Eddie\’s Bloggage –>

The assignment, in which my group was given the task to research on blog with organisation has been given an extention. The teacher has been very nice which allows to do more research and make our discussion better. Anyways, this is some extra parts for the assignment which will later be incorporated as a whole.

1.3 Elements of an effective blog.
MacKinnon (n.d.) mentions five elements that the blogger needs to meet in order for a blog to be effective. Without any one of these elements, a blog losses its effectiveness as a tool for communication and consequently as a tool for leaning.
1. Message - It is important to know what message you are communicating and why
2. Desire and Need - In order to blog consistently, you need desire and need to enhance communication with the blog’s target audience.
3. Clear Goal - A goal can change with time but a meandering blog with no sense of direction is not interesting.
4. Audience - It is important to know who your audience is so that you can tailor your communication to them.
5. Commitment - The blogger needs to be committed to posting regularly in order to keep the blog alive.

1.4 Other issues that need to be taken into account when using blogging as a tool for learning.

Top-Down or Bottom-Up?

Approaches to organisational blogging can be divided into two separate categories; Bottom-up blogging and top-down blogging.
Top-down blogging is highly monitored and directed through the development of a blogging strategy. In this approach, the strategy outlines who will blog about what topics and for how long. General Motors is an example of a top down blogging organisation.

Bottom-up blogging, however, occurs when employees are given authority to write their own blogs with their own agendas in their own time and place. This is a risky approach as it is unfiltered and employees can say exactly what they want to. As blogs are readily accessible to the average customer, they can also have an affect on the perceptions of the company on customers. However, this approach to blogging is most associated with learning within organisations. As individuals post directly from their experiences, readers have the opportunity to learn from other individuals (Rubel, 2005). Organisations such as Microsoft and Sun Microsystems use a bottom-up approach to blogging. Cross (2003) mentions that bottom-up blogging is prevalent in organisations which are versatile and value the collective work of individuals rather than top-down authority, organisations which aim to facilitate cooperation through building networks, rather than passing down orders.

(References can be found from blue hyperlinks).

1.1 What are Weblogs?

Weblogs, otherwise known as blogs, are in essence, websites created for the purpose of communicating to individuals (Wikipedia, 2007). As they are managed by the individual and are generally written in a diary entry style (Wordpress, 2007), they often have a personal voice (Lasa Information Systems Team, 2006).

Blogs are an asynchronous technology, meaning that the content can be accessed at any time after it has been published (Wikipedia, 2007), and are generally updated regularly, therefore creating a chronicle of information compiled by the owner of the blog (Lasa Information Systems Team, 2006; Wordpress, 2007). Weblogs consist of posts, or articles of writing, which the owner of the blog writes and publishes to the weblog. Their content and purpose can vary according to the person who writes in it, from political to social, covering a wide range of topics or being very restricted.

1.2 Are organisations using blogging as a tool for learning?

While it may not be a standard internationally, organisations have started to use blogging as a tool of self-promotion and even as a tool for learning within and outside of the organisation. Organisations such as Sun Microsystems, General Motors, Yahoo and Microsoft have all incorporated blogging into their organisations.

In addition, other groups such as the charity Interplast, Chorlton Workshop, an Adult Education Centre and Northern Ireland’s ICT Consortium also use blogs. Microsoft has employed a blogging system in which its employees are fully encouraged to write about the inner workings of the company, anything from analysing new products to new managers. During Robert Scoble’s employment in Microsoft, he was a major player in its blogging world. With over 9000 links to his blog Microsoft blog, Scoble is living proof of blogging’s ability to connect individuals and fostering learning between individuals.

Presently, Microsoft’s communication technology is headed by Lee Dirks who firmly believes in preserving knowledge within Microsoft through the use of technologies such as blogging (Ashling, 2007).

(References are seen from the blue hyperlinks).