Clarity, conviction and consistency are the 3 C's to keep in mind when entering the blogosphere, according to writer and nonprofit consultant Christine Cupaiuolo.

At the WAM conference on Saturday, Cupaiuolo passed out some helpful handouts for blogging novices, and explained the 3 C's step by step:
-For clarity, find your niche and focus your blog. Content is king, but design and layout are also important.
-Point of view is key, hence the conviction asset. Cupaiuolo recommends providing links for aggregating value to your blog, even if you're risking driving readers away from the page.
-And for consistency, update content regularly, even if it's only once a week. (A helpful tip is to publish before Monday each week, since that's the day Internet use peaks -- at lunchtime.)

The best way to publicize your blogs, Cupaiuolo says, is through listservs and online communities. Alice Kim, who works for Campaign to End the Death Penalty and edits their newsletter, The New Abolitionist, echoed this advice. Kim has helped family members of incarcerated citizens set up blogs, which have gained a great deal of traction and drawn attention to issues that infringe upon prisoners' rights.

Other Web 2.0 tips from WAM presenters:

• In a session called "The Future of Investigative Journalism," Asra Q. Nomani, a former colleague and friend of murdered journalist Daniel Pearl, talked about using a wiki for students researching Pearl's death as part of an investigative reporting project. Nomani likened the wiki to "an electronic newsroom."
• Dean Jansen of MakeInternetTV.org recommended cheap and easy media-making devices like the Canon PowerShot for shooting web video. (Just make sure to get as close to your subject as possible to capture audio!) Some sites to check out: EFF can help you understand your legal rights when posting media online.
• Tools like Google Alerts, technorati, del.icio.us allow you to search and track information for your blog.