The blog’s first cousin is the wiki, an obscure term for a simple online database which can be accessed and adapted by any user. The most famous example is Wikipedia, a global online encyclopaedia compiled and edited by its own readers, which now has 600,000 entries. The core feature of both blogs and wikis is that they are not available only on a take-it or leave-it basis, like newspapers or conventional broadcast stations. Users are, if they want to be, contributors as well as consumers. This is the world wide web as it was originally conceived: a global information highway network with traffic moving in all directions.

- Derek Brown, British Journalism Review, March 8, 2006

Housekeeping

• Exemplary about pages: Emilee
• Posts of note for week 4: Ben, Benjamin, Dana, Emilee, Kathyrn, Zach
• Blog post submittal – use for comments (tick mark), open-ended questions (tick mark); student number no longer required
• What is a trackback?
• For your pleasure (or headache) : the dance between medium and genre

Set the stage

• Clay Shirky, How Cognitive Surplus Will Change The World

Discussion Leaders:

• Dana, Jasmina
• Kathy will deconstruct Wikipedia pages (so there are three groups – for size) – clean-up banners, references (how-to), history, talk pages, user contributions

For Discussion

What does it mean to be a reliable source (aka crap detection)? (In pairs, develop an answer; post your answer to this blog post as a comment and list both names – remember you must be logged in to wordpress.com. We’ll discuss briefly.)

• What does using verification rather than “truth” mean for credibility?
• What makes wikipedia “like” an encyclopedia?
• Paerto (80-20 rule) meets digital world (90-9-1 rule)
• How are blogs and wikis different?
• LA Times wiki-torial (2005)

Project discussion

• Get your thoughts together (jot notes if that helps)
• In PAIRS, talk about your project ideas. Ask questions to help your partner think though the possibilities
• Blog post (category, Project) : summarize your ideas and the feedback you got from your partner before you leave class tonight. This is your first project post (category: project).

Sample quiz

• Discuss
• Sample questions for quiz* What are three examples of Web 2.0 technology?
  * What are three (there are more than three) characteristics of a blog?
  * What are the differences between copyright and public domain?
  * What is a symmetrical relationship in a network? (Think Facebook)
  * Digital technologies fundamentally change our world in three specific ways. What are they?
  * What is a switching cost?
  * How are digital products like public goods?

For next week

• By Monday, your first assigned post (category: assignment). Pick a Wikipedia article that focuses on a topic of interest to you. Analyze its veracity using the criteria we talked about in class; what are the strengths and weaknesses of the article? How “old” is it (check the history pages)? How would you improve the article? Provide at least one concrete (and verifiable, that is, you have a source) recommended edit. This is the information we will need for the source: the URL, its title, publisher, publish date and your access date. In class on Monday, we will make the changes together, so set up an account on Wikipedia before class next week.
• By next week, you should have made one post relating to the week’s topic/readings that is just open-ended questions. This is a stand-alone post; it is the first of two and ideally it is on a week where you did not write a reading reflection. Because we missed last week, I’m extending the deadline to include readings for week 5 and week 6 (due Jan 30 and Feb 6, respectively). A second post will be due for the period of weeks 7-10.
• Readings due Monday (remember, you need to do only five readings)
• Second project post due

1. Andrea
2. Ben
3. Benjamin
4. Charles
5. ChrisA
6. Dana
7. Emilee
8. Glenn
9. Kathryn
10. Megan
11. Shelby
12. Tim
13. Zach

Housekeeping

• Be sure to submit posts via the GoogleForm. On time. Please do not put anything in the URL field except the URL with the format http://
• Reading post tips:
  • Proofread.
  • Use your return key.
  • Reference the reading you are responding to.
• Reading posts of note (week 2) : Ben, Charles, Kort, Meme, Tim
• Reading posts of note (week 3) : Charles, Cheryl, Glenn, Megan, Shelby

Multimedia

• Also: Lessig on creativity (TED)

Discussion Leaders

Discuss format : round-robin or front-of-the-room?

