What We Blog About When We Blog About Blogging

First of all, there are very few rules for how you should write your blog entries for this class. The main thing is that you "think out loud" about something pertinent to what we read, watch or talk about in Honors 200 and that you develop your ideas enough so that you have around 500 words worth for each entry. You can go a little under the word count and a little further over, but 500 is the sweet spot, because that's just long enough to get beyond the "Hey, check this out!" stage and into something with enough substance to promote analysis.

When you are writing your show-and-tell blog entry, you will have to provide a concrete example of it -- a quote, a clip etc. -- in order to remind your classmates and me what you chose and why. But I'd prefer it if you focus on specifics in your other four blog entries as well. It's always easier to think about a topic when you can concentrate on details rather than having to tackle it all at once. And the kind of analysis I expect you to perform on Part II of the midterm and final exams and, above all else, on your final project demands  that you do so.

So even if you just want to write about a personal experience with technology or other matters related to our course content, try to provide both a context and a concrete example of what you are discussing. It will make for stronger, more interesting writing. And it will also ensure that what you post here on the course weblog will be more readily adapted for you final project, which will save you considerable time at the end of the semester.

What else? You need to be respectful of your classmates and me. While I take it for granted that you will have to deal with "grown-up" content at some point in this course, there are common-sense limits to what should be shared. We can watch David Letterman interview Jennifer Ringley -- read more about her here -- and enjoy their banter about the potential viewing of intimate moments, but it would be crossing the line to show footage from a webcam that might feature such moments. If you aren't sure about what might be inappropriate to share with the class, please check with me first.

It is also important to be aware that you might know things that other students do not. Sometimes you will need to provide context to help them understand, such as a hard-core gamer might need to before talking about why a particular experience is interesting for our course. But sometimes you will have to try not to reveal too much, as when discussing a television program where spoilers are possible. Again, if you have any questions, ask me.

If you choose to comment on someone else's post, you should also observe the same decorum you would be expected to display in the classroom. Disagreement is good; rudeness is not. I realize that we live in an era when much of our public life is dominated by a failure to show respect, but I believe that we can achieve a higher standard.