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#TechItUpTuesday

The benefits of blogging?

Blogging is a great way to display your knowledge about a subject that interests you, for example, I have a music blog. So, as you can see it doesn’t have to be purely academic but if you are aiming to increase your employability it would be beneficial to write about something that links to your desired career path or industry. For example, the blog I created was very helpful in securing the role I have now and has provided me with some good connections in my field.

You may not have much experience in your chosen field, so blogging is a great way for you to establish yourself as an expert in your particular subject as well as display your passion and personality. There is never a bad time to start writing a blog. Though as a student I would say it is probably the perfect time for you to begin creating and writing your own blog.

This is all part of forming your digital footprint. A good blog can set you apart from the competition as it can show off several skills that employers are looking for such as social media skills and written communication. It gives an employer the opportunity to learn about you and your opinions before they ever meet you. It will also help you learn about things like search engine optimisation (SEO) or website customisation and maybe even writing some code. Self-improvement and personal development are not only beneficial to you, but employers will also value these traits. And of course, writing about a topic will inevitably help you learn more about that topic whilst developing your critical reasoning skills.

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Writing and sharing a blog also provides a fantastic opportunity to network and meet new people. Engaging with your audience could potentially lead to all sorts of possibilities, ranging from job opportunities to collaboration on projects. If you are a research student, blogging is also an effective way to develop ownership of your research area and to connect to others in your field.

Name your blog

Once you have chosen your platform you need to decide on a domain name (the URL that you purchase), this could be your own name, or something related to the subject you have decided to write about. This could be someone’s first impression of you, so take some time to think before you decide. The name should be short professional and to the point. You ideally want a “.com”, “.net”, “.org” or “.co.uk”. If these aren’t available maybe re-think your domain name so you can use them.

You can use a tool like NameMesh which lets you enter 2-3 keywords and generate some available potential URLs. Be careful when choosing keywords as this will affect your search engine optimisation (how often your website appears in searches). Once you have selected your domain your next step is to look for the best price to buy it.

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Selecting a domain provider / host

It is useful to look around as prices on domain names/hosting are always changing and there are many different deals available. Also bear in mind you don’t have to buy hosting from the same place you bought your domain.

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There are a few things to consider when selecting a hosting provider. For example, to make it easier it would be helpful if the host provided something like 1 click WordPress installation. This makes the process much simpler sort of like a website installation wizard, there are just a few pages to click through where you enter some information. Then when you are done your website will be up and running on your URL and ready for customisation. Here is a guide for how to use WordPress and set up your site.

Installing WordPress for blogging

WordPress is one of the most common host providers and it is what the University library uses for their blog. Here is a quick guide to installing WordPress.

Writing your first blog post

Now your website is up and running, it’s time to write your first post. The first post should be introductory, you want to explain who you are and what you are writing about, and why you started a blog. Additionally, you need to decide who your blog is for (your target audience) and what you want to achieve by writing this blog. The rest is up to you just keep writing and have fun blogging.

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Relevant Skills guide: The Digital Student: Guide to Blogging

We’ve recently published our brand-new Public Communications SkillsGuide, but you may be scratching your head wondering why we’d need such a guide. The way students are being assessed is ever-changing, so we need to keep up with the digital age. This guide provides much-needed advice on assessments in this category.

What are Public Communications?

There are many forms of writing produced for public audiences (no not tweets and Instagram captions), more like articles and blogs etc. Public Communications are used to make academic research available to the public. They are written in an accessible and readable way to not exclude certain groups, therefore reaching a wider readership.

The aims of public communications are to explain, inform, and educate. They may also be written to enact change.

Here are a few examples of formats used to accomplish these goals:

Blog posts

Why are academic blogs written?

To reflect on your work – talk about your strengths, weaknesses, achievements and what you would do differently next time.
To share experiences –collaborating with a group and writing a short section each about your role and the work you completed.
To update – an e-portfolio to post a run down of your creative process, or data you’ve collated. This would be written over the course of your module.
To share knowledge and advice – like an academic essay where you go in depth about a topic, however, a blog will be more informal, shorter, and use less academic jargon.

Letters to the Editor

You may write a Letter to the Editor after reading an article, or journal and wish to voice your opinions on it. A few reasons for writing such a letter are:

Discuss controversial aspects of something recently published.
Enrich the existing knowledge of the piece with an informed opinion.
Seek clarification on an aspect of something you’ve just read.
Share relevant professional viewpoints.

Letters to the Editor should not only be critical but should add value to a topic and stimulate debate.

Magazine Articles

An article gives a balanced view, or a biased standpoint on a topic which will depend on where it is published and the target audience.

They are usually written to:

Inform – give information about current events.
Persuade – to get readers to agree with their viewpoints.
Enact Change – educate people about socio-economic issues and how they can help change happen.

(I thought this one would feel left out if there were no bullet points)

Wikis

A wiki is a place to gather information, thoughts, and ideas which you can easily share with others. Now, you maybe sat there thinking “wait isn’t this Wikipedia?” You’re not wrong, sort of. A wiki is structured like a Wikipedia page, yes, so as you all clearly know what this is I guess I don’t have to go on…

But wait there’s no bullet points!

What can a wiki be used for?

To document work – use multiple pages for different topics and store your work.
Create collaborative bibliographies – you and your group can summarise and critique further readings.
Build a collection of links and/or documents related to your work to discuss with your group.
Create e-portfolios – a place to showcase your work and process.
Reflect as an individual or group, writing about how you got from A to B and how the process went.

I feel better now all have bullet points. I hope this has helped you understand what Public Communications are used for. This may also clarify why you may be asked to complete one, or multiple of these whilst at university.

Other types of Public Communications include infographics, newspaper articles, opinion pieces and posters. We go into greater detail in our skills guide.