If you like blogging...

Next semester, the UPG Insider will be adding an aggregate news blog to its site. The Insider is UPG's student-run online new source (www.upginsider.com). If you'd like to add your blogosphere expertise, or if you'd like to continue the blog you began this semester and let The Insider link to it, the Insider folks would be glad to have you. E-mail Insider advisor Brian Estadt at brianestadt@gmail.com for more information.

There's also still time to sign up to take The Insider for writing credits, too. You can join the staff and receive three credits your first semester. The course is repeatable for two credits after that. The course offers hands-on, practical experience in journalism and online publishing -- two must-haves if you're planning a career in journalism, public relations, advertising, new media and more.

Last Class!

You've made it this far! Congrats, blogger nation.

Tonight we have three presentations: Liz Russell (Crooks and Liars), David King, and
Adam Graham (Freakonomics).

Before the presentations, I'll review the material that will be covered in your final quiz. The final quiz will be next Tuesday, December 15 at 7 p.m. (our usual class meeting). The quiz will be worth 30 points.

Reminder: When calculating your final grade, I'll drop the lowest of your three quiz grades.

Your final papers -- based on the research you've done for your presentations -- are due next week. The papers should be 8-10 pages. You may turn in your paper on Tuesday before the quiz, or you can have up until 5 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 17 to drop it off at my office. My office is 208 FOB. There will be a drop box outside my office door.

If you have any questions before finals week, please be sure to e-mail me at lljakiela@gmail.com.

Tonight's Presentations

Tonight for your blogging pleasure we have four brilliant presentations:

Elizabeth Foster (Lifehacker)
Brian DeRiggi (BoingBoing)
Matt Reilly (Deadspin)
Natalya Wharton (Confessions of a Pioneer Woman)

Assignment for next week: Read Blogging Heroes interviews with Chris Anderson (The Long Tail), p. 13; Victor Agreda, Jr. (DIY Life), p. 257; Deidre Woollard (Luxist), p. 227; and Chris Grant (Joystiq), p. 179.

Next week, December 8, we'll conclude with our in-class presentations and I'll do a quick review of general blogging concepts.

During our final class December 15, we'll have your third and final quiz. The quiz will cover general concepts, the remaining chapters from Huffington (as covered in our in-class PowerPoint presentations), the readings from Blogging Heroes, and concepts from the in-class presentations. Your final papers will be due in class that day as well.

In the meantime, be sure to update your blogs and revise your earlier blog posts. It's never too late to craft a good blog. Revise, edit, revise.

Pre-Thanksgiving Conferences

Next Tuesday, we won't meet at our regular class time. Instead, I'll be available throughout the day to meet with you in conference. The conferences are optional. We can use the time to talk about the quality of your blogs, to go over any grammatical issues you may have, to discuss any successes or difficulties you're having, and so on. I also have a few spots available for conferences this Thursday.

If you're interested in scheduling a conference, please e-mail me at lljakiela@gmail.com.

If you schedule a conference, please be sure not to miss it. If you miss a scheduled conference, it counts as a class absence.

Assignments for Next Week

One blog post -- topic of your choice.
Comment on other blogs. Be good citizens!
Read in BLOGGING HEROES -- The Introduction, the interview with Mark Frauenfelder of BoingBoing on p. 91 and the interview with Gina Trapani of Lifehacker on p. 25. Be prepared to discuss the readings.

Number-Crunching

Because you asked...

The total number of blogs you should have by the end of the semester: 25
The total number of comments you should have made on others' blogs by the end of the semester: 35
The reward for having done a good job all term: Priceless.

In order to receive an A, both you and your blog should have been active all term. That means:
a) You've attended class
b) You've thoughtfully, intellectually participated in class
c) Your blog's been kept reasonably up-to-date.

Although you can't time-machine yourself back to classes you missed (if you can, please let me know immediately), and you can't completely correct a blog that's been flabby for months, you can add extra posts to try to balance things a bit. This would show verve and commitment and will likely help your grade.

Note that word "likely." There are no guarantees, but common sense rules here.

Remember, of course, that quality counts. A lot. So you want to always balance your desire for the correct number of posts with the importance of having quality posts. Simply having 25 posts won't guarantee you a sweet grade. Those posts have to show effort. They have to reveal the attributes of good blogging per our text.

You have a few weeks to kick it up a notch. So as Emeril would put it, Bam! Let's see what you've got.

Tonight's Presentations -- Tuesday, Nov. 17

Tonight we have three sparkling presentations:

Greg Garland on Zen Habits
Rin Little on Generacion Y
Jesse Milliner on Bad Astronomy

Be sure to pay attention, ask questions, take notes, and do other assorted good-scout things. Questions about the presentations may show up on your final quiz. Just saying.