Over the past couple of months, I have been receiving some random requests for tips on live-blogging conferences. First, I want to tell you that I am not the guru on live-blogging; that would be the other Tim–Tim Challies. Second, these tips are merely suggestions and do not reflect a consensus or common opinion of other bloggers. Therefore, take these tips for what they are worth. 🙂
Before the Event:
1. Determine your approach, style, or philosophy of live-blogging. Do you want to write a brief summary paragraph, reporter style commentary, or a more dictatory note-taking approach? Challies would be more reporter style commentary, and I would be more dictatory. I chose this route because of the benefit the posts would be in search engine optimization and future interest among online searchers.
2. Get all available information on the event/conference. This includes the conference schedule, speakers, topics, etc. By this I mean to develop a folder where you have stock images of speakers, links and resources on the topic(s), and other pertinent information at your disposal. Be sure to have biographical sketches of the speakers available, either from the conference website or from other sources.
3. Make all necessary headers, banners, and blog buttons beforehand to use to accessorize your content. I usually have one customized header and one banner (placed at the top of each post). The button can be used to direct people to your posts via a tagged URL link.
4. Make sure that you have wi-fi available at the conference. There have been times when the network was locked, and I did not have the key to access the network, even though it was there. Not good.
5. Prepare all posts in a draft mode with appropriate titles that represent the session but also work well with search engine optimization. Each draft should have all appropriate tags and categories already inserted, along with the banner image across the top. It is best to be consistent with the titles as well as the structure of the content.
6. For equipment, make sure you have access to an outlet. For your sake, carry an extension cord in case you are not near one. Also, if your laptop has a cooling fan below on the bottom, then a cooling fan base would be really helpful to not only keep your laptop running efficiently but also make it easier to type.
7. If you are taking pictures, set up an online place for people to view your pics. In my case, I create a Flickr set on my Flickr page for all conference pictures and refer readers to that album as it is regularly updated during the conference. You will also want to do the same thing on your computer (that is, create a folder for all the images to be downloaded).
During the Event:
1. Arrive early and be prepared. This means checking for wi-fi, outlets, adequate space, etc.
2. Have multiple tabs available in your browser for your posts. Examples would be: one tab for ESV Concordance to hyperlink all Scripture texts, one tab for Google searches on books or other stuff to link in the content, one tab for your photo page, and one tab for reviewing your content uploaded thus far. I normally have my dashboard on two tabs: one for typing, and the other for editing.
3. Open a non-rich text editor such as Notepad to copy and paste your content as a means for backup. Every 5 minutes, I copy and paste my entry into Notepad in case I loose the content (which has happened on at least two occasions in the past!).
4. Create a Word document to dump your completed post after each session. Eventually, your entire live-blogging posts will be compiled into this one Word document which can be saved and converted also into a PDF for upload on your blog at the end of the conference. Doing this during the conference saves time (compared to doing it afterwards).
5. Organize the body of your text with the flow of thought, providing easy-to-read paragraphs and sentence structures. Cluttered content or long paragraphs discourage readers, and they can easily get lost. Subtitles or subheadings are also helpful.
6. Remember to spell check and grammar check your posts at the end of each session. It will not be perfect, but you do want it to be presentable. Included in this review is correcting and code or formatting errors that might have occurred.
7. Add any hyperlinks that might be helpful to readers, such as books or resources mentioned by the speaker, including Scripture references.
8. If you are writing and photography, you need to determine the best time to take photos. You will only have a brief time to do this, and I suggest that you take photos during the time when illustrations or stories are given, for two reasons: first, it is incredibly difficult to live-blog illustrations and stories; second, it is during this time the speaker is most animated and connected with the audience. The best photos are often taken during these brief moments.
9. In my case, provide a brief paragraph of personal commentary in conclusion to each session, sharing your thoughts and reflections on the message. While the body of the content is “their” words, this is an opportunity to give “my” word on the session.
10. Some general advice: Type fast; be thorough; be accurate; cover yourself (backup); get plenty of rest; don’t waste your time.
After the Event:
1. Dump images into folder and begin editing. Post 10-15 images at a time, giving adequate exposure to each session.
2. Turn Word document compilation into a PDF to be uploaded on your blog.
3. Make a compilation post of all preceding blogposts.
4. Share your thoughts on the conference.
5. File live-blogging posts and images away both on your blog and on your computer.
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I will say that many if not all of them I learned while live-blogging and trying to figure out the best way that works for me. There may be a better way to do it, so I encourage to look around on the Internet. For some examples of my live-blogging experience, go here. If you’ve got any tips or helps for live-blogging, feel free to share them in the comments section below.
Five Years and Counting
March 18, 2010Five years ago this week, I walked into Boyce Centennial Library to find my friend Zach Mabry getting on a Xanga blog-ring which made absolutely no sense to me. I had heard about blogging because of what had recently happened to Dan Rather, and I knew the potential influence they would have in our culture, but I can assure you that I had no idea that getting into blogging would result in over 2,000 blogposts and still kicking five years later. That’s just crazy.
So I just want to take a minute to say thanks to all of you who have encouraged me with your comments, emails, and personal meet-ups over the years. I can honestly say that over 90% of the people I know in the evangelical world have come either through blogging or Twitter. This journey has been marked by some wonderful blessings, not the least of which are the people who have entered my life and are now some of my closest friends–guys like Joe Thorn, Nathan Finn, and Tom Ascol who, through blogging became a mentor and spiritual father to me and with whom I have the privilege to partner with in gospel ministry.
During this journey, there has been the development of Band of Bloggers (now going on the 4th year), the Puritan Reading Challenge (which was engaged by over 20,000 people), the amazing ninth inning rally to catapult my crazy regulative principle question to #1 on Mark Driscoll’s “Ask Anything” website (which turned into a sermon series and book by Crossway), and somehow making it into the top 100 church blog listing. But more meaningful to all this has been the faithful reading of so many of you who haven’t been dialing in to the latest controversy or sexy topic but rather have embraced the metanarrative I have sought to cultivate around the gospel of Jesus Christ and the mission of the church. To hear of how some of the things I have written have personally encouraged you or proved beneficial in your church amazes and humbles me, knowing that this is God’s grace at work.
I don’t know how much longer I will be blogging in the future, but without hesitation I can say that it has been a rich and rewarding blessing to be able to share my thoughts, learn from yours, and seek to facilitate healthy conversation on important matters in the Christian life. So thank you. And I hope that whatever contributions I attempt to make in the future will honor Jesus, advance the gospel, build His church, and encourage His people. Grace and peace.
Categories: Blogging, Personal Commentary
Tags: Blogging, Thanksgiving
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