Guide to Collaborative Blogging

TableofContents
PrefaceAboutFliptheMedia Acknowledgements Chapter1GuidelinesandTacticsforSuccessfulBlogPosts Chapter2WhatMakesaGoodFliptheMediaPost? Chapter3EverythingYouNeedtoKnowaboutWordPressBlogging Chapter4HowtoEditaFliptheMediaPost Chapter5SocialMediaStrategies Chapter6UsingMetricsandAnalysisWisely Chapter7CoveringUniversityofWashingtonEvents Chapter8GuidetoShootingBetterVideo

Preface

AbouttheFliptheMediaBlog
FliptheMedia(FTM)istheblogfortheUniversityofWashingtonMasterin CommunicationinDigitalMediaprogram.ItwascreatedinFebruary2008byMCDM DirectorHansonHoseinandinstructorAdrianaGilMiner. ThesuccessofFliptheMediacomesfromitsuniquecollaborativenatureand academicsetting.Itwassetupusingdistributedauthorship,meaninganyonewiththe appropriatepermissionscancreateandpublishapost.Thisapproachallowsstudents, instructors,professionals,andexpertsfromthefieldofdigitalmediatoeasilyaddtheir voicestotheblog. FliptheMediahasevolvedalongwiththeMCDMprogram,andnowoffersinsighton topicsasdiverseasnewmedia,gadgets,socialmedia,breakingnews,education, journalism,andpolitics.Inadditiontowrittencontent,FliptheMediafeatures photography,slideshows,andvideo. TheblogusesWordPressasitsbloggingsoftwareandcontentmanagementsystem.It hasacustomizedthememodifiedspecificallyforFliptheMedia. ThefollowingguidelineswerewrittenandcompiledbystaffandfriendsofFlipthe Mediainthesummerof2011toprovideaclearandhelpfulreferencebookforcurrent andfuturecontributorstotheblog,aswellasanyoneinterestedintheinnerworkings ofasuccessfulblog.

Acknowledgements
ThestaffandwritersofFliptheMediawouldliketothankthefollowingpeoplefor theircontributionstodevelopingandmaintainingtheblog: KatyBalatero,CoreyChristiansen,JonathanCunningham,ToniDelRio,Brook Ellingwood,AdrianaGilMinor,KathyGill,SunaGurol,NickHolz,JeffHora,Hanson Hosein,ElizabethHunter,MaryJanisch,BrianJohnson,PeterLuyckx,ScottMacklin, NicaPelc,HelenPitlick,AmyRainey,RubiRomero,KenRufo,CarlosSanchez,Inge Scheve,AaronSeeley,TheresaStone,AlexStonehill,SarahStuteville,Daniel Thornton,AnitaVernaCrofts,andSeanWang. Wewouldalsoliketothankourprofessionalcontributors,studentwriters,and readers.YourinsightsandcommentselevateFliptheMediafromanacademicblog toadynamicandinspiredmeetingplaceofideas.

Chapter1

GuidelinesandTacticsforSuccessfulBlogPosts
Coveredinthischapter: FOCUS Topic Audience PERSONALITY PassionandInterest Titles/Subtitles Readability DIALOGUE Commentback! LinkLove FOCUS Topic Understandingwhatmakesablogdifferentfromanewswebsiteisimportant,and oneofthemostelementaldifferencesisthatblogposts,unlikenewsarticles,must beextremelyfocusedinscope.Sticktoonetopiconly.Assoonasthepostveersoff intoanothertopic,realizethatyouhavetheopportunityforanotherpost!Seriesof postsaboutasimilartopiccanleadtodozensofclickthroughs,especiallywhen thetopicistagged.Foragoodexampleoftaggedblogpostseries,visit www.shakesville.comandsearchforHillarySexismWatch.Theblogmonitored

