Social Media

Guidelines for the Novice Blogger (part 1)

Graphic of different social media logos spilling out of an open cartoon head

by HeidiFaith0 on October 14, 2010

Back in February of this year, I wrote a post about “Why Every College Student Should Blog.” Hopefully you remember it, if not, follow the link and check it out.

So maybe you’ve decided to start a blog. That’s great! You’re probably wondering what the next step is in the process, right? Well, let me guide you through the blog creation process.

UMM… WHO ARE YOU?

First things first, you’re going to have to choose some kind of topic or common theme for your blog. What are your interests? What do you do for a living? Do you have any hobbies? — these are the kinds of questions you should be asking yourself. If you’re still having trouble coming up with ideas, here are a few examples:

  • Photo Blog: Do you like to take pictures? Do you like to observe and analyze art? Are you interested in graphic design, painting, animation, or any type of creative artform? A photo blog might be your best option. Photo blogs are mostly, you guessed it, photos and have very little writing on them. Most of your visitors will be coming for inspiration and basic entertainment without having to read long blocks of text.

Check out some example photo blogs to see what I’m talking about: PhotoJojo, OmgThatDress, The7thMan

  • Daily Blog: Ever kept a journal or a diary? Daily blogs are basically the same thing. Simply write about your day, the people you met, the things you accomplished, etc… Daily blog are also quite therapeutic. If you’ve had a bad day and you’ve run out of friends to vent to, your blog never gets tired of listening. Simply click the “new post” button, type away your pain, and click “publish”- just be sure to proofread first to avoid posting something you’ll regret later.
  • Current Events/Gossip Blog: There’s a reason why Perez Hilton gets so many hits, and it’s not because his readers think what he’s doing is artsy, informative, or unique- it’s because it’s full of raw controversy.If you’re interested in starting a current events blog, simply write responses to news stories, movies, TV shows- ANYTHING you find interesting. The possibilities for blog topics/ideas are endless, so just pick something you feel motivated to write about.

BATTLE OF THE PLATFORMS

Once you’ve decided what you’re going to write about, it’s time to actually start writing. Unless you’re some kind of professional web designer, you’re going to need to use a blog host (or “platform”) in order to publish your posts. There are hundreds of blogging platforms out there, but I’ll stick with the two I’m most familiar with (which also happen to be two of the most popular on the web).

If this is your first time blogging, I highly recommend Blogger by Google. Blogger will do all the hard work for you. Simply pick a title, username, and a basic template, and they’ll handle the rest. When writing a new post, there are easy-to-use buttons for embedding photos, links, and videos.

What I love about Blogger is that it’s also great for more experienced bloggers. The full HTML code for the blog is kept public so that web designers can tweak with the template and make a very unique looking page. Blogger also gives users the option to buy their domain name and take part in the Google AdSense program (which I describe in detail in my “Why Every College Student Should Blog” post).

Tumblr is another great blogging platform which has recently taken over the blog world. Tumblr is unique in the sense that it combines the concepts of blogging and social networking. Users have the ability to follow other users, “like” their posts, and “reblog” posts they find interesting, therefore making the blog world more connected than ever before.

Tumblr is fairly simple to use and allows users to post text, photos, videos, quotes, chat transcripts, and even audio clips all at the push of a button. If you love connecting with others and learning new things, Tumblr is for you.

Also be sure to check out WordPress, the domain that the rccblog.com uses.

SO WHAT NOW?

Now that you’ve chosen a topic and set up your actual blog website, now it’s time to write! Post up whatever you want and try to update as often as possible. The blogs with the highest online traffic are the ones that are updated the most often. Don’t be afraid to post a lot of new content every day.

Next week, I’ll be showing you how to promote your blog and increase traffic, so stay tuned for that!

Do you have a blog? What’s it about? What platform do you use and why? Please link to your blog below and I’ll include you in my next post!

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SOCN 101-001: Social Networking for Freshmen

by HeidiFaith0 on September 8, 2010

Hello First Year Students, I don’t know if you’ve all noticed this yet, but your college experience will be very different from your high school experience- in a good way. You will meet lots of new people, acquire lots of new skills, and hopefully begin to make some connections that will help you jump start your career path. One of the best ways you can do this is by keeping up with the latest trends in social networking.

