June 10, 2008 at 9:38 pm (General Info)
Tags: Jakob Nielsen, web writing
In my blog classes, I usually touch on the difference between writing for the web versus writing for hard copy publications. I say “touch” because I’m sure I could easily teach an entire class on web writing, and the main focus of my blog classes at this point tend to be more nuts and bolts.
Today, someone showed me this article from usability guru Jakob Nielsen, so it is something I think I will start pointing my classes to for those who are interested in finding out more concerning blog-related writing. I don’t necessarily agree with 100% of what he says, but most of it I think has some truth to it, and he is considered an expert in the topic so his theories are worth knowing about: Writing Style for Print vs Web.
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April 19, 2008 at 10:34 pm (General Info)
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March 20, 2008 at 1:29 pm (General Info)
Tags: blog class lifelong learning
Our spring session of the Basic Blogging class for IRCC’s Lifelong Learning Institute is over, and it went really well. I’ve even started a special blog roll section for students’ blogs, so check it out!
Thank you to all the students who attended and to Laura Kelley for all her help with setting it up. We had a great time, and I look forward to teaching it again in fall 2008.
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March 10, 2008 at 11:42 pm (General Info)
We start blogging in our second class, so here are some helpful links.
First, some A-List bloggers:
Find more at Technorati.
Free blog networks to consider setting up your first blog:
This is an easy to use RSS reader: Bloglines.com
If you don’t want to use your actual picture in your profile, you can use a different picture or an avatar. Make an avatar using Planet M&M or go to Meez.com to make a 3D one.
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March 10, 2008 at 11:38 pm (General Info)
I’m testing to see if the Amazon.com affiliate links will work in here or not, and since I just bought this book, I thought it would be a good choice for testing it out. It seems like the image code alone with not work.
What about the title only code?
Jane Austen: A Life
Nope, it only like the title text code! Bummer! I guess it’s onto blogger.
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February 19, 2008 at 11:29 pm (General Info, Getting Started)
Tags: blogging blog classes
Spring is in the air as well as weblogging at Indian River Community College’s Lifelong Learn Institute.
I am teaching a Blogging Basics class there next month. Classes will be held at IRCC’s St. Lucie West campus March 5th, 12th, and 19th.
You can find out more about the when/where/how at the LLI web site.
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July 2, 2007 at 8:07 pm (Class #4 Info, General Info)
Beyond the blog are a number of other electronic media that use a similar interactive approach to communication. Vlogs, which obviously borrow part of its term from blogs, are video blogs. Sites like YouTube.com have become hugely popular. Much like a blog, anyone with a video camera and Internet access can upload a video for free. Podcasts are audio files. These can be listened to on-line or loaded up for later use on ipods. Sites like gcast.com offer free software for creating and storing podcasts. Wikis are collaborative websites where multiple readers can add and edit information to the site. Wikipedia (http://www.wikipedia.org/) is one example a large wiki that is used by huge number of Internet users.
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July 1, 2007 at 8:06 pm (Blog History, Class #4 Info, General Info)
The weblog interface, as part of an evolving electronic apparatus, offers an easily accessible environment for alternative forms of discourse. Bloggers, working as digital archivists, all have various reasons for writing on-line, but most of them share the need for alternative space that allows them to work outside traditional institutions. This movement from ephemeral media to digital or hypermedia provides a new space for bloggers to experiment with nonlinear narratives. Hypertext creates an interactive reading experience and does not dictate one prescribed method for reading. It becomes a medium for dissimilar ideas to work together in a layered narrative, a story that is not necessarily linear. By clicking on a web page hot link, other sources of text are mingled in with the original content, again weaving text into a new narrative. Differences in hardcopy and digital memory archiving are obvious. A hardcopy journal has a tactical element that a digital equivalent does not possess. However, along with having similar purposes of passing along information and documenting the past, both also share other qualities. For example, both use scraps of ideas woven together. The stories formed have a “narrative/iconic relationship” (Lanham 44).
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May 11, 2007 at 8:58 pm (General Info)
I just found an excellent report from the Pew Internet & American Life Project. It’s in .pdf format, about 33 pages long, and has some great information concerning who is blogging: Summary of Findings.
Here are a few stats according to this report:
- 8% of adult Internet users blog
- 37% write about their life experiences
- 54% are under the age of 30
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April 9, 2007 at 2:40 pm (Blog Basics, General Info)
The term “weblog” is a combination of the word “web” and the word “log.” The term “blog” is a shortened version of “weblog.” Though the most common form of blog resembles an on-line public diary, there are a number of different types and variations of blogs.
Wikipedia (a wiki) defines weblogs as follows:
A blog is a user-generated website where entries are made in journal style and displayed in a reverse chronological order.Blogs provide commentary or news on a particular subject, such as food, politics, or local news; some function as more personal online diaries. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, web pages, and other media related to its topic. The ability for readers to leave comments in an interactive format is an important part of most early blogs. Most blogs are primarily textual although some focus on photographs (photoblog), sketchblog, videos (vlog), or audio (podcasting), and are part of a wider network of social media.The term “blog” is a portmanteau, or, in other words, a blend of the words web and log (Web log). “Blog” can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog.
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