Creating a Blog with mBlog

Creating a Blog with mBlog
A University of Michigan Library Instructional Technology Workshop
Table of Contents

Introduction to Blogs .................................................................................................... 2
Definition of a Blog .................................................................................................................... 2
Further Reading About Blogs and the Blogosphere ................................................................... 3
Assistance with mBlog ................................................................................................. 3
Creating a Blog.............................................................................................................. 4
Creating Additional Blogs .......................................................................................................... 5
Modifying and Editing Existing Blogs ....................................................................................... 5
Creating a New Blog Entry ........................................................................................... 6
Title............................................................................................................................................. 6
Primary Category ........................................................................................................................ 6
Entry Body and Extended Entry ................................................................................................. 6
Excerpt ........................................................................................................................................ 6
Keywords .................................................................................................................................... 6
Post Status................................................................................................................................... 6
Allow Comments ........................................................................................................................ 6
Authored On ............................................................................................................................... 7
Text Formatting .......................................................................................................................... 7
Deleting an Entry ........................................................................................................................ 7
Creating Categories ...................................................................................................... 7
Comment Management................................................................................................. 8
Who Can Comment?................................................................................................................... 8
Controls for Commenting ........................................................................................................... 8
Moderating Comments ............................................................................................................... 9
Adding and Deleting Authors..................................................................................... 11
Adding an Author ..................................................................................................................... 11
Editing Author Permissions ...................................................................................................... 12
Deleting an Author.................................................................................................................... 12
Inserting Images.......................................................................................................... 13
Notification .................................................................................................................. 14
Email Notification..................................................................................................................... 14
RSS Notification ....................................................................................................................... 15

The Faculty Exploratory and Knowledge Navigation Center are located on the 2nd floor of the Graduate Library.
exploratory@umich.edu | http://www.lib.umich.edu/guides | knc-info@umich.edu
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Creating a Blog with mBlog
A Faculty Exploratory/Knowledge Navigation Center Workshop
Introduction to Blogs
Definition of a Blog
There are a number of definitions of what constitutes a weblog, or as it is more commonly
known, a blog. Some of the definitions are serious, others more humorous, and some are
downright pejorative.
Here is a brief definition from Peter Scott:
Blog/WebLog: a web page containing brief, chronologically arranged items of 
information. A blog can take the form of a diary, journal, what?s new page, or links to 
other web sites. 
Here is a detailed definition from the Routledge Encyclopedia of Narrative Theory [2005]:
A weblog, or blog, is a frequently updated website consisting of dated entries arranged in
reverse chronological order so the most recent post appears first (see temporal ordering).
Typically, weblogs are published by individuals and their style is personal and informal.
Weblogs first appeared in the mid-1990s, becoming popular as simple and free publishing
tools became available towards the turn of the century. Since anybody with a net connection
can publish their own weblog, there is great variety in the quality, content, and ambition of
weblogs, and a weblog may have anywhere from a handful to tens of thousands of daily
readers.
Examples of the genre exist on a continuum from confessional, online diaries to logs tracking
specific topics or activities through links and commentary. Though weblogs are primarily
textual, experimentation with sound, images, and videos has resulted in related genres such
as photoblogs, videoblogs, and audioblogs (see intermediality; media and narrative).
Most weblogs use links generously, allowing readers to follow conversations between
weblogs by following links between entries on related topics. Readers may start at any point
of a weblog, seeing the most recent entry first, or arriving at an older post via a search
engine or a link from another site, often another weblog. Once at a weblog, readers can read
on in various orders: chronologically, thematically, by following links between entries or by
searching for keywords. Weblogs also generally include a blogroll, which is a list of links to
other weblogs the author recommends. Many weblogs allow readers to enter their own
comments to individual posts.
Weblogs are serial and cumulative, and readers tend to read small amounts at a time,
returning hours, days, or weeks later to read entries written since their last visit. This serial or
episodic structure is similar to that found in *epistolary novels or diaries, but unlike these a
weblog is open-ended, finishing only when the writer tires of writing (see narrative structure).
Many weblog entries are shaped as brief, independent narratives, and some are explicitly or
implicitly fictional, though the standard genre expectation is non-fiction. Some weblogs
create a larger frame for the micro-narratives of individual posts by using a consistent rule to
constrain their structure or themes (see Oulipo), thus, Francis Strand connects his stories of
life in Sweden by ending each with a Swedish word and its translation. Other weblogs
connect frequent but dissimilar entries by making a larger narrative explicit: Flight Risk is
about an heiress’s escape from her family, The Date Project documents a young man’s
search for a girlfriend, and Julie Powell narrates her life as she works her way through Julia
Child’s cookbook.
The Knowledge Navigation Center (KNC) is located on the second floor of the Harlan Hatcher Graduate Library.
knc-info@umich.edu | http://www.lib.umich.edu/guides | (734) 647-5836.
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Creating a Blog with mBlog
A University of Michigan Library Instructional Technology Workshop

