I've had a few folks say that they're having trouble embedding links in their blog posts. By "embedding," I mean the practice of linking to a website or article, like this op-ed from New York Times journalist Joe Nocera, in the actual text of the blog post. Embedded linking is considered superior to leaving a clunky URL on the page, like this: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/23/opinion/nocera-where-the-candidates-degree.html?_r=0
Sure, both links will take you to the same place. However, if you visit high quality webpages across the Internet, you'll find that the authors almost always embed links rather than writing out clunky URLs. It makes the writing look more clean, and it makes the page easier for readers to use.
If you're running into issues with embedding links, check out the quick video below that clearly shows how the process works.
This week's social issue publishing
assignment is exactly the same as last week's. The only difference is
that if you completed a Full Post for Thursday (10/18), you'll be creating a
Curated Post this week (and vice versa).
So at this point in the quarter, we've accomplished a few things that will aid our work for the "social issue publishing" component of this course. You've each identified a social issue you're interested in, and you've found group members with common interests to write with. You identified a peer group of other blogs and websites from which you can draw information and inspiration for future posts. You've also created a few resources (e.g., blogroll, "about us" page, other "gadgets") that will be useful for readers and that give a sense of identity to your blog.
Tasks must be completed by Tuesday, 10/9 by midnight
As I explained in class today, Assignment #3 is geared toward laying the groundwork for your blog. We're going to incorporate a few basic components that most good blogs and websites have, and that readers expect as part of an engaging experience on a site. We'll get to the writing over the next few weeks, but we want to keep the horse in front of the cart.
Response due Tuesday, 10/2 by midnight (response will be submitted as a post on your blog, as explained below)
At this point in the quarter, each of us should now be part of a blog group for the “social issue publishing” component of this course. The following assignment is designed to help you get a handle on: (1) who else is writing about your social issue on the Web; (2) what, specifically, they’re writing about, and (3) how they're writing about it.
Response due Tuesday, 9/25 by midnight (use comment section below to submit response)
For this assignment, begin by identifying a social issue that is personally significant to you. Possible social issues could include gay rights, substance abuse, racial profiling, or any number of other social matters of discussion or concern. In a Word document, write no more than one page (single spaced) about that issue. You should discuss the issue from your perspective. Explain why it is significant to you using at least two detailed examples (at least one example should derive from personal experience). If you need some ideas for possible issues to write about, consider browsing through some of the resources here and here.
