Read “Web Analytics Basics” Usability.gov for class
Read “SEO: Search Engine Optimization” from MailChimp for class
What is Search Engine Optimization (SEO)? And what are some of the ways you move yourself up in the search? Also, what metrics are used for web analytics? Have you heard of some of these before or used them at work? What was your favorite best practice from the Usability.gov article?
Read Tiziana Terranova. “Free Labor: Producing Culture for the Digital Economy” for class
Read Kreiss, Daniel, Megan Finn, and Fred Turner. “Limits of Peer Production” for class
Read Nardi, Bonnie A., Steve Whittaker, and Heinrich Schwarz. “It’s Not What You Know It’s Who You Know” for class
What is the digital economy? Why is this an important concept to learn as you prepare for work in more digital media communication lines of work? What about social networks? How have they affected the digital work economy? What is peer production? How has it changed the digital work economy? Finally, as we move towards a society where our technology work is often pushed to a constant schedule of work beyond the 9-5, how can we learn to better separate ourselves from our work as the work landscape changes?
Read Bastos, Marco and Dan Mercea. “The Public Accountability of Social Platforms” for class
Read Singer, Natasha. “‘Weaponized Ad Technology’: Facebook’s Moneymaker Gets a Critical Eye”
As we move closer to a place where social media platforms are making changes to crack down on trolling and political misinformation. How much control over our web communication is too much? What do you think is needed to change the way social media platforms are being weaponized? Or do they need to be changed at all?
Read Wasik, Bill. “#Riot: Self-Organized, Hyper-Networked Revolts—Coming to a City Near You” for class
Read Tufekci, Zeynep. “Twitter, Tear Gas, Revolution. How Protest Powered by Digital Tools Is Changing the World” for class
What do you think about Wasik’s view on changing policing in the wake of changing social gatherings via social media? Wasik also discusses the way governments and surveillance come into play with the new social media age. What does Zeynep discuss in terms of control of the public sphere of social media? How would this affect our use of the web? Design? And choosing what we say and write online?
Read “Writing for the Web” for class
Read Joosten, Lex. “Your guide to successful persona building” for class
NC State Logo Design Guide
How do you build personas according to Joosten’s article? If you had to think about the site you are accessing, what types of personas do you think they have? Does the site write user-friendly content? If so, what examples from “Writing for the Web” do you see?