Twitter plan for JRN 350 site

HARTLAND TOWNSHIP, Mich. — I’ve required you to formulate a plan and meet a deadline — so this is my turn at detailing a Twitter strategy.

For this blog, I’m proposing a two-part approach (Don’t forget, extra EC points if you tell me what you think about this in the comments below):

1. Include a widget (gadget in Blogger) of my own tweets.
2. Include a widget that searches Twitter for all posts related to "online journalism."
   

Before implementing No. 1, I have to decide how to brand the new account, and I've decided to create a separate identity for this site specifically geared toward this class (and I already have), as discussed the Mashable article “How to: Build your personal brand in Twitter.” In the article, it noted how Mashable’s founder associated himself with his more famous brand on Twitter, so it's not necessarily a bad idea, although some online journalism experts believe creating your personal brand is the way to go. (My name is also on the account and background also are on the account, so maybe I'm splitting hairs here).

Anyway, I did claim my personal Twitter handle, as the Mashable article suggests. And bottom line, I think keeping the focus narrow on this class and online journalism is a good way to go until I figure out how I want to use or integrate a more personal account. Although I'm already used to self-censoring as part of the duty necessary in being a journalism and teaching professional, I'm not ready to mix in say tweets about me running or watching my newborn daughter. I might go there, but I'm experimenting right now with … baby steps.

With the class name — JRN350, BTW — the blog will include my tweets as part of my gadgets. This way, I can quickly update you with my latest thoughts on class assignments and the trends in online journalism (I know, you can't wait). With the "online journalism" search, this gives another portal to find more information about our key subject and good blogs serve their readers.

(Note, you won’t need a dateline for your Twitter proposal — Mine is here because it’s part of the blog post. And this is more than 350 words, which is well more than you need in your proposal. Good luck.)