Synopses & Reviews
The term "blog" wasn't coined until 1999 and yet by 2004, it had become Merriam-Webster's Word of the Year. Globally, the number of blogs is doubling every six months, with more than 50 million blogs online today. Here to offer a unique overview of the emerging phenomenon that even armchair observers will find curiosity-satisfying is Di
spatches from Blogistan: A Travel Guide for the Modern Blogger.
Filled with practical, easy-to-implement advice for making blogging more enjoyable, useful, and profitable, this book covers everything from blogging and how it fits into the history of journalism to practical tips for planning and managing a blog, attracting and retaining an active readership. Written by noted technology journalist and interactive media veteran Su zanne Stefanac, the book features a fresh and succinct approach; quotes and commentary from noted and celebrity bloggers (author/futurist Bruce Sterling, NPR commentator Farai Chideya, Craig Newmark of craigslist.com, and Cory Doctorow, Boing Boing editor and science fiction author, among others); an accompanying blog site (dispatchesfromblogistan.com); and more. Stefanac explores issues of trust, influence, privacy, discovery, and the power of collaborative discourse, making this is a blog book like no other!
Synopsis
The term blog wasn't coined until 1999 and yet by 2004, it became Merriam-Webster's Word of the Year. Globally, the number of blogs is more than doubling quarterly. Here to offer a unique overview of the emerging phenomenon that even armchair observers will find curiosity-satisfying is
Dispatches from Blogistan: A Travel Guide for the Modern Blogger.
Filled with practical, easy-to-implement advice for making blogging more enjoyable, useful, and profitable, this book covers everything from blogging and how it fits into the history of journalism to practical tips for planning and managing a blog, attracting and retaining an active readership, and even generating revenue. Written by noted technology journalist and interactive media veteran Suzanne Stefanac, the book's fresh and succinct design; quotes and commentary from noted and celebrity bloggers (authors Bruce Sterling, Steven Johnson and Cory Doctorow, Craig Newmark of craigslist.org, NPR news commentator Farai Chideya, blog pioneer Justin Hall among others), accompanying blog site; and more, make this a blog book like no other!
About the Author
Suzanne Stefanac has written about technology and its social and business implications for more than fifteen years. She is currently Director of the American Film Institute's Digital Content Lab.
Table of Contents
DISPATCHES FROM BLOGISTAN
a travel guide for the modern blogger
by Suzanne Stefanac
I. learning from the past
chapter 1. the urge to blog not new
chapter 2. the printing press as cultural catalyst
chapter 3. journalism evolves toward public discourse
II. mapping the territory
chapter 4. blogs as newsrooms
chapter 5. blogs as linkfests
chapter 6. blogs as diaries
chapter 7. blogs as watchdogs
chapter 8. blogs as marketplaces
III. optimizing for success
chapter 9. packing your toolkit
chapter 10. anatomy of a blog page
chapter 11. promoting your blog
chapter 12. writing that engages
IV. making a difference
chapter 13. copyright & the new commons
chapter 14. free expression & censorship
chapter 15. open source roots showing
V. blogging the future
chapter 16. bloggers consult their oracles
VI. appendices
blog glossary
interviewee bios