Blogging Basics 1: Getting Started

Yes, you CAN “make your own blog” and by the time this online workshop, the first in a series of four, is over you'll know everything you need to know to set up a blog site from scratch and make your first posts. You'll also have the basic knowledge needed to edit/write for websites and online periodicals that are built on blogging software (and that's many of them these days). We’ll discuss the differences between websites and blogs, and between blogging “platforms” so you can easily choose what’s best for your blog. We’ll go through the basic setup --and the specific choices you’ll need to make along the way-- on the two most popular blog platforms, WordPress and Blogger.  JJA President Howard Mandel will join instructor JoAnn Kawell to provide some specific “what to write” tips.

Workshop Topics

• Why blog/ what IS a blog?
  
• Do I need a blog or a website or both?
  
• Where should I put my blog? (Blogger/WordPress/Tumblr)
  
• What should I name my blog? (a word on custom URLs)
  
• How do I setup my blog and pick a template or theme?
  
• How do I use the edit screen and other basic "behind the scenes" blog functions?
• Where can I get help?
  
• What should I write about and how do I get started?
  

This workshop is for:   anyone who wants to start a blog on any subject or work on site that uses blog software; technical information is appropriate for all, though specific examples will be oriented toward individuals, especially arts journalists and writers, who want to blog for professional purposes and arts organizations that want to use blogs for promotion or education.