The Blogging Workshop
The Blogging Workshop is a hands-on introduction to the practice of blogging professionally. Students will create a new topical blog for the duration of the semester, structure it editorially and post to it a minimum of three times a week. Students will also discuss and apply lessons about writing for online audiences, marketing content, monetization and data analysis.
Regular weekly blog posts will be assessed according to minimum requirements (three posts per week) and overall quality. Traffic will also be discussed in class.
Sample Assignments:
Select a topic for your new blog and write your first post: a 100-150 word description of what you’ll be covering. Decide which platform you’ll be using, set up your blog and URL.
Come up with ten recurring features that would be appropriate for your blog and schedule them. Post your editorial schedule to your blog.
Write a paragraph or two about what you’d like to accomplish with the blog and how you expect it to help you personally and professionally. (Not for posting)
Write a post that incorporates topics about online writing conventions, as discussed in class: How is writing for audiences online different from writing for print audiences or creating content for broadcast outlets?
Write a post incorporating excerpts from other publications in keeping with fair use guidelines and including some original reporting by you.
Typical Guest Lecturers:
Peter Feld, Web editor and blogger
Melissa Lafsky, author, Opinionistas blog
Kerry Lauerman, editor, Salon.com
Gabriel Snyder, editor-in-chief, Gawker
Lockhart Steele, blog publisher and president, Curbed
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