Blogging workshop for beginners, which blogging software to use?

[elibrarian]

Hi there, we will be having a blogging hands-on workshop at the library (for staff as well as for the patrons) and now my question is, which blogging software should I use?

I was thinking about something really simple like Wordpress/Blogger but I am also quite interested in Vox or Ning where we can set up a social network group easily. Which blogging software did you choose for your pervious blogging workshop? Any suggestions?

[Woeful]

Blogger has the most user-friendly interface, and a relatively flat learning curve. I began on Blogger, but now use WordPress. Blogger also allows for the easy management of images which is a good thing for beginners. WordPress is a bit more involved and some knowledge of HTML is helpful while using it. To get people blogging immediately go with Blogger. If they like it, they can always switch to something else.

[Robin Hastings]

When we did our Library Learning 2.0, we required the use of Blogger, since when they signed up for a Gmail account, they automatically got a Blogger account as well. We wanted to encourage comments from non-participating staff, too, so Vox was out - at the time, at least, it didn't allow comments from anyone not signed up with the service.
I agree with Woeful - the learning curve for Blogger is pretty flat and it's easy for even non-technically inclined folks to use!

[Mary Beth Sancomb-Moran]

We've been successful in using Blogger for our workshops. It's fairly user-friendly and seems to be easy to grasp for those who have yet to jump into the blogosphere.

[Sam Wallin]

I have a blog on Blogger and another one on Wordpress, and I like Wordpress better for two reasons - one, it's Open Source, so it fits in more with my library idealism, and two, I find it easier to add links in my Blogroll there than in Blogger. I have a wiki for doing programs like this at http://instructionwiki.org/Library_2.0_in_15_minutes_a_day#Blogging
Check it out if you're interested!
Sam

[disedlibrarian]

When I've done blogging workshops, I've recommended Blogger for those who want something quick and easy, and Edublogs.org (an education focused WordPress site) for those who would like a more controlled system.

[Memo Cordova]

I use Blogger and Wordpress. Both are great at what they do, with easy publishing features, drag and click operations, and fast publishing. Blogger improved tremendously once they went with their new platform (although it irks me that Blogger still has the menu bar above each and every blog they host, though with enough html tweaking you can get rid of it).

But for the newbie "let's get a blog!" experience, Blogger makes it easy to set one up. I agree with Woeful, start with Blogger and play around a bit; you can always switch to Wordpress, LiveJournal, etc.

[Ken Fujiuchi]

I also recommend Blogger. It still is the quickest registration process, especially if your workshop participants need to create a new account.

[elibrarian]

Hi, thank you for all your comments, one of the concern I have for Blogger is that (according to my own understanding) the user has to have an email account with Gmail, personally I see nothing wrong with it however, not all of my staff/patrons use Gmail and I'm afraid they might not be open to the idea of having another email (another set of ID, password...)

hmm...

[disedlibrarian]

You can use another email to set up a Google account, it doesn't have to be a Gmail account. No matter what system they use, they will have to have an account and at least Google uses an email address, which personally I find easier to remember than yet another username.

[Ben Brown]

I don't think you have to actually use gmail at all to have a Blogger account. I think you sign up for a Google account and gmail is an aspect of that. I think the only requisite for using Blogger is that you have an email account, not necessarily a gmail account.
Maybe a good way to pitch Blogger to those cautious about a new email account is to say that they are registering an account with Google and that gmail is a part of that account and they can use it if they want to.

[Polly Farrington]

I've used both Blogger and the free remotely hosted version of Wordpress at wordpress.com in workshops for librarians. I prefer wordpress.com for those workshops, it has a few more features that make it more flexible for library blogs (easy to add 'widgets', static pages and so on) But for ease of use and the fastest learning curve, blogger is terrific.

[disedlibrarian]

Has anyone else noticed the proliferation of word verification in Blogger? I've had to do word verification for my own posts, but not all the time. It's kind of weird, and I don't see a place in settings to turn it off. (I still want it on comments, since it definitely cuts down on the spam, but I'm getting it on posting, too.)