| layout | title | permalink |
|---|---|---|
page |
Writing a Blog Post |
/post/ |
There are many advantages to write technical blog posts. First, it can improve your communication skills. Second, it can help you gain a deep understanding of what you write. Third, it may make you become more well known in the community. Given these advantages, I created this Systems and Network Security Publication on Medium. I hope that through this exercise, you will get familiar with how to write an excellent blog post, and form the habit of writing blog posts regularly.
Please note that this may be done either individually, or in a group of 2--3 members (preferred).
If it is done in a group, the blog post group may be different than the final project group.
The first thing you need to do is to decide what to blog about. The main theme of the blog post is to Dive into X. The purpose of "Dive into X" is to push you to go deeper into a tool or a topic related to cybersecurity.
-
[X = Tool]. Please use the opportunity to learn one of the tools and dive into it. You are free to choose any tool or toolkit if you can justify that it’s related to cybersecurity. Example tools include Bro, Snort, SecurityOnion, TOR etc.
-
[X = Topic]. Pick up a technique/attack/algorithm/concept and dive into it. You are free to choose any topic if you can justify that it’s related to cybersecurity. Example topics include Hardware attacks, IoT security, etc.
When deciding how to write your blog post, you should keep asking yourself the following two questions:
- What can I do to make my blog post more attractive?
- What can I do to make my blog post more easy to understand?
For the first question, here are some tricks: (1) come up with an attractive blog title (see this page for some tips); (2) pay great attention to the first paragraph of your blog post (See this page for some tips); (2) add a couple of attractive images but make sure they are related to your blog post.
For the second question, here are some tricks: (1) avoid using jargon (if you have to, please first explain them in simple words); (2) use examples and figures to illustrate complicate stuff; (3) leverage the power of analogies.
As a test, answer these questions:
- What if a kid asks you "If you fall into a black hole, where do you go?"
- What if your roommate majored in Biology asks you that "Can you teach me how to write SQL in less than an hour?"
Make sure to first think about the answers by yourself, and then watch this video and read this blog post.
I hope everyone can use the opportunity to train the skill of blog writing.
Please check this publication for examples.
You have to submit your blog post in two places:
-
Please submit a blog post to https://medium.com/systems-and-network-security.
- Create an Medium account for your group and email me your account information by March 23. I will add you as a writer of the publication.
- Follow this link to submit your post to the publication. Note that each group only needs to submit a single blog post.
-
Please submit the URL of your blog post to the CourSys activity Blog Post.
Requirements
- The length has to be 2000-2500 words
- The topic cannot be related to your project
- It's OK if you accidentally blog about the same topic as other groups
- It is due on April 3rd at midnight
Grading
We will grade your blog post based on its depth and recency.
- [Depth] (50%). You need to show the depth to your audience. You can assume that your audience has some basic knowledge about systems and network security. For example, they could be your classmates in CMPT 479/980. Your blog post should have 20% basic things and 80% advanced things. It's OK for non-technical people to understand only part of the blog post.
- [Recency] (50%). You need to write about a modern tool or a recent topic. Writing about old topics makes your post less attractive, and will not teach you and your audience new things.
Plagiarism
- Please check the Academic Honesty and Conduct Policies section in the Syllabus. In summary, don't cheat!