Class Reminders 4/23

For next week, we will have a short class just to wrap things up and give you time to work on projects. We will do it online only since it will be short, about 30 minutes. If you want to talk about your project and get some feedback from me or the class, you can do so.

 

Note on late work: This semester, because so many people had the Meeman plague and all kinds of other issues, I’ve been pretty lenient about deadlines. But at some point, the semester is, well, over. 🙂 If you aren’t going to be able to catch up on any late stuff by the last day of class, then you should give me some kind of update on if/when you are planning on finishing stuff up so I know what is going on. I can give incompletes but I can’t guarantee I can grade all work that comes in after the deadline, because our grading deadlines are very tight and strict.

 Other assignments for Wed:

Write a post on your topic blog in which you round up links of interest to your audience and offer a short summary of them.

Work on final project

Readings for next week are pretty basic. You don’t have to summarize them in your topic blog, but I’d do them. I think you’ll enjoy them. Most people tell me they did.

Google+ – At least get it set up and looking a little spiffy and send me a link.

 

I will send Joelle’s PowerPoint when I’m on my laptop.

 

Class reminders 4/16

For next week:

 

Google Map Assignment – see handout 

 

On your journal blog, describe to me how you might utilize data, interactive databases and/or data visualizations to enhance your topic blog. What could you offer to your readers?

 

Read for next week and reflect on the journal blog.

 

Reminders from class 4/9

Assignment:

1.  In your journal blog, reflect on how you will use your knowledge of social media demographics and your understanding of uses and gratifications/motivations for social media use in your social media strategy for your topic. Who is your target audience? How do they use social media?
2.  In your journal blog, describe what your Facebook strategy and goals might be. Be as specific as possible. If you would like, you can set up a Facebook group or page for your topic area.
3.  Do readings for next week and reflect on them in the journal blog.

 

Reminders from class 3/26

Assignments:

1. Create a list of specific goals you have for your social media presence, tailored to your needs and what you have learned so far about what works and doesn’t work with your topic area.
2. Decide what metrics you will be collecting about your blog/social media presence that will measure progress toward those views, using the readings for guidance. Make a specific list or spreadsheet. Begin collecting this info on a regular basis.
3. Create some kind of challenge for yourself and describe it on your journal blog. Maybe you will try to post a photo on Instagram every day. Maybe you will try a “30 days of blogging” challenge, or similar. Maybe you will try to write a post at least once a week. It’s up to you, but the first step in boosting your metrics is learning to create a regular stream of content.
4. Read next week’s readings and reflect on
journal blog.

Reminders from class 3/5

To do for after spring break: 

1.   Create a video, upload it to YouTube and share it via social media. Your video should in some way reflect your topic of focus. We will be competing to see who gets the most views, and there will be an as yet undetermined incentive for that. We’re all friends, but come on, this will be fun. MAX length is three minutes but that’s probably too long; the shorter the better.

2.     Embed the video on your blog in a post. (If you really can’t figure out how to embed it, you can do a link, but I’d suggest asking me to show you how to do it or using Google. It’s a good skill to have)

3.     Personal reflection on your experiences creating and sharing the video should include thoughts on: How can you continue to use video to enhance your blog?  How do you think professionals in your future desired career – journalism, public relations, advertising, or any other could best utilize these sites?

4.     Read for next week and reflect in journal blog.

Optional: Play around with some of the new tools we talked about. Try to make a quality Instagram video.

Reminders 2/26

1. You will need to produce 5-10 GOOD photographs related to your blog topic (You will want to take many more and select from those). Your goal is not just to take nice pictures, although that helps. It is to drive engagement on social media.
2. You will need to share these photos on at least one of social sites we talked about in class or another one of your choice, e.g. Instagram, Flickr, Pinterest, etc. using proper tags/hashtags. Keep track of and describe the kind of feedback or engagement you got with these photos.
3. Put at least one of the photos on your blog with a caption. If you would like, build a slideshow.
4. In reflecting on the blog on your experiences this week, consider: What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of the sites you’ve used for your topic area? How can you use photos going forward as semester continues to enhance your blog or website? How do you think professionals in your future desired career – journalism, public relations, advertising, or any other – could utilize these sites productively?
5. In your journal blog, discuss what are you learning from the photo-a-day process so far.
6. As always, do reading reflection on journal blog

Reminders Class 2/19

Due:

Do a Twitter chat and describe your experience on your journal blog YOU CAN TAKE TWO WEEKS TO DO THIS.

 

Show your blog (essentially a prototype at this point) and explain your topic of focus to at least one potential member of your blog’s community/audience. Ask them for early feedback on your idea. What kinds of content or features would they be looking for in a blog like yours? What kinds of things do they NEED or WANT to know? Do they have any problems or needs within your topic area you could solve for them? For example, perhaps a potential reader of your niche food blog has a specific allergy and could use some information on how to avoid that ingredient, or similar. Write up what you learned from this person. This could be posted on either one of your blogs, depending on what you think is best. Ideally, talk to more than one person about this. NOTE: THIS IS A COMBO OF MINI-CROWDSOURCING/ALSO CUSTOMER DISCOVERY/DESIGN THINKING

 

Create at least one post on your topic/beat blog. Post can be about anything you would like. Maybe it’s a roundup of relevant links with a summary, maybe you went to a relevant event and you want to write about it. WE DON’T WANT NAKED BLOGS 🙂 If you’ve already done this, bully for you!

