T10 Learning Activity 1: Introduction to Blogging systems PAGE 11

Learning Activity 1: Introduction to Blogging systems Answer these research questions (2 pages, A4, word processed): 1. What does the word "Blog" mean? A blog a blend of the term web log is a type of website or part of a website. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. 2. What is a Blog, what does it do? Most blogs are interactive, allowing visitors to leave comments and even message each other via widgets on the blogs and it is this interactivity that distinguishes them from other static websites 3. What types of blog are available? Provide 3 examples (URLs) and front-page screenshots of blogs that cater for a specific demographic. 4. Word (word blog), photographs (photoblog), videos (video blogging) Word:    http://wordblog.com/ Photographs:      http://photoblogs.org/     best site:     http://10mmgalore.com/ Video: http://googlevideo.blogspot.com/  best site: http://crooksandliars.com/ 5. Compile a list of 5 blogging systems and list their strengths and weaknesses. Specifically look at customisability, ease-of-use, is there any advertising? Can I remove any sponsorship branding? http://blog-services-review.toptenreviews.com/ Word Press: Unlike many free blog services, this service does not load your blog with ads and Word Press is all about blogging, they are not trying to double as a social networking site. This service gives you every tool you need to build and promote your blog; additionally, WordPress.com is the only free service we found that gives you referrer stats without having to add a third–party application. Type Pad: Watch your stats, promote your blog and make money with Type Pad, a Six Apart product. Type pad is cheap, at less than $5 per month for the basic membership, yet Type Pad offers advanced tools like statistics, word banning, text file uploads and you can publish an About page. This blog service is comparable to Word Press, but it is not free and they offer few customization features without upgrading to their Pro package. Squarespace: Is still a relative unknown in the blogging community. I think that’s a real shame because this blog service definitely deserves more attention. Squarespace is also one of the few blog services that gives you traffic stats without the need of a third party plug-in, making it especially useful if you are starting a public or business blog. Blogger: Get the word out, with Blogger. Share your life, your product or your ideas for free with this blog service. Blogger has given the world a voice and offers endless template configurations. Blogger is easy to use, yet is flexible enough for advanced users who want to build their own templates. The only drawback to Blogger is that you have to add your own traffic tracking devices if your want to monitor your visitors. MySpace: MySpace is extremely popular and receives a lot of traffic, but is not for the serious blogger. One of the problems with MySpace in terms of blogging, is not many people would want to send their business associates or family to a site that displays the kind of material MySpace users post. MySpace does give you a link to your blog, so you could send your direct link to someone, but if they had to search for your blog it is nearly impossible to find. 6. Can I delete it/ re-name it? Can I use it for commercial purposes? Is there free technical support? http://blog-services-review.toptenreviews.com/ All your answer are here!! 7. is it search-engine-friendly? Can I embed RSS feeds? Can I add a site statistics tool to find out the number of visitors? Is it secure (is it hack-proof?)