Blogs (Institutional and Personal)
Summary
University departments, research centers and other units may choose to create blogs to highlight events, research or other activities. In addition, the University of Arkansas provides a platform for all faculty, staff and students to create and maintain personal blogs. In order to use these platforms effectively, it is important to understand blogs, as well as the difference between personal and institutional blogs.
What is a blog?
A blog is a type of website often characterized by a conversational, narrative style and regular updates.
Blog posts provide content in addition to the basic information found on a website, which engages users in different ways. These might include photos or videos of events, first person narratives, essays or other creative projects, student or faculty profiles, etc. Information on a blog should be timely and newsworthy, and it should be updated regularly.
While blogs may also feature static pages and menus, the landing page of a blog prominently features the most recent post, and the main method of navigation is by moving through posts in a reverse-chronological order, or by browsing different categories of posts.
Blogs vs. Websites
Blog:
- Engaging content that is different from basic information about an organization; institutional blogs are used in addition to, or as a feature of, the organization’s official website.
- Conversational tone
- Blog posts usually list an author, and feature author bios. Can also feature guest posts written by faculty, students, alumni or subject matter experts.
- Users usually browse by category and/or browse through posts in reverse chronological order.
- Updated regularly
- Created in WordPress using “Posts.”
Website:
- Contains basic information (contact information, organizational purpose, staff directory, etc.)
- Tone should be accessible yet authoritative
- Information on a website does not usually list an author.
- Users navigate through menus that are designed to highlight the most important/useful information. Not organized chronologically, except for certain sections like events or news.
- Overall content and organization remain static in between site redesigns.
- Can be created in OmniUpdate or WordPress. In WordPress, websites are created using “Pages” rather than “Posts.”
Institutional Blogs
Institutional blogs are created by university faculty and staff as part of their professional duties. While these may be written with an informal, personal tone, these blogs are still speaking for the university. Their content and presentation should be appropriate for this purpose. Institutional blogs should follow U of A brand, style and messaging guidelines as well as any applicable policies. They should include a “statement of responsibility” that indicates where on campus the information is coming from. For example, “Research Frontiers magazine is produced by the Office of University Relations in the Division of University Advancement.”
Institutional blogs should be created on the wordpressua.uark.edu platform.
Personal Blogs
Personal blogs can be created by any faculty member, staff member or student through sites.uark.edu. These should include a disclaimer: “These materials are not endorsed, approved, sponsored, or provided by or on behalf of the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville.”
The content on personal blogs is intended to represent the owner of the blog, not the university. If the creator of a personal blog wants to convey information about the university, linking to an official site is a good way to ensure the information is accurate and up to date.