1 What blogs are for

Blogs in IBM Community are best for longer-form knowledge sharing, such as technical articles, announcements, best practices, product updates, and practical guidance.

Use a blog when you want to share information broadly. For quick questions, troubleshooting, or back-and-forth conversation, use a discussion post instead.

2 Blogging access

You need an IBM Community account and blogging access to create a blog post.

• IBMers do not need to apply or be approved.
• External users must submit a blogging application.

The IBM Community team reviews and approves applications daily. Once approved, external users are added to the appropriate blogging security group and can begin creating posts.

3 Blog content requirements

• Be original.
• Be written in English.
• Focus on knowledge sharing, not advertising.
• Be tied to an IBM product, workflow, integration, release, best practice, or technical topic.
• Belong to the correct community or group so the right audience can find it.

Avoid teaser posts that mainly send readers somewhere else. The blog should provide useful information directly in IBM Community.

4 Where to create a blog post

You can only create a blog post from a community page.

Go to a community, open the Blogs tab, and click the Create New Blog button in the top right corner.

5 How to create a blog post

6 Pre-publish checklist

• The post is associated with the correct IBM Community group or community.
• The topic is tied to an IBM product, practice, release, or technical area.
• The content is original and not promotional.
• The title and permalink are clear.
• The correct category is selected.
• Visibility is set correctly, usually Public unless there is a reason to restrict access.
• The post has been saved as a draft and reviewed through the unpublished link.
• First-time blog posts are reviewed through moderation before publication.

7 How to preview before publishing

1. Complete the blog post in the editor.
2. Save the post as a draft.
3. Open the direct blog URL.
4. Confirm the post displays as unpublished.
5. Review the title, formatting, links, images, community association, and visibility setting.
6. Publish when everything is ready.

8 Visibility and community association

Associating the post with the correct community helps ensure the right audience can find it and can affect where the post appears across the site.

For IBM Community, Public is usually recommended when the goal is broad access and search visibility. Use a more limited visibility setting only when the post is intended for a restricted audience.

9 Moderation and approval

All first-time blog posts submitted to IBM Community are reviewed through moderation before they are published, regardless of whether the author is an IBM employee or an external community member.

Why moderation is used

• Moderation helps protect the community from spam, malicious content, and policy violations.
• Posts are reviewed before becoming publicly visible.

What happens when a blog is edited?

• When a published blog post is edited and saved, the platform re-evaluates the content against moderation rules.
• Depending on moderation settings and content checks, the edited post may be returned to moderation before becoming visible again.
• This helps ensure updated content continues to meet IBM Community standards and guidelines.

Who can approve moderated blogs?

• IBM Community Administrators
• Group Moderators
• Super Administrators

10 How to edit or delete a blog post

Open the blog post, then use the actions in the top right corner.

• Edit the post.
• Delete the blog post.
• Add or remove tags.
• Manage comments, if you have the appropriate permissions.

11 Best practices for multiple authors

• Draft and review the content outside the blog editor first.
• Decide who the named author will be before publishing.
• Credit additional contributors in the introduction or closing note.
• Have the final publishing owner upload images, choose the community, confirm visibility, and publish the final post.

12 Quick steps

1. Confirm you have blogging access.
2. Go to a community, open the Blogs tab, and click Create New Blog.
3. Write the article and choose the right category.
4. Associate the post with the correct community.
5. Set visibility, usually Public for broadly shared IBM Community blogs.
6. Save as draft and review the unpublished version.
7. Publish under one final author.
8. First-time blog posts and some edited posts may require moderation approval before they become visible.