Worskhop 1: Eileen Condon

In our first workshop, we learned all about the power of the blog from Eileen Condon.

We first heard a bit about what International PEN are and what the Free The Word! festival is all about.   Following on from this we discussed what we mean by freedom of speech, freedom of expression or censorship.  We looked at situations in some other countries to make us more aware of what other people lack in terms of freedom of speech (North Korea, Turkmenistan, Burma, Eritrea, Belarus).  We then moved on to talk about blogging and how this medium is a great way to express yourself and get your voice out there.

Some examples of good blogging:

The Huffington Post – Arianna Huffington, millionaire socialite, who set up the site was voted most powerful woman in the world above Michelle Obama or Angela Merkel

Boing Boing – Publishing entity that later became a group blog

Talking Points Memo – Breaking news and analysis

TMZ – Celebrity gossip, broke the news of Michael Jackson’s death ahead of any news network

Perez Hilton – Another celebrity gossip site characterised by its comic delivery and quick one-liners scrawled onto photographs

Students for a Free Tibet – Written by students and young people campaigning for a Free Tibet, this blog is really making waves and has been noticed by the Chinese government

Tech Crunch – A highly influential technology blog that has even been able to interview Barrack Obama

Kottke – An early blog that is still going strong, this has been around since 1998 and talks about the liberal arts

Eileen then gave her top tips for creating a readable, informed and informative blog:

How to write a good blog

1 Write well / above gimmick (however many pretty pictures and fonts you have, it won’t hide sloppy writing!)

2 Make your opinion known – you have a voice, this is your chance to use it to let your readers know what your take on an issue is

3 Stick to your style – however good all the blogs above look, nothing will work as well unless it is in your own voice and style

4 Avoid clichés and jargon. You want your writing to be fresh, interesting and comprehensive

5 Edit and polish – there is a ‘save to draft’ button when composing a post, make use of it and run things by other people if you want a second opinion

6 Schedules and deadlines – set them and stick to them

7 Target audience – if it is daunting to think of the possibly millions of people who might one day read your blog, then just think of someone whose opinion you respect and write for them

How to interact on your blog

1 Invite comment – I think this, but what do you think?

2 Be open-ended. If your tone is inquiring and flexible, you are more likely to invite comment than with a straight-down-the-line didactic voice

3 Interact with comments – you can leave comments on your own blog replying to someone else

4 Reward comment – if someone says something you think is interesting, say so! This way you can establish a rapport with with your readers, who will be more likely to keep reading and to keep commenting. Your blog is your opinion, your way of communicating with the world. Let’s get the world talking!

Eileen reminded us that it is important to remember a few things when blogging, to make sure your blog is correct. This way, it will bear more weight as your readers will know you are dealing with it in a professional manner.

Rules and good manners in blogging

1 Don’t plagiarize

2 Identify sources and hyperlink to them

3 Behave as you would in conversation – show fairness, tolerance and compassion

4 Don’t libel

5 Show good taste – try not to litter with offensive language

6 Be accountable – admit if you are at fault

7 Show responsibility

8 Make the distinction between fact and opinion

We are so excited about the project and hope you are too.