http://www.blogigo.co.uk/blogger Researching the world of blogs en blogger blogger Fri, 30 Nov 2007 22:28:00 +0100 daily 1 Yes, I'm still here and still working on my research project.  I'm now trying to actually write it up, but it's hard going.  This is always the hardest part - the blank page and trying to organise chaotic thoughts into some sort of order.  I have writer's block - of a sort - the wrong thoughts are wanting expression - the ones that aren't completely relevant to my actual research. I've read a lot about blogs over the past year.  It amuses me some of the hype and anti-hype surrounding blog use.  The journal bloggers, like you and me, are looked down upon with contempt by some as if we create some sort of spam - overcrowding the net with our private musings who no-one else is supposed to give a damn about.  You can just see the sort of person who says this sort of thing.  For one thing, how can you overcrowd a virtual space?  Sure there's a lot of crap out there, but you don't have to look at it and you can only look at one page at a time and you've... Fri, 30 Nov 2007 22:28:00 +0100 http://www.blogigo.co.uk/blogger/Thoughts-on-blogging/4057/ http://www.blogigo.co.uk/blogger/Thoughts-on-blogging/4057/ I've added a couple more links to useful bibliographies about weblogs.  Most of these links are now dated.  I've come across very few up-to-date articles on the state of the blogosphere in the last year, especially for libraries.  Perhaps the hype is over.  It appears the years 2003-2004 were the years of growing awareness about the increasing number of blogs.  I, myself, have been blogging since 2000 so it's rather amusing to have read the hype surrounding the phenomenon.  I remember reading something on a website about blogs - the new online medium.  What is it? I asked myself.  It's like an online journal.  Great! I thought.  I was simply transferring my thoughts from paper, as a diary-writer, to a computer screen.  I thought no more of it.  Blogger back then was even more of a nightmare to use than it is now.  It's improved a lot but it should have improved a long long time ago. I've rambled somewhat, thinking back on the past.  What I'm also finding... Sat, 11 Aug 2007 05:35:00 +0200 http://www.blogigo.co.uk/blogger/Blog-links/4056/ http://www.blogigo.co.uk/blogger/Blog-links/4056/ Yes, it's been almost a year since I was last here.  I finished the Research Methodology paper and had to do a couple of others before embarking on my actual research.  That time has now come so it's back into it in earnest.  A lot has happened in the blogosphere since I researched it a year ago.  There are a LOT more library weblogs.  I think many libraries are jumping on the Web 2.0 bandwagon.  Web 2.0 is what they call the interactive websites and technology we now have, from, obviously, blogging, to wikis, podcasts, community websites such as Myspace and Bebo, etc.  Libraries want to get in on this but are they doing it successfully?  Last year I could only find about 2 library weblogs in New Zealand.  Now there are over 10 and that's just from ones I've been told about.  I haven't seriously searched for others yet, but I'm sure there are a lot more.  They are probably in response to the library conference in November last year in Wellington, which focussed on Web... Sat, 04 Aug 2007 05:40:00 +0200 http://www.blogigo.co.uk/blogger/Hello-again/4055/ http://www.blogigo.co.uk/blogger/Hello-again/4055/ Good evening and welcome!  Had a bit of a break after finishing off the literature review.  Still feel a need to search out more literature and have requested a couple of items from another academic library.  The vast majority of information that I've found has been as a result of searching blogs themselves.  When I found relevant information pertaining to blogs on a blog, the blogger kindly listed links to more information.  Papers discovered in this way listed references of more information and blogs so one link snowballs.  Before embarking on this project, I hadn't seriously considered blogs as a source of information but I quickly learned that they certainly are.  And this doesn't even take into account those blogs which serve a journalistic purpose. So, back on track and needing much more work.  Trying, currently, to work on different methodologies.  There is a limited time frame to come up with a grant proposal, so need to get a structured plan in place. Back... Thu, 14 Sep 2006 08:52:00 +0200 http://www.blogigo.co.uk/blogger/Blogrolls/4054/ http://www.blogigo.co.uk/blogger/Blogrolls/4054/ Long time no write - here anyway.  I had to write a lit review as an exercise, which took some time. It appears library weblogs are not much written about.  They are also difficult to find.  Many of them don't allow comments, don't market themselves, are impossible to find from a library homepage, don't provide RSS feeds, etc etc.  