• John, Kimberly, Megan (need an overview post with slideshare link)
• xtranormal
• Anonymous denies planned attack on Facebook
• Please include direct links (and make them clickable!) to your multimedia inside your overview blog post

Discussion:

• Limiting access to content by IP address
• Why is parody exempt? What makes something a parody?
• PIPA/SOPA : Net Response : Anonymous

Lab

• Anatomy of a blog post

Anatomy of a Blog Post

From http://www.handshake20.com/2009/10/anatomy-of-a-blog-post.html

• Edit your blogs:
  • MORE TAG : use it!!
  • ABOUT PAGE : edit!!
• Grace period on blog posts not shared on Google doc ends tonight. The link is in the sidebar: Blog Post Submittal.
• Blog post headlines: no more “week 3 this” or “reading that” — be creative and descriptive

• Ava
• Charles
• Cheryl
• Dana: admin link
• Doug
• Glenn
• Kimberly
• Megan
• Meme
• Shelby
• Tasha
• Tim
• Zach

• why networks matter
• what does it mean to “blog”?
• first blog comments
• demo reading access
• set up slideshare accounts for discussion leaders

Why Networks and Social Production Matter

Short lecture [with recap of Monday]

Social production

The power of networks

For discussion:

• What is it about blogging – or any social digital technology – that feels “voyeuristic”? Why?

Lab:

Discussion leader assignments

• See the students page
• See the assignments page
• Working in pairs, search Slideshare.net and find at least one “good” and one “bad” example presentation related to course topics or your research topics. Please comment on this post with your examples (links!) and an explanation. Tell me the names of the folks in the pair, please. :-)
• Folks for next week: meet with me briefly after class!

Your Slideshare.net account

• Set up an account at Slideshare.net
• Kathy to demo uploading PPT and finding the shortcode to embed the slides in a WP post. Also see this blog’s resources page.

Your first comment

• Refer to the assignment summary sheet
• Read and comment on the blog post of the person whose name follows yours on the list. [If you are the last person in the list, you comment on the post of the first person; if the person above you doesn't have a post, pick the person above them.]

For Next Week

1. Andrea
2. Ava Sparrow
3. Ben Ryon
4. benjamin thomas-kennedy
5. Charles Spurr
6. Cheryl Kelly
7. Chris Ainsley
8. Chris Cullen
9. Dana Myers
10. Doug Havens
11. Emilee Sahli
12. Glenn Smith
13. Graham Keller
14. Jasmina Ljutic
15. John Guanlao
16. Kathryn Hornung
17. Kimberly Noble : blog home: linked to WP Admin
18. Kort Havens
19. Megan Spurr
20. Meme Ellis
21. Shelby Iverson
22. Tasha Martin
23. Tim Franklin
24. Zack Ui : blog home: linked to blog not post

• understanding the context and economics of digital publishing
• why networks matter
• what does it mean to “blog”?
• first blog posts and comments [Monday]
• demo reading access [Monday]
• set up slideshare accounts for discussion leaders [Wednesday]

Housekeeping

• email
  * Please use clear subject lines and include “COM495″ — send to kegill at uw dot edu. If you do not use COM495, do not expect me to answer promptly (or at all – it’s quite possible I’ll not see it); your emails are filtered into a folder for this class.
  * If you have an urgent question, say so in the subject line. I try to return email within 24 hours M-Th. Please sign the email with your first name. If you have not heard back from me within 48 hours (M-Th), please re-send with a new subject line and/or Tweet me and/or phone me. Cell phone in email footer.
• Blogs & Copyright
  If you embed any image in a blog post that is not your personal property, you must identify the source of the material. If the material is copyrighted, you must either remove it or explain why you believe your use entails a “fair use” of the material. These details can appear in the foot of your post under a paragraph entitled “Credits.” We’ll talk more about this in Week 3.
• Absences
  Reminder of policy on absences

Historical context (Mon)

Three important characteristics of digital communication (Mon)

