Liveblogging is not a new phenomenon, but with the Presidential debates over the past few weeks, it’s come into the limelight. There are a few benefits to liveblogging, and a couple different methods of doing it.

(Photo Credit: MEGATONik)

Benefits of Liveblogging

Liveblogging is beneficial for a variety of reasons.

• It provides quick and easy content for your blog, Twitter stream, etc.
• It gives people who are not at the event an opportunity to view the content and respond, in real time or after the fact.
• It provides an interactive platform and generates conversation for attendees of the event (and those following remotely) to discuss what was said, or a place to reflect after the fact.
• It gives a point of reference to go back to and make commentary on key points after the event is over.

Ways to Liveblog

There are a few methods to approaching liveblogging. Some methods can be combined to give a more comprehensive view.

• Provide short “play-by-plays” with time-stamped updates. Consider using an embedded system designed specifically for this, such as CoveritLive.
• Provide a general overview of the event. Summarize what was said and provide your own commentary and insight. Paraphrase what the speaker is saying.
• Provide content from the event with as much verbatim as possible. For example, if you are attending a conference panel session, include all Powerpoint slide content (if applicable), and try to write as much detail and exact phrases as possible from the speaker.
• Provide alternative methods of getting information, other than through your blog. Mix it up by using Twitter, uStream, Utterli (formerly Utterz), or like services. Many people also bring their flipcams to events and simply upload the entire video to their blog and social networks.

When choosing a method, think about factors such as your organization’s (or personal) goals for liveblogging, your blog audience, attendees of the event, and content of the speaker. Think about whether or not you are liveblogging to increase traffic to your site, or to provide valuable information to the public. Consider your audience and how they absorb information. Liveblogging using short updates (think Twitter) may make more sense for a Web 2.0 audience, while more general overviews of content with commentary may work well for an IT crowd.

(Picture Credit: Flickr)

It’s also important to consider the content you are sharing. Make sure it’s valuable to your audience.

A good example of how to do a “play-by-play” comes from Mashable:

This doesn’t mean “Speaker X walks up to the podium, clears throat and opens with quip about your mom,” but more like, “Speaker X says trust is the most important factor in determining marketing success. Jack from Company Y challenges this.”

Keep in mind that your content is openly available to the public, and can be reused in a variety of ways that you may not be aware of. Take Doug Haslam’s experience for example.

Boy was I surprised to hear my snarky Tweets about this week’s Vice-Presidential debate ended up on Current TV’s broadcast of the debate.

What other reasons can you think of to liveblog? Are there other ways to approach liveblogging?