Local History Services | Minnesota Historical Society September 10, 2010
This worksheet is intended to help local history organizations establish their presence on the web.

Blog / Podcast StrategyWorksheet

This document answers the what, why, when, who and how questions about developing a blog/podcast web site. It is a living document that should be updated through the life of the project as new information becomes available. So, don’t put it away after you’ve filled it out once. It is used to communicate project information to project team members and key stakeholders.

Note: the answer boxes expand when you type into them.

Created by: / Last Update:
Approving Manager:
Team Members:

Project Name

What is the name of your blog/podcast site?

Goal/Objective

What is the general purpose of the site? What problem will be solved or what information need will be met? How does the content further the organization’s mission? Why should this web site be developed?

What if we don’t do it:

What happens if we don’t undertake this project? What weaknesses will be exacerbated? What external threats may we encounter?

Performance Measurements

What are the blog’s/podcast performance outcomes? How will you know if it was worthwhile developing this site?

Audience

Who is/are the intended audience(s) for the site? What is their profession (Genealogists, Government, Students, Volunteers)? What is there age (Children, Young adults, adults, seniors)? Is it Internal (Your coworkers/professionals) or external (General public)? What interests (preservation, education, history, career enhancement, entertainment)?

Of the above audiences, please indicate which is the primary – the one that is anticipated to visit the site the most.

FUNCTIONALITY

Complete the following tables about the functionality of the site.

Podcast (skip this section if this Functionality is not needed)

Will this blog include a podcast along with a regular blog postings or only have podcasts?*
* A podcast is defined here as regularly scheduled postings of audio or movie files.A podcast is not a one-time upload of a batch of audio/movie files.

What media format/s will the podcast be in?

Item Types
Video
MP4
MPA (Enhanced Audio)
MOV (Quicktime VR)
Other
Will need us to compress the raw video files
Audio
MP3
Other
Will need us to compress the raw audio files

Who will be responsible for writing the captions, transcript, and title for the podcasts?

Other Functionality

What kind of functionality do you need to include into the Blog? Please list other functionality needed if not listed.

Item Types
Still Images – photos, maps, etc.
Flickr images
Linked Documents (Text) – PDFs, Word Docs,
Videos (Non-Podcast) – MP4, MOV
YouTube Video
Sound (Non-Podcast) – MP3
Flash Video or audio
Slideshows
Tagging

Partners

Please list all the people involved in adding/modifying content to blog and their role (contributor, author editor) and if they will need training to use the blog*

Name / Main Role / Will they need training?

* Contributors generally have their content posted for them and can have it attributed to them, but they can also edit and delete posts; Authors can create new posts and edit/delete posts and upload files; Editors can do every thing Authors can do plus moderate comments and create/delete pages.

Content Research

How much time (e.g. number of weeks) will it take to gather, research and fact-check the content?

Will the blog require metadata?

Do you have permissions/rights to publish the content (images, video, etc.) on the web?

Does the content need to be maintained over time or is it complete when the project is complete?

If the posts need to be maintained, how many people (staff or volunteers) are assigned to maintain it?

Context and Promotion

What ideas do you have about how to promote the existence of this web site?

Where does the blog fit into the organization’sweb site structure?

What kinds of inter-linking between the new content and existing web content are anticipated?

To help us understand the context for your site and its possible design, please list some examples of other web sites that interest you, and note why they appeal to you.

Project Timeline

State your best guess as to what are the tasks required to complete the project, when they’ll start, how long it will take to do them and who will do them. Add as many tasks as you need.

Tasks
What needs to be done? / Anticipated Start Date / How Long will it Take? (in weeks) / Who Will Do It?

Projected Implementation Date:

Considering all that needs to be done to develop the blog what is the projected date your site will go live?

Is there a mandatory deadline to complete this project? For example, is this a grant-funded project that must be completed by a certain date, is there an exhibit opening or another event that coincides with this web site? If yes, what is the drop-dead date?

PROJECT BUDGET:

How will the project be funded? If it is grant funded, briefly describe the funding aspects of the grant. If the technology will need to be maintained, e.g. update content or maintain relationships with content providers, or enhanced after it goes live, describe what resources (money, staff) have been planned for maintenance and enhancements.

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