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10. What have I learned?

This may be my last post for 2006. I have managed to write one post for each of the last ten days and do not expect to continue this blog until the New Year.

One of my aims has been to describe my first steps in writing a blog. It was inevitable that I would make mistakes and reach some dead ends. I have learned a lot from my mistakes and I am now able to reflect upon the progress that I have made.

I have learned a lot from my new book Blogwild - 70000 new blogs and more than a milion posts are created each day- "blog" was the word of the year in 2004- blogs are used to try out new ideas - blogs create a greater sense of trust than traditional media. Blogs offer fresh content on a regular basis, they present an informal voice that visitors can respond to and to get to know and they provide useful information via links.

I have therefore used some of these ideas to tidy up my blog. I have added labels (or tags) so that you can find the posts on a particular topic and I have added links so that you can move away from my blog into the rest of the web.

As one of a million bloggers, I have tried to find out what is going on out there in the blogging community. I thought that the main news providers would now be among the most prominent Blog providers and so I have been looking at the BBC Blog site

On the BBC site, there are personal blogs for example by Nick Robinson, the BBC political correspondent, some of my favourites are Island Blogs where only the islanders are allowed to make posts and then there are the enormous blogs for popular subjects like Gardening with hundeds of participants. Above is a seal pup on the island of Sanday in the Orkneys, posted by one of the Sanday bloggers.

Start at the BBC Blog site and I hope that you will have as interesting a journey as I have.

9 A community blog?

This blog has been an adventure! When I started I did not know where it was going but I am now clearer about what I am trying to do. I am finding my voice! I have been exploring "What Blogs are for" and "How Blogs are created". I wanted to find out the difference between a Blog and a Discussion Forum.

The book that I was recommended arrived today by the morning post. I received it within 36 hours which was not bad for December although Amazon had promised it in less than a day. I think that I have found the answer in this book which is called Blogwild.

The book suggests that Blogs are diaries which can be read by the public. In a blog you will experience the running commentary and thoughts of one person or of a small group of people. In a discussion forum, you will see more of a content free-for-all. Anyone can start a new topic.

I have seen how the popularity of blogs is growing very fast and more and more different sorts of blogs are being created. I had an interesting comment on my second post from the editor of the Fishbourne Book.

She writes that "Readers may like to know that this is a local history of Fishbourne village over the past hundred years told mainly through memories. It include notable people associated with the village, the local geology and natural history and its industrial past.

The history of Fishbourne reflects that of many another English village in the twentieth century. What makes it different, of course, is the presence of the world famous Fishbourne Roman Palace. The mosaic of the Dolphin has become very well known.

The initial print run is almost sold out and we now have to consider what next with regard to The Fishbourne Book itself and also to any further stories, memories and photos that come to light in response." She asks whether blogging could be a possibility?

As I have reflected upon the blogs that I have found on the web during the last week, I have been wondering how blogging will develop. There are now many web sites for clubs, societies, churches, village halls and other local groups, but do they have any readers? When such organisations create their blogs alongside their web sites, will they not then have writers as well as readers?

The web is changing week by week and blogging by the general public is still relatively new. I recall how not long ago the BBC invited listeners to phone in, without expecting that listeners would have anything of interest to say. Phone ins are now very popular. Will people have anything of interest to say within their community groups?

8. Library Things

A reader has recommended a "blog" called Library Things. When I looked at this site, I experienced one of those moments when you marvel at what you can do on the web.

This is a site where you can list books in your collection. To do this you use the Amazon Books list and it takes only a few seconds to identify books that are commonly available. It took less than five minutes to set up a screen like this.

As well as identifying the books, you can tag each book for example as travel, novel, lounge, study etc. Click on the picture to enlarge it in order to see how I posted a list of some of my books.

Once you have done this, you can do some most interesting things. You can find out who shares your book interests and make contact with them. You can join a group of people who share their views about a book.

I am wondering whether this really is a blog though. You can put up information regularly on the site. You can invite others to comment. But it is not a diary and so is it a blog?.

I am also wondering whether the web site Friends Reunited would be called a blog. This is the

Database to help trace old school friends and organise reunions.

Again you can put up information regularly on the site and invite comments but it is not a diary.

Another possible candidate candidate is Ebay but since the emphasis in this case is upon buying and selling rather than providing information, it is not likely that it would be thought of as a blog.

For a rather different reason I ruled out Judy's Tips as a blog in my first post. She usually provides information for her readers and does not usually seek responses.

Judy Goodlet however has written to remind us about the meeting in Southampton on December 20th in aid of the Radio Solent Daisy Appeal. Just click on Judy Goodlet to find out more.

To go straight to my first post about Judy Goodlet just click here

7. The Blogging Business

One of my readers has recommended a book called Blogwild. I have ordered a copy from Amazon and it can be delivered within 24 hours. The book claims to be a guide for Small Business Blogging and although I am not a Small Business I think that I will share some of their aims. Small businesses need to update their product information regularly and display their latest information.

This part of the synopsis of the book looks promising.

