Managing Your Privacy

The moment that you create any online account, such as a blog or Facebook account, you should be thinking about protecting your privacy.

For example, when you created your blogger.com account, you created some important personal information such as your username and password.

Just as we encourage patrons to safeguard their library card number and 4-digit PIN, we too must keep our account information in a safe place and never share it with anyone, even with the Web 2.0 Training Team.

If we share this information with others, then we put ourselves at risk for identity theft. Consequently, any individual could potentially impersonate you through your social software accounts and steal more of your personal information.

Remember that once you create a social software account, your personal information, posts, etc. can be immediately published on the web. Therefore, this information can become immediately public and permanent and can be quickly and easily disseminated and searched by other people.

So how can we manage our privacy settings in blogger.com?

Here are some simple tips to gain control over your privacy:

A) Edit Your Profile in Blogger

In order to change your profile settings (for example, here you can select whether or not to show your real name and email address on your public blog), please follow these steps:

1. Log into your blogger.com account. Here you will be immediately signed into your “Dashboard.”
2. Find and click on “Edit Profile”
3. On the “Edit User” profile page, you will see “Privacy” and “Identity” settings.
4. Modify these settings to suit your needs.
5. Then don’t forget to scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on “Save Profile” to save your new changes.

B) Edit Your Settings in Blogger

1. Log into your blogger.com account. Here you will be immediately signed into your “Dashboard.”
2. Find and click on “Settings”
3. You will immediately see the “Basic” settings page. Scroll down to the question “Let search engines find your blog?” If you select “No” for this question (using the drop down menu), you are allowing people to view your blog. However, users will not be able to search for your blog using search engines like Google.
4. You can also experiment with other settings by clicking on “Publishing,” “Comments” and “Archiving” located near the top of the settings page. Modify these settings to suit your needs.

C) Edit Who Can See Your Blog

1. Log into your blogger.com account. Here you will be immediately signed into your “Dashboard.”
2. Find and click on “Settings”
3. Find and click on “Permissions” near the top of the page. In the box titled “Blog Readers,” you can give permission to certain users to see your blog. For example, you can allow anyone to see your blog, you can invite users to see your blog or you can restrict viewing to only the author(s) of your blog.

D) Privacy Resources

It is important to review any website’s privacy policy to learn what measures are taken (or not) to maintain users’ privacy. In particular, Facebook has been highly criticized and scrutinized for compromising users’ privacy.

For more information see: http://www.priv.gc.ca/media/nr-c/2010/nr-c_100127_e.cfm

Since blogger.com is a Google product, you can review Google’s privacy policy (which covers the blogger.com privacy policy) at: http://www.google.com/privacypolicy.html

For more information about privacy and social software, you can review the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada’s (OPCC) resources at: http://www.priv.gc.ca/information/social/index_e.cfm

Blog Design Tips **(Includes Optional Tasks)

Now that you have personalized your blog, it would be a good time to review and edit your website. You can look at your colleagues’ or other people’s blogs to get a sense of what design elements work or do not work.


Imagine that you are someone else navigating through your blog. Do you feel over or underwhelmed by photos? Do the titles of the blog and posts stand out? Can you easily find what you are looking for?


Remember, the purpose of any blog is to entertain or inform. You should be able to communicate your message in 20 seconds or less. If you are having a difficult time figuring out the main purpose of your blog or how to navigate around it, then you may need to re-consider your blog design.


Here are some tips which may help guide you through the editing process:


1. Have a purpose for your blog. Communicate your content in a simple, clear way or you will lose your readers. Ask yourself questions like, “Who is my audience?” and “What information am I trying to share with my readers?”


2. Create simple graphics that are easy on the eyes. Graphics should neither overpower your content nor distract your reader. Graphics should make it easy to find information on your page or the information will not be read.


3. Use simple fonts. Since we quickly scan, not read information on the Web, it is important to avoid using fancy fonts that are unreadable.


4. Limit the length of your blog’s home page. Try keeping all of your blog pages to about 2 screen-lengths because readers do not want to scroll down or sideways for a long time. You can always use less widgets or images or display fewer posts to make this work.


5. Use white space in your blog. Blog design templates help you to create information in chunks, which makes it easier to scan through content. You can add more white space in your blog so that your information can be more easily viewed.


6. Use fewer images. Be kind to our friends with slower Internet connections! Large image files may take a long time to load onto someone’s computer. Using a simple design with colours and simple text will allow your blog to look good in a variety of web browsers like Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox or Safari (for Mac users) and with different computer settings.