The key points to keep in mind about blogs:
1. They are most often webpages composed of posts or postings, frequently brief but not
always, arranged in chronological order from most recent to oldest.
2. They are almost always created by weblogging software products, such as Blogger or
Movable Type.
3. They are often, but not always, link-heavy. That is, a lot of the social capital and
community generated by blogs is the result of bloggers linking to each other’s posts or to
other links (news articles, webpages, etc.) that other members of the blogosphere find
interesting, compelling, or, more often than not, revolting.
4. They often, but not always, have features that allow for readers to comment on posts.
Further Reading About Blogs and the Blogosphere
Weblogs.com: History of weblogs
http://oldweblogscomblog.scripting.com/historyOfWeblogs

Weblogs: A history and perspective
http://www.rebeccablood.net/essays/weblog_history.html

Wikipedia: Blog
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog

Diego’s Weblog: An introduction to weblogs
http://www.dynamicobjects.com/d2r/archives/002399.html

LLRX: A closer look at weblogs
http://www.llrx.com/columns/notes46.htm

Bridging the gap: A genre analysis of weblogs
http://www.ics.uci.edu/~jpd/classes/ics234cw04/herring.pdf

Language, Learning and Technology: Blogs and wikis: Environments for online collaboration
http://llt.msu.edu/vol7num2/emerging/default.html
Assistance with mBlog
For assistance with mBlog, send email to: mblog-help@umich.edu or visit the these places,
both on the second floor of the Graduate Library:
Knowledge Navigation Center (http://www.lib.umich.edu/knc/) Email the KNC at
kncinfo@umich.edu or call 647-5836.
Faculty Exploratory (http://www.lib.umich.edu/exploratory) Email exploratory@umich.edu or
call 647-7406.
The Faculty Exploratory and Knowledge Navigation Center are located on the 2nd floor of the Graduate Library.
exploratory@umich.edu | http://www.lib.umich.edu/guides | knc-info@umich.edu
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Creating a Blog with mBlog
A Faculty Exploratory/Knowledge Navigation Center Workshop
Creating a Blog
1. Go to http://mblog.lib.umich.edu and login with your uniqname and password.
2. A screen will appear with the use policy and asking you whether or not you’d like to have
your blog considered for archiving at the Bentley Historical Library.
3. A blog will be automatically generated with your uniqname. The URL for the public
view of your blog will be: http://mblog.lib.umich.edu/~youruniqname
4. In the Core Setup menu, you’ll want to fill out the:
• Weblog Name: Name of your blog. This can be changed at anytime.
• Short Name: A short name that will be used in the URL. It can only contain letters
and numbers. It cannot be changed later.
• Description: The description for your blog can be changed at anytime and will
appear under the title of your blog.
• With the creation of each blog, you have the option have your blog considered for
archiving.
• Select the Save Changes button.














You will then be prompted to rebuild your site


The Knowledge Navigation Center (KNC) is located on the second floor of the Harlan Hatcher Graduate Library.
knc-info@umich.edu | http://www.lib.umich.edu/guides | (734) 647-5836.
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Creating a Blog with mBlog
A University of Michigan Library Instructional Technology Workshop
You’ll then be asked which files to rebuild. It’s okay to
use the default setting, Rebuild All Files. Click the
Rebuild button.


