Guidelines for your questions on blog adoption

1.      History of the blog—

a.      How long blogging?

b.      Who is the blogger? (Age, profession, etc.)

c.      Purpose?

d.      Geographic location?

e.      Number of followers?

f.       Does it make money?

g.      Why do they blog?

2.      What makes this blog unique?

3.      What are its strengths?

4.      What are its weaknesses?

5.      What is the advice of the blogger?

Blog research

1. Spend 15 minutes researching the blog you want to adopt
2. What are five facts about the blog, and blogger
3. Post on your blog this information, today.

To blog or not to blog

UCO student and now the editor of The Vista, Kateleigh Mills, interviewed me about a year ago, about blogging--why or why not. Here was my advice:

• Six reasons to blog--

1. You need a quality digital “footprint” to get a start on a career in the highly competitive communication field. A blog can be part of that—I have former students whose blogs helped get them jobs.
2. You have a passion and something original you want to say that can be sustained over time.
3. You can write grammatically correct sentences,  enjoy writing and can organize your thinking.
4. You are willing to work at it because quality blogging takes a lot of preparation and time.
5. You enjoy learning and change because blogging is always changing.
6. You have an eye for effective design and readability.

• Six reasons not to blog--

1. You can’t write a grammatically correct sentence punctuated correctly.
2. You only want to rant, gripe or whine about a specific subject.
3. You have no passion or nothing to say.
4. You are just blogging because you think you should.
5. You’re lazy and don’t want to put in the time.
6. You don’t really want a career in communication.

Assignment: Comment below--what would you add to this list?

Using quotes--making "eye contact"

Using quotations--have you made "eye contact" with your reader?

Quotes are eye contact. No eye contact, no story

•  A story without quotes isn’t much of a story, no matter the subject, for it lacks a human angle.
• Nothing involves a reader more with a person than hearing them talk, reading their words.
• Readers’ eyes automatically go to quotation marks.
• Above all you use good quotes, quotes that are not long, but get to the point, that are original, that show passion and character and insight.
•  Accuracy is the prime rule. Everyone is afraid of being misquoted. You must assure your subject of your accuracy.
• Find your best quote—use it high in the story.
• Paraphrase long quotes, ordinary quotes. “Clark said that quotes are important.”
• Save you second best quote for a possible conclusion, or near the end of the story.
• Quotes start paragraphs.

Guidelines for blog adoption, contact

Email, something like this:

I'm a senior journalism student at the University of Central Oklahoma who is studying blogging for media.
I have been studying your blog and would like to ask your advice and  a few questions by email for a class presentation. My assignment is to get a  a sense of what makes your blog effective, and to learn from your blogger’s experience.
If possible, I'd like to send you those questions this next week, and will need responses by March 7 if possible.
Please let me know by  Feb. 28 if that is convenient. I look forward to hearing from you.
My professor, Dr. Terry M. Clark, at tclark@uco.edu, can confirm this assignment if you wish.
My blog is XXXXXX.

Thank you,

your name

Deadlines:

By Tuesday, Feb. 21--First attempt at adoption contact. Guidelines soon.
By Tuesday, Feb. 28--If no response, to backup
By Thursday, March 2--Blog adoption confirmed, questions submitted by Tuesday, March 7--Contact completed



***

This assignment is 100 points, 10 percent of your grade.
1. Presentation to be 15 minutes long
2. 1 page outline to every member of class
3. 3-page paper, handed in day of presentation to professor
4. Post your paper on your blog, with screenshot of blog
5. One or two items from each presentation will be discussed for final text questions. Your outline is your study guide.   

“We want a sense of what makes this blog effective, and to learn from the blogger’s experience.”

How to add video

This Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCql7tF9xQw

Or

Upload

When blogging becomes a "slog"

Read this in the New York Times.

Comment below by 5 p.m. Monday, Feb. 6

1. What did you learn about blogging from this article?
2. What is the importance of passion and love in blogging?
3. Your suggestions on how could the problem be avoided?