"Do you have a blog? Does your business? It's not too late to get started! With "Blogwild!" you'll discover that wildly effective blogging is within the reach of everyone. Blogs are cheap to set up and operate, and they can humanise a company's image, start the buzz on a new product, and get instant customer feedback. This humourous and indispensable book includes: a brief history of where blogs came from, where they are now, and where they're going........................"

I have been reflecting upon the progress that I have made this week. I am beginning to appreciate my new browser. I can enlarge the text so that I can read it more easily and I have also found a way of enlarging the whole screen.

One of the best things is that I can use Tabbed Browsing. As I work on my next post I am able to keep several windows open so that I can look at the editing screen and the viewing screen and a thing called the dashboard at the same time.

I am now trying to find out how to place pictures on the screen where I want them to be. I placed this picture on the right hand side of the screen so that I can place the text on the left.

This is a picture of a "shallop", which is a small whaling boat that was found in Labrador. More than 400 years ago the Basques came in their whaling ships to Labrador. They would bring shallops in "kit form" and then reassemble them there. Amazingly this shallop was found in very good condition at Red Bay because it had been buried underneath the wreck of a whaling ship.

6. A Travel Blog

I have been looking at a selection of good Blogs, that Blogspot call Blogs of Note. This Travel Blog of Antarctica has some spectacular pictures and has inspired me to post some of my holiday photos. I am planning to post pictures that I took in Labrador in October.

In October, I was invited to visit Labrador by Winston Churchill White. Winston was born in Nain, his father was English and his mother was Inuit. (Originally I posted a larger map but you can click on the map to enlarge it)

The total population of Labrador which is part of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador is 28000 and it comprises 32 small communities.

There are two road networks in Labrador. The Happy Valley- Goose Bay area can be reached from Quebec through Labrador City in the west. The south east coastal road can only be reached from Newfoundland and so I had to take the car ferry across the straits of Belle Isle, landing at Blanc Sablon, just inside the province of Quebec.

I drove from Blanc Sablon along the coastal road through Red Bay to St Mary's where I took a boat to Battle Harbour. For the first half of the journey I was on the "pavement", the Canadian name for the tarmac road. After that I was on the "graded" road, a surface that needed to be flattened almost daily by "graders", housed in hangars along the route. On the road I passed a dozen or so cars and a few vans and lorries.

Battle Harbour is on an island several miles off the coast and is the site of one of the mission hospitals built over 100 years ago by Wilfred Grenfell for the native Inuit and Innu. Today it is a museum and a holiday village. Here are a few of the photos that I took.

On the graded road from Red Bay to St Mary's Harbour. Labrador in the Fall

St Mary's Harbour, where you can hire a boat for Battle Harbour

Battle Harbour, the island of the Wilfred Grenfell Hospital. The Church

A settlement on an island near Battle Harbour

5. Do I have any readers?

I now feel that I am making some progress.

I am using a Template as I do with a Word document. There are two "elements" on the right hand side that do not change when I make another post.

Firstly there is my picture with a caption.

Secondly there is an archive of my posts with the dates when they were posted. You can click on any of these in order to open up a single post.

I do not yet understand how to add other elements to my template.

I am trying to make one post each day and to include some points of interest on the way.

However I dont really know whether anyone is reading my blog.

There are a couple of comments on the post about Kate Mosse but they were made several days ago.

Please make some comments and please ask some questions. If there are any unwanted comments I can always remove them!

I have just heard about a new venture called TVChichester. It is based upon TVBrighton, which has been operating for several years. TVChichester is at a very early stage. It is real television and I am told that you can watch it on your digibox. You can choose what you want to watch but at present they are mostly offering videos on recent local weddings.

Perhaps I will get some more readers if I include items of local interest.

4. More Pictures

I have found out why I could not use WYSIWYG. (What You See is What You Get) Blogger is not supporting Internet Explorer 7. Is this part of the rivalry between Google and Microsoft. I have to use another browser.

Here is the picture that Fred Espenak sent me. Using Photoshop he has built up this composite picture. He explains how he did it on his web site which is called Mr Eclipse and you will be able to click on the hot link. He describes how we camped in the Libyan desert which was one of the best places to see the total eclipse of the sun in March 2006.


This series of photos from Fred's web site is particularly interesting as you can see how the sun changed its appearance before and after the total eclipse which lasted for about four minutes.


Blogspot enables you to choose the size of the picture. Both of these pictures are large and were posted in the centre of the page and you can click on them so that you enlarge them even more.

Blogspot gives you 300Mb of space to install pictures on your blog and I have only used 150Kb for the three pictures in this post.

Blogspot uses the blog creating program called Blogger and is free. You can use it if you have an account with Google Mail.

My third picture is small and posted on the right of the page but you can still click on it to enlarge it if you wish.



I am reminded that I must ask Fred for permission to include his pictures in my private blog. I am not sure whether I need permission from the people in the third picture to post it on the web. Please make some comments.

Geoffrey Boys

3. Pictures in my Blog

I took this picture in Libya in March and I wanted to write about pictures today but I have had a bit of a setback.




I have now learnt how to include pictures in my blog and I have inserted a picture in each of my first two posts. I copied a picture of Judy Goodlet from the Radio Solent Website and I found Kate Mosse's website.