You will then be asked if you want to view your site.
This is the public view of your blog that others will see.

Creating Additional Blogs
You can create as many blogs as you like. To create
an additional blog, select Create a new Weblog from
the Shortcuts menu. You’ll then be taken through
the blog set-up process again.



Modifying and Editing Existing Blogs
When you login to mBlog, you’ll see a list of all the blogs you’ve created. To edit a blog,
select the blog title (i.e. shollar’s blog, shollar1, etc). To see the public view of the blog, select
the URL.



The Faculty Exploratory and Knowledge Navigation Center are located on the 2nd floor of the Graduate Library.
exploratory@umich.edu | http://www.lib.umich.edu/guides | knc-info@umich.edu
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Creating a Blog with mBlog
A Faculty Exploratory/Knowledge Navigation Center Workshop
Creating a New Blog Entry
Select New Entry or Create Entry, depending on which screen you’re at. You’ll be taken to
the Create New Entry screen. Entries form the basis of your weblog; they are the content,
whereas the templates (below) generally define how that content appears. The following fields
will appear:
Title
The title of your entry is required.
Primary Category
You have the option to choose a primary category for your new entry for categorization or
archiving purposes. Categories appear on the right side of the mBlog screen, and can make it
easier for readers to find posts about particular topics.
Entry Body and Extended Entry
Collectively these two fields make up the body of your entry. You can use the two fields
however you like: you could split up your entry over the two fields, or you could completely
ignore the Extended Entry text and enter only the Entry Body text. mBlog allows you to split
up your entry for more flexibility in the display of that entry; for example, if you write very
long entries, you may not want your entire entry on your index pages.
Excerpt
You can enter an excerpt from your entry, or use this field to provide a summary of the content
therein.
Keywords
The Keywords field can hold whatever type of data you want to put in it; it is geared for
holding metadata or keywords about your entry, and is not normally displayed on your public
site. It is searched when a user performs a public search on your site.
Post Status
You have three options for Post Status. Publish makes your entire entry viewable on your
public blog; Draft saves your entry, but only you can see it, and Future allows you to enter a
date on which the post will appear.
Allow Comments
Specifies whether you would like users to be able to post comments on this entry. There are
three options: None, Open, or Closed. If you select None, visitors will not be able to post
comments, nor will they be able to view existing comments. If you select Open, visitors will
be able to both post and view existing comments. If you select Closed, visitors will be able to
view existing comments, but not post new comments. This is useful when you wish to turn off
The Knowledge Navigation Center (KNC) is located on the second floor of the Harlan Hatcher Graduate Library.
knc-info@umich.edu | http://www.lib.umich.edu/guides | (734) 647-5836.
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Creating a Blog with mBlog
A University of Michigan Library Instructional Technology Workshop
commenting for an old post on your site, but you wish to leave up the old comments for
posterity.
See more on commenting below.
Authored On
mBlog allows you to pre-date or post-date your entries by modifying the Authored on date and
time for an entry. If you change this value, you must use the form YYYY-MM-DD
HH:MM:SS; otherwise you will get an error.
Text Formatting
Specifies the text formatting option for this entry. You can select a different formatting option
for each entry in the system. The default for this entry is set in your weblog configuration
under Default Text Formatting for new entries.
You can use the Preview button to preview your entry before posting; Cancel will return you
to the List Entries page.
Deleting an Entry
You can delete an existing entry by pressing Delete Entry; you will then be asked to confirm
that you really wish to delete the entry. Agree, and your entry will be deleted.
Note that, upon saving an entry that is marked for Publish, your archives for that entry, along
with all of your indexes, are automatically rebuilt. Thus you do not need to manually rebuild
your files after posting a new entry, or after editing an existing entry.
Creating Categories
Use categories to group your entries for easier reference, archiving and blog display. You can
assign a category to a particular entry when creating or editing entries. To create a category,
select Create new top level category. Enter the name of your category and select the Create
Category button. To see the changes on your public site, you’ll need to rebuild your site.

