Part 1 – Introduction

The plan for this part is still in development – a more final version will be available by the end of September 2020.

Discussion

Digital mentors & Website options

Digital Mentors

A person whom you look to as a good example of something you want to emulate or achieve (either short or long term) with your digital presence. This could be someone whose digital presence you admire in its entirety. Or, it could be someone who has a component of their digital presence that you want to emulate (e.g. I love how Max’s about page is structured, or I love how Dave uses Twitter at conferences).

Website Options

WordPress site with Humanities Commons (& MSU Commons option on the horizon). Examples:

MSU Domain of One’s Own (msu.domains) – Server space with a WordPress installation

You can request an account, and we will create an account on our host, Reclaim Hosting. Your account will have 1000 MB (1GB). This option includes some customization for MSU, including a custom, MSU-branded theme.

Using cPanel, you can add loads of things to your account, but most of it you can ignore until you have some particular need.
You will need to install some application, such as WordPress.
and you can use the panel to get to that application.
But, you can go directly to the application without using the dashboard
(looks like: http://youraccount.msu.domains/wp-admin/)

Developing a very robust profile site (for example, at Humanities (or MSU) Commons). Examples:

Other options: These include using website creation platforms such as Squarespace etc. We do not recommend using these types of sites because they are proprietary systems that make it much harder for you to remove your content and transfer it to another system or to back it up. You often end up having to pay more money, or deal with reduced functionality and/or ads as well. However, you are welcome to use whatever platform you prefer – we just want to help demystify the factors to consider. (We provide technical help as we can for WordPress and Humanities/MSU Commons, but not Wix, etc., however.)

Additional information that might be helpful:

What is a CMS, or content management system? A content management system (CMS) is a software application that can be used to manage the creation and modification of digital content.

What is WordPress? WP is a CMS often associated with blogging, but supports other types of web content, including forums, media galleries, and online stores. It is used by more than 60 million websites.

What is a host? What is hosting? (ex. Bluehost, Reclaim Hosting) Hosting is the server space where you can install a website or several websites, including multiple types of websites. MSU works with Reclaim hosting on the Domain of One’s Own initiative. Sometimes you might hear us use the terms “Domains” and “Reclaim” as a result.

Activity

Visitor and Resident Mapping Activity

  • Running list of apps/digital things to potentially include: go.cal.msu.edu/vandr

Homework (to be completed by Week 2)

Find 5 digital mentors

Additional Resources Week 1 (Optional):