The text I'm reading for my class is called "Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms," written by Will Richardson, the author of the blog Weblogged. In one of the blogging chapters, he describes a spectrum of posting, from journaling (which he does not consider blogging) to links with some analysis (simple blogging) to extended analysis of a subject over a longer period of time (complex blogging.)
When zoos blog, I think they are mostly journaling. "This is what we're doing right now." If there are any links, it is to a picture or video of something about the zoo itself: a cute baby animal, area teenagers involved in a conservation project, etc. Now, I don't agree with Richardson that journaling isn't blogging. If the journaling prompts reaction and replys in the comments section, I think it is blogging. It is very simple blogging, though. "Low-level" as my course mentor might say.
Could zoos utilize higher level blogging? Would the audience stick with the blog if it challenged them? I think a lot of people are tempted to write to the lowest denominator. People don't want to THINK! Give 'em another picture of the newborn tiger. Ok, newborn tigers are indeed awesome...but maybe people would like to think, too. Maybe, sprinkled in amoung the journal entries, should be a post about an upcoming legislative bill which would threaten a local green space. Or how buying locally grown food helps the environment. Or how the zoo makes breeding decisions. Something meatier.
I do think that would make the blog more interesting, and I think that would keep people coming back for more much longer than simple journaling. However, those posts are harder to write. As I said before, I good post is informal and conversational with a stong voice. It is difficult to find a writer good enough to make administrative decisions or legislative action interesting. If a zoo wants an effective, educational blog, it needs to find such a writer.
I am very skeptical of the general public's ability to follow a blog that is "meatier" as you say. Most people want popcorn, not meat. I think most people just want some passive entertainment and if getting involved in an on-line communuity is too complicated or involves too much reading, or if somehow they can't maintain their anonymity, they'll move on to something else: tv, video games, YouTube, etc.
ReplyDeleteHere's an idea: You know how Facebook has the on-line game Farmville that is widely popular? So why can't a Zoo put a "Zoo-ville" on its blog? Visitors to the blog could register and create their own little virtual zoos, aquiring animals just like you do in Farmville. The zoo blog could use this venue to post little messages about wildlife conservation, environmental stewardship, etc. Perhaps players could even purchase credits in the game with real money and that money could go to real-world conservation efforts. "Play Zooville and every time you buy an animal for $1.99, we'll donate that money to Tigers in Asia..." you get the idea.
That would be a lot of computer programming and consulting...but would certainly draw in the tv/videogame/Youtube crowd that doesn't want to "think" they just want to be entertained.
True...although I think the game would have to be on a larger platform like Facebook. And no-one really knows what makes things go viral, so it would definitely be a risk to put resources into such a gamble. It could pay off, though.
ReplyDeleteI still think the general public can be a lot smarter than common wisdom would have it. Real Live Preacher and Why Your Wife are both examples of really meaty and extremely popular blogs. I think people try to dumb things down too much. If we expected more from the general public, maybe we'd be pleasantly surprised.