This post shares some gyan about the emerging social media trend, live blogging of events. The content is drafted after my experience of live blogging several conferences (CII, IAMAI to name a few) and contributing as official blogger for a few events. If you’re not a serious blogger and the topic is not interesting to you, please check best posts of 2008 here
What is live blogging?
Those familiar with traditional journalism would know the significance of reporting the news at the earliest. Journalists all over strive to deliver latest news into your TV room, as soon as they occur, braving all odds in the process. With high end communication technologies at their disposal, journalists of today have relatively easy job, compared to their seniors who had to depend on traditional medium of communication such as telephone, telegram and fax while they were on the field few decades ago.
With blogging positioning itself as an unofficial alternative to journalism, live blogging can add significant value to any event, even more than what traditional reporting could offer.
Live blogging, in its simplest definition, is providing live updates about an event/conference on a blog. If it is a conference, live bloggers can note down the excerpts of talks given by various speakers and publish it as a blog post after his/her talk, if it is some other kind of event, live bloggers provide periodic updates and photos on the blog about various happenings at the event.
Why Live Blogging is important?
Traditional Media usually gives very limited coverage. For a day-long event, newspaper report next day would probably carry a very brief summary of the event and highlights of talks given by one or two most prominent speakers.
Similar: My early journalism experiences * Official Blogger for Tata Nano * Ideas Generated at CII Connect 2009 * Notes from ICT for SMEs Conference, New Delhi *
Those familiar with traditional journalism would know the significance of reporting the news at the earliest. Journalists all over strive to deliver latest news into your TV room, as soon as they occur, braving all odds in the process. With high end communication technologies at their disposal, journalists of today have relatively easy job, compared to their seniors who had to depend on traditional medium of communication such as telephone, telegram and fax while they were on the field few decades ago.
With blogging positioning itself as an unofficial alternative to journalism, live blogging can add significant value to any event, even more than what traditional reporting could offer.
Live blogging, in its simplest definition, is providing live updates about an event/conference on a blog. If it is a conference, live bloggers can note down the excerpts of talks given by various speakers and publish it as a blog post after his/her talk, if it is some other kind of event, live bloggers provide periodic updates and photos on the blog about various happenings at the event.
Why Live Blogging is important?
Traditional Media usually gives very limited coverage. For a day-long event, newspaper report next day would probably carry a very brief summary of the event and highlights of talks given by one or two most prominent speakers.
Advantages of Live Blogging:
- Traditional media may not be able to cover an event live and delivers event news to public after a delay of few hours to a day. Live blogging, on the other hand can bring in instant updates and happenings of the event, both for the people attending the event as well as to those who are not able to. Conventional media (print & TV) only gives a high level reporting of the event (due to time and space constraints) while bloggers can report each activity in detail and let readers chose what they want to read
- Live blogging ensures extended reach for an event, reaching out to those who may not be physically present but are keen to follow the developments (like what did a particular speaker say etc) Live blogging lets them follow the updates from the comfort of their office/homes.
- Live blogging effectively documents the keynotes shared by the speaker. A journalist composing his report at the end of the day will have much less to recall vis-à-vis a blogger who blogs soon after the speaker finishes speaking
- At most of the conferences, end of the day all discussions are forgotten and people get busy with their day to day work. Live blogging can well document the day’s proceedings and facilitate further discussion on the topic among interested individuals, even after the event.
- Live blogging aids in SEO of the site/blog through quality content and possible linkbacks, helps organizers review what all happened, sustains the buzz about the event, even after it is over
- Facilitates 2 way interactions- those who’re not physically present can also ask questions for the speakers or share their feedback. This is something impossible in mainstream journalism
Similar: My early journalism experiences * Official Blogger for Tata Nano * Ideas Generated at CII Connect 2009 * Notes from ICT for SMEs Conference, New Delhi *
hi, this is really informative for a novice like me, continue to give me something like this.Well written!!!
ReplyDeletePrasanna,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment. Will do write tips like this occasionally
Nalini:
Thanks
Nice one
ReplyDelete