Not doing themselves many favours. Having a bit of a break.  Back soon. Fri, 25 Aug 2006 07:48:00 +0200 http://www.blogigo.co.uk/blogger/Blogged-out/4053/ http://www.blogigo.co.uk/blogger/Blogged-out/4053/ It's a shame that Blogigo decided to 'spruce' things up. It makes this page slower to download for a start, which is annoying. I've done a little survey of alternative blog hosting sites. For a long list see the following link (and Blogigo isn't mentioned): Weblogs compendium I browsed some of the sites from there and chose some which looked pleasant enough to explore and allowed exploring of some blogs to look at features. Here they are in no particular order: Blogster - Each blog has a profile at the top, which I would find annoying. It calls entries "articles". Blogdrive - Some knowledge of HTML is required by the looks of it. Ability to put anything in the sidebar which appears to be on the left always. There is a help forum. Deardiary - The examples I looked at looked more like web pages. Blog.co.uk - Features trackback and tags! Blogsource - fairly basic looking... Sat, 12 Aug 2006 06:51:00 +0200 http://www.blogigo.co.uk/blogger/Blog-alternatives/11/ http://www.blogigo.co.uk/blogger/Blog-alternatives/11/ Well, I'm supposed to be researching library weblogs, but the big problem is finding them.  While there are lists of numerous library weblogs in USA there are very few if any in Australasia which is the region I'm specifically interested in.  Library web pages don't seem to advertise the fact if they have weblogs or not - even when I know of one library that does - there is no link to it from the main page and it is nigh impossible to find.  This will be a problem! On another point, due to the rather unsatisfactory nature of the changes on this site, I have begun looking at other blog hosting sites to see if there is one that is user-friendly and has good features.  I will report back on my findings in my next entry - stay tuned.  For now though, I have more mundane things to do offline!  Sat, 12 Aug 2006 02:12:00 +0200 http://www.blogigo.co.uk/blogger/Problem-finding-blogs/10/ http://www.blogigo.co.uk/blogger/Problem-finding-blogs/10/ What has happened to this site???  I can't view my blog and it demands Firefox browser (which luckily I have installed).  Some warning of changes would have been appreciated! I don't want to have to move from here to a more reliable site... But I may have to.  Disappointing. Busy reading literature so haven't had time to update. I think the new owners of this site are making a bit of a mess of this place.  What a pity.  I always think 'If it ain't broke, don't fix it!'.  Thu, 10 Aug 2006 09:15:00 +0200 http://www.blogigo.co.uk/blogger/What-the/9/ http://www.blogigo.co.uk/blogger/What-the/9/ I'm supposed to be doing a literature review (not THE review for my actual thesis but just as an assignment) and have yet to feel satisfied with what I have.  I've collected many articles on blogs but now that I'm to concentrate on library weblogs, I need more.  So - more searching.  I'm going to have to get down and summarise them all pretty soon though. I really have found blogs useful for finding articles and information on weblogs.  It's been brilliant.  Weblogs concentrating on weblogs have gathered many useful links which I've followed happily but need to try to focus more.  Naturally, while browsing, I come across some really interesting blogs which are not really useful for my purposes but have been handy to add to my Bloglines feeds.  Yay for RSS! Sun, 06 Aug 2006 05:19:04 +0200 http://www.blogigo.co.uk/blogger/Busy/8/ http://www.blogigo.co.uk/blogger/Busy/8/ Well it seems I'm being pushed to research library weblogs, but I'm still interested in more public ones and may continue to collect information about them. I've added an interesting link to a blog of more interesting links of guidelines for bloggers.  It's very easy to get waylaid by following link after link after link and forget the initial search term!  So, I've spent a fair amount of time here: Blogs and Blogging Very interesting but not very useful in terms of research! Back later...   Sun, 30 Jul 2006 02:52:44 +0200 http://www.blogigo.co.uk/blogger/Back-to-the-library/7/ http://www.blogigo.co.uk/blogger/Back-to-the-library/7/ chat with the librarians.  They outlined the reasons for starting it - that a static webpage was not sufficient - readers had to go there and remember to go there regularly, and as we know, we don't have time and forget everyday errands, let alone remembering to visit a website for updated info.  