To edit an existing category, click the category's title. To create a subcategory, click the
corresponding Create button. To move a category, click the corresponding Move button.
The Faculty Exploratory and Knowledge Navigation Center are located on the 2nd floor of the Graduate Library.
exploratory@umich.edu | http://www.lib.umich.edu/guides | knc-info@umich.edu
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Creating a Blog with mBlog
A Faculty Exploratory/Knowledge Navigation Center Workshop
Comment Management
An important feature of blogs is the ability of readers to leave comments on an author’s
postings. mBlog’s Movable Type software has some convenient built-in features that make it
easy to manage comments on your blog.
Who Can Comment?
mBlog’s commenting features are protected behind CoSign, the same security protocol that
guards other online UM applications such as Webmail. Placing comments behind CoSign
protects your blog from unwanted automatic messages (blog spam). It also imposes a
constraint on commenters: only individuals who have valid UM uniqnames can leave
comments on your blog. Non-UM users who wish to comment may sign up for a Friend
account through ITCS; this provides them with some limited use of certain UM computing
applications. Users with Friend accounts cannot create blogs or be added as authors to
existing blogs.
Controls for Commenting
The basic controls for comment management on your blog are located in the Configuration
section. Click the Preferences link in the upper-right of the page, then scroll down or click on
the Comment Configuration link. You should see a section of the page that looks like this:


Enable Comment Moderation: allows the blog author to approve comments before they
appear on the blog (see moderation section below).
The Knowledge Navigation Center (KNC) is located on the second floor of the Harlan Hatcher Graduate Library.
knc-info@umich.edu | http://www.lib.umich.edu/guides | (734) 647-5836.
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Creating a Blog with mBlog
A University of Michigan Library Instructional Technology Workshop
“Allow Comments” Default: sets the default comment status for a new entry in your blog.
New blogs are automatically set to “Open,” which allows users to comment on entries. If you
do not wish to allow comments in your blog, set this control to “None.”
Comment Listing Order: controls whether comments are listed with oldest comments first
(Ascending) or newest comments first (Descending).
Text Formatting for Comments: controls the formatting of comments with respect to line
breaks. If the control is set to “Convert Line Breaks” (the default), then the system will
automatically generate a <br> tag when the user presses “Enter” in their comment text.
Allow HTML in Comments: controls whether or not HTML entered in a comment will be
allowed or ignored by mBlog. If this control is set to “Yes,” users may format their own
comments using HTML.
Auto-Link URLs: if this control is checked, any URL in a comment will automatically be
given a hyperlink to its address; users can then simply click the link rather than cutting and
pasting the text into their browser.
Email New Comments: if this control is checked, mBlog will email comments to your UM
email account when they are posted. If you have enabled comment moderation, we
recommend that you disable this feature; otherwise, you will receive two emails for each
comment (one moderation notice and one “new comment” notice).
Moderating Comments
In some cases, you may wish to review comments posted to your blog before they appear to
the public. The Comment Moderation feature of mBlog allows you to do this easily. When
this box in the Configuration section is checked, commenters will see the following message
after submitting their comments:


The Faculty Exploratory and Knowledge Navigation Center are located on the 2nd floor of the Graduate Library.
exploratory@umich.edu | http://www.lib.umich.edu/guides | knc-info@umich.edu
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Creating a Blog with mBlog
A Faculty Exploratory/Knowledge Navigation Center Workshop
Meanwhile, mBlog will send an email notification to your account:

To approve this comment, you can either click on the link in the email message, or go to your
blog’s author menu and click on the Comments option under Post in the left-hand toolbar,
then click on the Comment’s title. Either method will bring you to the following screen:

To approve the comment, simply click the Approve button; the comment will then be visible
on your blog. If you would prefer that the comment not appear on your blog, you can simply
do nothing, although the comment will continue to appear in your Comments listing until you
choose to delete it using the Delete button in the Approval screen.
The Knowledge Navigation Center (KNC) is located on the second floor of the Harlan Hatcher Graduate Library.
knc-info@umich.edu | http://www.lib.umich.edu/guides | (734) 647-5836.
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