When most students think “social networking,” the most popular online trend of the time pops into their heads. Five years ago, it was Myspace. Today, it’s Facebook. What modern day students need to understand is that technology is constantly updating and changing. Keeping up with these trends is essential to staying connected to the world. I will now lead you through two basic “Intro” courses. Don’t be afraid to take notes.

FABK 102-001 : How to college-ify your Facebook

Let’s start with your Facebook profile. During high school, it was a place to display your best pictures, an easy way to get in touch with

friends, and the Facebook in-browser games were a great way to overcome boredom. But, alas, high school is now over. It’s time to optimize your Facebook profile for bigger and better things.

1. “Like” official BSU pages, and after doing this, join in some of the discussion boards. You never know who will be browsing over the boards/wall, so let your voice be heard. Check out Official BSU, Rondileau Campus Center, BSU Class of 2014 for starters.

2. Expand your network by sending friend requests to people for reasons other than “omg i met them at that party.” Add people in your graduating class, your residence hall, your club, your team, or even people from other schools that have your same interests. If you’re afraid of people you don’t know personally knowing your personal information (via your Facebook profile), adjust your privacy settings so that only certain friends can see all of your information.

3. Promote campus events using the “Events” application. No one ever ignores event invites, even if they can’t attend, so using this feature will get people to notice all the things that go on around here.

TWTR 101-001 : Twitter for Dummies

Yes, you’ve all heard of it. It’s practically taking over the world. You can’t even turn on the news anymore without hearing about it. I know it seems annoying and a little crazy, but there is a reason why everyone seems to be obsessed with Twitter.

Twitter is not just a social network. It is a giant database of people’s thoughts sent in from all over the world in real time. It has revolutionized the blogging world to the point where mainstream media news (via TV and radio) can no longer compete with the internet.

…But, don’t worry. It’s not as complicated as it seems. I can honestly say it’s simpler to use than Facebook. After starting up your account, following a few people you know (start with our rccblog staff- they’re easy to find), and posting up a few simple tweets, follow these easy steps to transform your Twitter page from a micro-blog to the ultimate on-campus communication tool.

1.  Follow official BSU Twitter accounts. One of the best to follow is the official RCC twitter. They tweet out class cancellations and special announcements in a convenient, on-time manner. Sometimes they even browse the search engine and reply to tweets that are tagged with the appropriate BSU hastags (you’ll learn about those later).

2. When tweeting anything regarding BSU, use the official hastags. For tweets regarding general on-campus events/sightings/thoughts,  include “#BSUlife” in your tweet (ex. “Does anyone know what time the renaming ceremony starts? #BSUlife”). This will make it easier for people who may or may not be following you to find your tweet (using the Twitter search engine) and provide you with a quick answer/comment.

3. Create Twitter “lists” to sort out the people you’re following. Doing this will make it easy to organize and read the tweets you’re interested in. For example, you may want to create a “BSU” list so that you can immediately read tweets only related to BSU. You could also make a “celebrities” list, a “friends/family” list, or anything you want.

I know you probably thought that social networking was just for fun and that there was no way it could help your professional life, but think again. Hopefully you’ll use these tips to optimize your pages and make you more connected to the campus- as well as the world.

Also, if you haven’t already, check out the BSU Twitter Directory: Who to Follow and Why for even MORE tips on the often-called “pointless” and “confusing” world of Twitter.

How well do you know Social Networking? Are you on Twitter or other online communities?

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The BSU Twitter Directory: Who to Follow and Why!

by Karoline Zacharer on June 11, 2010

Ok, now that you know why college students should be on Twitter and how to use it…I’m going to give you the skinny on who to follow here at Bridgewater State and why…because it isn’t enough to just sign up for Twitter, send out a few quick tweets and call it a day; it’s who you follow that’s important.  This helps you gain new and information and, if they follow you back, can help you spread your ideas, wisdom, questions, and random observances.

