Blogs/Tweets #1: Let's Look At Some Posts And Tweets!

Here are links to all our preview and recap posts, and tweet streams, on order in which they were turned in to me (the first one is first, and the last one is last).

Let's compare the work of each other and see what we did well, and what ideas we can get from others. Also, examine how the mediums complement each other: the preview does just that; the tweet stream allows you to follow what was previewed, as it actually happens; and the recap wraps it all up.

BTW, unless you received an email from me noting a specific grade, your grade for the Web post and Twitter exercises was 4.0 on each, with each equaling a practice story in final grade weight. (Future assignments will be graded more specifically and be of higher weight, though). Here we go ...


Melanie B.: rat playtime preview and recap and tweets #playingwithpeaches


This is dead-on: a nice preview setting up what is coming next; a recap that sums up what did happen; and a play-by-play via twitter with a useful hash tag. Nice use of pics, too.


Sami S.: Seamus has dinner preview and recap and tweets #heeatsagain


Hyperlinks let us know people (by peeking at their socialmedia account) and what they're eating (via explanatory link) and what their eating options are (a menu!).


Kelsey B: TV show preview and recap and tweets #modernfunnyfamily

The precap had more than a dozen hyperlinks. The minimum was two. Were there too many? No such thing as too many hyperlinks; it's about giving the reader choices. If they want a ton of background, they can click on as many as they'd like. If not, they can just read the post click-free. It's up to them how much they want to engage the story.

But the tweet stream is missing a lede tweet, where we tell people what we're about to get into. The effect of missing one is the same as a story missing a lede; we're getting info, and we're not sure what for.

Jessica S.: scavenger hunt preview and recap and tweets #msuparanormalscavengerhunt

Cristi F.: roomie goes home preview and recap and tweets #sarahgoeshome

Hayley J.: TV show preview and recap and tweets #gossipgirldrama

Again, we're missing a lede tweet. Plus, the hash tag isn't unique enough; see what happens when we click on it?

Brittanie C.: TV show preview and recap and tweets #thefosterstv

LEDE TWEET! LEDE TWEET! FOR CRISSAKES, GIMME A LEDE TWEET!

Sorry; I had to get that out. I feel better now. Moving on ...

Chelsea E.: TV show preview and recap and tweets #scandaljrn200

Emily J.: TV show preview and recap and tweets #youjrnoryoudie

The preview's hyperlinks really takes advantage of what online does best by not just linking to text, but to video via YouTube. That's obviously something we couldn't do in print even if we wanted to. Online is a medium that emphasizes animation and sound; let's try to link to such content.

Josh T.: late-nite food run preview and recap and tweets #evasiclatenight

Again, let's not forget lede tweets! We'd never write a print story without a lede; let's not start a tweet stream for news without one, either.

Aaron S.: hanging out preview and recap and tweets #mrcabemeister

First, we're entirely missing hyperlinks here. Second, with new news posts or blog posts, we want to treat each as a starting point, even if part of a sequence. That's because different people pick up online stories at different times.

For example, when you start reading a blog, do you go all the way back to the first post ever made,and then read your way back to the latest one? Probably not.

So, at the start of every post we have to offer first attribution as a first attribution, and not assume readers will know who someone referred to by last-name-only will be known. Plus, try to write each post as a cell independent of each other that can be read both alone and as part of a chain of posts. The recap here reads too much like a continuation of the first post.

Amra D.: sewing preview and recap and tweets #emmasews

Here, we have the proper first attribution in each post, and each post being useable either independently or as a pair. 


Amber H.: big game preview and recap and tweets #msumadness

Here, the preview and recap are the same thing; ideally, what we wanted with the preview was just that: a preview setting up what was about to happen by talking about the teams going into the game and the expectations of the fans. The recap would take us through the game and end results, and we did that here.

The hash tag wasn't unique in that it ended up aggregating many other tweets with the same hash tag, but in this case that may be desirable. In certain instances we try to separate our tweet stream into a single coherent stream, but in other cases we're trying to get our tweets out into a larger tweetsphere, like that of fans following a game. So, in this case, it kinda works.

The main thing to consider is what you're trying to accomplish with any one tweet stream: are you trying to pull it out of all the other tweets and make it a coherent story, or are you trying to inject it into the larger tweet world?

The latter works best when you have a series of related tweets, but the former works better when you have one specific tweet you're trying to highlight.

Meagan B.: TV show preview and recap and tweets #greyswithmeagan