Blogging

Table of contents

• Mediated is your blog!
• Instructions
• How to Write for the Web
• Creating a new post with the Wordpress blogging software

Mediated is your blog!

Mediated is a group blog I've created for my students. It's a combination of public educational resource and electronic portfolio (featuring the best of your work).

During the semester, you are expected to make a total of 4 posts to the blog (think of them as mini-papers you can complete at your leisure).

Instructions

• You must create your own Mediated WordPress account. See the instructions here.
• All posts must be made by April 25, 2010.
• You can write about anything having to do with the Internet, but it must be relevant to the course in some way. I will grade each post by its clarity, creativity, relevance, depth of analysis, and your ability to apply concepts from the class.
• I'm interested in your personal opinion, but your post should be more than that. For instance, you can summarize an article, agree or disagree with an author, link to current research, discuss new studies, etc. I want to see lots of links to other work or sites!
• All posts must be between 400-500 words (not more, not less). The point is for you to practice writing for the web (see more tips below).
  • Compose your post in a word processor, and then copy and paste it to the blog.
  • Most word processors have a word count function.
• If you don't know what to write about, see the Topic Grab Bag, or keep an eye on new Media Links.
• Posts must preferably include a picture.
• If you have never used WordPress (the blog software that powers Mediated), complete this tutorial.
• To make grading easier, please keep a list somewhere on your user page (or a new page) with links to all your blog posts!

How to Write for the Web

Writing a blog post is somewhat different than writing a term paper (too formal) or an email (too informal). Check out the following guidelines (all taken from the sources cited at the end):

1. The shorter, the better: Readers appreciate writers who do not waste their time. Simple, direct language communicates your thoughts more efficiently. This does not mean your post should be one sentence! It means that everything you say should be said simply and directly.
2. Use formatting: Break up that boring mass of gray type by using:
   • lists
   • bold headers
   • blockquotes (indented text for quotes)
   • paragraph breaks: No block of text more than 8 lines on the screen
   • double-space between paragraphs. It makes reading much easier
   • text formatting: bold, italics
   • add a nice picture here and there!
3. Be original: Make sure you are writing something that someone would be interested in reading.
4. Be controversial: Don’t be a sheep, stand out and voice your own opinion.
5. Use catchy titles.
6. Have a thesis: No matter how short your entry is, it should have a central argument that is stated fairly early on.
7. Make sure to credit your sources: Don’t plagerize! When possible, link directly to the sources or sites you are talking about.
8. Check for spelling and typos.
9. Tell a story: All writing is ultimately about weaving a story; all the more so when you are trying to be persuasive.
10. Respond to comments: It’s great to see that you’re blogging, but if you don’t respond to comments on your blog readers will tend to get annoyed and may unsubscribe.

Sources:

• The perfect blog entry
• Tips on writing content for your blog
• How to write for the Web

Creating a new post with the Wordpress blogging software

Once you are logged in (you need to open an account first), you can go to the top right corner of the screen and simply click the New Post button, as shown below:


Alternatively, go to the left side menu, click Posts, and select Add New as show below:


This will open a new post window that looks like this:

(click image for larger view)

1. Enter your title here
2. This is where you enter the body of the post. You can format it just like you would in a word processor.
3. Enter any tags that describe the post. For instance, for an article about cute cats, you would enter: "cute, cats, felines, funny..." and whatever else you want.
4. Click on any appropriate categories. VTA = Videogame Theory and Analysis, TCS = Technoculture Studies, ME = Media Economics, and so on.
5. Click Publish and your post will go live. You can also save it as a draft and come back later to finish and publish it.

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