Course Syllabus

Topics in Nonfiction
Writing for the Web/Blog Focus

Professor Jakiela
208 Faculty Office Building
Office #: 724-836-7481
Office Hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 11 a.m. – Noon; Wednesdays 3-4 p.m. and by appt.
E-Mail: lljakiela@gmail.com
Course Meets: Tuesdays, 7-9:30, 137 McKenna Hall

Required Texts:

The Huffington Post Complete Guide to Blogging, ed. by Ariana Huffington
Elements of Style, by Strunk & White
Blog UPG (check daily for class news, writing prompts, blog links and more): http://www.blogupg.blogspot.com
The Huffington Post (http://www.huffingtonpost.com – Be sure to register. It’s free.) and other blogs and new media sites as assigned

About the course:

When it comes to influencing both mainstream media and public opinion, one thing’s certain. The blogosphere has its own gravitational pull.

Some statistics: According to Business Week.com and Technorati, there are over 112 million blogs tracked on the web (not all of these are active blogs, but still).

Thirty three percent of all daily blog posts are in English. Other sites, like the social networks Facebook and MySpace, allow users to post blogs on their pages. As of this month, there are over 500 million active Facebook users – many of whom add their own voices to the blogosphere.

While the growth of new and active blogs seems to be peaking, audiences for blogs continue to grow. Bloggers have affected the outcomes of recent elections. They’ve exposed political scandals. They’ve led calls to action. They entertain and inform. They offer breaking news. And some, like Perez Hilton and Arianna Huffington, pre-pubescent fashionista Tavi Gevinson and WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange have become celebrities themselves.

In short, blogs and other forms of social media – including vcasts, podcasts, and social networks – are having an undeniable impact on traditional media. And they’re having an undeniable impact on both the way we think and learn about and respond to the world around us.

This semester, you’ll take an active part in this continually-developing medium. You’ll set up and maintain your own blogs. You’ll develop an online community and participate actively in your classmates’ blogs. You’ll join the conversation on other blogs, too. We’ll study some of the most popular and influential blogs, particularly The Huffington Post. We’ll discuss the effect of blogs on mainstream media and on all of us as consumers of information and news. We’ll learn how the emergence of new technology continually changes the way both traditional and new journalists do business.

And we’ll learn about the ways blogs – and all of us -- can be more useful in the world.


COURSE COMPONENTS

THEORY
We will study the ethics and evolution of blogging and social media. We will look at a variety of blogs – some terrific, some good, some bad, some ugly. We’ll analyze the impact of the blogosphere on traditional reportage. We will also examine the ethics of traditional and social journalism, and discuss blogging ethics and guidelines.

To this end, you will each choose a blog to study. Over the course of the term, you’ll become an expert on that blog. You’ll each do a 10-minute in-class report on your assigned blog, and make informed judgments on the value of the blog, its journalistic impact, its usefulness, and its ethical stance. You’ll complete one 7-10 page research paper on this blog. Your paper will be due at the end of the term. In-class reports will be scattered throughout the term. A sign-up sheet for reports will be available sometime during the first few weeks of class.

YOUR OWN BLOGS
You’ll each set up your own blogs. For consistency, we’ll all use Blogger. You’ll need a Gmail account (it’s free). We’ll start planning the blogs the first day of class.

Once established, all of your classmates’ blogs should appear on your blogroll. You should participate in your blogging community. You’ll be sending comments and links, reading each other’s daily posts, etc.

Each week, one or two blogs will be up for review. During that week, I’ll drop in on your community, check your progress, add my own commentary, evaluate your posts, etc. Guidelines regarding the quality and content of blogs are clearly explained in the HuffPost’s Guide to Blogging.

In addition to being part of your larger blogging community, I’ll pair each of you with a partner to provide you with more focused one-on-one feedback each week.

You should also try to move beyond our class and link to other blogs. Research other bloggers who share your interests and follow them. Link to their blogs. Expand your audience and your information sources. Experiment out there.


SOMETHING NEW
We’re working with a medium that’s constantly evolving. Please plan for this class to be a bit less structured than other classes. You’ll want to come to class and pay attention to be sure you’re on pace. You should also plan to check here at our class website for updates, writing prompts, relevant links, etc.

In addition to completing your assignments, I ask that you:

• Come to class and participate.
• Meet all deadlines.
• Apply excellent grammar and precision. Write well and care deeply. Blog-writing is more open and less formal than other kinds of writing, but good writing is good writing. Quality matters. You’ll be graded on the quality of your posts.
• Maintain ethical standards (tell the truth, no libel, no malice, etc.)
• Commit to your blog and be serious about it. Maintain an active blog – no periods of complete downtime. Update at least three times each week, ideally more.
• Be willing to adapt and be creative
• Be passionate about your subject and write for an audience
• Be a good citizen of both your classroom and blog communities.

Your grade will depend on all of the above.

Core Requirements
• Establish and maintain an active, quality blog
• Participate in your blog community
• Pass quizzes on readings
• Complete one 10-minute in-class presentation on a blog of your choice
• Complete one 7-10 page research paper on a blog of your choice. (Due at the end of the term.)
• Attend class. If you miss more than two classes, your grade will drop by one letter for every additional unexcused absence.

Note About Class Cancellations
I will be in touch with you via e-mail and via our class blog if I ever need to cancel our class for any reason. Please check your Pitt e-mail.

Learning Disabilities
If you have a disability, please see Lou Ann Sears in the Learning Resources Center to file the necessary paperwork. The LRC is located on the first floor of the Faculty Office Building.