Url | How is the Blog Being Used? | Moderated? |
|
Philip Greenspun's Weblog |
http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/philg/ |
This blog contains random postings by the author on a variety of topics. He lists his topics are academia, computer nerdism, flying, and uncategorized. |
Yes |
| CAAFlog | http://caaflog.com | The blog is used to discuss recent decisions by the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces. | Yes |
|
National Institute of Military Justice |
http://nimjblog.org |
This blog is intended for military justice professional to remain current on issues pertinent to the practice of military criminal law. |
Yes |
| Word of Mouth | http://articulate.com/blog/ |
This is a blog hosted by Articulate Director of Customer Advocacy Gabe Anderson where he shares his passion for all things tech and his enjoyment of learning from Articulate customers. |
Yes |
| The Visual Lounge | http://visuallounge.techsmith.com/ |
The Visual Lounge lets users find out about TechSmith behind-the-scenes. The blog has screencasts and videos from customers and provides a number of tips and tricks. |
Yes |
PART 2 -
| Your topic/theme of your blog | E-learning for Legal Offices |
| Anticipated audience |
Members of the legal community and anyone interested in how they can put e-learning to work as a corporate training tool. |
| Blog used | Wordpress |
|
List the widget(s) you are going to use and explain why you chose them for your blog. |
- email subscription - del.icio.us
|
| Theme used | Enterprise |
|
Thoughts/reactions to using a moderated versus an invited reader blog |
Invited reader blogs are much easier to manage, although the blog owner does relinquish a certain level of control over the content. This does not mean that the blog owner loses control, just that there is always the possibility that undesirable content will be immediately visible to all readers. Depending on the audience or topic, invited reader blogs do have value. Internal blogs, for example, are ideally suited for this release of control.
On the other hand, moderated blogs are excellent when the audience is broad, or if the topic is controversial. The moderation, although requiring more effort on the blog owner's part, prevents undesirable, inflammatory, or derogatory posts from being seen.
I have found, both through this assignment as well as an internal blog that my organization has, that moderated blogs are labor intensive. They require the blog owner to become involved with the decision to release any comment. That editorial requirement can be construed as censorship when a comment is blocked. |