Tips for Trainers
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Tips for trainers CONTACT DETAILS TRAINERS TIPS FOR Holly Ashley Web 2.0 tools: Participatory Learning and Action series International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) Email: [email protected] a series of short Luigi Assom Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA) Email: [email protected] introductions Jon Corbett There are vast numbers of Web 2.0 tools, applications, platforms, and University of British Columbia Okanagan Email: [email protected] services available. Many of them are free or low-cost and easy-to-use. In this issue, we present a series of short introductory guides to a selection of Ben Garside commonly-used Web 2.0 tools: International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) Email: [email protected] • Blogging • Micro-blogging and Twitter Dave Jones Independent media consultant • Wikis Email: [email protected] • Online social networking • RSS feeds Christian Kreutz CrissCrossed Consulting • Tagging Email: [email protected] • Social bookmarking • Glossary of Web 2.0 terms Duncan Macqueen International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) Each introductory guide provides a brief description of the tool and how it Email: [email protected] can be used for development purposes, along with links to further Kevin Painting information and where applications can be downloaded online.1 We hope Technical Centre for Agricultural and that you find these short introductions useful and welcome feedback from Rural Cooperation (CTA) our readers. Email: [email protected] Giacomo Rambaldi Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA) Email: [email protected] ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The introduction to wikis includes some tips from the Kabissa Space for Change in Africa Web 2.0 in African Civil Society wiki. The content of the Kabissa wiki is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License. See: http://wiki.kabissa.org/ web_2.0/start 1 For more information about the examples of development websites listed in the guides, see e-participation, p.130 (this issue). 105 Tips for trainers • can be an expression of personal opinion, a good process of self Blogging reflection and can help to digest learning • are an easy and cheap way to get your voice heard or publicise an issue Tips on how to create and maintain a dynamic and popular development blog Some tips on how to start a blog • Choose a topic and have an audience in mind. TIPS FOR TRAINERS TIPS FOR • Check similar blogs. Start by What are blogs? • Many blogs platforms allow authors commenting on them if you do not • A blog (short for ‘web’ and ‘log’) is to tag posts with multiple keywords.1 want to start your own blog right a website like an online journal. It is • If a blog is popular, it will be linked away. an easy way to publish content, to by a lot of other blogs. Search • Develop your own style of blogging administered via a simple web-based engines like Google prioritise websites (writing), which suits you. interface. with more links. • Stay focused. Write consistent, • Blogging means to maintain or add • The blogosphere is a collective term interesting and useful content. Try not content to a blog. encompassing all blogs and their to over-generalise. • Providing you have Internet access, interconnections. It is the perception • Stay well informed and up-to-date. you can easily and freely create a blog that blogs exist together as a You will need to lead discussions (and on any topic. connected community (or as a eventually moderate comments). • Blogs radically changed the way in collection of connected communities). • Add content regularly and answer which the Internet was used, by • Using blog search engines, you can any comments and feedback. allowing people to publish their own track the interconnections between • Become part of a network by linking content on a webpage, without the bloggers and topical trends and find to your favourite blogs. technical expertise needed to set up a other blogs by topic. • Use your blog to highlight and add website – or the funds to rent web • Micro-blogging tools allow you to to existing discussions. space. send and receive short posts via the • Provide links in your blogs posts to • A blog is usually maintained by an Internet or a mobile phone. They may where readers can find more individual, but can also be done by be more appropriate for low information. If you refer to other groups or organisations. bandwidth bloggers.2 blogs, make sure you link to them. • Blogs contain entries called ‘posts’ • When you reference or link to of written commentary, news, events, Why blog for development? another blog, use the 'linkback', and other resources. Blogs can include Blogs… 'trackback' or 'ping' function to multiple media such as text, photos, • can regularly disseminate information automatically notify them that you video clips and audio files. • encourage others to participate have referred