“Blogosphere Trends + The Art of Live Blogging” plus 1 more

Blogosphere Trends + The Art of Live Blogging

Posted: 10 Mar 2011 05:08 AM PST

Live-blogging—writing about an event as it happens rather than after the fact—can be a valuable resource for your readers, providing them with up-to-the-minute information about important events and making your blog the go-to destination for information on a developing story. It is also rife with perils: insufficient power supplies, spotty Internet connections, and errors made in haste, to name a few.

Here are ten tips to make live-blogging work for you. I've used blog posts about the last month's most frequently blogged about stories, according to Regator (they are, in order: Egypt, Super Bowl XLV, Academy Awards/Oscars, Libya, national budget, Charlie Sheen, New Zealand earthquake, Mobile World Conference, CPAC/Conservative Political Action Conference, and Radiohead) to illustrate live-blogging techniques and practices that you can start using on your own blog:

1. Do research as you blog to fill in gaps in your own live reporting

Example: World Watch's Live Blog: Egypt in Crisis, Day 11
Yes, you are on the scene, gathering original information, doing interviews, and taking your own photos, but if you're covering a broad story (in this example, the revolution in Egypt), you simply can't be everywhere at once. Don't be afraid to include well-attributed links to other up-to-date coverage or to include quotes from experts to give readers more information.

2. Choose your weapons carefully

Example: Packers Blog's Super Bowl XLV live blog
There are a number of useful tools and services designed to make live-blogging simpler. The live-blogging plugin for WordPress, CoverItLive (the service used in this example post and acquired on Thursday by Demand Media), and ScribbleLive are solid options for general live-blogging assistance. Justin.tv, Ustream.tv, and Qik.com are useful for on-the-go video. Audio can be recorded and posted from anywhere with tools such as Chirbit and Audioboo. Determine which of these tools works best for you and become familiar with their interfaces before you go live.

3. Prepare if possible

Example: Paste Magazine's 2011 Oscars Live Blog
If you're live-blogging an unexpected event, such as the tragic New Zealand earthquake (see below), you'll have to start from scratch. An event such as the Academy Awards, on the other hand, leaves ample opportunities for advance preparation. In this example, the categories, nominees, and predicted winners could all be filled in prior to the show, leaving the live-bloggers with extra time to cover the spontaneous moments and announcements of winners. This particular live-blog also makes the author of each comment undeniably clear, which is especially important when opinions are being shared in a post by multiple bloggers.

4. Go beyond the tweet

Example: Need to Know's Libya revolts: A live blog
There are times when 140 characters will suffice and times when seconds matter more than details. Those are the times to turn to Twitter. There are, however, situations, such as the Libyan revolts, that are too complex to be conveyed with such brevity. Those who argue that live-blogging is dead (likely the same ones who claim blogging as a a whole is dead) should look no further than this example to understand its value. This post incorporates official statements from Amnesty International, Interpol, and other organizations; video and photographs from the scene; witness interviews; updates from bloggers, activists, and news outlets; relevant tweets from Libyans; video of the White House's statement; original reporting; and, perhaps most importantly, a lasting, detailed chronological account of events as they happened that can be referenced for years to come. Take advantage of the diversity of content and attention to detail that live-blogging allows and don't treat it like a series of tweets.

5. Understand the difference between distilling and transcribing

Example: The Two-Way's Live-Blog: President Obama’s News Conference [National Budget]
In this example, Mark Memmott blogs important direct quotes but does not attempt to transcribe the entirety of the president's speech. He quotes key phrases and summarizes the rest of Obama's main points. He is fastidious in his use of brackets to indicate changes to direct quotes and (this is important) never uses quotation marks when the language isn't exact. As a live-blogger, your job is not to transcribe an event but to distill it for readers and present the most important points. Trying to transcribe word for word will lead to frustration, exhaustion, and typos galore.

6. Pack appropriately

Example: The Wire's Live Blogging TMZ’s Charlie Sheen Backyard Livestream (headline changed after-the-fact to "WATCH: Here is Charlie Sheen's EPIC TMZ Livestream Interview")
Admittedly, finding a good live post about the month's sixth-most-blogged-about story, Charlie Sheen, was challenging. It's pretty much impossible, after all, to live-blog Charlie Sheen without being with Charlie Sheen and he's too busy "winning" to hang out with most of us. TMZ did, however, do a live video interview from his mansion so I'll use that to discuss the kinds of equipment you should bring in a similar live-blogging situation. Things you might want to pack in your live-blogging kit include: extra batteries, power cords and chargers aplenty, laptop, smart phone, Flip or larger video camera, reasonably sized camera, USB cords or other connectors for cameras and video cameras, and an alternative method of Internet connectivity in the case of inadequate WiFi.

7. Update frequently with clear time stamps

Example: Channel 4's News blog Live Blog: Dozens dead in New Zealand Earthquake
Live-blogging is a commitment. If you plan to post only two or three updates, you'd be better off posting a single well-thought-out post after the fact. In this example, 45 updates were posted during the two days following the earthquake, each with a clear time stamp for context. Regular updates ensure that your blog will be considered the primary place to go for up-to-the-minute information. This is especially vital for situations in which people are frightened and worried about the wellbeing of loved ones. As a general rule of thumb, aim for updates every five to 15 minutes or so during shorter events such as the Academy Awards or Obama's budget news conference, and once every half hour or so when covering situations such as the earthquake aftermath or revolts. This lets readers know the blog has not gone dormant.