themediaduringtheleaduptothe2008PresidentialElection,writingabouteach sexistoccurrenceagainstHillaryClinton. Trytomakethetopictimely.NoonecaresabouttheWindowsphoneanymore.But theydidbackinNovemberof2010,whenthepost,CouldMobileGamingbe MicrosoftsTicket?waspublished,garnering21comments(http://bit.ly/a3CN6V). Ifyourpostisntaboutatimesensitiveissue,findawaytodrawitbacktothe presentbymentioninghowthingsaretoday,orevenbetter,whatscomingnext. Audience Focusyourpoststotheaudienceofyourblog.FliptheMediahasadiversearrayof bothreadersandauthors,butthecommonthreadlinkingallpostsisdigitalmedia. Everysuccessfulbloghaseitheratopicoraperspective.Theblogusedasan exampleabove,Shakesville.com,hasateamofbloggersthatcoverculture,media, politics,andmore,buttheyallwritefromafeminist,progressiveperspective,andso theblogiscohesivewhileremainingdiverse. Wewillgofurtherintothistopicinthenextchapter,WhatMakesaGoodFlipthe MediaPost? PERSONALITY PassionandInterest! Peoplewhocarewritethebestblogsdeeplyabouttheirtopicand/orexamining issuesfromapersonalperspective.Yourlevelofinterestwillbeevidentintheway youwriteyourpost.FliptheMediashouldntbeanacademicexercise;itshouldbea wayforthemembersoftheMCDMtoreachagreateraudienceonanonacademic level.Thinkofyourselfasacriticalambassadorforbothyourtopicandyour program.LCBTadvocacysiteslikeJoe.My.God(http://joemygod.blogspot.com)and

PamsHouseBlend(www.pamshouseblend.com)havepoststhatprovidethe perfectmixofinformation,entertainment,andpassionthatkeepreaderscoming back.Dontwriteaboutsomethingyoudontcareabout.Itwillbeobvioustoyour readers. Ifthereisacauseorculturalmovementyouareparticularlypassionateabout,look forawaytoexaminethatsubjectthroughthelensofdigitalmedia.Notonlywill yourpassionshow,itwillofferpeopleauniquewayoflookingatthesubject.That said,itisoftheutmostimportancetomaintainaneutral/critical/explorativevoice throughoutthepiece. Passioncreatesavoice.Trytocultivateyourownvoiceinyourblogposts.Evenif eachofyourpostsaretotallydisparateinsubject(gayyouthandtheArab Revolution,forexample)thegoalistohavethereaderrecognizeyourvoicethis way,youcancultivatefansthatwillsearchforyournametoseewhatyouhave postedrecently. TitlesandSubtitles Titlesmatter!LookatKenRufosTheEndofFacebook.Asidefromitbeingagreat post,thetitlehasitall:itisshort,sticky,relevant,andsassy.Anditgarnereddozens ofcommentsandspikedtraffictoFliptheMedia! Thatsaid,whenwritingafeaturepostoraverylongpost,considerusingsubtitles again,thesearecatchylittleheadersthatlayoutthenextparagraphandbreakthe postupintodigestiblesections. Readability Blogsare,bytheirnature,informal.Thebestblogstrikesabalancebetween enjoyableandinformative.Youwantyourposttohaveauthority,oryourreaderwill

gettheirinformationelsewhere.Butyoualsowantyourposttobeeasytoread,so yourreadernotonlyreadsthewholepostbutsticksaroundtoseemorepostson thepage. Readabilityisnotonlyaboutlanguageanddiction.Whereyouputyourjumpand yourmediaareimportantforbothlandingandretainingreaders.Youwantthefirst paragraphsometimesevenjustthefirstfewsentencesimmediatelyviewableon theblog.Aestheticsareeverything.Whenareadersbrowsercanonlyseeonepost becausetheauthorhasnotplacedastrategicjump,readerscanbecome overwhelmed.Jumpsgivethereaderstheagencytochoosethepoststheywould liketoread,aswellasshowreaderstherangeoforiginalcontenttoperuse.Agood exampleofthisisTheStrangersartsandcultureblog,Slog (www.slog.thestranger.com),inwhichjustabouteverypostviewableonthepageis thesamelength.Poststhatarelongerplacetheirjumpafteraparagraphortwo. Asformedia,itdependsonthepost.Generally,showingsomepieceofmediahelps catchreaderseyes.However,ifyourpostisONLYmedia(avideo,slideshow,etc.), youshouldhavesomeframingtextthatexplainswhoorwhatisinthevideoor image.Forveryshortposts,youcankeepalltheframingtextandtheimagesor videobeforethejump. DIALOGUE CommentBack! Whethercommentingforaclassassignmentoroutofpersonalinterest,FTMgetsa goodamountofinsightfulandinformativecomments.Anotherpartofwritinga goodblogpostisrememberingthatablogisasmuchaconversationasitisa megaphone.Youwillfindthatatwelllovedblogs,postauthorsdialoguewellinto thecommentswithreaders,andsometimesevenprovideupdatestopostsbasedon readerscomments.

