Questions for professional bloggers

My blogging class at UCO will have two guest speakers in the next three weeks, Dr. Kurt Hochenauer of the UCO English Department, and Mr. Dave Rhea, managing editor, digital products of the daily business newspaper in Oklahoma City, The Journal Record. Both of these bloggers have large followings.

 Kurt is a former journalist, and also teaches a blog class, as well as maintaining his blog, Okie Funk, Notes from the Outback, a liberal blog in very conservative Oklahoma.http://okiefunk.com/

 Dave is one of the bright media gurus in the state, a grad of the Florida journalism school, and a musician as well. His blog on Social Media and its impact on business in the Journal Record is an industry standard. http://journalrecord.com/category/Social-Media/





 I've asked the student to submit questions to them ahead of time. Here they are:
Both:

·      What are your favorite blogs to subscribe to and why?
What/who inspired you to do what you do today?

·      What have you hoped to accomplish through blogging, and how have you fared?

·      What are some of the challenges you've had in blogging?

·      What have been some of the breakthrough moments you've experienced during your time as a blogger?

·      Although content is the most important part of a blog, good content doesn't always translate into a growth in audience.  What advice do you have for growing an audience?

Dr. Hochenauer,

·      How important is it to format and design your blog based on your knowledge of what the viewer will like?

·      Is it important to be an individual and post material you like or should I find material my viewers will like?

Mr. Rhea,

·      How important is spelling and grammar in regards to the legitimacy of your blog?

·      Do you think it will affect your viewership if slang and improper sentence structure is used?

·      How's your life has changed since you started blogging?

Dr. Kurt Hochenauer,

·      Where do your credentials come from, why are you qualified to blog about politics?

·      What are you trying to teach people with your blog? Are you trying to inform or simply bash people?

Mr. Dave Rhea,

·      Do you see any similarities in your music and your blogging style?

·      What is the most important thing when setting up a blog? 

Questions for Dr.  Hochenauer:

·       With the blog market saturated with entertainment-based sites,
what, in your opinion, can be done to stand out?

·      What do you see as the next evolution of citizen journalism after blogs?

Questions for Dave Rhea:

·      Were you able to balance your love of music and writing simultaneously?

·      With so many social media sites joining the fracas, how many
"links, likes and follows" is too much for a blogger/journalist any
more?

·      In your own words, what is a "positive digital identity"

·      How would you describe your own personal identity.

Dave,

·      what prompted this post about hate as an emotion?

·      How do you deal with the conflicting physiological feelings, emotions, etc... (do you read or count your breaths- pray?

Dr. Kurt Hochenauer

·      Since Oklahoma is a mostly conservative state, did you receive and criticism once your blog became popular? or even before it became popular?

·      Before becoming a professor at the University what did you do?

Dave Rhea

·      Do you alone do all of the layout and design for your blog?

·      Other than being asked to be a media advisor for the Mass Communication, have you been been a media advisor for any other organizations ?

Dr. Kurt Hochenauer,

·      Do you take a great deal of criticism due to your blog being liberal in Oklahoma's conservative political landscape?

·      What are your thoughts on the New Media movement out of Tulsa (This Land Press, etc.)?

Dave Rhea:

·      Do you feel any stress concerning audience reception when writing hot topic blogs?

·      Do you prefer writing opinion or news?
How successful was your band at its prime?  Did you play with anyone famous?

·      How did you get into media and blogging from being in a band?

Kurt Hochenauer –

·      How long have you been blogging and what are the positive effects from your blog?

·      What provoked your interest in blogging?

·      With the blogging experience that you have as well as teaching a class on blogging what is the most important recommendation you can give to first time bloggers?

·       How big of an impact, if any, does social media have on blogging? 

·      How do you keep your subscribers interested in your longer and more specific posts?

David Rhea

·      How many people helped create this blog with you?

·      How do you advertise your blog?

·      Give us a quick overview of your career in the music business. How did your time there influence your writing career?

·      What are your top three tips for novice bloggers?

Dr. Kurt Hochenauer:

·      Do you find it hard to stay objective in your political writing, especially with the upcoming election?

·      What/who influenced you the most to start/maintain your writing career?
Both: What do you see as the future of blogs? Why do you think blogs are so effective? How have blogs changed the future of journalism?