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Blogging Eracism
January 22nd, 2006Went to an Eracism meeting yesterday…
http://www.eracismneworleans.org/
Eracism is an organization that was founded in New Orleans in 1993.
The idea behind Eracism is that black and white folks meet and discuss an issue of race. You can stay whatever, but no personal attacks, derogatory language. It is quite civil. I think it is a good program. I think it can help us discuss the challenges we face in bringing all New Orleanians back home.
This is an excellent blogging application.
Yesterday, after the meeting, I spoke with a director. He felt that few people linked to his site. I said that he needs to link out, so that people will link back. He recognized the logic in this.
I never mentioned the words “blog”, but we’ll be meeting for lunch tomorrow, and I’d like to help explain blogging, and set them up with a blog, as a community service.
Thoughts? How do I get these folks blogging? Any pointers to documents that describe blogging? I know that, as a blogger, I have a hard time seeing the forest for the trees.
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Comments 
Navigating their site, I have two immediate observations.
1. The site is too static and has to show that they are a current and vibrant organization, conducting projects and dialogues in the city at this crucial time. It seems a few generations old in terms of style, and a web presence should always be as current as the organization itself.
2. The home page says nothing about the context of New Orleans, i.e. it says nothing about this IMPORTANT movement in New Orleans. The front page cannot be vague and has to be stand out from being that of just another community organization.
A new design may include:
1. A meaningful About Us blurb in a right sidebar, with a calendar underneath, links to other RELEVANT sites of interest, and contact information
2. Main body that contains latest information on what they are doing in and around the city. Attract readers to jump right in.
You can easily do this with a WordPress setup, much like yours.
I’m going to cut and paste an email I used to send to a non blogger, titled Blogs 101, edited to protect the recipients identity. this forms the core nugget of what I use to explain blogging to newbies.
——–
Unlike most forms of media, the blog is primarily a communication tool which emphasizes dialogue, conversation and connectivity.
The trackbacks, comments and posts are ways to link, to interconnect, with other bits of information that allow the reader (participant) to “track back” to other conversations, for reference or greater depth. And all of these generate traffic, as people read your post, and if I have something to say that interests them, they’ll use the comment to find my blog, or click my trackback to read my post which is a reponse to yours.
Trackbacks are a certain URL that you will see if you click on the track back part of someone’s post,
And this is the trackback URL for that post,
Your blogging software should be set up so that when you compose a post, there is a section which allows you paste trackback urls, so that when you submit the post to be published, the sites are linked with approximately 40 words, such as you can see here,
Do you see how “perspective” shows up twice? sometimes if you’re not careful and correct a typo and the URL is still in that box again, you get a couple of the same. you can delete one.
Lastly, write about what you’re most comfortable talking about, read the conversations going on in your area of interest, add your viewpoint etc. It takes time, it’s roots are viral marketing and the spread of ideas, and ultimately forming a community.
Perhaps explain blogs as a way of taking their existing discussions to a much broader circle of interest. While people in New Orleans will always have a greater interest in their own locality, a blog is a way of extending their reach to former residents (like Alan!) and inviting related discussion from different places with similar experiences.
As for explaining what a weblog is - it’s probably easier to show examples - your own blogs would be a useful start! Or check the Wikipedia pages:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weblogs
for a reasonably comprehensive rundown on blogs.
Most of their blog posts should be No Comments Allowed, to get information, meeting dates and project reports out. It’s a way of keeping them current without having to entertain the comment of every single person who comes along and has something to say. An email address can be provided for the few with valid questions/concerns.
And then, there should be the discussion forum with comments allowed. But, the blogosphere is so much larger than New Orleans - Eracism cannot afford to be consumed by the same arguments that people who live on the internet (and trolls) spew at such organizations.
For Eracism, what they do in the city (face-to-face with people) is more important than blog discussions. Their internet presence should only help foster community round-table discussions. To that end, it’s not enough to build them a blog and let them get “blogged down” (haha) … it’s important to teach them some rules of community blogging, i.e. you don’t have to get back to or answer everything.
Maitri
Regarding, the calendaring, I think they could need to use a calendar application, maybe even somthing like upcoming.com or meetup.com with the events in the sidebar. It would be trying to turn every posting about dates and times into a moderated discussion.
Maitri
There are all sorts of trolls to attract with an open discussion of race. Not only your classic racist, but the anti-racist anarchist crazies. Two groups that plauge the Interweb.
Actually, I think the trick for Eracism would be to have some pretty strict moderation guidelines. I’d like them to use the blogosphere, and to apply their forum to the blogosphere, but it does threaten to get blogged down.
A post about a meeting time could have comments, but they can only be about where and when. Anyone posting about an issue would be asked to post somewhere else.
When there is a meeting recap, then comments can be thrown open. Moderation is going to still have to be pretty tight. The Eracism people are going to have to learn that you can’t feed the trolls. That it’s okay to reject an inappropriate comment. If the person really wants to make an innappropirate comment, they can get their own blog.
I’d also like to set some sort of accountability rule. Maybe anonymous posts are rejected.
The big lesson, you don’t have to repsond to everything, allow everything. A blog moderation guideline, public and published, would be key.
This is starting to sound pretty revolutionary, how do we blog for communication and understanding, instead of left versus right pundity.
Your last sentence is what I hoped the blogosphere would be used for, instead of the usual “Rants Of So And So …” (which is also fine in the interest of free speech, but tedium sets in when there is much opinion and little discussion).
Yes, you understood the gist of my recommendations for the Eracism web presence very well. If you do that, with About Us, Calendar, Past Successes, Link To Documents/Images and Contact Information on the side, they can (and should) get rid of their old site.
Maitri “Content Queen” V-R
Maitri
It’s on.