How I Got Started

• workshop at Center for History and New Media at George Mason University

• Dan Cohen, “Professors, Start Your Blogs“

• Laura Cohen (no relation) on “social scholarship“

Evolution of Blog

• from sandbox to scholarship
• see category cloud for themes — women’s history, medical history, disability history, childhood/youth
• reports from the field — e.g. conference reviews
• some political commentary, silliness, hobbies

Graduate History Course:

• course blog
• blogging as reflective practice
• mixed results
• “digital natives” more interested in Facebook than blogging

Current Status

• very low traffic
• busiest day was right after Big Berks and “Bre’r Rusticus” article at History News Network
• what happened to H-Women
• H-Net goes 2.0 — Matrix
• need for critical mass of bloggers and social scholars for robust exchange to occur [see roundup at Berks Blog]
• why not start your own blog?