8. Accept that your live posts won't be as flawless as your edited posts

Example: Business Insider's LIVE: Steve Ballmer At Mobile World Congress
Once you've made it clear that you are live-blogging from the scene, most readers will forgive minor typos and grammatical errors. Do the same. The faster you are trying to get updates out, the less time you have to edit and guard against errors, so don't beat yourself up. As long as you've got your facts straight, errors such as the minor ones in this example (lowercase "nokia," lack of apostrophe in possessive "consumers," etc.) from the normally meticulously edited Business Insider are understandable.

9. Use subheadings along with time stamps

Example: The Fix's CPAC 2011: The Conservative Political Action Conference
Live-blogging can lead to lengthy posts. Using subheadings such as the ones in this example in addition to time stamps throughout your post can increase reader engagement and allow for easy scanning.

10. Know when to live-blog…and when not to

Example: Dig Boston's Live Blog Review: Radiohead's 'The King of Limbs' From Start to Finish
Live-blogging works best for developing stories or live events. While this live-blog of Radiohead's new album is good, the live-blogging format doesn't add a great deal because of the static nature of the story. With all due respect to the blogger, whose work is solid, the review would have been just as good or better if the blogger had taken notes as he listened then written a comprehensive post after the fact. Use live-blogging in moderation.

Do you live-blog? What tips can you add?

Kimberly Turner is a cofounder of Regator, as well as an award-winning print journalist. Reach her on Twitter @kimber_regator and get free widgets for your blog from Regator.

Post from: ProBlogger Blog Tips

Blogosphere Trends + The Art of Live Blogging

Want More Readers? Read More Blogs

Posted: 10 Mar 2011 05:01 AM PST

This guest post is by Jeremy Myers of www.tillhecomes.org/blog.

Every blogger wants to be read. While some of the keys to attracting readers include writing valuable content, having error-free text, and using a clean blog layout, one of the most overlooked elements in getting people to read your blog is being a good blog reader.

Here are five tips to make this happen.

1. Read your own blog

Just because you've written a post doesn't mean you're done with it. After you post, you should read and respond to people who make comments on your blog.

One of the reasons people comment about your posts is because they want to interact with you, the author. If you do not reply, they feel ignored, and will likely not comment again. People will not continue to read what you write if you ignore what they write. The best bloggers out there try to respond to nearly every comment, even if they get dozens of comments per post.

2. Read your readers' blogs

Another way to encourage your readers to keep coming back and commenting is to reward them by reading and commenting on their blogs. People like to be loved, and those whom you love will love you in return. Also, it helps to know what your blog audience is writing about. This enables you to write more targeted posts.

3. Comment on other people's blogs

You should comment on at least five other blogs per day—more if you have the time. You should chose "target" blogs that you want to comment on frequently, ideally those that have similar content as your own. This gets the attention of the blog author and other blog readers, and some of them will come over to see what your blog is about. Also, if you comment enough, the writer of that blog may eventually add you to his or her blogroll, which will generate even more readers for your blog.

4. Repost excerpts from the blogs of others

When you read a good blog post, repost an excerpt of it on your own blog, providing a link back to the author's blog. Don't repost an entire entry—that’s plagiarism, and is illegal. But reposting a brief excerpt and linking back to the original is an easy way to get big-time bloggers to "guest" on your site, and if you use trackbacks, to get them to notice your blog.

Occasionally, they will even make a post on their own blog that you have reposted some of their content on your site, and that also sends traffic to your blog. Maybe that other blog author will eventually return the favor, and quote you on their blog, thus generating even more visits.

5. Repost the comments of others

Write an occasional post about the best discussion or blog comments you read that week. Include some of the comments people made on your own blog, as well as some from other blogs you read. If there is good interaction and dialogue taking place on a blog, either yours or some other blog, write a blog post about it. This gets more of your own readers involved in the discussion elsewhere, and frequently, they will mention that they found the discussion on your blog, which causes many of those involved in the discussion to come check out your blog.

Again, one of the reasons readers comment is because they want to be read. Nobody writes comments hoping they will be ignored. So show them you’re reading by replying and reposting.

A better blogger…

In today's blogosphere, it is not enough to just write a great blog. You also need to read great blogs and interact with their bloggers in a meaningful way. This is the Golden Rule applied to blogging: Do unto other bloggers as you would have them
do unto your blog.

Do you read others’ blogs? Do you think it makes you a better blogger?

Jeremy Myers left the established church to follow Jesus into the world. Though he has advanced degrees in Bible and Theology, and over a decade of pastoral experience, he left all that behind to hang out with people who generally aren’t found in church. Jeremy writes about his ongoing journey at www.tillhecomes.org/blog. He also contributes Scriptural research at www.gracecommentary.com.

Post from: ProBlogger Blog Tips

Want More Readers? Read More Blogs

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