• Two factors: collapse of time and space
  Trace through reporting of disasters:
  • Lisbon earthquake, 1755, 60K died; months for news to spread, brief mention in NY and Boston
  • Indonesian Tsunami, 2004, ~200K died from the tsunami; minutes for news to spread, global response
  • Haiti earthquake, 2010, ~230K died; seconds for news to spread, unprecedented fundraising: American Red Cross raised a record US$7 million in 24 hours when they allowed people to send US$10 donations by text messages
  • Japanese earthquake and tsunami, 2011, 16K died; seconds for news to spread, unprecedented UGC video
  • See Social media as a communication lifeline during a crisis
• Third influence of digital technologies: perfect copies that are basically “free”

Thinking about “Free” (Mon)

For discussion Monday:

• “in 1992, MTV held a town hall debate featuring the Democrat and Republican candidates for president. During that debate, a young woman in the audience asked Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton if he wore boxers or briefs.” From week 2 reading
  * What are some examples from the past 20 years (or the past 2) that mirror this sort of “making the private public”? [not required that they be political but shouldn't be "normal" celebrity gossip]
• How do you get your news? How has that changed in the last five years? What are the factors that led to the changes?

Lab Monday:

Discussion leader assignments

• See the students page
• See the assignments page

Your first reading post

• Log in to WordPress and find your dashboard.
• Click “Posts -> Add New” or Mouseover your blog name in the header and select “new -> post”
• In the WYSIWYG view, enable the “kitchen sink” [Kathy demo]
• Paste your reading reflection into the text box
• Give your post a catchy title (NOT “week 2 reading”!) that is informative
• Start using the “more” tag so that only part of your post shows on the home page – screen capture
• Select the proper category (right hand side; what is the right category?)
• Click “Publish” (right hand side)
• Paste the URL of your reading post into this Google spreadsheet

Why Networks and Social Production Matter (Wed)

Your first comment

• Refer to the assignment summary sheet
• Read and comment on the blog post of the person whose name follows yours on the list. [If you are the last person, you comment on the post of the first person]

Your Slideshare.net account

• Set up an account at Slideshare.net
• Kathy to demo uploading PPT and finding the shortcode to embed the slides in a WP post. Also see this blog’s resources page.

For discussion Wednesday:

• What is it about blogging – or any social digital technology – that feels “voyeuristic”? Why?

For Next Week

• Who are we and why are we in this class?
• What does the world of communication look like in an digital age?
• Course overview, expectations, syllabus review
• Technologies: WordPress
• Multimedia: Did You Know 4
• Syllabus as pdf

Syllabus Exercise

Using the online syllabus and assignments page, answer these questions individually. We will then answer them in small groups.

1. Where do you find the readings for this class?
2. What are the responsibilities of discussion leaders?
3. How often (and when) do students “blog” their reading reflections?
4. How important is class participation to the final grade?
5. What other assignments are posted to the blog?
6. What are the project possibilities in the class?
7. What is due finals week?
8. Are there any tests? Is there a final exam?

Multimedia

Lab

1) Create student blogs using Word Press.
By using blogging software to reflect on your readings, you practice using this new technology. By customizing your blog space, you develop your personal design aesthetic. By categorizing blog posts, you are becoming literate about Web 2.0 technologies and folksonomy.

• Create your blog! Go to Word Press; select the new account button and follow the prompts. Notes:
  • Recommended: consider using your UWNetID as your login/member name. This will make your WordPress URL <uwnetid.wordpress.com> and makes it easy for me and other class members to send you email. [If it's not available, use something else. I'll note the email info on the student blogs page.]
  • Use an email account that you can access in the lab, because you will not be able to move to the next steps until you activate the blog by clicking on a link in an email from WordPress.
• Activate your blog
  Log in to your email account and find the WordPress mail that contains instructions. Click the link and your blog will be live! This step “proves” you are a human and not a ‘bot.
• Customize your blog
  Required settings:
  • settings -> general: Create a distinctive name (separate from your login, not Com495). You can change this at any time.
  • settings -> general: Change the time to [-8 or Los Angeles] so that we all have the same timestamp.
  • posts –> categories: We will be categorizing all of our blog entries (a best practice), so create the following categories
    • Assignment
    • Discussion Leader
    • Reading

