Jan. 14: Introduction to Class/ Social Media Task 1 — Create a Blog

Social Media Task 1 is an in-class assignment for Jan. 14. It involves creating a blog using WordPress. The final version of your blog and your first blog post are due on Jan. 21. Please tweet about your blog post at least once. Don’t forget to provide a link to it in your Twitter profile.

Description:

The first Social Media Task for the semester requires you to create a WordPress blog, which you will maintain throughout the course, and to create your first blog post, which will be a response to the assigned readings for Jan. 21.

Explanation: Setting up and customizing the blog

Please complete the following:

•  Site title:  Give your blog a name. The blog will be used solely for class assignments and activities, including your observations about social media, journalism, and public relations. Please do not post anything personal on your blog.
• Photo or artwork:  Your homepage should include a photo or some kind of artwork that represents you in this class. (Don’t use the same photo I used on the class blog.)
• Tagline:  A very brief sentence stating what the blog is. Use this tagline to explain that it is a blog for COJR 3422 at SHU.
• Theme:  Select from the free options available.
•  About Page:  Your About Page should include six to eight sentences describing yourself and the nature of the blog (sort of like a longer version of the tagline.)
• Menu: Links to the About Page and Home Page need to appear in your blog’s menu. The menu is typically found near the top of the blog.
• Widgets: Select and edit widgets. Place widgets you want to add into the page’s sidebar if possible. Your blog needs to have the following four widgets:  Blogs I Follow; Follow this Blog; Archives; and Social Media — Twitter and Instagram. Please embed your Twitter feed on the side or bottom of your blog.
• Follow the course blog: Make sure that you are following the course blog. Click the “Follow” button in the right sidebar of the main page.

Requirements for all Blog Posts:

• Title:  Give your post an interesting, descriptive title that reflects the content of the post. Please DO NOT call it “Blog post,” “Task 1,” or “Assignment,” etc.
• The Post: Reflect upon the assigned readings. Please offer your opinions and analysis on the articles. Do not just quote or summarize the readings. Use them to form your own opinion about how social media will impact journalism and/or public relations in the future. What impact will social media have on you as you begin your career?  You may use the discussion questions on the syllabus to help you write the post, but you are not required to answer them. The post should be 250-300 words. Be sure to break it into several paragraphs. It should not be all one paragraph.
• Artwork: Please post some kind of artwork — photo, video, graph, illustration — with every blog post.
• Writing for SEO: Once we learn how to do this, all your posts must be optimized for search.
• Tags:  Give your blog post at least two tags. When using the WordPress editor to compose your post, the “Tags” area is located in the sidebar to the right of the text editor. A tag is a topic of the blog post. A tag is usually a single word or two words. If someone were searching for your blog post, what search terms would he or she be likely to use?  Make those your tags.
• Allow comments:  Make sure your post is set up to allow others to comment.
• Before you publish:  Preview your post before you publish it. Proofread it, make sure that it is formatted correctly and make sure that all of the links work properly.
• Need help?  If you are having trouble navigating WordPress, there are many sites available to help you. Just Google them. WordPress itself offers helpful explanations and has 24-hour tech assistance. Feel free to also ask me for help.

Links:

The blog post must contain at least three embedded links, which means you must put the links WITHIN the post, not at the end of the post. You may link to the readings themselves, but at least one of the links must be to an outside source. The page you use to post to your blog enables you to post links. Please use that.

• Do not put the URL within the body of the blog post.
• Test your links to make sure they work.

Submitting the assignment before class

After you have set up your blog and have published your first post, send me a link to your blog (e.g., John’sblog.wordpress.com) at bollinger.shu@gmail.com. This email must be sent before class on Jan. 21.

Grading

Social Media Task 1, creating your blog, is worth 20 points.

• Technical part (20 points):  Does the blog contain all of the necessary elements, including an appropriate title, menu with About Page and Home buttons, widgets, at least three links, and at least two tags? 

All blog posts are worth 10 points.

• Blog post content and length (10 points): Is the blog post a thorough and thoughtful discussion of the issues raised in the assigned readings? Does the post go beyond simply summarizing the readings to offer analysis and insight? Is the post free of misspellings and grammatical mistakes. Is the blog post at least 400-500 words, broken into paragraphs? Does it include artwork?