Copyright Law Video

In case the explanation of copyright from Bitlaw was too dry, watch this video from Eric Faden, an assistant professor of English and film studies at Bucknell University, who produced the video with help from seven of his students and said it took eight months to make.

Post #1 Blogging Jitters

I read a few blogs on a regular basis, and skim others (usually from links that I can’t find again) and find that the most interesting blogs are also the ones that are thoughtful and well-researched. The good ones are hard work! I don’t have that kind of expertise or passion, (most librarian types are generalists) but I seem to always find a story or article that I want to share with others—lucky you!

If any of you are like me, you probably stare at your computer screen and think: “Now what?” I’m of a “certain age” and don’t have the confidence that younger folks have. I don’t really think that anything I have to say is all that interesting to the world at large, and I pretty much still maintain the mindset of my youth: “Don’t speak unless spoken to.”
That being said, I will be searching for inspiration where ever I can find it.

Today, I will be reviewing a handy little book No One Cares What You Had for Lunch: 100 Ideas forYour Blog. by Margaret Mason. It’s a quick read, with some interesting ideas for when your mind is blank.

Mason introduces the book by providing mind-numbingly bad blog posts—her evidence of the writer not knowing what to write about. She then provides 100 ideas to stimulate inspiration to avoid the “me, too” syndrome. Not all of these ideas are applicable to this class format, but some are useful.
My favorite tips from the book:

#5 Be a sage. Offer your readers some of your hard-earned advice, and how you gained that insight.

#11 Curate the web. If someone else has said something that you find interesting, point your readers to that post, and explain why the writer affected you.

#21 Address the public. Write an open letter to a specific population. Mason’s example is a letter to the people of Boston, but it could be to any group: Librarians, Teachers, Techies, you name it.

#55 Take Sides. Choose a side on a big topic: the death penalty, censorship, etc., do some research and post your research and conclusions. Wait for fireworks!

#88 Choose your Company. You can’t write to everyone successfully, so focus on your intended audience and make your tone and content consistent with that group.

So this post should qualify for tip #5 — My sage advice–I hope it helps you!

Aggregate or aggravate

How much fun is aggregating ?  If you have a Google account, you can click the RSS feed and add to your reader or homepage with 1 click