BLOG PROMPT

BLOG POST HALLMARKS

• At least 300 words of original text for a REGULAR POST.
• At least 500 words of original text for a KEY POST.
  
• At least one link to articles or websites you're drawing information from.
• A visual element — photo, video, graphic, map.
• Point of view, assessment, opinion.

Blogging, or keeping a Web log, is a recent and Internet-specific phenomenon that began in 1999, with the introduction of the first "Web log" programs. Originally designed as computer-based personal diaries, they were intended to facilitate communication among family and friends. However, users quickly realized they could use the format – short entries arranged in reverse-chronological order – to disseminate news and opinion to a much wider audience. In other words, blogs became an essential platform for journalistic activity: delivering news and information to a public audience.

Although the terms “blog” and “blogging” have somewhat fallen out of favor — because people use Facebook pages as blogs — many, if not most, of the Web sites you frequent are blogs in terms of their structure and conventions. TMZ.com, for example, is by definition a blog.

The technical term for what you will be adding to your blog each week is a Filter Post. Filtering is the most basic function of every blog, and the filter post is the most common type of post. The idea is that you are filtering the Internet for your reader, finding the best stories of the day that capture the theme of your blog and explaining why you are recommending — or criticizing — that item.
Think about how your favorite Web sites regularly perform this function — leading you to online content that might interest you. Think about how you can do this on your blogs. Think about both substance (what you add to the linked content) and form (how best to point readers to the linked content).

Another goal of this assignment is to have fun with it. Feel free to change up the appearance of your site as often as you like. Fee free to add photos and videos and plenty of links to your posts. Feel free to blog as much as you want — it's fun!

BLOG POST HALLMARKS

• At least 250 words of original text for a REGULAR POST.
• At least 500 words of original text for a KEY POST.
  
• At least one link to articles or websites you're drawing information from.
• A visual element — photo, video, graphic, map.
• Point of view, assessment, opinion.