7. Categorize your posts. If you create a lot of posts about the same topic, you can create labels to group similar posts together (much like in a library catalogue!).


***Optional Task


To add labels to your post:


Go to your ‘Dashboard’.
Click on ‘Edit posts’.
Click ‘Edit’ beside the blog entries that you want to label.
Click on the blue drop down menu beside “Label Actions” to create, apply or remove labels to your posts.




To add a labels widget to your home page:


Go to your ‘Dashboard’.
Click on ‘Layout’.
On the ‘Page Elements’ page, click on ‘Add a Gadget.’
Scroll down through all of the widgets and click on ‘Labels’
Select the features of your ‘Labels’ widget and click on ‘Save’
Return to the home page of your blog to see you new widget.


Happy editing!

References

MacDonald, A. (n.d.). Effective blog design tips for successful blogging. Retrieved February 1, 2010, from http://www.bloggingtips.com/2008/04/03/effective-blog-design-tips-for-successful-blogging/


Scocco, D. (n.d.). 43 Web design mistakes you should avoid. Retrieved February 1, 2010, from http://www.dailyblogtips.com/43-web-design-mistakes-you-should-avoid/


Stauffer, T. (2008). How to do everything with your Web 2.0 blog. New York: The McGraw-Hill Companies.


Typepad. (n.d.). 10 Design Tips to Make Your TypePad Pro Blog Look Fabulous. Retrieved February 1, 2010, from http://www.typepad.com/tips/blog-design-tips.html

Useful Links

Here are some helpful sites:

Kimberly Sutherland-Mills found this Young Adult Library Services Association's online article about how blogging is good for professional development:

http://yalsa.ala.org/blog/2010/03/03/blogging-as-a-professional-development-tool/

Read a brief overview of the Web 2.0 concept in Wikipedia:


Wikipedia's article on  web 2.0


For technical assistance with Google Accounts (e.g. read articles, view video tutorials, privacy/security, etc.):


Google help


For technical assistance with Blogger:


Blogger help


For technical assistance with Twitter:


Twitter help


Found a helpful link? Please post it in the Comments section.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Is this program open to all KFPL staff or just some?

This program is open to ALL KFPL staff regardless of position and status (i.e. full-time, part-time and relief staff).

2. How long do I have to complete the program?

The training program will begin on Monday January 25, 2010 and will end on Monday June 7, 2010. You have 20 weeks during which to complete 10 guided tasks.

3. How long does it take to complete each task?

Generally, each task should take about 1 hour to complete. This time will vary depending on a variety of factors, e.g. individual learning styles, scheduling, level of personal interest, etc. Each person will complete the tasks at his/her own pace .

4. What happens if I don’t finish each task within the 2-week period?

Each person will complete the tasks at his/her own pace but it is recommended that you complete the tasks as they are posted to the trainingkfpl.blogspot.com website so that you don’t become overwhelmed with too many tasks near the end of the program.

5. Do I have to work alone or can I work in a pair/group?

This online training has been developed to be a hands-on, self-directed program however you are strongly encouraged to collaborate, share and explore these technologies with your colleagues. Although we would like each person to create their own Web 2.0 products, there will be some tasks which could involve group work.

6. I need help with these tasks. Who do I contact for extra assistance?

Please feel free to approach your Web 2.0 training team with any of your questions and/or concerns. You can contact us by email, telephone and/or in-person and we will happily support you during this process.

Please send all email queries to training@kfpl.ca.

7. I would like to provide some feedback about this training. Who should I contact?

The Web 2.0 training team welcomes your feedback. Please feel free to contact Alice Robinette-Woods or Melissa Chance with any of your questions, issues and/or concerns. You can contact us by email, telephone and/or in-person.

8. When will I be allowed to do this training at work?

Since this training is voluntary, you can complete the training during your scheduled off-desk hours, during quiet times on desk or during your personal time. If you are concerned about scheduling time to complete the training, please contact your manager.

9. I missed the January 25 start date. Can I still participate in the training even though I want to start at a later time?

You may start the training at any point during the 20-week period from January 25, 2010 to June 7, 2010.  

10. I am interested in learning more about blogs. Where can I find out more information about this topic?

The Web 2.0 training team is committed to supporting your lifelong learning. If you wish to learn more about any topic in the Web 2.0 training (or any topics which are not covered), please feel free to contact Alice Robinette-Woods or Melissa Chance. You can contact us by email, telephone and/or in-person.

Please send all email queries to training@kfpl.ca.

Please add any other FAQs in the comments section - I will try to include all of them in the final product. Thanks!