Blogging Overview A blog (short for "web-log") is an interactive online forum. It's easy to create a blog, free, and doesn't require much skill beyond word processing and email. The main reason for a synagogue to create a blog is to offer, online, the equivalent of a meeting place or community court. We all strive to create opportunities for our congregants to connect with each other in fulfilling and meaningful ways. The blog, when thoughtfully used and maintained, can offer a chance for this to happen.
How to Build a Congregational Blog Insights into assembling a core team for your blog that includes contributions from a variety of different people, and suggestions on how to write posts that invite comments and discussion.
Blog Writing Tips Tips for crafting engaging blog entries, including sharing your opinion, being personal, using the second person, asking questions, writing good headlines, and leaving topics open enough to encourage discussion.
Staff Contributions How to find that balance between staff and congregant bloggers. It's fine to have staff members write entries, but ultimately the blog should be congregant driven.
How to Guide the Conversation To moderate or not to moderate? A guide on what comments to allow and where to draw the line. It's generally good to create a Comment Policy, so that from the outset there are ground rules and inappropriate comments are discouraged.
Technical Notes Some basic but vital technical information about blogging, including the vast array of "widget" blogging tools, adding RSS feeds, and the importance of keeping your blog up to date.
What Constitutes a Successful Blog? How to measure a blog's success, not in terms of how many people visit it, per se, but by how much it's able to help build your congregation's community.
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