  Recommended settings:

  • settings –> privacy: Make the blog public; include in search engines or public listings if you want the outside world to more easily find your blog
  • settings -> discussion: To avoid spam, enable “Users must be registered and logged in to comment”
  • settings -> discussion: De-select “must approve comments”

2) Edit “Hello, World”

• posts –> edit
  Change the title/subject if you like. Delete the current content (highlight – delete) and replace it with a little information about yourself and why you are in the course. Categorize the blog post assignment (click the tick mark for assignment – Categories are in the right margin). Click “save”.

3) Give me your blog URL before leaving class!

• I have created a “TypeWithMe” document for this purpose – com495-blogs. No login or registration (or “save”) required. Just paste your URL (like http://com495.wordpress.com/) to the right of your name.

For Monday

• Complete this digital media skills survey
• Reading assignments are on the home page of the course site.
• Bring your written reading reflection to class in a digital form. This could be on a thumb drive or as an email to yourself or as a document you’ve stored on Dropbox, for example. We will post them together.

Agenda

• Student projects are on the students page
• Interesting posts this week:
  • Andrew’s day of reckoning
  • Cammy on FoodPress
  • Carrie on Twitter and blogging
  • Irina, Not so bitter, it’s sweet! (video)
  • Jeannie on GPS
  • Jessi on her Dropbox presentation
  • JoshF on Facebook redesign
  • Kathleen asks about your cellphone use (addiction?)
  • Marci on Crowdsourcing
  • Marcy on Assange and Wikileaks
  • Maryellen on stories
  • Mia on Word Clouds
  • Rowdy on Kinect
  • Stephanie thanks WordPress
• Some “make up” posts (the assignment to read five classmate posts and then reflect on what you read)
  • Carrie: Who Can We Trust, Really?
  • Jackki: Who said what?
  • Sean: Where are we headed?
• Wrap up evaluations

What’s Next

• If you have not recorded the “make up post” for the class we missed due to snow, please do so tonight!
• I grade your reflections tomorrow
• I review your blogs tomorrow -> here’s the checklist from last Tuesday (lots of you haven’t done this)

• Geek Speak
• The Persuasive Post, part three
• Project questions
• Course evaluations

Geek Speak

• Kathleen
• Krystal
• Marci
• Meghan

Discussion

• Technologies: Intersect (see review at Seattle 2.0); smartphones, ubiquitious wifi (ppt)
• Conversation Guidelines For Take An Other To Lunch (notes from TEDWomen)

Persuasive Post

• Pair up
• Read each other’s post (links below)
• Q&A : what questions did the post raise? what really worked for you as a reader? what questions did you have after reading the essay? did you feel persuaded? suggestions to the author

Next Week

• Reflection (details from syllabus) : due next Tuesday via Catalyst CollectIt
• Next Tu schedule and agenda : 6.30 start if it works for your schedule — ~3 minutes (no more than 5 min MAX) each to talk about your project. Practice – 3 minutes is NOT very long!!
• PROJECT FINAL – everyone should create a blog post with details about the project, including a link to the blog or page that is the project home. I will be linking to each of these in prep for Tuesday’s recap.

Evaluations

Persuasive posts from student spreadsheet (absent tonight: Josh, Joshua, Rowdy, Stephanie)

1. Amy
2. Andrew
3. Carrie
4. Cammy
5. Farida
6. Irina
7. Jackki
8. Jeannie
9. Jessi (don’t see on your blog)
10. JoshL
11. JoshuaF
12. Kathleen
13. Krista
14. Krystal (don’t see on your blog)
15. Marci
16. Marcy
17. Maryellen
18. Megan
19. Meghan
20. Mia
21. Rowdy
22. Sean
23. Stephanie (don’t see on your blog)