Reflection questions: Consider your experience writing a mini memoir and what you did to make your story interesting. Given this, 1.) Are reality stories, such as memoirs, real and true, why or why not? 2.) And despite widespread knowledge that details in memoirs are often made up, why do you think these kinds of stories have remained (and maybe have even gained) in popularity in the 21 st century? Why not just publish them as fiction? Please explain your reasoning. Turn in response with your paper – in your folder.

Who is Saying What to Whom and Why? Sleeveface:

Who is the author? What do we know about the author? How do we know? This will give you insight as to intention, message, and purpose.

What is the message? Sometimes this is explicit, other times not so much. Sleeveface is more ambiguous. We need to at the images, the context(s), and authors to better understand. It’s popular on social networking sites. The BBC published an article headlined: Picture Yourself as a Rock Icon. Is it art? Fantasy? Both?

Who is the audience? We can learn about audience by the topic: Who would be interested in this subject matter? By medium. Who reads blogs? Who reads these sorts of blogs? By author. Who would this kind of person (or people) attract as an audience? Is it your grandma? How do we know?

What is the purpose? There can be more than one purpose … with media, the inclination is to say, “entertainment.” Yes, but what else? Consider author motivations. Self promotion. Creating a platform for oneself. Are you an expert in an area if you say you are? Book deals. Raising awareness of issues. Cultural enlightment. Inspiration … Why do people tell stories?

Why now? Why is this particular topic interesting right now? With Sleeveface, one could easily turn to the explanation of nostalgia for a bygone era. And the Internet allows for the sharing of such nostalgia in a way that has never been possible before.

Break into Groups of 4 Each group is assigned one blog to analyze: You will need to write a group response to: Who is saying what to whom and why? This will be turned in; you will also present you analysis to the class.

Break

Blog Project Your task: Write a proposal for a blog. How do you do this? Look at other blogs and pick one to serve as a model or template for your project. Create a hook. What would make this blog worth reading, i.e. what sets it apart? Define its message: What is it that you want to communicate or express? This most likely will build upon the hook. Who would want to read the blog? Who is its audience? What is its purpose? This builds upon message. This is where you define the point of what it is that you’re saying. Additionally, you will include two to three sample blog posts in your proposal. Sample blog posts can hyperlink to other Websites and include photos, videos, and quotes from other sources. Your proposal should have a title page and an introduction that clearly explains your idea for the blog. Be sure to explain your reasoning behind your approach for each and please include examples that illustrate your thinking. Anticipate writing about a half a page for each section, or about two and a half to three pages, double spaced, including the introduction. Blog entries should be between words each, but can be more or less depending on your proposal. Please print out the landing page of your model blog (this is first page of the website) and attach it to your proposal. Due Jan. 27.

Blog Project Sketch Start brainstorming your blogs Homework: Find an “example” blog on which to base your own. Find a style of blog you like (personal stories, photos, videos, lolcats, a theme, etc.) and adapt it to find your idea. Tap into your personal interests!