Interested in starting a blog but have no idea where to begin? Stephanie Hoaglund, K12\'s Online Community Program Manager, will... explore the online world of Blogging.

1. Today’s Presenter Stephanie Hoaglund K12Program Manager, Online Communities& Social Media Virginia

2. About Me Stephanie Hoaglund Wife and Mom of 2 Hannah, 8 Nate, 6 Online Community & Social Media Program Manager, K12 Featured speaker & blogger for K12 the thinktanK¹² blog: http://blog.k12.com/stephanie-hoaglund Social Media Enthusiast Live Fit and Sore! Blog, http://www.livefitandsore.com provides support and inspiration to those interested in living a healthy and fit life. Colon-C Blog, http://colonc-thejourney.blogspot.com/ shares the experiences of my family’s recent battle with colon cancer Twitter: twitter.com/livestrongnsore Facebook: facebook.com/stephanie.hoaglund About.Me: http://about.me/stephaniehoaglund

3. Creating an Online Journal: Blogging 101 What is a Blog? Benefits of Blogging Creating a Blog using Popular Blogging Tools Finding Resources Topic Ideas & Inspiration Getting the word out Q&A

4. What is a blog? A blog (a blend of the term web log)[1] is a type of website or part of a website. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse-chronological order. Blog can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog. -wikipedia.org

6. Your blog is whatever you want it to be. There are millions of them, in all shapes and sizes, and there are no real rules.

7. In simple terms, a blog is a web site, where you write stuff on an ongoing basis. New stuff shows up at the top, so your visitors can read what's new. Then they comment on it or link to it or email you. Or not.-blogger.com

8. Why Blog? Keep your family & friends in the know Express your thoughts & opinions Explore your creative side Expose your voice and/or idea to the world Learn! Have a business? Reach new markets & help grow your following Blogging is not for everyone!

9. Why Blog? Questions to ask: What is my goal for my blog? What do I want to accomplish with my blog? Who do I want to reach with my blog? What is my topic? -brazencareerist.com

10. Topic Ideas & Inspiration Start reading blogs that interest you Have a passion? Start writing about it Read & write about current news and events Social media tools: twitter, facebook Your life Share your experiences A blog post can be written about anything

11. Create a Blog Free account offered by Google Very Easy to Use Popularity of Gmail accounts Easy for blog readers to leave comments Support resources widely available Help Forum Video tutorial: http://bit.ly/s3_blogger Standard Blog Url youchooseit.blogspot.com blogger.com

13. Create private posts or entire private blogs.

14. Invite friends & family

15. Integrate rss feeds

16. Social tools (ie Twitter, AIM) can be incorporated easily

17. Schedule posts

18. URL: yourchoice.tumblr.comtumblr.com

19. Create a Blog wordpress.com Free service Analytics Available Customizable Themes Social tools integration URL: youchooseit.wordpress.com

20. Create a Blog KaBlog.com Free account Very Easy to Use URL: youchooseit.kablog.com

21. Finding Free Resources for your blog stock.xchng or freedigitalphotos.net Free images that you can use legally Paint.net free image and photo editing software Google Analytics free service offered by Google that generates detailed statistics about the visitors to a website Google Reader feed reader that constantly checks your favorite news sites and blogs for new content

22. Tell the world about your blog Post regularly Share posts on Twitter, Facebook, other social tools Upload videos to You Tube Join a blogging community Be active and leave comments on other blogs Cross link to other blogs relevant to your post

23. Q & A