Jewish Blogging 101Esther D. Kustanowitz

May 13, 2010

Today’s Goal

How participation in blog culture can: help support/promote Jewish projects,

programs & organizations add value to larger conversations create stronger relationships create trust create community

Today’s Questions What is blogging? What is Jewish about blogging? Find out which blogs we read, why, and HOW Learn about Jewish blogs Learn about Jewish bloggers and how to pitch

them Consider: should you/your org start a blog?

@EstherK, Why Are You Here?

“A blog? You mean, where I put content online but don’t get paid for it?”

Self-taught blogging, Facebook & Twitter Found online community that translated offline Writing lives online 24/7 Blogs transformed my career, work, life NY,

Israel, LA

Blog Basics Short for “weblog” Central text by author/s, some editorial process Reader commentary next to original text Memorable name promotes organizational brand Blog platforms include: Blogger (Blogspot),

Typepad, WordPress & others Blog/blog-like functions at LiveJournal,

MySpace, Posterous, Tumblr & others

What’s Jewish About Blogs? Um…

Visualizing Blogs Everyone’s Arianna Huffington – blog is a

magazine on a subject(s) that’s “important” Everyone’s a congregant - a community built

around a central belief, discussion or attitude, even w/different opinions

Everyone’s a rabbi – blog is a pulpit/sermon, w/ opportunity for talkback

Everyone is God - content subject to creation and deletion at whim of blog creator

Blogs are…

Sometimes, but not really, about: Putting your diary online Thinking you’re Tina Brown / a rabbi / other authority Ego (for personal gain /ambition)

Should be about: Community cultivation Relationship management Involvement in conversations Ego (for community-building, good-doing )

Which Blogs Do You Read and Why? The Wire, Jewlicious, FrumeSarah,

Kvetching Editor, eJewishPhilanthropy, JTA blogs (Fundermentalist), Jew & the Carrot, Accidentally Jewish, Jewschool, other posts shared through Facebook/Twitter, other non-Jewish blogs

Why People Read Blogs, and How

WHY Interested in a subject Interested in the writer/organization/publisher Early adopters like to know firstHOW Differently than they used to Less “destination-browsing,” more Google results Content comes via FB, Twitter, sometimes readers

Effective Blogs Contain…

Commitment to conversation Community-building Collaborative spirit Involvement in public infostream Initiating & participating in conversations Authentic voice Adding value to public discourse, online & off

(self-promotion is secondary)

Jewish Blogs, Jewish Bloggers

Two Jews, Three Blogs / People of the Blog / People of the Link

“That’s my blog, and that’s the blog I wouldn’t be caught dead reading”

Nation of priests/writers/academics/rabbis/ pontificators/purveyors of content

Mobile journalism? Jewish social media lets us be there when we can’t be there

Jewish Blogs 101

Protocols – 2 years http://protocols.blogspot.com/ Steven I. Weiss (Canonist, JTV) Andrew Silow-Caroll (NNJ Jewish News) Luke Ford Miriam Shaviv (Bloghead, London Jewish Chronicle)

Jewschool – Dan Sieradski and a team of 30+ Jewlicious – Dave Abitbol and a team of 10+

Jewish Blogs 101: חלק ב'

Proliferation of diverse voices Institutional blogs – JOI, ROI Community, JTA blogs,

Lilith, Forward Orthoblogs – more conservative voices (Hirhurim) Israel – On the Face, WhatWarZone, Israel Matzav,

Muqata, Treppenwitz, Unusual perspectives or niches – RenReb,

shomernegiah Carnivals – Haveil Havalim –rotating hosts (sukkah hop,

progressive dinner)

Is Your Organization Ready?Intake Appointment Psychologists use intake appointments to:

Learn about who you are, how you thinkDetermine goals for your program Identify concerns or challengesEstablish open channel of communication

Intake appointment for your organization: “Social Media Planning” worksheet

Are You Ready to Blog?

Learn the tool – easy, but will take some time

Commit to “regular” posting – demands planning, flexibility/spontaneity, time

Determine organizational voice Create posting schedule/content plan Calculated risks big returns

Basics of Blogging: Posting Technical

Check with web team: is blog possible within site? If not, use Blogger.com, Typepad.com or Wordpress.com Name the blog - create a relevant, brand-consistent URL

Content Posts about 400 words (one screen length) Grammar, punctuation, style Hyperlink to other sites Reflect the values of your org Post regularly Use photos, videos, images

Brit Hablogger

You have a brit hamiktzoa, so why not?

With every post, commit to: Supporting the values of your organization Posting regularly and consistently Use your authentic voice Be transparent / share with readers Other things you find valuable Respond rationally to fans and critics

Basics of Blogging: Strategy

Does your org need/could it benefit from/is it ready for a blog:

Reading blogs, seeing what’s out there Blog will need regular content (staff time) Comments should be open, but can be moderated (staff

time) Blog should reflect org’s goals, but also add value to

larger conversations What are competing blogs/orgs blogging about? What

can you add to the conversation?

Not Ready to Blog? Comment and Pitch, Instead Participate in the conversation on other

people’s blogs Leave links to your online stuff Make meaningful contributions to

discussions Offline, pitch the bloggers on your

awesome stuff (after reading their blogs)…

Pitching Jewish Bloggers Don’t be evil / Don’t be insincere Be respectful, sincere, and personal Pitch appropriately Make your case Provide enough info (not too much) How does your project add value?

information, education, opinions, humor, commentary “Please give” “Please receive”

Next Steps

עשה לך רב, קנה לך חבר Visit JRants.com, Jewishblogging.com, blogrolls Think about your potential blog:

What will you call it? Who will write it? Who’s your ideal audience? What’s your ideal outcome?

Resources Available

Feeding your blog to: Facebook, Twitter “In Plain English” series Bloglines.com / Google Reader Google Alerts - keyword-based blog

prompts Blogging Basics resource sheet

How to Find Me

esther.kustanowitz@gmail.com http://twitter.com/estherk http://facebook.com/estherkustanowitz http://myurbankvetch.com http://jdatersanonymous.com http://beliefnet.com/blog/idolchatter http://roicommunity.org