The OneMinute Geek

Blogging

The Problem:

Email is a terrific medium for communication. It's fast, cheap and easy to

use. But, email is also very impersonal. It's not a particularly useful tool when dealing with more emotional issues since email doesn't convey the intonation of our voice, the body language of the speaker and all those other cues, which make communication effective.

For these reasons, it's tough to build a sense of community among your family, friends or peers if the only way you ever communicate is by email.

The Solution:

Enter the BLOG. A "blog" is geek speak for a web-based log. Picture it as the online equivalent of a diary, newspaper and discussion forum all stirred together into one up-to-the-minute collection of articles, pictures, files, sound and video.

Although blogs and their related technology have been around now for several years,

blogging, or the act of using blogs, is now all the rage. Ask your teenagers. They'll tell you!

Blogs basically let you create a web site without knowing much about web design. The cool thing is that the site is fully interactive. You can publish just about anything you want. Imagine sharing articles, thoughts, photo and photo albums, tips, hints and links to other blogs and other websites.

You can also allow visitors to your site to comment on your articles, comment on the comments of other visitors, post their own material, link to your site. You decide how much autonomy you want to give your visitors. You can even decide whether your site is public or password-protected!

So who cares? Well, blogs are a great way to keep family and friends up to date. Soldiers stationed in Iraq , for example, are using private family blogs to view baby pictures, post their child's art, share letters, and generally keep in touch with their families at home.

Trainers often use blogs to share health tips and words of encouragement with their clients. Some grade school teachers use blogs to keep parents posted on homework assignments. And companies use password-protected blogs to share operational reports, human resource notices, and even key client information.

To learn more about setting up a blog for yourself or your community visit several of the following websites. You will find that the content and costs differ somewhat so explore your options thoroughly.

www.bloggit.com

www.hostorlando.com/blogs

www.blogger.com

www.joeuser.com

To visit a few famous blogs, check out the following examples:

www.davebarry.blogspot.com

www.globeofblogs.com

blogs.law.harvard.edu

Happy blogging!

James Kerr is President/CEO of SuperGeeks, a Hawaii-based computer service and repair company (www.supergeeks.net). Please feel free to send your questions, comments and suggestions to Mr. Kerr. He can be reached at help@supergeeks.net and 942-0773.