I believe there are some broken links in the UMW DTLT site. I could not find, much less watch, any of the videos mentioned in the Narrating U activity page. I tried clicking on the links provided in the activity as well as using the search menu on the UMW DTLT site. So, given that I was not able to follow along with what was recommended, I’ll focus on the choices I have made in the past.
When creating a blog, I love using my own photos. First, there are no copyright issues associated with that. Second, it gives me a chance to show off my photos without anyone knowing that I actually took those photos. In some ways, it gives me the satisfaction of showing off without knowingly doing so. (Just like the picture above. It is a metaphor for my experience with this activity. I hit a rock [the links did not work] and am not sure how to around it. Rather than trying to around, I am butting up against the issue and ‘spraying’ over the top as I am continuing the assignment without the added knowledge I need).
There are certain widgets I usually attach to my blogs. I want others to be able to follow me, so I set up the RSS feed and usually connect it to my Twitter feed. I also want others to be able to see the last few blog posts I have written so that they can browse and see if there is anything else they like. I include the calendar option to help keep me accountable. In my other blogs, I made a commitment to myself to publish at least weekly.
Unfortunately, I have treated my blogs as I treat most of my other apps: I usually set up the bare minimum and then get started using it without really finishing off the ‘look.’ Ironically, my sister wrote a book on setting up a WordPress blog. I have it sitting on my shelf in my office but I have not yet opened it up. I guess it is time that I did so.
My biggest challenge is that I am not sure what happens when I make a change or click a button. There are times I don’t mind experimenting, but other times I want to know ahead of time so that I can be more purposeful with the changes I make (without creating issues I may not know how to undo). I’m glad that this is not my first blog and that I have had a bit of time to experiment. Next time I will actually read the WordPress manual my sister wrote so that I can benefit from her knowledge.