Presentation to GRAMNET on the Free Movement blog, social media and its uses. Personal perspective. Some of the images a bit low resolution, sorry!

1. Free Movement
A Blogger's Tale
A Blogger's Tale

6. Statistics
• 722,000 page views (c. 2,000 page views per day)
• 356,000 visitors
• 2 min 46 sec average visit duration, 2 pages viewed
per visit on average
• 21,500 unique visitors per month
• 33,608 clicks to BAILII in 2012 alone
• 1,560 email subscribers and 1,770 Twitter followers

7. Blogging beginnings
• Pupilbog
• Online therapy
• Primitive software
• Gained a following
• Landed me in
trouble...

9. All you need to know about me is that I’m a UK-based
immigration lawyer.
This blog is aimed at both lawyers and those with a more
personal interest in immigration and asylum. I am aware at the
outset that these are two quite different audiences, and it may be
that I have to be more focussed in the future.
My intention is that this blog will include a mix of news,
immigration law gossip (it’s a small world, appropriately enough),
commentary and signposts to events, resources, other websites
or developments. I also plan to include some advice and
resource pages. The commentary will be written with an agenda: I
haven’t got a perfectly formed world view or consistent ideology
on the subject of immigration and immigration control, but I do
believe in minimum immigration controls and a liberal,
progressive approach. One of my hopes for the blog is that it will
help me reach a more coherent view.

13. Automation
• Yahoo! Pipes
• Google
Feedburner
• Twitter as content
links
• IFTTT

18. Own domain

20. Lessons learned

21. Clear aims
• to help the editor and other contributors
think through new developments and
also
• to provide updates, pointers and links for
the benefit of other immigration lawyers
• and for migrants researching their own
position.

22. Authentic voice
• Not necessarily your normal one
• Humanises and engages
• Provides interest to readers

23. Medium
• Language, grammar, sentence structure, post
length is all crucial
• Style matters
• Use of links and sources
• Internet is a visual medium
• Humour or at least humanity important

24. Building an audience
• Write for your intended audience
• Write regularly - at least twice a week
• Comment on other people's blogs
• Be generous with your praise and links
• Improve your offering

25. Don't do it unless...
• You can write well and clearly
• You have time and will continue to have time
• Willingness to learn a bit about technical side
• You are a weirdo / nerd / geek / suffer OCD /
all of above

26. What did my blog ever
do for me?
• Original aims still being met
• Platform
• Profile
• Cold, hard cash - not a lot!