One of the great ways you can use the blog system is for your newsletter.  If you're writing a newsletter, you're already in the habit of communicating regularly with your clientele.  You can convert that discipline into blogging.

You can write a blog posting more regularly than you might put an entire newsletter together, enabling you to be in contact with your readers on a more regular basis.

Another benefit of using the blog for your newsletter is the Tag List.  If you're not familiar with tags - I think they're one of the most powerful features of the blog system.

You have the option to add tags at the end of each post.  You'll see all of my tags to the left of the blog.

 

Let's say you've developed an interest in Search Engine Optimization.  If you click on that tag in the Tag List you'll see all of my posts with that tag.

It's easy to see how useful this feature can be.

Let's say you're a table grape grower in Fresno County and you receive Steve Vasquez's newsletter.  And let's say that Steve has a blog version of his newsletter that is tagged.  Imagine you've got a mealybug infestation (not so hard to imagine).  If Steve has tagged all of his posts about mealybugs, one click will display the entire archive of his newsletters that discuss mealybugs.

You can still e-mail a newsletter to your clients, but archive the contents in a blog.

But what if you haven't been blogging all along and you want this feature.  It's really easy to convert your newsletter archive to a blog.

Many people have their newsletters archived in PDF format on their Web sites.  Simply copy and paste the content of your newsletter from the PDF into a blog posting.  One post for each issue.  Add the relevant tags.  And here's a little known feature of the blog system - you can change the date of your post.

Your post will have the date it was entered by default.  Go into the Administration section and click on Moderate Posts.

You'll get a list of all of your posts. Click on the date of the post you want to change:

Change the date and save.

Easy!

I've had a surprising number of conversations over the past couple of weeks about blogging - so it seems like a good time to revisit the subject.

Let me say again that you can look at blogging in two ways.  First, in the traditional sense of blogging as a conversation.  You blog, readers comment.

The second part of that equation is where I find most potential bloggers stop short. And unnecessarily.

Many times potential bloggers tell me they don't want to blog because they don't want abusive or controversial comments on their blog.  I can't emphasize enough how unlikely this will be.  There are several reasons why:

First, when using the ANR blogging software you have the option to moderate the comments.  As author, you can choose three options for comments -

General Public Moderated Comments - means anyone can comment, but author approves all comments before they are posted.  This setting can leave you open to SPAM - as I discovered several months back.

After that experience, I chose the option of Registered Users Moderated Comments.  This setting means readers must register before they can post a comment, and again, you, as author approve all comments before they are posted to your blog.  Registered commenters need not be UC affiliated - anyone can register as a user.

The last option is Registered Users Freely Comment - with this setting all comments are posted without approval by the author.  Those choosing to comment must register, however.

At the bottom of the blog posting interface, you can check a box to be notified by e-mail when someone comments.

Once you receive a comment, you can view it and then elect to "post" or "kill" the comment.  You're in control.

Second, you will likely be surprised at how few comments you actually receive.  Now maybe I just write a boring, uncontroversial blog.  But in the almost two years I've been writing this blog I've received fewer than 20 comments. (Not counting the SPAM.) Most of them helpful and constructive.  (Not counting the SPAM, which I couldn't read as it was in Cyrillic.)

My guess is that most reluctant bloggers are thinking of newspapers or political blogs where the comments can get vitriolic.  I doubt that will happen to you.  And if you do receive an inappropriate comment, you don't have to post it.

You also have options on who can write posts to your blog.

Only Blog Owner May Post is self-explanatory.  If you're the owner, only you can post.

Blog Owner and Moderators Freely Post - using this setting you can add Moderators to your blog and they can post without your approval.  This is a great option if you want to share authorship.  Unlike Users, Moderators must have some ANR affiliation.  Anyone with Portal access can be added as a Moderator to your blog.  There are a couple of Master Gardener blogs that use this option.

And finally, All Registered Users May Post (Moderated).  This is the most conversational option - even more than comments; but you as owner still approve all posts.

Next time - other uses for the blog software . . .

Brenda D. wins the prize - "disseminating" is the next word in the series.

I have a confession to make. In a previous life, I was the PI on the dissemination section of an NIH Center Grant.  Even as a long-time marketing and public relations professional, the term dissemination had never slipped into my vocabulary.  Flack, yes.  Disseminator, no.

Better choices?

Going back to that UCCE statement: "Disseminating science-based research information to the residents of county 'X'."

Better: Bringing, providing, delivering, (Oh that's a good one - imagine "UC Disseminates" rather than "UC Delivers" - ouch!)

Even better, think about the heart of the message you're conveying. Does it have an emotional impact?  Does it answer the question "What's in it for me?"

How about inserting "practical" in there?  Now we're inching closer to something that sounds useful.

The example sentence sounds suspiciously like a mission statement.  Does it resonate with your audience, or does it resonate with you?

Even better:

We bring the strength of University of California research to County 'X' to help solve local problems.

Last Friday before I left on vacation, I was in a meeting with Karl and Dave of the Web Action Team in which they were giving me a very hard time about not using enough photos in my blog.

So, in a departure from my usual subject matter, I present: "What I did on my vacation - Part I"

Last week I was on the UCSB campus while my husband was at a conference.
They have a very nice piece of real estate down there.

This is actually looking from campus toward Goleta Beach Park.

On campus, there is a lagoon which they are restoring to native habitat. This is a huge lesson in solarization as they work to kill the ice plant that chokes out native plants.  The lagoon is filled with birds - including these pelicans. Fun to look at, not so fun to smell.

Yes, life is rough on the UCSB campus . . .

Not to be outdone by the WAT, I also have restaurant shots.

While in Santa Barbara, we made a de rigueur stop for lunch at La Super Rica Taqueria.

I try to eat here every time I'm in Santa Barbara - because the food really is good.  Julia Child may have made it famous as her favorite neighborhood spot - but it lives up to it's reputation.

I was worried that the lines would be terrible because of the Julia Child connection and the release of Julie & Julia. But we were lucky - one of the Old Spanish Days Fiesta parades was taking place, so the line was short.

I think we only waited in line 30 minutes or so - well worth the wait!

I'm going on my real vacation in September - anyone interested in being a guest blogger while I'm away?

This week's tip is actually an announcement.

We have a team from Communication Services working on what we've been calling "The Toolkit."  Based on the Strategic Vision Document (SVD), this Toolkit will contain key concepts and visual identifiers to begin strategic communications support for ANR and for building a cohesive brand identity that embraces both the strength of the UC parent brand and the strength of our sub-brands.

You saw a preview of our work a couple of weeks ago when your Portal changed.  And you'll see a gradual rollout of other key elements as the project progresses.

We're excited about the project - and excited to be able to be offering you some of the tools you've been requesting.

What's going to be in the Toolkit?  The elements are still evolving - but in the short term we're working on headers that can be used in Web communications, simple templates for a few common printed documents (like flyers and annual reports), a library of images pulled from the SVD supplemented by new images, a library of pull-quotes from clients and stakeholders, and Web-ready content pulled from the SVD written for the general public and for stakeholders.

You'll see previews in some key Web sites as we progress.

In the long term, you'll see the new elements incorporated into Site Builder 3, a shared content feed, a how-to guide - we've got lots of ideas!

Once we're up and running, one of the key questions that we'll be helping you with is "How do I make this work with what I have?" So we'll be looking for volunteers from programs that have strong brand identification that we can work with one-on-one to develop a complimentary new look.  If you want one.

The goal is to make it easy to use. It's all voluntary.  It's all good.  No logo police.

Watch for big things!