RSS feeds help with this of course, but their idea was to send an email to selected clients (academics) who would be interested in the information within the blog and using the blog more as an archive which could be consulted (because emails, as we know, get deleted fairly rapidly). So, a little confused as to which direction I'm heading... Thu, 27 Jul 2006 08:39:34 +0200 http://www.blogigo.co.uk/blogger/Interesting/6/ http://www.blogigo.co.uk/blogger/Interesting/6/ It's interesting that there has been a surge of library weblogs and there are hundred of blogs by librarians of all different descriptions.  Interesting too, because many information professionals have previously poo-pooed the blogosphere as unworthy of serious consideration and yet they're joining in and participating themselves. I have scored a meeting with a couple of academic librarians tomorrow to discuss their blogs.  They have two at the local university library with plans for more.  It should be interesting.  Why do they have them?  Who are the target audience (students AND staff?) and what do they hope to achieve?  Do they ever get feedback and do people actually read them regularly?  I hope to have some of these questions answered. Thanks for input. Wed, 26 Jul 2006 09:25:07 +0200 http://www.blogigo.co.uk/blogger/Library-weblogs/5/ http://www.blogigo.co.uk/blogger/Library-weblogs/5/ I came here to write an entry and on another open browser window searching more links and got so waylaid by following numerous interesting links that I got logged out of here. Lots of interesting stuff written about blogs but I still think I'll stick to the user, or reader rather, and concentrate on the use of blogs.  It seems that many blog readers who browse for 'information' are very politically minded or up with current affairs, but I'm sure there is just as much info found through links to something as mundane as recipes or crafts. Back to the links, which I must email to work so I can print off some articles. Aha yes, then there are those I must remember to save to Endnote. Back later. Thanks for reading. Tue, 25 Jul 2006 08:36:41 +0200 http://www.blogigo.co.uk/blogger/Following-links/4/ http://www.blogigo.co.uk/blogger/Following-links/4/ Well, I've spent much of this weekend trying to find information.  It doesn't help to have a very slow connection via dialup.  It's very frustrating and time-consuming.  I've located a few links and will print them out later.  I dislike reading anything of length on a screen so, regrettably, contribute to the destruction of a few more trees (from a sustainable forest, hopefully). I think I'll add a few links of interest.  I'm sure others will find them interesting also. There is such a wealth of information about blogs but not a lot on the readers of blogs.  Very many different reasons and suggestions for having one, but no focus on the people who actually read them.  So my research should follow that side of it, which will of course, entail surveys, etc. Time for a break... Sun, 23 Jul 2006 04:23:41 +0200 http://www.blogigo.co.uk/blogger/Links-galore/3/ http://www.blogigo.co.uk/blogger/Links-galore/3/ Well, I had a few tumbling around but by the time I get here they've dissipated into the ether.  I'm currently reading an article on library weblogs after delving into three books about weblogs.  The first book concentrated on weblogs as an educational aid.  Can't say I'd ever thought of things like Blackboard as a weblog, but I suppose they are in that they announce the latest you need to know, provide links, etc.  The second book was not very useful, having been written by a religious conservative and not that wonderfully written.  The third which I'm still looking through is providing much food for thought. So there seem to be several avenues: Weblogs as educational tools Weblogs as information and news for library users Weblogs as journalism Weblogs as soapboxes and creative space Weblogs or filters as sources of all sorts of links Weblogs as sources of information in general It's this last one I'm particularly interested in but wonder if I should... Sat, 22 Jul 2006 03:21:40 +0200 http://www.blogigo.co.uk/blogger/More-thoughts/2/ http://www.blogigo.co.uk/blogger/More-thoughts/2/ I'm doing a research topic and I chose blogs - they fascinate me.  But trying to refine the topic is proving a little difficult.  So, I thought I'd write down all my thoughts and in that way may find some direction.  Well, there's always hope. Some questions I have....: Why do people read blogs? Are blogs a source of information? Do people read blogs for information? If so, what type of information do they seek? Do blogs lead them to more information? Are blogs a type  of customer service or glorified advertisements? Are blogs a form of journalism? Do blogs demand interraction? Well, to answer the last one - yes.  I want some feedback! So, if you're reading this (and thank you for doing so) please give me your thoughts and answers to the above! Wed, 19 Jul 2006 09:29:16 +0200 http://www.blogigo.co.uk/blogger/Researching-blogs/1/ http://www.blogigo.co.uk/blogger/Researching-blogs/1/