I've heard they'll be some new/young bloggers at the presentation and I'd like to be able to offer advice to those who are starting or are considering starting a blog. Unfortunately I know only a little about the pitfalls of choosing from the popular blog publishing systems and hosting services. Also I know there's many others more qualified to give advice about handling the issues invovled in putting your life out on the Web for everyone to read. I'll be looking for info on these subjects and adding them to this post, as I know both issues have been discussed before.

I am glad people are writing books about how to blog, but this is the Web and I like my information to be free especially when we're talking about books priced like computer manuals, and the books are about something which can be done for free, and probably will have no potential to make any money. That said I will plug Essential Blogging, the book which includes the Trotts as authors. Who are the Trotts? The wonderful makers and givers away of the lovely Movable Type, my publishing system of choice.

Also the authors of We Blog have several chapters of the book online including Navigating the Blog Universe which covers a few things helpful to a new blogger including managing your online identity, and a few paragraphs on copyright, defamation and other trouble spots of the blogsphere.

Anybody notice my archives here never worked? No, I didn't think anybody noticed. All fixed now.

One of the things that amazes me about the growth of weblogs is that I just assume that everybody doing one has at least a small level of comfort with the technology. When I started doing this, most people blogging were in the Web-building, or at least computer-related field and could deal with the times when technology went awry. But I'm discovering that many bloggers have no need know to learn anything but how to open a browser. This is a good thing, technology shouldn't get in the way of somebody's self-expression or knowledge delivery.

While thinking about ethics, and admitting I need to read and think about this much more, I came across a dilemma this morning.

After reading two very touching post from two very different Chicago bloggers, both very eloquently exposing their explorations into their own loneliness, I felt that these two post were so personal, and so heart-exposingly open, that I feel like I'm betraying a friend's trust if I link to them.

Anyone who reads my weblog knows I don't talk about anything more personal then what access provider I'm fighting with at the moment. There's not a trace or hint of a break-up I went through over the winter in any of my posts. So I can't imagine what it takes to expose yourself the way these two writers have, to a potentially enormous audience.

What does this have to do with ethics? In my heart, I feel uncomfortable exposing these people to potential gawking eyes. I've always felt gossipers are repulsive, and thats kind of what it feels like. As if these authors thought they had a limited audience, and will suddenly realize that they are on live prime-time TV. I do feel confident they knew what they were doing however.

So the posts, the first by *link removed*, the second by anchulis.

So I have some questions I will ask anyone with a personal journal. What does it take to expose yourself to a potentially huge audience? Anyone ever get that feeling that you've suddenly realized that your on live TV when you thought you were just writing for a friend or two? And does anyone else think this this is a dilemma? And does it have anything to do with ethics? What advice do you give a potential blogger about being on either side of this issue?

POSTSCRIPT
Notice the removed link? Doesn't that look realy suspcious? Well, suffice to say that the link in question went to a site that exposed more than the author wanted to expose. We'll leave it at that and take up the issue again sometime when it's a little less timely.

I realized I covered some of the basic details of the presentation on KIPlog, but I failed to post what its all about here.

On October 5, at 2 pm, at the Sulzer Branch of the Chicago Public Library at 4455 N. Lincoln Ave, I'll be hosting a program on weblogs.

I'll explain what a weblog is, what types and genres of weblogs exsist, taking the audience on a short tour to a few of my favorites. I'll explain some simple ways to find blogs that you might be interested in, and ways to track them. I'll also briefly cover how to start you own, and offer some tips for running one.

Now most of you reading this probably already run a weblog, so you say, that's pretty basic what's in it for me? After my rambling, we will have a panel of some smart local webloggers who will discuss what blogging has done for us, what it's done for the Web, and what it can do offline. These and deeper questions will be discussed by a panel which will include AKMA, from AKMA's Random Thoughts, Dan Hartung of Lake Effect, Jim McGee of McGee's Musings. They'll be few more as well.

So if you're a blogger, a blog reader, or someone interested in starting one, come on out. And let your friends who are thinking of starting one know. If nothing else, this promises to be the largest gathering of Chicago bloggers ever assembled, so come on out and met us.

Plasticbags essay Mainstream Publishers and Weblogs covers why weblogs hosted by mainstream publishers may not be a good idea. I'm more interested in learning about the Salon-blog community, and to see if I'd recommend a new blogger to get started there.

The Salon blogs FAQ answers why you'd pay for a blog when there's free alternatives: "No other blogging tool gets a non-technically skilled user on the Web as quickly and painlessly. Also, Salon Blogs users will automatically be part of a community of Salon-based bloggers, which will help you get the word about and bring visitors to read what you write."

I haven't played with Radio in a long time, and can't really make a comment on how easy it is to get to work. While it has advantages, I can see independent thinkers who want to start a weblog, be unwilling to appear to be joining a herd.

As for needing help getting visitors, I've always believed that's a function of your content and you outgoing links. I'll cover this subject in another post.

Peterme' s thoughts on a panel discussion "Weblogs: Challenging Mass Media and Society". A comment to his post asks "aren't weblogs still web pages?" We'll have to answer that.

Radio Free Blogistan discusses Peterme's comments. I'm less interested in whether bloggers are doing journalism than I am in the discussion of the form - "Weblogs are a form (not a medium... the Web is a medium), and journalism is a practice."

Scott Rosenberg in the blog about Salon blogs, posts links to articles relating to the blog-journalism issue

This weblog is the online home for a program on weblogs I'll be hosting at the Sulzer Branch of the Chicago Public Library. I've created this weblog in order to have a place where I can jot down some notes, solicit some comments, list resources covering the field of weblogs and ultimately make the presentation available to the rest of the blogosphere.

Feel free to comment on any aspect of the program, the resources or the blogosphere in general. I'm more than happy to offer author status to anyone who would like to contribute to this topic.