 LinkLove Blogsareawesomebecausetheycanbecomerabbitholesofinformation.Thereare twowaysoflookingatlinkingawayfromyourblog:thatyouaresendingreaders away(bad)orthatyouareprovidingyourreaderswithmoreinformationthatthey canexploreiftheychoose(good).Thethingaboutlinkingaway,evenifreadersdo leaveyourpagetoreadelsewhere,isthatyoumaygetrecognitionfromwhomever youlinkto. Itsgoodpractice,forexample,tolinktothebusinesspagesofpeoplewhoare featuredatMCDMevents.Itsanadditionalthankyoutothesepeopletorecognize andpromotetheirworkbylinkingtothem. Checkeverywebsitebeforeyouhyperlinktoit.Itlooksunprofessionaltohave brokenlinks. Setyourlinkstoopeninanewwindowortabsoyourpagestaystherewhenthe readerfollowsthelinkaway. Makesureyoutagyourpostwithalltherelevantkeywordsandcategorizeitinas manyappropriatecategories. Forbreakingnewsposts,linktothebestplaybyplaynewswebsitesorblogs. RememberthatnooneisgoingtogetcompetecoverageofaneventfromFTMonly, sodontleaveituptochancewhereyourreadersendupandrememberyouare coveringthedigitalmediaelementoftheevent.Directthemtoaplacetheywillget thebestadditionalinformationwithasimpleFormoreinformationatthe bottomofyourpost.Also,letpeopleknowwhereyougotyourinformationwith vialinks.Theethicalvia,asmanycallit,isawayofattributinginformationas wellasdirectingpeopletositeswithmoreinsightonyourtopic.

Chapter2

WhatMakesaGoodFliptheMediaPost?
Coveredinthischapter: TONE ThetoneofFliptheMediaisconversational,newsy,andinformal.Wemaintainan informaltonebecauseweareattemptingtostartadialoguewewantcomments! Andwhilewecannotbeabreakingnewssite,weshouldstrivetomaintainan authoritative,critical,orinquisitiveperspectivesoourreaderstakeusseriously. Finally,FliptheMediaiswrittenbyavarietyofpeople(atthispointover80people haveauthoringrights),soaninformaltoneisnecessarytoaccommodateallthe differentwritingstyles. Titlesandopeningparagraphsshouldbecatchyanddescriptive,allowingreadersto quicklygraspwhatthetopicisabout. Herearesomeexamplesofgoodopeningparagraphs: WindowsPhone7:CouldMobileGamingBeMicrosoftsTicket? YesterdayMicrosoftreleasedWindowsPhone7,thecompanyslatestattemptto gainafootholdinthemobilespace.Withthesmartphonemarketalreadydominated TONE LENGTH STYLE TOPIC

byApple,Google,andRIM,somepeoplearesayingitmightbetoolateforMicrosoft. Butcouldmobilegamingbeitsticket? URL:http://flipthemedia.com/index.php/2010/11/windowsphone7could mobilegamingbemicrosoftsticket/ InthePostDigitalWorld,NewspapersareActuallyHip Afternewmediaturnedtheoldmediaworldupsidedown,acoupleofdigital hipsterstiltedtheirheadsandgaveanalogasecondlook.BenTerrettandRussell Davies,oftheEuropeandesignfirmReallyInterestingGroup(RIG),spokethis monthinBostonattheRazorfishagencysclientsummit.Theywerediscussingtheir venture,NewspaperClub. URL:http://flipthemedia.com/index.php/2010/11/inthepostdigitalworld newspapersareactuallyhip/ Smokeonthe(SocialMedia)Water YougottaloveRussianPresidentDimitryMedvedev(ormaybenot!).Hesthe worldsmostpowerfulDeepPurplefan.Anditseemsasifheupdateshisown TwitteraccountatleasttheRussianlanguageversion.Ofcourse,itseasyto assumethatheadsofstatehaveteamsofhandlerswhodotheirdirectonline communicationforthem.Forinstance,IvegonebackandforthonwhetherIranian PresidentAhmadinejadsnowhackedblogbroadcastedhispersonalmusingsdirect tothepeople.ButjudgingbythepersonalvoiceofMedvedevsTwitterfeed(i.e.My fathertaughtalotofgraduatestudentsfromVietnam.Itwasverynicetomeetsome ofthemtoday),Imthinkingthatheprobablywriteshisowntweets,butmaybe getshelpuploadingthephotosfromhisSLR. URL:http://flipthemedia.com/index.php/2010/11/smokeonthesocialmedia water/ LENGTH

