CITY WEBLOG LAUNCHED
On July 5, 2005, the
City officially launched a weblog entitled “Owosso City Journal.” In
announcing the creation of the weblog, City Manager Gregg Guetschow
said, “The weblog is an easy way to inform residents with Internet
access about what the City is doing. It will be a good complement to our
official Web site and our monthly water bill inserts.”
What is a weblog?
A weblog,
often called “blog” for short, is a diary or journal that is maintained
on the Internet. These are used by individuals and businesses in a wide
variety of ways. Two features distinguish weblogs from other Web sites:
1) They are usually updated regularly with new content; and 2) The
newest content always appears at the top, which makes it easy for
readers to find the most recent information.
What is a weblog
post? A
post is the name given to a new journal entry. Each post on the Owosso
City Journal will have a unique title and a date and time stamp.
Where can I find the
weblog?
The URL for the City’s weblog is
http://owosso.blogs.com. This address can be typed into your
browser’s address window to take you there. In addition, there is a link
near the top of the City Manager page on the City’s official Web site.
The address for this location is
http://ci.owosso.mi.us/Services/CityManager/CityManager.htm. Once
you have found the weblog, you might wish to bookmark it so that you can
come back often.
Why did the City
start a weblog?
The weblog was created for much the same reason that the City updated
its Web site and started these water bill inserts – the City was
interested in using different ways to help keep citizens informed about
what the City is doing. The Owosso City Journal can be updated easily
with photographs and brief articles about different projects and
activities. The goal has been to encourage readers to visit regularly by
having posts that are interesting, informative and quick to read.
What topics have
been covered so far?
There have been about 20 posts since the Owosso City Journal began. The
subjects have included the Armory parking lot paving project, the
Chamber of Commerce building relocation, the old hotel site, Vaungarde
cleanup, radio announcements and the 4-city softball tournament. All of
these posts have included photographs. In the case of the softball
tournament, there are two albums of photographs that can be viewed as
well.
How much does the
weblog cost?
The weblog is hosted by the Typepad service which is part of a company
called Six Apart. The cost for having the Owosso City Journal on this
site is $89.50 per year.
Who creates the
posts and how long does it take?
As the weblog indicates, posts are created by City Manager Gregg
Guetschow. It takes about 30 minutes to prepare each one.
How often are new
posts added?
The goal is to put
new content on the weblog at least 3 times each week.
Is anybody reading
the Owosso City Journal?
The weblog is averaging about 20 visitors per day. Some of these
visitors are City employees who use the weblog to find out about some of
the things the City is doing in departments other than those in which
they work. It is expected that readership will increase as people become
more familiar with it.
What kind of
comments is the City receiving about the weblog?
So far only a couple of comments have been received and those have been
positive. A helpful suggestion came from a reader named Carolyn who is a
new resident in the community. She said she did not always know where
some of the locations were that have been mentioned on the weblog. Posts
that make reference to a specific location now include a link to a map
so that readers will know where these places are.
I do not have
Internet access. How can I see the Owosso City Journal?
The Owosso branch of
the Shiawassee District Library has computers available for use that
have access to the Internet.
What is next for the
weblog?
The City’s account with Typepad allows it to have up to three weblogs.
Consideration is being given at the time of this writing to starting a
second weblog called “Official Response.” This would be used to provide
up-to-date information about current topics that are of interest to
citizens but that are of a different nature than subjects covered by the
Owosso City Journal. If this weblog is launched, it will be announced on
the Owosso City Journal site.
I am interested in
starting my own weblog. Where can I learn more?
Millions of people around the world have started their own blogs for
sharing photos, family news, or just as a creative outlet. There are a
number of free sites, although some of these include advertising. Two
that are popular are Blogger (http://www.blogger.com)
and MSN Spaces (http://spaces.msn.com)
but there are many others as well. Some of these sites are simpler to
use than others, so you might want to do a little research to determine
which might work best for you.
Please Visit Our
Internet Sites:
Official City of
Owosso Web Site –
http://ci.owosso.mi.us
Owosso City Journal
Weblog –
http://owosso.blogs.com
