Guidelines for Blog Assignments

Theory and Applications of Complex Networks

Fall 2008

1. David Easley and Jon Kleinberg set up a blog for their course on networks at Cornell University. I would like to do something similar for this class.
2. Over the course of the term you will write at least three blog entries and post them on betweenness, the course blog. Due dates for posts will be staggered throughout the term. I will let you know via email when your posts are due.
3. Your posts should include a link to some online resource. This could be a newspaper article, magazine article, or a scientific paper. You should include a summary of the paper, including a discussion of what you think is interesting or fun or important about it. You should also be sure to make clear how the online resource relates to the themes and/or content of the course.
4. Your blog writing is a chance for you to further explore some of the ideas of the course and draw connections to things that interest you. The blog is also a way for other students to learn about interesting applications and extensions of what we're doing in the course.
5. The main audience for your writing is other students in the class. A secondary audience is scientifically literate readers who have some knowledge of networks but are not necessarily experts.
6. You should be aware that some people not in the course will almost surely read your writing. If you wish, you may write under a pseudonym.
7. Your posts should be around 750 words. The writing style should be similar to that found in other academic or science blogs.
8. In evaluating your blog posts, I will be looking for writing that is clear and engaging, technically sound, written in an appropriate style for an academic blog. Don't just summarize your resource, add something original to it with some commentary, critique, or analysis.
9. In addition to writing for the blog, you are expected to read the blog regularly. As part of this, you should also occasionally comment on other posts. These comments need not be lengthy. Aim to make at least one comment a week.