to them on your blog. It • Blogs start with the newest not • can be used for raising awareness helps build community and often oldest posts – this gives them a sense • help to inform, trigger and foster other blogs will list all the trackbacks a current relevance. debate and/or mobilise action particular post has had underneath • Users can set up a blog on an • allow us to participate in ongoing the original post. existing blog platform, or download conversations online • There are specialised search engines blog software to run on their own • link to other related blogs to form for blogs. Just as with normal search web space. Most blogging platforms new online networks and information engines and websites, you should are free-to-use. pathways register your blog with engines like • Blog authors can allow others to Technorati. Also use their 'ping' comment on their posts and engage 1 See also Tagging, p.117 (this issue). features to notify them when you in discussion. 2 See also Micro-blogging, p.108 (this issue). have updated your blog so that the 106 Tips for trainers Global Voices is a community of more than 200 bloggers who work together to bring you translations and reports from blogs and citizen media everywhere, with emphasis on voices that are not ordinarily heard in international mainstream media. between bloggers: TRAINERS TIPS FOR • http://technorati.com • http://blogs.google.com • www.blogscope.net • www.blogpulse.com • www.icerocket.com Tips on blogging • http://blogsessive.com • http://tinyurl.com/globalvoicesblog5 Video: Blogs in Plain English Also in French, German, Portuguese and Spanish. Also with multiple language subtitles on Dotsub.com: • www.commoncraft.com/blogs • http://tinyurl.com/dotsubblogs6 blog search engine will index the providing they are properly cited – content of your new post. always remember to check first. Examples of development blogs • Allow your blog to be syndicated via • Explore which blogs are popular or • Afrigator: http://afrigator.com RSS feeds.3 4 This means that others trusted by others. Get to know who is • Alive in Baghdad: can easily feature headlines from your using them. http://aliveinbaghdad.org blog on their own websites and your • Always tag your posts. Use popular • Crisscrossed: www.crisscrossed.net readers can automatically receive and relevant keywords so that others • Ghana GINKS blogspotters: updates when new material is can search for them and find your www.ginks.blogspot.com published on your blog. content more easily. • Global Voices: • You may also wish to automatically http://globalvoicesonline.org feature content from other blogs and Where to get started • iCollaborate: websites (e.g. headlines) on your own There are several free or low-cost, www.icollaborate.blogspot.com blog by importing relevant RSS feeds. easy-to-use blogging websites. Here • Indian Kisan blog: are some examples. http://kisan.wordpress.com Keep in mind… • Kabissa: www.kabissa.org/blog • Writing takes time and patience. Do Blogging websites • Roxanna Samii: not underestimate the effort of • www.blogger.com www.rsamii.blogspot.com blogging. • www.livejournal.com • Reporters Without Borders: • Writing regular posts keeps your • www.typepad.com www.rsfblog.org blog dynamic and interesting. • www.wordpress.com • Voices of Africa: • Always quote your information • www.xanga.com http://voicesofafrica.africanews.com sources. • Web2forDev conference blog: • Clearly distinguish between opinions Blogging software http://blog.web2fordev.net and facts. To download and host on your own See e-participation for more • Low bandwidth limits access to web space: information about the websites listed blogs with photos, audio and video. • www.wordpress.org (p. x, this issue). • Blogs can be used as references • www.moveabletype.org 3 See also RSS feeds, p.115 (this issue). Blog search engines 5 Full URL: http://advocacy.globalvoicesonline.org/ 4 Syndication is where material on one website is Find other blogs by keyword, topic or projects/guide-blog-for-a-cause made available to multiple other websites. See also 6 Full URL: http://dotsub.com/view/dc75c2e2-ef81- glossary, p.124 (this issue). trend and track the interconnections 4851-8353-a877aac9fe3c 107 Tips for trainers • Twitter also provides RSS feeds of Micro-blogging user’s updates, or of the results of searches for keywords, enabling the stream of messages to be displayed on other websites. and Twitter • Users can also feed Twitter itself with an RSS feed by using services such as Twitterfeed.com or Tips on using micro-blogging tool Twitter for development Rsstotwitter.com. • Many other Web 2.0 websites and TIPS FOR TRAINERS TIPS FOR other services are integrating with What is micro-blogging? • Users can also maintain a Twitter. People can use services like • Micro-blogging is a form of conversation or direct their messages Twitpic.com to send a photograph they blogging where users mostly publish to a particular user by using have taken on their mobile phone very short text updates.