project one assignment: transmedia storytelling

project one assignment for digital media production.

we spent most of last week talking about transmedia storytelling. on monday, we discussed the matrix; on wednesday, we discussed henry jenkins' chapter "searching for the oragami unicorn: the matrix and transmedia storytelling"; and on friday, we shared and discussed other forms of matrix-related transmedia. by now, you should have a basic understanding of what transmedia storytelling is and how it works. now's the time to make some.

1. working individually or in groups, design and launch a transmedia story about USF. your story can be about anything as long as it is interesting and relates to USF. you are free to explore - and free not to explore - any of the topics we brainstormed in class on friday.


2. your transmedia story must unfold/be told through at least 5 platforms: twitter, flickr, our class blog, USFPool (which we will learn how to use in class on monday), and 1 other platform of your choice.

3. the 5 platforms must be linked/connected. be creative and thoughtful with your connections.

4. make links from your USF story to the stories of at least 5 other DMP students. be creative and thoughtful with your connections.

5. whenever possible, give your readers opportunities to comment and contribute to your story.

rules:

a. follow all directions.

b. if you have no work to demo for friday's demo day, do not come to class.

kiva assignment

kiva assignment for digital media production.

1. start an account with kiva.

2. take some time to explore and understand kiva.

3. using kiva, make a $25 micro-loan to an individual or group. do not make a random micro-loan - make one that means something.

4. tweet it. include a link.

5. in class on friday, be prepared to demo your work.

rules:

a. steps 1-4 must be complete prior to class on friday.

b. if you have no work to demo, do not come to class.

twitter guest panel in DMP

last friday in DMP, we had a twitter guest panel, featuring shawn calhoun (@GleesonLibrary), char lobo soriano (@itweetUSF), and thomas listerman (@usfca).


first up was shawn, head of access services at USF's gleeson library, who shared some of his experiences tweeting for gleeson. shawn talked about using twitter to notify followers about library news and materials, build a broad and diverse community, and share knowledge about free, open-access tools and resources. shawn also raised the fascinating question of whether or not to tweet about the shortcomings or limitations of one's own organization.

next up was charlene, associate director of USF's first year student services, who brings to her presentations the same energy she brings to her tweets. charlene talked about developing your own voice on twitter and suggested the best voice is your true voice. she talked about reaching out to and engaging with USF students in general and first year students in particular and she shared some of her strategies for building community.

the last panelist was thomas, USF's advancement e-communications manager, who approaches twitter as one tool to get across other tools. he talked about using social media to reach out to alumni, students, and parents. he talked about maintaining a somewhat formal voice but linking out to and retweeting less formal material. he also talked about using twitter as a kind of campus calendar and, like shawn and charlene, talked about building community.


"learning how to use twitter," i told my DMP students the first day of class, "is totally easy. developing a voice on twitter - now that's another story." after this excellent panel, i hope they got a good taste of that story.

twitter assignment #2

twitter assignment #2 for digital media production.

1. by now, you should be on twitter, familiar with the basic functions of twitter, and following all members of our class.

2. also by now, you should be in the habit of searching for and following all people whose work (writings, video, web) is assigned each week. for this week, you should be following @scottros (scott rosenberg) and @jasonpontius (jason pontius). you should also follow this week's guest panelists: @GleesonLibrary (shawn calhoun), @itweetUSF (char lobo soriano), and @usfca (thomas listerman). if after a week you find their tweets less than amusing, by all means unfollow them.

3. reply to at least one tweet. any tweet. make it good.

4. retweet (or RT) at least two tweets that you think are relevant to members of digital media production. re-read that last sentence. although i encourage you to use twitter in any way you see fit, here i am asking you to retweet stuff that relates to what we are discussing and exploring in class. important: one of your RTs must be old school style and the other must be via the way supplied by twitter. be ready to discuss the pros and cons of each RT method - or any other methods you use - in class.

5. learn how to use bit.ly. use it with at least one tweet. be ready to discuss the pros and cons of bit.ly and tinyURL in class.

6. when appropriate, consider using the hashtag #dmp10 in your posts.

7. in order to get credit for this assignment, steps 1-6 must be complete by 9 am on friday, september 10.