Class Assignments

 This section of Behavior and Biology fulfills a requirement for a graduate level new media class at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. In this section, my intent is to analyze a distinct community of people who might be interested in viewing the topics and content discussed on this website. 

For the project, I spoke with a few people who have read the website for their opinions on what they liked, didn’t particularly care for or what they would like to see more of. 

To learn more about the community - outside of people already familiar with my blog- I looked into the online habits and what type of content people interested in animal behavior, animal biology and conservation issues seek.

Goal:
This blog is intended to provide comprehensive information for people who have a developed interest in a specific topic (e.g elephants or animal communication research) and to introduce news and research to people who may enjoy learning about science, biology, behavior or conservation on a more general level.

The format would be to cover one major topic each week (e.g elephants) and use individual posts to explain specific concepts related to the subject of the week (e.g. seismic communication, changes in elephant habitat, genetics of fragmented populations, etc),  Hopefully leading to a better understanding of the broad topic and to show how conservation, biology and behavior are all related.

For people who are not specifically interested in learning about animals, the posts will also include context for how new research developments can ultimately lead to a better understanding of ourselves (e.g how ape learning differs from humans or what research about testosterone and aggression in primates can tell us about the body’s biological response to stress).

The links will point readers to more information on a topic they find particularly interesting or to research I was unable to cover but think readers would enjoy.

Community:  

• Parents-  one visitor who home schooled her children used the website to develop a lesson plan based on the animal facts in a particular post and the related animal biology posts.
• Students - veterinary students or biology students
• Pet owners and animal lovers already have an interest in understanding and protecting animals and may enjoy reading about more sophisticated research about animals.
• Conservationists - interested in protecting endangered species
• Teachers, professors, and other professionals with a science background who want to keep up on new research
• Researchers in the area of ecology, evolution, animal behavior, biology, zoology, etc. 

Plan: 
In depth coverage of scientific principles or specific animals could include the following posts:

1) Synopsis and link to the latest published news or research
2) A background lesson on a scientific principle related to the article or research
3) Conservation efforts or featured work of an organization relevant to the topic
4) Explanation of a unique behavior
5) Explanation of biology and how it relates to the behavior or featured research.
6) Interview with researcher or other expert
7) Guest blogger to answer questions and respond to comments - preferably an expert in the field related to the topic of the week

Each post could stand on its own, and taken together, give perspective on complicated subject matter. 

One of the most popular posts on the website was original content on the monk parakeets living in Hyde Park.  I would do more original reporting and mix it with the stories from other sources.

The original reporting was picked up by other blogs, and I imagine, original interviews would be featured on other blogs as well.  This would increase awareness of my site and give blogs and other organizations an incentive to link to my blog.  Interviewing experts could attract people who are familiar or are interested in his or her work/career and would be interested to hear them speak.   If they were researchers at a University, perhaps students would be interested too.

 To read more about this project, follow the links below.

Who is in this community?

What are their content interests?

How do they communicate?

Blog development plan

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