The Wisdom of Crowds, the Safety of Numbers

Creating a Community Blog in Eight Easy Steps

1. Start with a URL. That's the web address, www.metronetiq.com for this website. I recommend GoDaddy.com, as having the best value for URL purchase. You can get a website URL for under $10. Something catchy helps in branding, but I don't think it's all that important - better to get started than to spend considerable time picking a URL.

2. Get some web logging software. I chose the most popular software for blogging, Movable Type by Six Apart. I paid $99 for a software license.

3. Make arrangements for website hosting. Websites are really just files on a web server, a specialized computer hooked up to the Internet. So you need to either have your own server, or pay some other company to do that for you. Typically, hosting companies charge a small fee and then move up the fees if there is considerable traffic on your site. I took the easy route and chose hosting by AQHost, one of the recommended hosting sites on the Six Apart website. I can no longer recommend AQHost, however, due to poor customer service. In launching MetroNetIQ.com, I switched to LivingDot, which will cost me about $150/year - including the cost for software - a small price to pay for a company that specializes in hosting Movable Type blog sites.

4. Start posting content. the rule for a successful blog is to write, write some, and then, write some more again. Like the shampoo bottle instructions, let's add a final step: Repeat. Short and punchy is best. As Hewitt stresses in his book, blog sites are about relevant content, an easy writing style, and current information. The key is to keep it simple to start, and get into the habit of posting regularly. It's OK to be candid, in fact, that's the expected tone in the blogosphere. It's important to be accurate, but even more important to be timely. Because the medium is so current, small errors and/or omissions can be corrected as soon as you catch them, but gross errors run the risk of being picked up and spread widely, so caution and prudence are in order. Good to follow the Dale Carnegie guidelines and stick to positive statements in your comments (say nice things about people, or remain mostly silent).

5. Learn to use the software. Early on, I went to the bookstore and bought a helpful book, Movable Type 3.0 Bible Desktop Edition) to help me with the basics. I was able to get quite far in understanding the tools and functionality of the software with this aide. But, I wanted to go further, so I went to the next step ...

6. Hire a professional. I took an additional step and hired a web design expert to dress up the site and add more functionality. Steve Zilko at Zilko Web Solutions has been very helpful to me in adding functionality and giving the site a more professional look. I recommend you drop Steve a line, or hire somebody local, or work within your own staff to dress up the site and add further functionality.

7. Start interacting with your community. By using a blog to focus debate and update your community, you are helping to generate trust in advance of this next step, bringing broadband access to your town. The great thing about the blog and blog software is that you are able to reach your constiuents cheaply and effectively, gather input, and incorporate sound suggestions that will make your final project better reflect the wants and needs of the community.

8. Incorporate the blog into your new network website. By starting early on, you are also creating an archive that will reflect the steps you took to create your network, which will be helpful to you and to others whom you may want to coach after you have your network.