First and foremost, everyone who reads this blog should be following the most important Twitter-ers of all…the RCC Blog Team, of course!  Here we are:

  • Me (@KarolineZ): Warning! I tweet A LOT!  Mostly I tweet about random things I stumble upon throughout my day, but sometimes I promote my own blog and share news and world events. Oh, and I love creating awesome hashtags like this one.
  • Courtney Cormier (@CourtneyCormier): Courtney tweets mostly to post links to her personal blogs and this blog.  Also, she shares lots of really cool websites and articles she finds around the web.
  • Kayla Harvey (@Kayla_Harvey): Like me, Kayla tweets a lot about what’s going on with her and what she’s doing.  Kayla likes to post links to cool events she’s going to.  And, she comes up with way funnier/more creative hashtags than I do.
  • Heidi Faith (@HeidiFaith): Heidi likes to tweet her funny observances about people and situations she sees.  She has a knack for finding people who look like celebrities in the RCC!
  • Rob Morton (@RobertFNF): Rob is the newest to Twitter of the bloggers, and tweets less frequently than the rest of us.  However, every once and awhile he posts some really cool twitpics of fun stuff he’s doing!

tip: make sure to follow all of us RCC Bloggers so that you can see the funny conversations back-and-forth between us!  We’re always @-replying eachother!

Alright, next on the list of who you should follow is BSU organizations and clubs:

  • Rondileau Campus Center (@BSCCampusCenter): This is where you’ll find out all the cool events and activities around the RCC and the rest of the campus!  They also list class cancellations in the morning.  Definitely one of the most important BSUtwitters to follow.  Oh yeah, and they’ll also alert you when we post new entries!
  • Bridgewater State University (@OfficialBSC): This is Bridgewater State College’s official twitter page, and if you follow, it gives you some pretty interesting stuff about what’s happening on campus, with current and past students and professors, and awards and recognition the school is receiving and giving out.
  • The Office of Student Involvement and Leadership–or OSIL for short. (@inBSU): Are you looking to become more involved on campus?  Follow OSIL and they’ll let you know about all the interesting things you can help out around BSC and become a vital part of campus life!
  • Bridgewater State Athletics (@bscbears): Following the athletics department will keep you up-to-date and informed with new about everyone’s favorite team, the Bridgewater Bears!  …speaking of bears, you can also follow our mascot, Bristaco Bear! (@Bristaco)
  • BSC Orientation (@Off2BSU): Are you going to be a new student here at Bridgewater in the fall?  If so, you’re going to have to go to orientation.  By following the BSU orientation team, you can learn about what to expect, see funny pictures of the OL’s, and give feedback on your orientation experience.  @Off2BSUalso provides valuable information to incoming freshmen and transfers on everything from how to use your connect card to job opportunities.

Many student organizations have caught onto the trend and have begun to use Twitter as a way to promote their and networks with members of #bsclife who are tweetin’ up a storm. Some groups of note are SGA (@SGA_BSC), the Social Justice League (@BSC_SJL), The Comment, BSC’s school newspaper (@BSC_Comment), Program Committee (@PCBSC), the Public Relations Student Society of America (@PRSSA_bridgew).

OK, now that you know all about the important organizations at BSC you should know about, here’s the people that run them!

  • Ed Cabellon (@EdCabellon): Ed is our boss here at the blog (we even made a movie about him!).  He’s also the director of the Rondileau Campus Center! So, as you can imagine, he’s a very busy guy.  Ed tweets a lot of insightful links about how to get ahead in college and your career.  He also tweets to promote his own blog and join Twitter “chats” with other student affairs professionals around the country.  He is also one of the biggest Twitter cheerleaders I know, aside from Kayla.
  • Cindy Kane (@cindykane): Cindy is the director of the Ofice of Student Involvement and Leadership (OSIL).  Aside from being an avid Yankees fan, she’s an all-around nice person.  Like Ed, she uses twitter for various professional chats and shares a lot of cool information about colleges and professional life.  And, if you’re looking for something funny or a day-brightener, I highly suggest following @littleredsaid, the Twitter page Cindy runs about funny things her son, Little Red, says.

I hope that I have been insightful and influential in your decision as to who to follow.  I know it can be hard to get involved, and that it can feel overwhelming at times trying to remember all the things going on around campus.  While I can’t make any promises, I can tell you that I became a lot more in touch with what is happening in and around BSU once I started following these Twitter accounts.

So, what do you think?  Have you made the switch from Facebook to tweeting yet?  Get to it already!  And, any new users this post or Kayla’s, may generate, I encourage you to tweet me, and I promise I’ll follow you back! :)

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