Blogs and RSS Feeds

It has come to my attention that some people do not understand blogs and RSS feeds.

Here are some links for more information on these topics:

• Blog Definition from Wikipedia
• RSS Definition from Wikipedia
• RSS for Nonprofits
• An Introduction to Weblogs
• Ready to Start Blogging
• Should your nonprofit launch a blog?
• What's a Blog, and Why Should Nonprofits Care?
• How Non-Profit Organizations and Local Governments Can Use Blogs to Communicate with the Public
• Weblogg-ed - The Read/Write Web in the Classroom : RSS Quick Start Guide for Educators

"Digital Divide" in nonprofit websites - Updated Version

About a year ago I posted an entry titled "Digital Divide" in nonprofit websites. Since then I have become very involved with nonprofit technology projects (like nptech and net2) and learned all about emerging technologies.

Since I am now interested in seeing which nonprofits use emerging technologies on their website, I have realized there is even more of a "digital divide" in nonprofit websites.

Here are 6 groups I have come up with to describe the gap:

1. This group has added a blog, rss feeds, and/or podcasts to their website. Their web content is updated regularly. Their website is also designed well.
2. This group has a well designed website. Their website content is updated regularly. They are familiar with emerging technologies and are looking into ways to add them to their website.
3. This group has had a website for years. They are up to date with web design. They have heard about emerging technologies but do not understand them. They keep their website content updated as much as they can.
4. This group has a website, but there is still room for improvement. They have an updated website which does not have much content. They are ready to redesign their site and add more content to it. They do not know anything about emerging technologies.
5. This group has a website but it lacks usability and has not been updated in years. The content on the website is outdated.
6. This group does not have a website. They do not know how a website can help their organization.

Most Popular Entry and Tagging My Blog Entries

It's been a year since I started this blog.

My most popular entry so far is Tagging Bookmarks with del.icio.us for Educators .

How do I know this?

I use del.icio.us to bookmark, share, and tag my entries. This helps me see how many people bookmark my blog entries.

As of now 19 other users have bookmarked that entry on del.icio.us.

The tags I used were blog, education, technology, edtech, tagging, del.icio.us, tag , and tags.

Here is the tag list and the number of users who used each tag:

• education (12)
• del.icio.us (12)
• reference (7)
• tagging (4)
• folksonomy (3)
• delicious (3)
• elearning (3)
• blog (3)
• tags (3)
• technology (3)
• tag (2)
• bookmarking (2)
• edtech (1)
• deliciousineducation (1)
• socialsoftware (1)
• highereducation (1)
• ideastoremember (1)
• vate (1)
• guide(1)

It's interesting to see how many tags were used to bookmark this entry.

Other observations about this entry:

• As of now, there are at least 8 blogs or websites referencing this blog entry.
• Seven people commented on this entry.

Librarians and Emerging Technologies

I have been visiting lots of library related websites and blogs. I am finding there is alot of information posted on them about emerging technologies.

As Deborah mentioned in a blog entry, Librarians are our friends .

Here are some of the websites that I thought were interesting about emerging technologies:

• Information Wants To Be Free
• Blogs & RSS
• InfoTangle

Publications and Blogs

I recently read an article on nature.com titled "Science in the web age: Joint efforts". The article is about The American Journal of Bioethics having an associated blog.

Text from the article -

Blogs associated with traditional journals may help bridge the gap between the literature and blogs, says Glenn McGee, editor-in-chief of The American Journal of Bioethics. The leading journal in its field, it was the first to create a companion blog, Blog.Bioethics.Net.

The bioethics blog allows the journal to respond faster and in different ways to public controversies, says McGee. The blog has high impact, he adds, often influencing reporting on ethical issues by the mainstream media.

Print journals cannot keep up with developments in certain fields, adds Gavin Schmidt, a researcher at NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York, who blogs at RealClimate.org with other climate scientists.

After reading this article, I came up with more ideas for nonprofit blogs. Nonprofits can create blogs for their publications, and to discuss the issues and news related to their organization. This would allow the readers of publications and people interested in the mission of the organization to join in on the discussion and to keep up to date. The readers of the blog can post comments and link to the blog on their blog or website. If the blog allows comments, people can see who else is interested in the issues and meet new people with their same interests.