At the Web 2.0 Conference in April this year, I saw a presentation by Clay Shirky about where people find the time to participate in Wikipedia, blogs, and other new media.
He estimates that 100 million hours have collectively gone into Wikipedia. He compares that to 200 billion hours of watching TV each year in the U.S. alone–the equalent of 2,000 Wikipedia projects a year. We spend 100 million hours in the USA every weekend watching just the advertisements–that would permit the creation of an entire Wikipedia in just one weekend if we just skipped the ads!
His point is that people have the time, but they waste it watching TV. How you use your time is a choice: good, better, or best.
by Larry Richman, Posted Wednesday, July 9th, 2008
What is a blog? Blog is short for “web log.” A blog is a Web site, maintained by an individual or organization, with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other media such as graphics and video. You can start a blog about anything that interests you. For example, LDSMediaTalk is a blog by several authors who talk about the wise use of technology and media for LDS parents and youth. LDS CIO is a blog written by a technology geek to other technology geeks. Other blogs are simply a collection of thoughts and ideas, such as Richman Ramblings. You can create a blog that is open to anyone to read, or you can restrict who can read your blog.
Why should you start a blog?
To share your ideas and wisdom, to have an archive of interesting things you’ve discovered, or to share your beliefs with the world or with a targeted corner of the world. You don’t have to be an expert on a topic to blog. Blogging is a great way to share your own personal testimony and to teach people about the Church by telling them what it’s like on the inside. It’s also a lot of fun.When speaking to students at BYU-Hawaii, Elder Ballard said, “Most of you already know that if you have access to the Internet you can start a blog in minutes and begin sharing what you know to be true.”
Is blogging difficult? It can be as easy or hard as you want to make it. Setting up a blog is very easy. Writing regular blog posts is the tough part. You’re most likely to enjoy blogging if you enjoy writing on the topic of your blog. It you really want a high-quality blog, you need to be committed to post often to keep people reading. If you decide to begin a blog about the gospel, schedule regular times each week. Every Sunday evening you could write about what you learned in Church that day and every Wednesday evening you could write about one thing you are thankful for, related to a specific gospel principle.
Where do I begin?
You can sign up for a free blog at LDS.net or on blogging sites like WordPress.com and Blogger.com. If you’re interested in starting a blog using your own domain name (your own Web address), you can get one at those sites, or contact the More Good Foundation for help.
Below is a short video in plain English about blogs:
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