Onaverage,FliptheMediapostsshouldbebetween300800wordslong. Shorterpostsaretypicallyannouncementsofevents,breakingnews,andthingsto watchoutfor,wherethereisnotalotofinformation.Thesecanbe200300words. Longerpostsaremoredescriptivefeaturearticlesthatincludeintroductionstoa topicandfurtheranalysis.Thesetendtobeabout8001000words. Besuretoputthejumpafteroneortwoparagraphsorafterthefirstgraphic. STYLE TheaudienceofFliptheMediaarereaderswhoareinterestedindigitalmedia.They arealsopeoplewhoareassociatedasstudents,instructors,orcolleagueswith theMCDMprogram. FliptheMediadoesnotusepassivevoice.Forexample,DirectorHansonHosein wasintroducedbyProfessorKenRufoshouldbeeditedtoread,ProfessorKenneth RufointroducedDirectorHansonHosein.Avoidingpassivevoicemaintainsan authoritativeanddynamicwritingstyle. WhileFliptheMediaistheblogoftheUWsMCDMprogram,academicpapersare nottobepostedtotheblogwithoutheavyrevisiontomatchtheblogsinformaland readabletone.Thereisanotherpublication,theFourPeaksReview,foracademic works. Postsshouldbewritteninthirdorfirstperson. Postsshouldhaveanengagingleadahooktodrawinreaders. TOPIC

Generally,listsgooverwellassubjectsforposts.Theytendtogeneratefeedback andsometimesevencontroversy,andcanbeveryinformative. Howtos,advice,suggestions,etc.arealsobigtrafficgenerators. RespondingtoanotherblogpostontheInternet,orevenFliptheMedia,isagreat waytogeneratefeedbackandcreateadialogue. Aboveall,topicsonFliptheMediavarybytasteandfocus,butultimatelyMUST containakeydigitaltakeaway.Forexample,youmayfindyourselfcoveringabig eventattheUWCampus,butyourfocusmustbethewaytheeventusedTwitterto furthertheconversation,orhowaFacebookgroupledtheassembly,etc. Agoodexampleis,again,GregRasasarticle,InaPostDigitalWorld,Newspapers areActuallyHip.Theprintedmediumisexaminedthroughitsrelationshiptodigital media:Gregmakesthecasethattangibleartifactshaveactuallygainedvalueasa resultoftheabundanceofephemeraldigitalmedia.URL: http://flipthemedia.com/index.php/2010/11/inthepostdigitalworld newspapersareactuallyhip/ Anothergoodexample,AlexStonehillsTheNewFaceofNonprofitJournalismisnt Pretty,adiscussionaboutjournalismhighlightsnewmediasroleinquestionable journalismpractices. Finally,ElizabethHuntersTheArabRevolutionandSocialMediacritically examinestheroleofsocialmediaduringtherevolutioninEgyptabreakingnews eventexaminedfromadistinctlyFliptheMediaperspective. Nomatterwhatyoublogabout,FliptheMediaisthevoicefortheMCDM,andthe MCDMisallaboutthedigitalmediarevolution.Keepthatinmindandyourposts willbemeaningful.

