Let's Get Blogging!
By Laurie Lewis

No, we are not getting out to do a country dance. I said blogging, not clogging! Many of you may have heard the terms blog, blogger, blogging, or weblog and not known exactly what those terms mean. Here's your chance to get into the know and jump right in with two feet!

A blog, also known as a weblog, is an online journal or diary where you can share your feelings, ideas, concerns, and just about anything else you want with friends, family, or even strangers. It's very similar to writing in a diary with one major exception…..you can let the entire world read it! It's a great way to keep family and friends updated on what is going on in your family. This can be as simple as posting pictures from a recent family reunion or wedding, or your grandmother's fruit cake recipe or just a call to a friend to get together to share and have fun!

While they began as a way to keep people updated on what's going on in your life, blogs have expanded and can be used in many different ways. They can be used to keep fans up-to-date on their favorite movie or book (http://www.hogwartswire.com/gofmovie.html or http://www.mugglenet.com), a favorite author, or even a favorite radio station personality (http://www.bob933.com/morning_jaimeblog.shtml). There are news blogs (http://www.witntv.com/news/blog), weather blogs (http://www.weather.com/blog/weather/) and even political blogs (http://www.instapundit.com/). While many of these blogs are used for marketing (movies, books, television) or the dissemination of information, some do allow input from the public which provides a great forum for interaction, discussion, and debate. It simply takes a search on the web for blogs to find one that is of interest to you.

No matter what type of blog you choose to visit, you will find many of the same features. This makes it easy for readers to move from one blog to another with relative ease. The first thing you are going to notice is that the posts have a header that indicates the date they were initially posted. Entries to the blog are posted in reverse chronological order so that the most recent, or newest, entries are listed first. This gives you the latest "news" before you move down the page. Most posts will also have a title that makes it easy to focus in on just the posts you want to read. This comes in handy if the blog you are visiting focuses on several different topics. Different blog creation software then allows for either the entire post to be viewed or makes the post title a link that will direct you to the entire text of the post. Some research indicates that the short post, with a link to full text, is the best route to go because people reading online do not actually read they in fact skim a page until something they want to read jumps out at them. The posts are then "signed" by the author. Some blogs, especially if they are written by one author, leave this element off the post. But for collaborative blogs this allows you to know who the author was so you can direct feedback to them. Finally, one of the best elements of a blog is the comment line. Depending upon the type and author of the blog, readers are allowed to leave comments regarding the posted information. This creates the opportunity for discussion and debate in regards to the posted information.
In 2004, Danelle Barco worked on a blog to keep NCAE4-HA members who were unable to travel to Oklahoma City informed of what fun, exciting, and educational things she was doing while in Oklahoma. This blog won Danelle and Laurie Lewis who provided her technical support, a Communicator Award not only in North Carolina but they will be recognized as Southern Regional Winners in the same Communicator Category in Seattle. As a follow up to their successful blog of the National Association of Extension 4-H Agents' National Meeting in Oklahoma City, they wanted to create another one for the meeting in Seattle. But Danelle and Laurie are never content with the status quo. This year they have recruited other Association Members from the Northeast District to join in the fun and to expand on the information members at home in North Carolina can gain from the membership in Seattle.

The blog for the 2006 National Meeting of the NAE4-HA can be found at http://nedae4ha.blogspot.com Feel free to leave comments or questions about any of the postings left by members of the Northeast District at this web site. With so many people working on the blog you are sure to gain a wealth of information. Find a post you want to make a comment about or ask a question. Leave a comment at post - it's easy! Look for the post you want to reply to, just below it there is a line that says "comments" which appears as a link on the page. Select the link and you are taken to the comments page. In the box that says "leave your comment," write what you would like posted to the blog. You will then need to go to the bottom of the page and select whether you want to post your comment through Blogger or anonymously. This blog has been set up so you can post anonymously, we just ask you sign the message with your full name, or you can sign in with your Blogger ID if you have one. Either one works just fine for us. Please note that to ensure the professionalism of the blog, we will remove any comment that isn't signed or has inappropriate language or comments. Once your comment is written, select "Preview" and you will see what your comment looks like. You are almost done at this point, you just have to click the "publish this comment" link below your message. And you have now left a comment for the group in Seattle! See, that was easy wasn't it?

Blogs and blogging has a great potential within Cooperative Extension and 4-H. A blog would be a simple way to keep your 4-H'ers up-to-date on activities, resources, and news about happenings in your county. Most blogs can be created in less than 5 minutes using some free resources on the Internet. In addition, there are dozens of free, open-source blogging software tools you can use if you feel more adventurous. Give it a try and let your imagination go wild!

*Reference to Blogger.com, and individual blog sites indicates no endorsement of those sites or individuals by the author, the Northeast District Association of 4-H Agents, the North Carolina Association of 4-H Agents, the National Association of 4-H Agents, or by 4-H. Nor does it support the views expressed within those sites.