Welcome to our class blog. To get started, fill out your profile, review other members' profiles, get familiar with this blog's navigation tools, look at the other PR blogs that are linked to our blog, etc. By Monday, Sep. 17, you need to be ready to begin our first graded discussion period. Let me know, prior to then, if you experience any problems with the blog.
To summarize the blogging instructions contained in our syllabus, posts should be at least 200 words in length and contain intellectual substance. To publish a post, just click on the “New Post” link at the top-right corner of the page. If you need help, read the guidelines for posting on this blog in the Blogging Help section (see the link in the right-hand column of this page or click here).
You should also offer brief, weekly comments on posts by others. To comment, simply click on the "comments" link underneath a post and type in your comment. You can also edit your posts by clicking on the pencil icon and you can e-mail your post to others by clicking on the envelope icon below your post.
I encourage each of you to bring in creative ideas and resources from elsewhere on the Web. For instructions on how to insert "hot links" in your posts and comments that take us directly to another Web site, refer to the Blogging Help link or click here. Just remember, be careful of what you publish in our blog, as others with Internet access can read what we blog about.
You can also liven up your posts by inserting photos from the Internet, like the one above, or photos stored on your computer. For help posting photos, click here.
Post and comment enough times to sustain an active dialogue throughout the discussion period. Begin and complete your posts within the assigned discussion period. Don’t wait until the end of the discussion period to begin posting. To allow others to comment on your contributions, post early and often.
I'm sure it will take a few days to get comfortable with the Blogger technology, learn how to post, and find the right frequency for posting and commenting. Don't worry, most of us are experiencing the same anxieties. Let's take the first week or two of the course to work out the kinks and learn together. Before we begin our first graded discussion period, go ahead and limber up by publishing a few posts and comments on topics related to this course or public relations issues that interest you. Good luck!
Mark
