Posted: January 31st, 2023

Blog Post Topic Guidelines

Blog Post Topic Guidelines
In this module the aim has been to encourage you all to take the leap and really consider how businesses need to craft business models to ensure their own success. We took a particular angle into business models as our focus was the sharing economy. You learnt the intricacies of building a business model, ensuring all aspects of it worked together, and became aware that making changes to it were both inevitable and problematic.
Part of the reading list for this module consisted of well written blog posts by analysts, as well as people like you and me. Such forms of writing are an increasingly relevant way to get your point across to the world, to be able to do so in an easy style of writing with figures, hyperlinks to other material, and straightforward access. As part of a module on ‘newish’ phenomena like open innovation and the sharing economy it then becomes necessary to embrace such different styles of writing.
For your blog post the expectation is that you find a topic/issue within the remit of this module to write on and post online. It is assessed as part of this module so there does need to be some underlying academic theme along with a handful of academic references. However, overall, I am looking for a well-balanced and argued post on an issue stemming from this module which tells me something interesting, and in an interesting format.
(Some) examples of very good blogs:
http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/ http://theconversation.com/uk https://monkessays.com/write-my-essay/computerworlduk.com/ https://www.fastcompany.com/
The loose use of theoretical ideas and concepts will help your post become better rounded. For instance, you can draw lightly on Benkler’s work to frame your post, or perhaps Transaction Cost Economics, or Network Effects or....? Choose ideas that help make your point.
Please do use examples, but this is not a case study analysis so I expect different examples for each point you make. Examples show the reader that you really understand the concepts and ideas and are essential in good blog posts and articles.
General guidelines
It requires effort on your part both to find the materials you need, to read and review them, and to extract and organize the underlying ideas and concepts that you find.
I would prefer it if you begin your blog post with a clear: ‘In this post I will argue......’ statement. Such a technique will force you as an author to be clear about your blog post, and will help the marker to award you a grade for the depth and clarity of your argument. Your ‘argument’ needs to be within the area of open innovation and/or sharing economy.
Whilst examples may be used in your post to explain your point it should be clear that this is NOT a case study assignment. Thus, your work should not focus on one company or organization. Your main argument needs to be about an issue or debate that you feel is both interesting to you and worth exploring in a few thousand words in a meaningful manner (and not a superficial list of any kind).
Useful Checklist for your Blog:
• Create a free Wordpress (or similar) account - https://wordpress.com/
• Please do provide an interesting title
• Clear argument as a starting point. Choose something you are interested and passionate about
• Draw lightly on academic papers to help frame your argument
• Be critical, and objective – both sides of an argument are needed
• Use a separate paragraph for each point (look to some good blogs to find a nice style)
• Use different examples to explain your point
• Feel free to use figures, tables, photos, gifs etc – but if sourced then reference!!
• An opinionated conclusion is recommended!
• Where you have used references then add either as links or as a more conventional list at the end of your post
• Probably only need around 5-7 academic references (though if you choose to use more than that is fine) as this is a blog but please do create links within your text to related stories
• Instructions on Word Count and Submission 
The blog post needs to be written in a proper blog style AND added to an actual online page. You will all be asked to create a FREE Wordpress account for yourself to write and post your blog. IF you already have an account with Wordpress or some other such facility where you can post your blog then that is fine too.
• Some sample blog posts from students of 2017 
Blogs that received a VERY high mark: 
https://sharingeconomymadesustainable.wordpress.com/2017/03/27/first-blog-post/ 
https://thedarksideofthesharingeconomy.wordpress.com/2017/03/28/the-new-face-of- exploitation/ 
https://thesharingeconomysite.wordpress.com/ https://tommunited.wixsite.com/mysite https://sharedtrust.wordpress.com/