Wed+16+Jan

=Workshop Plan:=

Today you're going to spend around 40 minutes looking at good sites related to your project, and write about what makes them good, how you might imitate them, and how you can improve them. Since you're going to be using information and research tools and strategies that may be new to you, you're going to also write about your impressions of these.

All that writing will be on the group blog.

Again, you're looking at how established professionals do what you're interested in. You want to study them, and informally write about what it is that makes them good - the specific details of their high quality.

(By the way: If you thought of a project you'd rather do, it's not too late to switch. We're just getting started.)

=Set-up:=

1. Sign into Skype 2. Go to CHAT > RECENT > (Arthus' chat) 3. Bookmark all chats you create as soon as you open them. 4. Go to the [|group blog]:
 * Arthus and I will be in that chat too, so you can use it instead of "raising your hand" for questions or comments
 * Log in > Site Admin > Write > Post
 * keep this post window open to take notes as you read during Stage 1 Research, below:

=Stage 1: Research - Explore Your Models (30 min.)=

5. Sign in to your RSS Reader ([|http://beta.bloglines.com)]
 * Find feeds to subscribe to (you've done this a bit) - We'll give you tips in chat
 * 3 blog feeds related to your project that look like something you might want to imitate, or that you can learn from
 * 1 news feed (Google News or NYTimes, for example)
 * 2 Flickr tag feeds
 * Optional: Video feeds (e.g., Colbert Report or Daily Show from Comedy Central's feed)
 * Skim your feeds until you find content that look like what you want your own project to look like
 * Slow down and study what you like.
 * take notes on your blog entry about why you like them - details that make them good, and that you plan to imitate
 * do this as you read, not afterwards

=Stage 2: Updating Your Project Idea - Describing It on Our Group Blog for Feedback and Connections=


 * 6. I will write a post on my blog linking to our group blog, and inviting my readers (and my Twitter network) to come to your blog posts and offer ideas and any connections they might have with people who can help your project work. They want to read two things, so please organize your post into the two headings:
 * ===My Project Ideas So Far===


 * Questions your readers will probably have - these are only suggestions to help you communicate. You don't have to answer all of them:
 * What will it look like? What is its purpose? What do you want to gain from it? How do you see yourself doing it - what are the steps, short term and long term? What models will you imitate from your research so far? Is it mostly writing? Video? Podcast? Photography? Is it interactive with people locally, or with people around the world? Is it a blog, a YouTube channel, both, neither, what?


 * We all know your project is just beginning. We all know it's going to grow and change. We'll throw some suggestions or offers to help, based on what you see so far. So relax - we're not judging, we're looking for ways to help. You can take any ideas or people in our network we offer and use them too, if you like them.
 * ===My Impressions of All These New Tools===
 * What are your impressions and questions about RSS, blogs, searches, etc? Readers will find this very interesting. Express the goods and the bads about your feelings so far.