RSS Project

Artifact: RSS Web page

The purpose of this project was to provide Texas Tech Today readers with information about RSS news feeds and how they work. I was charged with the tasks of researching RSS technology and developing a Web page to explain how TTU Today users can use RSS to deliver their desired news to them.

This project was a great opportunity for me to learn about a poplar technology utilized on the majority of high-content Websites today. I learned how RSS uses XML code to create basic news feeds and how an RSS aggregator distributes the news feeds directly to a users internet browser. Developing a Web page based on my research allowed me to gain some experience in technical writing. I also gained experience in process writing or writing instructions because I was charged with the task of creating simple instructions that TTU Today users could use to set up their TUU news feed.

TTU Facebook

Artifact: TTU Facebook Page

I am responsible for the Facebook project, which is a part of a larger project currently underway by the Office of Communications and marketing. The purpose of this project is to provide an official TTU facebook page where prospective and current students can get TTU applications, student-centered news, event information and more. Although this project has not been completed I still have learned a great deal about social media and higher ed marketing to this point. The page has not been made public yet but is nearing compleation.

Through research and meetings with the professional staff members of the OCM I have learned that social media has become a major recruiting tool for universities. Web Sites such as Facebook, Myspace and YouTube offer colleges a place to connect with perspective and current students where they spend the majority of their time on the internet. I have learned how to secure an “official” page on Facebook for TTU and how to create a “vanity” URL, one that lacks the normally long syntax of a personnel Facebook page.