Loads of people I talk to really want to get their own weblogs, but they don’t have the time or the technical knowledge to get things up and running for themselves. Wouldn’t it be great if they could get a little help?
I think that a short how-to, with some face-to-face and some Internet based training would be really helpful to get people moving.
The course would cover the basics – hosting and software, how to get up-and-running, editing your templates, adding photos and multimedia, how to write for maximum impact, writing for and reach your audience and so on.
I’ve had people from industry and academia ask me about this. It sounds like something that would be really useful.
Why not just point them at blogger.com / typepad.com / etc.? really, I don’t think most people need to know how to get it hosted…
Agreed, the process you describe is barely needed to just get a voice. All you really need is something like a blogger account…what you do with it is the real challenge. You don’t have to have the technical sophistication you speak of to start saying something and get noticed.
There are some really slick templates available (Don’t ask my mine are so lame…I’m just lazy), you can be online and blogging in minutes.
Not to say that learning about hosting, etc, wouldn’t be useful for more experienced bloggers who want to move on from their “childhood,” its just a little advanced for someone who could post three times and then fizzle out…
Alittle investment in the blog would create some urgency that would push a new blogger to keep it up, then again gym fees on automatic debit don’t seem to people off the couch who are just lazy.
What is blogging in laymans terms and how much does it cost.
Blogging is basically about writing about your own world from your own point of view. It needn’t cost anything, but you could spend a few hundred a year on a site if you were feeling fancy. There are a number of free blogging services.