Following the programme if your workplace blocks social networking

We had an interesting enquiry today about how you can follow the programme if sites such as Blogger and Twitter are blocked in your workplace. It's a shame that some workplaces do block these sites, especially when they are being used for continuing professional development, but if you're in that situation here are some tips for being able to join in.

Following the programme

Of course, to join in the programme you'll need to be able to read the blog posts from this blog. If you are currently unable to do that from your workplace, there are a couple of suggestions that might help you:

1. Subscribe to the blog by email - use the Follow by Email box on the right hand side to submit your email address and all new posts will be delivered to your email address.
2. Subscribe to the blog by RSS - if you are able to access Google Reader or another RSS reading tool (possibly a start page like Netvibes), you can subscribe to the blog using the Subscribe To links in the right hand side to receive posts by RSS. If you're new to RSS, have a look at this RSS in Plain English video to help you get set up (you may also want to use RSS feeds later in the programme to subscribe to some other 23 Things for Professional Development blogs).

Posting your own blog posts

If you are unable to access blogging platforms from your workplace, you can still join in and post to your own blog. You'll need to initially set up your blog from elsewhere, but once it's set up you can post to most blogging platforms from email. Below are links to instructions for some of the most popular platforms (again, you'll need to view these somewhere you have access to the websites):

• Post to Blogger by email (instructions for setting up a Blogger blog will be included in week 1 so you may need to do this from home, or anywhere you can get access)
• Post to Wordpress by email
• Post to Posterous by email (also see further email tips)
• Post to Tumblr by email

We hope anyone who wants to will be able to join in the programme - if you have any problems please let us know and we'll try to help sort out a solution which works for you.