Writing 1: Accounts and Profiles

Image: David Curley, Disassembled Typewriter, 2012

I’m going to ask you to work on several different writing platforms in this course. To a large degree, this is simply because we need different tools to do different things. But I also think it’s important to become agile as a user of digital media—especially given the sort of situation we’re in right now, when for many of us the screen has become our principal way of connecting with others and getting work done.

So the first thing you need to do is get up and running. In the next few days, I’d like you to set up accounts on:

With Goodreads and Medium, all you need to do for now is to create a free account. We’ll start to use these platforms in a couple of weeks.

With Twitter, once you’ve created an account (or if you already have one), search #e110fall2020, and if you like, post a tweet saying hi to the rest of us. Or if you prefer, send me a direct message at @josephdharris.

Things get a little more complicated with WordPress and Zoom. Please refer to the Logistics pages above as you set up your accounts on these platforms. In particular, please pay attention to the following details:

Zoom

Make sure you have a user name that will let me identify you when check in for a conference or workshop. You want to make sure you get credit for this work. I suggest using your first name and the initial of your last name. (I’d be “Joe H”.)
Make sure you have a profile photo, too, in case you need to turn off your video during a conference or video. This photo doesn’t have to be a head shot, but it should be an image connected in some way to you, that the rest of us can recognize you by.
Create a Virtual Background. It’s fun, and it puts us all on a level playing field. OWL Labs offers a clear and easy set of directions for making one, along with a set of free backgrounds.

WordPress

Use your first name and the initial of your last name for your Display Name. That way I will be able to give you credit for posts and comments you make to this site.
Fill in your User Profile. Add a photo and a few words about yourself. Once again, the photo does not have to be a head shot, but remember that this is one of the few ways we will all get to know each other. Come up with an image that says something about you as a person or writer.
Bookmark this site on your laptop. You’ll be returning to it often.
Once you have completed the above steps, email or tweet me the email address you used to create your account. When I receive it, I will (a) give you credit for completing Writing 1, and (b) send you an invitation to be an Author on this site, which will let you post your next several assignments to it.

Deadline

Thurs, 9/03, 4:00pm: Send me the email address you used to set up your WordPress account

When I get your WordPress email, I will (a) give you credit for completing Writing 1, and (b) send you an invitation to be an Author on this site, which will let you post your next several assignments. If you don’t send me this info, you will (a) not earn credit for Writing 1, and (b) not be able to submit your next several writing assignments.

I realize that this may seem a somewhat mindless first assignment, but completing it will set you up to do work that I think you’ll find far more intellectually exciting and fun. And it will give you a couple of easy points toward your final grade!