Excellent discussion last night. We just have one more week of readings, then you have your paper presentations, and we’re done. Here’s what’s going on:

• Keep up the Twitter connections, finding people to follow, asking questions. During class, Melody tweeted Gary Vaynerchuk, and he replied. Twice!
• The questions for next week are on the blogs page. On Monday, we deal with the future of journalism, and on Tuesday, we deal with the future of music. We also have some legal readings on Wed.
• Some have asked how you can get beyond an A (96) on your blog posts, that elusive A+ (100). I reserve those points for people doing something that they are not told to do, initiative, creativity. I can’t tell you what those things are. Exceed expectations. Get beyond doing the minimum required.
• Comment on two of others’ posts.
• Make sure you watch the videos and do all the readings for Mon. Make sure you watch the Remix Manifesto Video and the Who Owns Culture Video for Tues. I have Aron Pilhofer of NY Times scheduled to do a Skype with us during class next week, as long as his schedule holds. Be as familiar as possible with his team at NY Times and have some good questions.
• Any handouts should be in Resources on TRACS.
• I will try to get any necessary feedback to you on the prospectus by tomorrow.
• Brandon has news on Mon, Kathryn and Sidni on Tues. Keep up the comments.

Have a great weekend.

I enjoyed our discussion last night. Good integration of difficult material. I think you will find the readings, although comprehensive, to be a little less dense going forward.

• Twitter – make sure you have a good avatar and profile. Also, add a cover photo. We didn’t discuss, but that is something that gives a little more interest to your page. Please try out all these things and take these assignments seriously and professionally, regardless of how you plan to use it in the future. You’re here to learn.
• You should also have a Twitter app on your phone, if you don’t already. I just use the regular one from Twitter, but there are others.
• Find three new people to follow. They should be actual people that have something to do with your future career. You can find them in various ways: see who others follow/are following, look them up on Google (if you already have someone in mind), use LinkedIn to see if they list their Twitter there.
• Now send questions via @reply to at least two people. Let’s see what kind of responses you get.  For example:

@pilhofer What advice do you have for a journalism student who is interested in learning data visualization?

Students have gotten actual internships and career contacts just from this exercise.

• Instagram – if your phone supports it, use Instagram to take a photo that you feel best depicts grad life. You can connect your Instagram to Twitter. Use the hashtag #issuesnm. If your phone doesn’t support Instagram, just use a regular photo.
• News this week: Courtney and Melody have Monday, Daniel and Flor on Tues. Post to both the Facebook group and on Twitter with hashtag #issuesnm (to also share with your follower). Everyone comment on the FB group. Good discussion on these items so far.
• The questions are on the Blogs page for next week. We’ll cover Browsers and Search for Monday, Social Media on Tues. You might want to read ahead for the Wed items on Business Models to add to your Monday question about Google. You don’t have to do a post specifically on the Wed material, though. But please make sure you read or watch the items. Items under Other Resources are not required (but feel free). And for Pew Reports, just peruse the results.
• Pay careful attention to the elements of a GOOD blog post as we have discussed. The content should reflect the time you have put in reading, so it shouldn’t appear that you wrote it in 5 minutes. Use thoughtful placement of images and links. Engage multiple readings or any other outside readings.
• Be sure to watch the videos from the Download series (Parts I, II and IV). Part III Bubble is not required, but you can watch if you are interested. Also watch the Marissa Mayer video.
• I provided the Crush It handout in class.
• Your Research Paper Prospectus is due next Wed. Refer to the description on the Assignment Page for the details. 2-3 pages. Include your research question(s), methodology and brief lit review. You’ll turn it in via the Dropbox on TRACS.

I think that’s it. See you next week! Have a great weekend.

Cindy

Good job this week. I have enjoyed our discussions. Here’s what is going on until we meet again next Wed.

• We didn’t get to watch it in class, but I highly recommend you watching some of the Doug Engelbart demo – http://sloan.stanford.edu/mousesite/1968Demo.html
• Watch the Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg videos and read through the Apple-related articles on the Outline.
• Check the New Media Issues – Royal Facebook group each day and comment on news posts. Nick and Jake will post on Mon. Chris and Melanie will post on Tues. Ask to Join the Group, if you haven’t already,
• Read the items under New Media Research for Mon. The question for Monday, which is also on the Blogs page is:  Discuss the different ways the concept of interactivity is defined. What is your definition of interactivity? Please make a GOOD blog post according to my requirements. I will try to send some feedback to everyone on your first post over the weekend.
• For Tues, read all the items under Cyberculture Research and Gender Online. The Handout for Inventing the Medium is available under Resources on TRACS. Tuesday’s questions, also on the Blogs page, is Discuss the interaction between culture, community and design, based on the readings. What are some of the cultural implications of online spaces? Be sure to address gender and ethnicity roles online in your answer. Also make sure you do a GOOD post!
• And before class on Wed., go to some of the other students’ blogs and comment on at least two posts. The blog list is on the Blogs page. I am still formatting, but you should be able to see the links.
• Begin your literature review for your final paper. Get some preliminary ideas so we can discuss next week.
• There are a couple TED Talks on the outline for July 17. Please watch before class.
• If anyone wants to chat on a Google Hangout on Tues night, let me know. I can answer questions. Discuss your paper ideas, etc. Email me at croyal [at] txstate.edu.

Have a great weekend. See you next Wed.

Great job last night getting underway with the class. I look forward to working with all of you throughout this quick summer session. We have a wide range of experiences and interests in the group. Here’s what you need to do for tomorrow, Tues., for your online assignments.

• Watch the videos and read all the items on the Outline  for Tues., July 9th. The Weaving the Web piece is the handout I provided. In addition, watch the Did you Know 4.0 and The Machine is Us/ing Us videos from July 8 that we didn’t have time to watch in class. We’ll finish the History of the Internet and Web video in class on Wed.
• Start your WordPress blog. Make sure you get a theme and play with the general settings. You can add any additional pages that you’d like. We will discuss widgets and other features later. Make your first blog post on this topic:
• For your first post, write some introductory comments, a short paragraph or two about yourself, and then discuss your definition of new media. Be sure to engage the reading, make connections, as well as provide your own opinion. Include relevant links, images, embedded video.
• Do this post by 9pm tomorrow night, Tues., July 9.
• Join Twitter and LinkedIn, if you aren’t already on them. You should have done your social media baseline assessment and gotten your Klout score in class. Save that info for us to discuss and to compare at the end of the session.

We’ll discuss all of this in class on Wed.

I’ll send more info about the news assignments tomorrow.

Familiarize yourself with the website, the course outline, the course policies, and let me know if you have any questions.

See you at 6pm on Wed!