Official blog of Clark's Blogging for Journalists class, Mass Communication department

Monday, August 29, 2016

Be an instant expert on your blog--Advice from a pro


https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?shva=1#inbox/156a7b719ec0f1e6Successful blogging

Assignment: What can you find out about Sue Ann Dunlevie? Bring a fact to class, Thursday.

Assignment: send your name and the url for your blog to tmclark44@gmail.com by Wednesday at 5 pm


Setting up your blog

View Tutorial
View Checklist
Today--Name, basic template
Introductory post and headline
To do list:
  1. create profile
  2. add profile gadget 
  3. add photo
  4. add archive gadget
  5. follow Blogblog with your blog
  6.  start exploring dashboard controls
Introductory post--Tell me what your blog is going to be about, and about you.


Thursday, August 25, 2016

Blog stats

World of words

China

Tuesday assignment--the blogosphere

  • Assignments: state of the blogosphere--
1. Read: 

2. What are two things you learned you didn't know about blogging, posted below by 5 pm Monday, Aug. 29


Blogging and your future

Former blogging student: 
Check out: The Suave Report
InsideThunder 
 
I got this Facebook message :

Dr Clark, just wanted to pass along some info I think your students might want to know. If you're still doing the blogging class, I found another reason it is important.
First though, let them know they can start writing for cash right now. Freelancer, oDesk, eLance and such do pay the inexperienced like me. I started at $5 for 500 words, but was up to $15 for 500 in under 6 months. Through my Freelancer job, I got an offer to write for Mojo Motors, $30 an article. Not a bad rate for something that I enjoy and takes a little over an hour. Then, based on my work at that job, last week I got an email from Jalopnik (Gawker Media). They've asked me to work with Volvo on a series of articles promoting new cars. $250 each. I can deal with that.
I almost didn't get the assignment, because I don't have a blog up of my work, and she couldn't find me online. Please stress to them the importance of getting their presence out there now. And they can write for cash now, if they're willing to work for peanuts at first.
--Andy Jensen

 I got this email earlier:

Dr. Clark,

I wanted to take a moment to thank you for the comment you posted on my NewOK story and for tweeting out my success. Being published on the largest local forum meant a great deal to me, and I give much credit to you for helping me achieve it (You don't know how my inner dialogue screams 'Verbs! Verbs!' at me whenever I write!).

So, again, thank you.

I also wanted to share something interesting with you, that maybe you can pass on to to future blogging classes.

Like I'm sure many people wonder while taking a class based around blogging, one of the biggest questions I had was 'How can this skill actually help me make money?'  I got my answer by accident, actually, when I was looking to get my foot in the door at The Oklahoman and stumbled upon the job I now have.

"Content Marketing," the ad read.  I thought I'd give it a shot, hoping to meet the right people that could get me into news.

When I interviewed for the position, I was a little freaked by how much of my online history had been analyzed (a good lesson in how important Facebook and Twitter etiquette can be).  Old blog posts, website contributions and a bunch of other online traces of me were brought up.  The good thing, though, was that because I'd done so much of that (in a clean manner), the interview was more like a recruiting session -- they felt they had to have me more than I needed them.

Now, my job mainly consists of blogging -- blogging for clients, blogging to build lesser-known websites, blogging for myself even. And I'm nowhere near alone in this. The department I work in employs about 10 people like myself, as well as four or five specialty bloggers. To put it lightly: blogging is huge.

So, I wanted to share this with you in case that cliched "When am I going to use this in the real world?" question ever came up. You can tell them 'em that, odds are, they'll use it a lot.

Thanks again -- for everything.

George Darkow

Getting Ready

Take 10 minutes to scan this link.
Ideas for your blog
Then view this tutorial

Tuesday, August 23, 2016

Do you have expectations?

What do you expect, what I expect?

What do you expect ?
Out of professors, this class, this department, this university?
(What makes a good professor?) 
 
 
 
 
 
 
What I expect of you
(What makes a good student?)
·   To write, speak well
·   To think critically
    (To ask questions)

·   To solve problems
·   To be creative
·   To act ethically
(Including respecting others)
·   To work hard
·   To be adept at technology
·   To be passionate
·   To act like this class is a job
(Be here, and on time)

Wednesday, August 17, 2016

Welcome--Day one agenda and assignments

email: tmclark44@gmail.com 

Did you know 

  • Syllabus quiz Thursday--
  • Title area of blogging
  • Picking name of blog
  • Set ups Thursday
  • Viewing other student blogs
  • What we expect?
  • Assignments: state of the blogosphere--
1. Read: 