 

As always, you will want to do the readings for next week and post about them on the travel blog.

 

Reminders Class 2/5

For next week:

Scavenger Hunt – there are on-campus and off-campus versions. Pity the Madison students – it is -2 there today.

 Create some lists on Twitter related to your beat and other interests. Find some new people to follow related to your topic of focus and other interests. Start interacting with others in your area of focus. Describe what you did in your journal blog.

 Read and reflect on readings for next week in your journal blog.

Reminders from class 1/29

Due next week: 

1. If you have not already sent me your Twitter handle, please do. The account must be “public” or you will not be able to use hashtags effectively. If you are new to Twitter or haven’t used it much, start getting into the habit of both posting and browsing your stream a little at least once a day. Write down any questions you have about how to use Twitter as we will be talking about it more next week. If you are already an experienced Twitter user, think about some ways to expand and improve your presence and community there in relation to your topic of focus.

2.   Develop a list of at LEAST three other blogs or Web sites that meaningfully address your topic of interest.  For professionals, a blog is often a “hub” for other social media activity occurring around the web. Summarize and evaluate some of the key features of each blog or site using bullet points on your journal blog. Answer all of the following questions: What kind of problem do these websites/blogs help solve for their audience and/or what needs do they fulfill? What do they do well? What could they improve? Can you identify any gaps in their content or features that a competitor could fill, and how is what you could offer different or better? Look at their social media presence and the comments or interaction they get: Are they cultivating an active community around their site?

3.   Do readings for next week and reflect on them on your journal blog.

4.   Start making a habit of following blogs and Twitter accounts related to social media and digital technology, such as Mashable, TechCrunch, ReadWrite, Nieman Lab, or others. Share interesting links with our class. Use a bookmarking service like Delicious or Evernote to save and tag links you think might be useful to you in the future.

5. #JBowl – no, this is not on the syllabus, and we haven’t really talked about Twitter yet. But let’s do it! SuperBowl has something for everyone – hate football? Well,there are always the ads, the halftime show etc. Or, you can use Twitter to express your disdain for all the above things. IMPOSSIBLE for you to watch even a few minutes? Google some of the ads or other clips that will be posted online after/during the game. Some of you have done this before, but it can be an interesting learning experience to actively participate in an event online. Tweet your thoughts/observations using the hashtag #jbowl. Show us “the scene” where you are watching the game. Respond to other folks also using the #jbowl hashtag. Create a Storify of the above…and include a few other tweets you found fun or interesting.

Storify How To: http://storify.com/tour and see slides.

Note:You can ALSO use other more common hashtags if you want to, but those are going to be really crowded on the big day, so be sure you use #jbowl so we can talk to each other. Dr. Willis’s class and maybe some others will be doing this as well.

Sample Storify from the Grammys – yours should include your tweets as well: http://storify.com/heatherstanton/the-annual-grammy-s-never-cease-to-disappoint

Reminders 1/22

Good class last night. Thanks for your patience last night as we worked through technical issues.

See below for what is due next week.

Also, just in general, don’t forget that participation in this class involves…social media. Big shocker. 🙂 Join the class Facebook group and use it to ask questions, get/give feedback, share relevant links, etc. Link again is: https://www.facebook.com/groups/246214165548712/ You can also use the hashtag #SocialJ on Twitter

Photo A Day: I will be setting you up as contributors to the Tumblr http://j7330photoaday.tumblr.com/ as soon as I can, using the preferred email address you gave me in class. You should receive a notification from Tumblr asking you to join the blog as a contributor. This will allow you to post your photo each day. Tumblr does have an app you can post from if you would like.  You can get started taking the photos even before I get the blog set up..some of you may also want to make your own personal collection on Flickr or Instagram or another photo site, though that is optional. Use tags #J7330 and #photoaday Remember, this assignment can engage your creativity – do whatever you want. You can create a specific theme or challenge for yourself, or not.

For next week:

1.    Create your WordPress journal blog, and send me a link to it on email. Create an about me page that has a brief personal bio and photo of yourself. Include things like your career goals, your hobbies, work experience, etc. Ask how many have used. Discuss this next.

2.    In your first post, answer the following questions: What social networks do you use most often? How or why do you use them? What do you find interesting or important about social media (e.g. why are you taking this class?)

3.    Choose a topic of focus for this class, or what journalists might call a “beat.” It is VERY IMPORTANT to choose wisely, so put some serious thought into this. Choose a subject you are interested in and passionate about, personally or professionally. This could be anything from bowling to city/county school consolidation to local bakeries to the Memphis hip hop scene to the aviation industry to a particular company, industry or cause you are interested in promoting and/or understanding. Consider your post-graduation goals, but be sure you genuinely care about the subject. It will be critical for you to narrow your topic as much as possible. Anybody can “use Twitter” or “use Facebook” – it is technologically very easy to do. The trick is to use it productively when you have a specific professional goal. One of your goals will be to develop your ability to create interesting and informative content around a particular subject. But a bigger goal will be your ability to cultivate a community around this topic, to listen to what others have to say and engage your audience.

4.    Write up a short description of this topic of focus or beat on your journal blog. Be as clear and specific as possible.

5.    Do the readings for next week and post reflections on your journal blog. You should do this every week.

6.    Start photo of the day project