Blog.SMU

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SMU uses WordPress for its blogging platform and is available at blog.smu.edu. Traditionally, blogs display content in reverse chronological order and remain fixed after publishing. This content can include traditional blogs, news sites, notification systems, etc., or replace static HTML pages.

Getting Started

Creating Your Account

To begin editing any content on the SMU blogging platform, you must create an account on the system.

  1. Click the Sign In button above.
  2. Enter your SMU credentials.
  3. That's it.
Please Note:
 We highly recommend that new users edit their WordPress Profile and Avatar, as this information can be used on any blog post they write.

To update your WordPress Profile:

  1. Click the Sign In button above, if you are not already logged in.
  2. In the Dashboard, click Profile under the Users section.
  3. Enter a brief description about yourself in the Biographical Info section to replace the default content.
  4. Change the Display Name Publicly As to your desired choice.
  5. Fill in any relevant information in the Contact Info section.
  6. Update your Profile Picture. See below.

To update your Profile Picture:

  1. In the Dashboard, click Your Avatar under the Users section.
  2. Click Choose File to upload a new image for your profile. The image file format can be jpeg, gif, or png and 200 pixels wide by 200 pixels high.
  3. Select image to be your new avatar, and then click on Open or Upload, depending on the OS.
  4. Click on Upload in the Your Avatar window.
  5. Expand the crop area to include your full image and click Crop image.

Before requesting a new blog, please review the University's Information Technology Acceptable Use and Web Accessibility policies. The campus blog system is available for official, departmental, or academic uses. See Appropriate Use below for more information.

Requesting a New Blog

To request a new blog, open a ticket at our Online Help Site titled, "New Blog Request."

Please Note:
 Before submitting this request, you must create the initial account on the blog server. See Creating Your Account above.

Appropriate Use

The blog server may be used to host blogs at blog.smu.edu/*blogName* for the following purposes:

Faculty Academic Needs. These blogs will have URLs based on the faculty member's SMU email address. For example, a faculty member with email johndoe@smu.edu may have a blog at blog.smu.edu/johndoe.
Courses The blog's URL will contain a clear reference to the class.
Official/Department use Must be requested, owned, and managed by an SMU department for official university business purposes. URL naming must be based on the department name or the blog's intended use. If the URL does not contain the department name, the association with the department must be clearly stated on the blog.

All existing acceptable use policies also apply to the blog server where they don't conflict with the above. Reference Computing and Communications Acceptable Use Policy and web appropriate use policies.

These are probably not appropriate uses for the blog system:

Discussion Forum While visitors can post comments on a blog entry, if allowed, the discussion may be lost under the original post. The blog system is not a threaded forum system, and its comment system was not designed to facilitate detailed discussions. The discussion feature in Canvas may be a more suitable solution.
Documentation Documentation needs regular updating. Wiki.SMU would be a better solution.
General Websites General websites belong on www.smu.edu.
Dynamic Content Blogs normally display relatively fixed content. Once a blog post is created, it generally is not updated.

Documentation and Training

For Admins

For Editors

Training