2. What are two things you learned you didn't know about blogging, posted below by 5 pm Wed. Aug. 24

3. What have you decided for a title for your blog?

4. Do you have a separate gmail account yet?

5. Once that is set up and you have a blog, have your blog become a follow
er of this blog, and Coffee with Clark.

Monday, August 15, 2016

What's required this fall, and when


COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
1.       Faithful attendance. Grade will drop one level for each two absences after the first two. You may not make up missed in class writing and take a 0. If you miss more than 6 class sessions, you will flunk. NO LATE WORK. Any late work will earn a “0.”
2.       Be on time to class. Three times late equals an absence.  If you’re more than 15 minutes late, it counts as an absence.
3.       Design and creation of a blog.
4.       The ability to write complete, grammatically correct, sentences.
5.       Weekly postings on the blog, including class notes, and speaker stories.
6.       Note: you must post every week, starting with week three, deadline end of class Thursdays. If you miss a week, you lose points for that week. —in other words, you can’t make those points up (at least 15).
7.       You must average more than one post a week to earn a grade higher than C. (Hint—in the past, students with the most posts get higher grades than those with minimal or insufficient ones).
8.       At least 15 blog posts of original content. Every post must have writing. Each post will be graded.
9.       Follow, and check BlogblogUCO, class blog every day.  http://blogblogUCO.blogspot.com There will be weekly assignments on this blog, with deadlines. Missed deadlines mean a 0 for the assignment.
10.    Following a professional blog in your area, with blog report, 15-minute presentation to class, second half of semester.
11.    500-word essay on blogs in today’s world.
12.    Note: Your blog must contain original writing. If it is a photography blog, you must have words with every photo, and the blog must have more than captions.
Required web sites:
  • BlogOklahoma.com;
  • Huffingtonpost.com
Recommended web sites:
  • Clarkcoffee.blogspot.com
  • pioneerwoman.com;
  • mashable.com;

 
GRADING SCALE: 100-91--A; 90-81--B; 80-70--C; 60-69--D.
  • Creation, design, improvement and maintenance of blog—300 points—30 percent
  • Weekly posts—300 points—30 percent (15 posts minimum to be eligible for a “C”; 20 to be eligible for a “B”) More than 20 to be eligible for an “A”). Failure to meet these standards overrides other points.) Each post is graded on quality and quantity:
Blog post grade guide (15 possible points)
Original writing (3)
Grammar/Spelling (1)
Headlines (2)
Visuals (2)
Links (1)
Typography (2)
Design (2)
Creativity (1)
  • Blog Essay—100 points—10 percent
  • Blog presentation, paper—100 points—10 percent
  • Blogblog comments—100 points—10 percent
  • Final test, multiple choice—100 points—10 percent
  • Total: 1,000 points
  • COURSE SCHEDULE
    ·      Week one-- Intros, transformational workshop—student syllabus requirements, organization, syllabus, intros to blogging, course requirements. Quiz over syllabus.  BLOGBLOGUCO
    ·      Week two-- Intro; Designing the blog, vocabulary, selection of blog favorites; professor’s critique of blogs
    ·      Weeks three, four-- Writing for the web, typography, color, blog essay ideas
    ·      Week five—blogger adoption deadlines. Blog essay subjects
    ·      Week six— Mass Comm Week! No class Thursday. Attend sessions and blog about it. Schedule and guidelines to be provided.
    ·      Week seven—Management, blog conferences
    ·      Week eight—Guest speaker
    ·       Week nine— Blog essay due.
    ·      Week ten— Fall Break
    ·      Week eleven—blog conferences; blog reports
    ·      Week twelve—blog reports.
    ·      Week thirteen—blog reports
    ·      Week fourteen—blog reports; Thanksgiving
    ·      Week fifteen— blog reports
    ·      Week sixteen-- blog reports, evaluation
    ·      Final exam—1 p.m., Dec. 13.

    1)   Blog essay assignment: For this assignment, you must write a 500-word essay in which you describe the current impact of blogging on some aspect of American culture and journalism. You must provide links to your source material. All information about blogging is easily available on the web. You can easily obtain this material through simple Google searches. You might ask yourself these questions as you prepare to write your essay: How do blogs compete with traditional media sources? How important are blogs in politics? Do blogs promote democracy? What are the drawbacks of blogs? Ultimately, you must make a claim, or argument, about the significance of blogs in today's world. More guidelines will be on http://blogbloguco.blogspot.com
    2)   Blog report guidelines: 10-15-minute presentation to class about your professional blog selection, evaluating it for content, effectiveness and design and how it has influenced you. One-page outline to class. Three-page paper professor, due day of presentation. More guidelines, and grading guide  on http://blogbloguco.blogspot.com