Tech tool Resources

Here's a blog entry that was forwarded to me by a friend who works with the author.  It has a bunch of great social learning links as well as a brief summary of some of the top tech tools.  The post made on April 28, 2009 can be found at: http://blog.sewardinc.com/

Thanks Heath!

Leadership Blogging Workshop

I'm currently attending a workshop on leadership blogging presented by Griff Wigley as sponsored by Northern Community Internet and the Blandin Foundation.

A variety of individuals are taking part of the workshop including current bloggers and blogging newbies.

AJ Liebling "Freedom of the press is limited to those who own one"

Blogging first started almost as a "we/they" type mentality. So the importance to get civic leaders online was an impetus for Griff's group.

Led to a podcast which led to a local radio show. Citizens connected to their community. Then lead to 3 person blog which could be used more as a platform for their opinions. Comments are accepted from the community but only the 3 post the blogs

Community blogs are blos where anyone can post.

Culture of civility online. A few rules:
1) Use your real first and last name. Accountability.
2) No Sarcasm. Sarcasm sometimes fuels emotions and need for some to retaliate. Sarcasm one to many (own blog) is usually more acceptable, but in a community forum not so much. (My note: Sarcasm face to face allows the other to interpret tone as well as words--online "tone" isn't as easily "read".)
3) If you disagree with someone, say it as if that person was in the room looking at you in the eye and you are face-to-face.
4) Address the person by first name in your comment
5) If lines are crossed, you give a warning. Then a person can be put on a "moderator"-needed basis so their comments don't automatically get posted. Then if comments become more appropriate you can take them off moderated mode. If not, comments don't get posted.

"Blog" came from Web Log (like Journal) used for many purposes. They take on all forms--personal blogs, corporate blogs, photoblogs, politcal blogs, travel blogs, project blogs, education blogs, leadership blogs. It is basically just a tool, a publishing platform. Comment section does NOT have to be there for it to be considered a blog.

Griff: "A leader is about influence" "Art of blogging is strategically capturing some of those moments that have in your mind as a leader, some significance" "By blogging it it has the capactity to spread...the shelf life of that interaction is much longer...it has leverage."

Ross: "CLOG" Combined blog postings.

Nelson Mandela: "A good head and good heart are always a formidable combination. But when you add to that a literate tongue or pern, then you have something very special."

Why Blog?
*"Near real time" helps keep up following.
*Strategic storytelling (personal voice)
*to leverage (make more of what you do) your leadership activities (thinking, beliefs, problem-solving, interactions) (an alternative to (and leverage with) existing media
*for greater time-saving influence

MY NOTE: *more accessiblility especially in these more difficult economic times (money, time, scheduling, etc) get them informed about other topics they might not have first sought you out for when checking out your blog

Carry your camera. MY NOTE: Pictures help connect people to concepts and to each other.

Put a picture of a person use their name, link link link (helps spread blog)

Linking helps promote your site. Griff: "Google has a bias for blogs". My Note: Links also help your followers get the information they came to you for and to find out more about other resources that interest them.

"Dead brochure type websites" good for now, but a year from now? Use website as an extension of who you are. Blogs give you more personalness. Engaging.

Voice of Authenticity (and a measure of personailty)

Blogs can give you your voice, your own channel to the citizenry. Griff: "If you're going to swim in this ocean, you gotta learn these tools"

Paul Levy, President and CEO of Beth Istrael Deaconess Medical Centre in Boston used blog runningahospital.blogspot.com

Writing for your audience but also for yourself--clarify your thoughts when you actually have to visualize it on the "page"

"How vain it is to sit down to write when you have not stood up to live" -- Henry David Thoreau

Recognize other people, organizations. It multiplies that affirmation. It keeps on giving and is powerful. Dr Lachlan orow "Effective leaders emobdy values, honor them in the rest of us, encouage and fasciliates...positive feedback loop"

NOTE: First couple of sentences in a blog post is very important--HOOK your reader or future reader

Can chroncle learning (transparent learning)

Modeling leadership to others

Stories as they evolve

Teach about the compexities of an issue (MY NOTE: especially when issues tend to become polarized. Right/wrong, my side/the other side, with me/against me, now/never)

RSS ("Real simple syndication") FEED--info shipped to you Reader or aggregator like google. Manage your information flow.

Feedburner to get feed address

Twitter Hashtag

Laerned a little about Twitter today. I have tweeted a few times and follow a couple of people but today was the first time I RSS a particular feed. I also created my first hashtag and started a feed. It's as simple as adding # in front of your keyword. Wish there was a way to comment from the feed review site. Also REFRESH!!!

If I want to retweet: rt @usernamefrom twitter (then copy and paste or retype message)

Link to facebook

Unconference MN Voices Online

I am currently attending an "unconference" in Duluth for MN Voices Online. The following are simply notes that I'm taking as I listen and participate in the unsessions.

Ideas that came from the time here (so far):

Spectogram: Large length of tape on the floor. Ask a question and have participants place themselves on the line according to how strong they agree or disagree with statement. Then have students defend their "literal" position.

Blogging Assignment: Pictures that spark blog stories. Provide 2-3 stories and have students write stories that stem from one or all of the pictures

Writing Context assignment. Take a twitter line then ask students to expand that one twitter line to a facebook status line, to an email, all the way to a letter to grandma.

Saturday morning:
Reality check--I opened this blogsite and started to write this entry (after checking my facebook and subscribing to mnvoices twitter feed) only to have a friend IM me. So I was IMing, blogging, having my photo taken for flickr and being videotaped as a participant in a fishbowl exercise that was being livestreamed out to the internet.

Ideas for class:
Mass Comm: "News My Way" Choose a medium for getting across your local news

Misc
There is a Facebook that is an open letter to President Obama.

Personal writing idea: Keep a box of itmes that speak to me somehow and then when the box starts to get alot of items, take the box and then use them to write a story that may or may not integrate the items in the box.

Saturday afternoon

(see twitter blog)

Mogulus--free account
Digital Video Camera with firewire cable

Choose video and mic source (dv audio and video) better quality more flexibility

Computer can act as control center because you can have input from various sites. Can type in banners that are used and can be saved to so it's one click switching.

Can RSS to blog (webpages not as easy) so embed to blog is a good idea.

Blog tv (might be able to cohost)

Can open an account and then have multiple contributers.

However, the free account will probably limit how many people may access.

Chuck from uptake is willing to answer future questions.

Chart Creator

Here's a free tool for making different types of charts. Google Chart:

http://code.google.com/apis/chart/