The current state of the field and why this is necessary

 

Buying your domain name

-- some iteration of your name

 

Your interests and specialty

 

 

Blogging (web logs)

Much has been written about web logs, or blogs. In general, blogs are akin to personal journals. They can be produced by individuals or groups, and they can cover a variety of topics. Usually, they contain comment functions, which allow readers to respond to what the writer has said or to what others have said about the writing. A few general observations:

    * Blogs are easy and inexpensive to create. Some free services (Blogger and Wordpress, to name a few) allow anyone to start a blog within a few minutes. If you are a member of Facebook or other social networking sites, you can start a blog there. All of these services have any number of add-ons that can enhance the look and functionality of the blog.

    * Blogs are difficult to maintain. Blogs should be updated or added to on a regular basis. This takes work and sustained effort. Not many people have the mental or physical stamina for this effort.

    * As with almost anything else on the web, information is more valuable than opinion. A good blog can be entertaining with good writing, but information builds audiences.

    * The best blogs look outward not inward. That is, successful bloggers -- those who build sustain an audience -- not only create original content but point to other good content on the web. Linking (discussed in the previous lecture) is part of the formula for a good blog.

    * Engagement builds an audience. Good bloggers often join in commenting on the comments they receive. They do not run from criticism, even when it is unfair, misinterprets what they say, or even uncivil.

    * Good writing -- concise, coherent, information-rich writing -- is still relatively rare among bloggers, despite their growing numbers. The well-written blog with original information and a good sense what else is on the web will gather an audience.

 

Possible writing lab activities for next week

-- Review lecture points as necessary; comments, questions?
-- Any in-class writing assignment as necessary
-- Assign news story to be reported that week and written during second lab of the week; story should include headline, summary, links, nutshell form; pictures and cutlines; full inverted pyramid structure; should be entered onto the TNJN server.
Alternatively, assign an audio slide show; this assignment should include 10 photos (minimum) with cutlines; headline, summary, introduction, links; the slide show should be produced, made into a video, placed on a host (YouTube, Vimeo, etc.) and embedded onto a page on the TNJN server.

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