In Development

We’re constantly evolving the exact answer to “Why is the SSC blogging?” (because apparently “Because!” isn’t a good enough answer), so I thought a good way to get a feel for what blogging can achieve would be to borrow statement of purposes from other blogs. A site I’ve started reading lately is Signposts - Te Ara the Encyclopedia of New Zealand’s blog. Take a look at what they say:

Why are we doing it?

• To give us a more personal voice. An encyclopedia can be a stern task-master. You have to be accurate. You have to be balanced and fair. Authority can be a heavy cloak. Signposts will allow us to let our hair down a bit, and present a rather more shambolic dishevelled look.
• To signpost things as they happen. We try in Te Ara to present the long view. The entries are meant to be true in 2007, but also to be reasonably accurate in 2011 too. The blog will let us relate Te Ara to the current event. Just last week, for instance, methane-eating bacteria were discovered in Rotorua hot pools – a possible solution to the contribution our burping cows make to global warming. To get some background see our entries on the incredible life in hot springs or the New Zealand dimensions of climate change.
• To signpost some of the hidden byways of Te Ara. The site now has over 1 million words and about 12,000 images. Even I who have read everything about five times sometimes stumble unexpectedly upon little jewels. We’d like to share them.
• Most importantly, to allow you to talk back at us. We want to know what you like about the site and what you do not.

These are great reasons to blog. I love that they say “a rather more shambolic dishevelled look” as an example of using their personal voice. I also like the idea that the blog will be acting as somewhat of a tour guide around the encyclopedia. I don’t have time to read it all, but I can read the bits that they point out as interesting. That’s something we’re aiming for with this blog. We can’t tell you what every single person who works for the SSC is working on at this very minute, but we can explain some of the general themes and areas that we’re working in, and make them as interesting and as understandable as possible. And that’s what blogging is all about.