I wrote to ask for permission to include her picture in my blog. Within a few minutes I was given permission and I was thanked for giving some publicity to my friends about her book. I am beginning to realise why posting blogs is so popular.

But now something has gone wrong. I am using Blogspot in order to make my Blogs and the WYSIWYG will not work.

At first I thought that I was making some mistakes and then I looked at the Help Menu. Other bloggers are complaining about the problem. We will have to wait until it is put right.

WYSIWYG means "What you see is what you get!". When I create a blog, I use an "editor", which shows me what I will get when I publish it. I cannot now use the easy editor. Now there are a lot of symbols which I do not understand.

Since I can no longer show any more pictures, I will just have to write a bit more. I cannot even use underlinings, colour and or insert hyperlinks in order to write about other web sites.

Fred Espenak, pictured above is called Mr Eclipse because he is regarded as the greatest expert on eclipses in the world.This picture was taken as he was setting up his camera to photograph the total eclipse on March 29th 2006. In my next blog, I will include the picture that he took and sent me.

I am beginning to understand why blogging is so popular but I am not yet finding it very easy!!

Geoffrey Boys

2. This is a Blog

When you go blogging, you can edit your posts as you go along. I often have second thoughts about my writing. Sometimes my writing is out of date soon after it is written. I have already updated my first post because I had further news from Judy Goodlet. The IT event in aid of the Radio Solent Daisy Appeal will be on December 20th!

My first example was not really a blog. Judy Goodlet has been writing on the web for more than five years but she does not wriite a personal diary and she does not rely upon her readers' comments.

My second example really is a blog. I hope that you will find it interesting.

Kate Mosse in the picture used to live in Fishbourne and now lives in Bognor and Carcassone with her husband Greg and her family. You can find her blog at http://www.mosselabyrinth.co.uk/

Kate's on-line blogging experiment was to see if it was possible, using the internet, to share the process of writing a historical novel - Labyrinth - and to encourage new directions in her on-line visitors' reading and creative writing. Labyrinth was published last year and became a best seller.

In her blog, Kate writes that her experiment was, then, to discover this:

- if I share everything with you, the reader of the novel, will you reach the same conclusions, the same relationships of characters and locations and events that I did.

Her experiment has certainly worked very well.

Kate and Greg now work together teaching creative writing at West Dean College.

Kate has also written the introduction to the recently published Fishbourne Book, which is a collection of memories of Fishbourne people about their village. She says that " Fishbourne was in Miss Marple's terms, a proper English village, large enough to suit all sorts, Yet small enough to make you feel you belonged"

I have happy memories of Fishbourne. One thing that surprised me was that it is claimed in the book that Fishbourne is now better known than Chichester. If you are travelling abroad, people will more easily understand if you say that you live near Fishbourne than if you say that you live near Chichester!!

I am beginning to work out why I am writing this Blog. My experiment will be to see if I can help my readers to write a blog, by inviting them to read mine.

Geoffrey Boys

1. Is it a Blog?

This is my first Blog. A month or so ago I was invited to give a short "light" talk as an Introduction to Blogging at a Christmas Party. I have accepted the invitation. Although I know little about blogging, I thought that I might manage a short light talk. However in order to give a talk about Blogging, first of all I must go Blogging myself.

A Blog or Weblog is a diary on the web, often by a writer or journalist who cannot get their work published in any other way!! Usually there is provision for people to reply and make comments about what they have written.
A full definition of blog is given at the end of this post.

I will begin by telling you about one of my favourite computer gurus although she is only a sort of blogger. This is Judy Goodlet, a presenter with Radio Solent in Southampton.

Judy used to live in Emsworth and gave us an interesting talk some years ago. For more than five years now, Judy has written a a sort of blog called Judy's Tips. You can subscribe to her mailing list on this web page. You will then receive a factsheet every week or so from her, helping you to use your computer better.

Last week Judy wrote to say that she is organising an IT event in aid of the Radio Solent Daisy Appeal. I have now heard that Judy will be demystifying Digital Photography on Wednesday, 20th December at 2.30pm at the Sir James Matthews Building in Southampton - not far from Southampton Central Station and close to a very large Car Park!

If you cannot click on the Radio Solent web page link above, the URL is http://www.bbc.co.uk/southampton/features/bites/judy_tips.shtml

I hope that some people will read my blog if I include bits of information like this. I must try to make them look forward to seeing my next post.

My next post will include one of my favourite bloggers - Kate Mosse. Not the Kate Moss but Kate Mosse, the writer who grew up in Fishbourne. She is definitely a blogger. Sadly after five years Kate's blog has been take off the web this week.

Geoffrey Boys

Definition of a blog

Essentially, a weblog is a chronologically organized site with the latest entry appearing at the top of the page. It is updated by an individual (or a group of individuals) using these main items in each entry or post:

a) Main Body - where personal commentaries, ideas, and/or stories are typically written in the first person ('I').

b) Date/Time Stamp - to show the day and/or time the entry.

c) Title - to give a general idea or gist of what the entry is all about. However, this is not always used by all bloggers (people who keep blogs).

There are other items incorporated in various blogs depending on what each blogger may want in their own blogs.