Blogging, Activism, and a Christian Worldview

Blogging, Activism, and a Christian Worldview

Putting worldview into action through purpose-driven

activism blogging.

What I do at Townhall.com

• Online Community Manager for a community of over 400 active bloggers (4,000 blogs total)

• Assoc Editor assisting editorial team with editorial and publishing related work.

• Site Development and other…• Blog at http://josue.townhall.com • I have blogged since early 2004.

What is a blog?

• Web pages used to be static; blogging software revolutionized the web.

• A blog is chronological, easy to update, and automatically archived.

• Most blog platforms provide for tagging, keywords, and other categorizing functions.

• Bloggers can be pundits, reporters or activists.• Links are the key to any successful blog• Popular blogs are Instapundit.com,

Townhall.com/blog, and HughHewitt.com among many others…

Why should you care?

• Three important constituencies read blogs: influencers, reporters and politicians

• Blogging is a quick and inexpensive way to call attention to the issues of importance.

• Liberals have done a great job of organizing online; conservatives must keep up to stay relevant and remain influential!

…to Cesar what is Cesar's…

• Our Democracy is participatory and requires an active, vocal and involved citizenship.

• Scripture calls us to be salt & light in regards to sharing our faith and worldview.

• Are you giving your parts to both “Cesar” and to God?

Choosing a Blogging Platform

• Cost: Cost shouldn't be a huge issue while considering a blog platform. – Some great fee based platforms such are TypePad or

MoveableType.– Blogger and WordPress are free!

• Expertise: What do you know about blogging and blog design? – Blogger's drag and drop templates are best for beginners.

You can also find cool free templates through Google.com– The WYSIWYG templates employed by the free platforms

make blogging a breeze for the technically challenged.– WordPress gives advanced users more control.http://www.problogger.net/archives/2006/02/15/choosing-a-blog-platform/

http://www.typepad.com/

http://www.movabletype.org/

Create a blog in 3 easy steps:

• 2 minute video with instructionson how to starta Blogger.comblog.

Finding your voice:

What matters most to you?

Three things matters a lot to me…

Writing Purposeful Content

• Write consistent and purposeful content. – The more inline your content is with your

blog’s purpose, the more concentrated your use of keywords will be throughout the entire blog. The more diverse your blog’s content, the more diffused your keyword usage will be across all of your blog.


• Make a plan for your content.

– Make lists of the topics you will write about in keeping with your blog’s purpose. Stick to those subjects as much as possible to build your blog’s reputation as the place to come for answers on those subjects and to increase your credibility on the subject.


• Leave space for being responsive to current events– Look for ways to tie current events

or news to your blog’s focus or purpose.

– Make your message relevant…

The Power of Words in an Age of Image

By Russell Chandler1 – 10

(italics mine)

Increase your Word Power?

• (1) Seek Truth and Accuracy– Words have the power to do wrong. Or do

right. They can give life. And they can kill.

– Today, “truth” is often a matter of spin.

– Tweaking the “facts” for what appears to be worthy ends. I urge you not to compromise truth in order to tell a story. Or sell a book.

– Take the High Ground.


• 2) Seek, Make and Keep Promises

– There's a great hunger these days for both truth and for People of Promise.

– Can our Word be our Bond? Can Christian writers be “as good as their word”?


• 3) Keep up with Changing Concepts and Meanings – The meaning of words changes. And

their impact and power correspondingly shift.

– Words can confuse and distract. Or they can clarify and bring understanding.

– Connect faith with culture


• 4) Connect with the Culture– Peggy Wehmeyer: “we must find creative

ways to tell the way religion plays a role in people’s lives.” She added that she tried to do stories that lower the walls that divide people.

– Faith matters.

– In personal lives, and in the world political scene. Connect faith with culture.


• 5) Take Advantage of Technology

– Words can magnify, multiplying exponentially in cyberspace. Beware!

– Words can also be communicated through video, or through sound!

• 6) The Physical Medium of the Written Word Contributes to its Meaning

– Words can blur and obscure. And they can bring insight and vision.


• 7) So, Help Readers Not Only Find Information, but How to Use It – Shorter is looking better these days

(but give it what it’s worth).

– …the cry is for the skill to convert data into knowledge that is actually helpful.

– Provide a call-to-action!! Give a phone number to a congressman, a voter guide, a 3 step guideline on how to…link, link, link!


• 8) Motivate Your Readers to Think and Wonder More– Beyond information, there should be

thinking and stretching. That goes for you as well as for your readers. (Read a lot!)

– Writers need pauses, like blank pages, when we ponder and the pen stops or the keys cease clicking. (Ask questions, explore together, provoke in a positive way.)


• 9) Strive for Excellence, Even Greatness – “You can help advance balance,

perspective, truth, faith and morality” among opinion makers, politicians, and reporters.

– Spelling and grammar matters. It goes to your credebility.


• 10) Create New Worlds • Creatively use the whole quiver of

communications arrows that God has placed at our disposal and dispersal.

• Whether it be for advancing a political cause, advocating for a cause or ministry, or speaking truth into the culture, make most use of video (youtube), audio (podcasting), pictures (Flickr), animations (slideshare.net) and more to get the message out.


“Language,” observes historian John Lukacs, “is a very mysterious gift from God. In the beginning was the Word. Not the Fact. Not the Picture. Not the Number. Not the Image. It is through words that we relate to each other. It is through words that we can give pain or pleasure to each other. And because of this . . . the choice of the word is not only a matter of accuracy, not only an aesthetic choice; it is a moral choice how I describe something that has happened” (Books and Culture, July/August, 2000).


…don’t get caught up in the web of negative truth. Find “opportunities to lift up the effects of love and grace and healing and goodness and sacrifice.”

We can, tell stories. Our stories. And join them to the Great Glad News of

His Story.

Resources:

• www.josuesierra.net Post questions, leave comments.

• http://weblogs.about.com/od/bloggingtips/ • How to start a blogger blog:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bU4gXHkejMo

• http://Help.blogger.com • Past LI presentation: Keys to Victory:

Internet & Email http://www.josuesierra.net/?p=153