For your blog entries

Stay on topic. Discuss the readings or course-related topics. If you are totally off-topic in a particular blog, I will let you know so that you can correct the problem and get full credit for that day's entry.

Publish every day. For each day, your blog should have at least one entry. If you have days with no blog entries, I cannot give you course credit for blogging on those days.

If you prefer not to write every day: You can take time off by using guest bloggers or by writing several blogs ahead of time. Professional columnists use those techniques to arrange for time off. You can post your pre-written blogs on the scheduled day with one click, by simply sending an email to your blog posting address.

Guest bloggers must stay on-topic. Probably the best way to ensure this is to invite a fellow classmate in this class to be a guest blogger on your blog. If you invite someone outside class, please be sure they understand what is expected, and that their post is on-topic and contributes to our discussion of politics and new media. It is not OK for outsiders to come in and post random musings about any topic related to the Internet.

If you use guest bloggers, you must "make up" the work. If the guest blogger is a classmate, they get the grade for the blog entry that they write. When you return the favor and act as a guest blogger for them, you get the grade for the blog entry that you write on their blog.

The purpose of guestblogging is to give you flexibility — so that you can arrange your schedule to take off one day and write an extra blog another day. By the end of the course, you are expected to have written, at minimum, 63 blog threads (7 days x 9 weeks), 63 comments posted on classmates' blogs, and 9 comments posted (one per week) on public discussion blogs and forums (such as DailyKos.com or FreeRepublic.com). You are encouraged to exceed that minimum if you want to. (If your guest blogger is not a classmate in our class, you are still responsible for post a minimum of 63 blog entries, whether on your blog or as a guestblogger on another blog.

Grading scheme for your blog entries

Blog entries can be as short as one paragraph, but must contain a nugget of information or analysis that is relevant and worth reading.

0 =	no blog for that day
1 =	blog entry not relevant to class readings and discussions
2 =	blog touches on course topics in a superficial way, but does not show analysis or original thought about the reading or class discussions
3 =	blog is on-topic and has original ideas and analysis. It's the kind of contribution that, if you made it in class, would spark interest from your classmates. It may also include research, such as links to supporting facts, related articles, or other information. It may offer original insights drawing from your own first-hand experience in politics. The tone can be scholarly, humorous, outraged, or whatever you choose.

Feedback on your progress. Each week, I will give you your grades from the previous week of blog writing. At that point, if you want to edit some of your published blogs to raise the grade, you may.

For comments on classmates' blogs

You no longer have to send me links to your comments on class blogs — I am now receiving them automatically by email. Thanks to all of you for making this happen!

Grading on comments is more relaxed than for blog entries. But please, avoid the kind of random yammering that gives blogs a bad name. Just ask yourself, "Is my brain engaged, or am I just blathering?" The best comments add new perspective, analysis, or information.

If a comment is also eloquent, humorous, witty, or persuasive — that's good. Good commentary makes a good blog even better.

Act as mentors to one another. In a peer-to-peer network, both teaching and learning are distributed. If you see a classmate going in a good direction, pay them the complement of responding thoughtfully to their argument. If you see a blog entry that needs some help, find some nugget of wisdom in the entry and take it to the next level. That's actually an art form in itself. A great batter can turn any pitch — whether good or bad — into a thrilling event. In a peer-to-peer network, cooperation and synergy can be very powerful. Unleash your power.

For comments on public blogs

Your weekly email should include at least one link to your comments on a public discussion blog. Comments can be as short as a few sentences, but they should also be on-topic so that I can give you course credit.

If you are using a special screenname on the public blog, please let me know what it is so that I can be sure which comment is yours.