June 12, 2008
VIEWPOINT: Is a Blog Right for Your Coalition?
by: LaDonna Coy, MHR, CPS, CDLA, New Media and Prevention Specialist
Source: http://cadca.org/CoalitionsOnline/article.asp?id=1894
What are blogs and why should a coalition consider them? For starters, blogs have upset the way we´ve grown accustomed to communicating! And that´s a very good thing if you are involved in the work of creating community change. Clay Shirky, author of Here Comes Everybody, says, "when we change the way we communicate, we change society."
A blog at its most basic is an individual or group Web site that is updated often and the newest information always appears first. While often described as an online journal, you also can think of it as a coalition news channel. This channel is your own, for your news and information based on your needs and schedule—but with an interesting twist. Unlike Web sites, blogs allow comments, opening up two-way communication loops. Good blogs encourage exchanges of information, ideas and resources.
What can a coalition do with a blog? Some coalitions use blogs for distributing news, information or to celebrate community events in ways similar to a Web site. Others use blogs to replace and expand the reach of their newsletter. Some post thoughts, comments, opinions, descriptions, or stories. We are more limited by own imaginations than by the technology.
If you have a computer, Internet connection and a browser, a blog is quick and easy to start and can be free. What else can blogs do for a coalition? They can:
• provide an anchor from which coalitions can launch ideas/events/products and link to ANY other source that appears online;• open communication and feedback loops offering community “conversation” online; and
• make dramatic ripple effects possible as conversations between the coalition and the community happen and expand to encompass other coalitions across the country, the research community, and provider network.
If we change the way we communicate—the way information flows between, among and around us—we will naturally create change.
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Check out this blog for more great info on blogging in the prevention world: http://technologyinprevention.blogspot.com/
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