LET'S COMMUNICATE
Agriculture Communication Newsletter
August 2005, No. 116

Contents

What You Need to Know about Blogs
Write the Right Word
Protect Your Camera
Moving On
Staff Resource Library Materials

 

What You Need to Know about Blogs

The word blog is short for Web log. A blog is typically an online account of a person's day-to-day life (online diary). Blog content can vary from personal notes to rants and raves to detailed accounts of a person's day. Some companies even use blogs as a way to keep their customers updated on the latest news and information.

Blogs can vary in complexity in how they are created. There are many programs and online services available to help a person get started. Some are designed to host your blog for you; others require you to have Web page space.

While seemingly innocent, blogs can have significant legal and personal dangers. Many people who use blogs tend to forget that anything they type is placed in a public medium for the world to see, much like newspapers and magazines.

Great care should be taken to avoid providing too much personally identifiable information. Be very cautious how opinions are expressed to avoid potential legal problems. There have been documented cases of people being taken to court over libelous or defamatory statements. In a couple of recent cases, people have lost their jobs because of a personal opinion or complaint they posted in their blog.

Most of the time blogs are a fun and useful tool for keeping in contact with others. Just remember that others are able to see what you write. Don't put anything on there you wouldn't want someone to see.

For more information:

Blog of a released Microsoft employee:

http://www.michaelhanscom.com/eclecticism/2003/10/of_blogging_and.html 

Information on blogs and where to start:

http://www.dnzone.com/ShowDetail.asp?NewsId=1007 

http://www.rss-specifications.com/10-tips-for-bloggers.htm 

Jerry Ranum, jranum@ndsuext.nodak.edu , 231-6395

Write the Right Word

Here are a few bloopers than have gotten past editors lately:

Myriad - Think of it as a substitute for "many." It doesn"t need an "a" before it or an "of" after it. She grows myriad flowers in her garden.

Couple - When using it in the sense of two objects, it needs an "of" after it. The student needed to buy a couple of books for his agronomy course.

Ketchup - This is the proper spelling of that tomato-based paste we slather on hamburgers.

Who/that - Use "who" to refer to people or animals with names. The instructor who taught the course last year no longer is at NDSU. The people who were late missed out on lunch. Use "that" for inanimate objects and animals without names. The window that overlooked the plaza was shattered in the storm.

Dollars and cents

* Don't use the $ sign before a figure and the word "dollars" after it. Use the $ and figures for amounts of $1 or more. The book cost more than $100. The USDA awarded NDSU a $1 million grant.

* Spell out in casual references. Please give me a dollar.

* Repeat the word "million" or "billion" for each figure when giving ranges. The cost estimates range from $2 million to $2.5 million. Otherwise, the reader might think the first figure actually was just a couple of bucks!

* For amounts more than $1 million, use the $ and figures up to two decimal places. The building project will cost $7.78 million.

* Use the word "cents" for amounts smaller than $1. The candy bar cost 65 cents.

Quality - It's a noun meaning the characteristic or degree of excellence. It's not an adjective, although a lot of people use it that way. However, it does need an adjective to accompany it to define it. NDSU researchers consistently do work that is high quality.

Ellen Crawford, ecrawfor@ndsuext.nodak.edu , 231-5391

Protect Your Camera

The first thing you should do after buying a new camera is purchase a good camera bag, preferably one that is padded and waterproof. Use a filter, like an ultraviolet filter, on the lens if your camera supports one. This will protect the lens and is much less expensive to replace than the camera itself. On rainy days, cut a hole in a plastic bag just big enough for the lens to stick out and secure with a rubber band. The end of the lens might get wet, but your camera will remain dry.

Keep your camera out of direct sunlight like on the seat of a car during warm, sunny days. Put the camera in its bag, and place it under the seat. At a minimum, cover it with something light in color that will not absorb a lot of heat.

Carry the camera inside your jacket when it gets cold. If condensation does occur, open and empty the battery and memory compartments, and keep them open until they dry out.

Dave Rice, drice@ndsuext.nodak.edu , 231-7381

Moving On

I'm sorry to announce that two staff have left Ag Communication since the last Let's Communicate. Trina Spaeth, distance education specialist, has moved to NDSU Information Technology Services to be the campus e-learning specialist, and Dave Jacobs, computer hardware technician, has resigned to pursue other opportunities. Our thanks to these two who contributed so much to Agriculture Communication's mission.

With several transitions in Ag Communication, we may have missed some software and hardware billings. If you've received software or equipment but never received the bill, we'd greatly appreciate your honesty by contacting the help desk at accs@ndsuext.nodak.edu  or 231-9666.

Becky Koch, bkoch@ndsuext.nodak.edu , 231-7875

Staff Resource Library Materials

The following and many other resources are in the Staff Resource Library at http://www.ag.ndsu.nodak.edu/staffres/library/contents.htm  . You're welcome to stop by the Distribution Center in Morrill 10 to browse the shelves. Contact the Distribution Center at dctr@ndsuext.nodak.edu  or call (701) 231-7882 to check out materials.

101 Ways to Make Every Second Count: Time Management Tips and Techniques for More Success with Less Stress

Robert W. Bly, 1999, 186-page Book

This book goes beyond the usual time-management books to bring you a broad range of strategies and tactics for more success with less stress... for getting more done in less time.

The Assertive Advantage: A Guide to Healthy and Positive Communication

Sharon Anthony Bower, 1994, 218-page Book (workbook style)

Assertiveness is a key to a happier, healthier way of living and more success in your work. This workbook will help you build trust, honesty and respect in your personal and work relationships; overcome obstacles to progress on projects; contribute to a friendlier and more cooperative workplace; create win-win solutions to tough problems; and more.

Plant Your Feet Firmly in Mid-Air: Guidance Through Turbulent Change

Janet E. Lapp, Ph.D., 1996, 6 audiocassette tapes with 50-page workbook

Lapp uncovers blocks to change, examines which beliefs hinder and which promote transformation, and gives step-by-step guidance through change efforts. She was a keynote speaker at the National Association of Extension 4-H Agents conference in Bismarck in October 2001.

Leadership Is

Harrison Owen, 1990, 159-page Book

This book is about leadership and spirit, or maybe spirited leadership. Leadership Is tells a story that is at once comforting and disturbing. The comfort comes from the assertion that in a world apparently bereft of leadership, there is in fact an abundance only waiting to be made manifest. The disturbing part lies in the suggestion that leadership is no longer (and possibly never was) a matter of command and control exercised by the one or the few over the many. Leadership is liberation, the capacity to inspire the human spirit on its quest for fulfillment.

Love and Profit: The Art of Caring Leadership

James A. Autry, 1991, 219-page Book

This book explodes the myth that "nice guys finish last." Love and Profit offers clear, direct and compassionate guidance, dealing situation by situation with the most difficult decisions every manager must inevitably face. The ideas will enable you to manage brilliantly during the day... and sleep well at night. Autry was a keynote speaker at the National Association of Extension 4-H Agents conference Oct. 21-25, 2001, in Bismarck, N.D.

Leadership and the New Science: Discovering Order in a Chaotic World (Second Edition)

Margaret J. Wheatley, 1999, 175-page Book

Wheatley describes how the new science radically alters our understanding of the world, and how it can teach us to live and work well together in these chaotic times. You'll learn that:

• Relationships, not lone individuals, are the basic organizing unit of life
• Chaos and change are the only route to transformation
• Participation and cooperation are essential to our survival in this interconnected world
• Order is natural, but not available through traditional methods of control.