Are blogs old hat?

Tag =blogposting week 4

Blogs are only as effective as you make them.  They can prove a useful tool, but you have to put in the effort.

Updates

In their essay "Podcasting initiatives in American research libraries," James Bierman and Maura L. Valentino survey 112 academic libraries searching for their podcast presence.  They note that most libraries aren't posting regular podcasts.  Irregular updating of social media -- be they podcasts or blogs -- decimates their usefulness.  If you're not posting regularly, patrons aren't going to be inclined to check your site.  If you have no readers, you have no purpose.  The main blogs I read are updated multiple times a day.  That can be an unrealistic commitment for librarians, whose sole duty is rarely drafting blog posts.  Some regularity of posting, though, must be established.

Accessibility

Bierman and Valentino in their study found that podcasts were an average of 2.3 clicks from the homepage.  It's important that whatever social media you employ is easy to find.  If your readers can't fine you, then it doesn't matter how great your content is, no one is going to read it.  Any blogs should be easy to get to from the home page -- ideally they'd be on the homepage as a widget or a prime destination on their own.  If you can't update more than once a week though, it's unlikely patrons are going to be seeking out the blog on its own.  If it's linked with the rest of your web presence, it'll be much more accessible.

Readership

The most important aspect of any blog is its readership.  You have to find a way to get people reading your blog.  Advertising the blog, providing it with a prominent position on your website, and updating it regularly is just the beginning.  These are the common courtesies of blogging.  The success of a blog, then, relies upon meeting the needs of your patrons.

The best blogs have a clear focus.  And this also suggests another difficulty for local library blogs.  The best blogs are often global in reach.  The former 'zine Boing Boing works well as a blog in part because it isn't limited to a regional readership -- there are only so many geek culture aficionados in a given regional area, but nationally and internationally their target audience numbers in the 1000s.  Before starting a blog, then, you should ensure that there is a readership available at all.  If your library serves a large population without regular access to the web, then it doesn't matter how often you update, how easy your blog is to find, how exciting your writing style, or how relevant your posts are, your patrons won't be reading it.

Even though the utility of a local blog may be much more limited, it can still be effective as long as you remember that social software is meant to develop a community.  This means not only finding topics that interest your readers, but also encouraging and promote conversation.  You have to get your readers talking.  That requires a certain level of skill.  What ideas do you have about what makes a blog effective?

References:

Bierman, J. , & Valentino, M. (2011). Podcasting initiatives in american research libraries. Library Hi Tech, 29(2), 349-358.