Welcome to our blog! --Posting Guidelines--

Welcome to the Spring 2013 class discussion blog for Rhetoric 104, Before and After the Digital: Culture and Technology. Beyond your required posts and comments, please treat this online space as an open forum to air questions, engage in conversations, and generally pursue a greater understanding of our course materials and concepts. Because our class discussion time is limited, this is one additional way to iron out misunderstandings, get clarification, and highlight the points that interest you most. Discussion can spill over from class to blog, or blog to class.

Friedrich Nietzsche's typewriter, a Malling-Hansen Writing ball, model 1878. Photo taken by Dieter Eberwein. Copyright: The Goethe and Schiller Archive, Weimar, Germany

Here are some guidelines for posting:

• Keep the language professional. Observe the rules of spelling and grammar. (No "roflmao, imho, tyvm" action.)
• That said, you can employ a more casual and entertaining tone here than you would use in your paper assignments. Part of the art of writing for the Web is knowing your audience, having something worthwhile to say, and getting your point across in an engaging way.
• Say no to epic posts. Posts only have to be 2-3 full paragraphs (a paragraph is roughly 4-6 sentences, depending on how complex you make your sentences). Comments can be made in one paragraph.
• Use the affordances of the medium. Why have a web(log) instead of a paper-and-pencil journal? So you can link to other students' posts or online content, add relevant images, etc.

In terms of content, the blog posts should be responses to the assigned readings for the week. Don't feel that you have to tackle all of the readings, or even one reading in its entirety. Limit summary (unless it's useful to you), and instead try to pick out one point/claim, example, or comparison that you found interesting or controversial in some way. Feel free to refer to your own experience or previous readings to make a connection or draw out some subtext. In essence, keep the blog posts focused, well-written, and open to further input.

Finally, a word on online etiquette. This may be a relatively informal web-based resource, but it is class-related and we therefore ask you to maintain a high level of written expression and to be courteous and considerate in your posts and comments (though that certainly does not preclude disagreements or constructive criticism).

Looking forward to an exciting semester!