Chapter3

EverythingYouNeedtoKnowAboutWordPressBlogging
Coveredinthischapter: USERROLES ThereareseveralWordPressuserrolesformanagementoftheblog.Forhelpand generalWordPressresources,visittheWordPressBlog: http://en.blog.wordpress.com/category/howto/orWordPresssupport: http://en.support.wordpress.com/. RegisteredReader/Subscriber GetsalertedtonewpoststoFTM,butcannotaddposts.Therearecurrently2750+ subscribers. Contributor Canaddanewpostandtagit.Canseeallpostsandcomments,buthasnoaccessto editthem.Contributorshavenoaccesstothemedialibrary,sotheycantadd USERROLES HOWTOBECOMEANAUTHOR HOWAPITCHTURNSINTOAPOST HOWTOBUILDAPOST ADDINGANIMAGE UPLOADINGAVIDEO THINGSTONOTE COMMENTING

picturesorothermediatoapost.TheyneedapprovalfromanEditoror Administratortopublish. Author TheAuthorhasthesamepowersasaContributorbutalsohasaccesstothemedia libraryandcanaddinnewphotos,etc.Canpublishwithouthigherapproval. Editor AllthesamepowersasAuthor,butcanalsoeditallpostsandcanaccessallback posts.MostpeopleintheFTMIndependentStudyandontheEditorialBoardwill haveEditorstatus. Administrator Cansetandchangeuserroles,installandupdateWordPresspluginsand WordPressitself.Thereareabout12administrators. HOWTOBECOMEANAUTHOR Gotoflipthemedia.comandscrolldowntothebottomrightcolumn. ClickonRegisterandWordPresswillaskforausernameandemailaddress.(Ifyou alreadyhaveaWordPressaccount,usethesameemailaddresstoregisteronFTM). Atemporarypasswordwillbeemailedtoyou. Clickonthelinkintheemail,logintoFTM,andsetupyouraccount.Youcanchange yourpasswordatthispoint,andyouarenowconsideredaSubscriber. ContactanAdministratorafteryouvecompletedtheaboveinstructions,andask themtochangeyourpermissionlevelfromSubscribertoAuthororContributorand emailyouwhenthechangesarecomplete.

 NexttimeyoulogintoFTM,scrolldowntothebottomofthepage,clickon Dashboard,andyoucanbeginyourpost. HOWAPITCHTURNSINTOAPOST Apotentialauthorsubmitsapitchbyemailingeditor@flipthemedia.com.Thepitch getsrecordedfordiscussionatthenextEditorialmeetingandassignedanEditor. Oncetheeditingprocessiscomplete,theAuthorcanbuildthepostthemselvesor sendthefinaldrafttobebuiltbyanEditor. Finally,theManagingEditorondutydoesafinalreviewandcopyeditofthepost andpublishesitorgivestheokaytotheEditortopublishit. HOWTOBUILDAPOST LogintoFliptheMediaandclickonDashboard.YouwillbetakentotheFTM WordPressdashboard. Intheleftcolumn,gotoPostsandclickAddNew.FillintheTitleinthefirstsmall textboxandcontentinthelargeronebeneathit.Usetheformattingpaletteto formatthetext(Bold,Italic,etc.) Identifyacutoffpointandaddajump,whichisonthesamerowastheformatting paletteandlookslikeapaperrippedinhalf. Makesuretohyperlinkallrelevantwebsites.Toinsertahyperlink,highlightthe wordsyouwanttolink,clickthehyperlinkicon,andintheInsert/Editlink,paste theLinkURLandselecttheTargetasOpenlinkinanewwindow.Youcanleave theTitleandClassblank.

ADDINGANIMAGE Clickonthelittlewindowicon. Thethreetabsatthetopgiveyouthreeoptionsuploadanimagefromyour computer,aURL,ortheMediaLibrary. FromYourComputerclickSelectFile,addintheTitle(thisisfortheMedia Library),AltTag,Caption,Description,andchooseRightAlignedforthefirstimage andLeftAlignedforthesecond.Thisisnotahardandfastrule,forexampleifyour postisonlyimagesyoumaywanttoCenterAligntheimages. FromaURL,simplyinserttheimagesURLandTitleintheopenfieldsandfollow thesamedirectionsasabove. FromtheMediaLibraryThisiswherealltheimagesthathaveeverbeeninserted intopostsarestored.Youcanalwaysreuseanimage.Scrollthroughthelibraryto seeifthereareanyusefulones,clickonShow,andthenfollowthesamedirections asFromYourComputer. UPLOADINGAVIDEO Theeasiestwaytouploadavideoisfromanexistingsource,suchasYouTube, Vimeo,DailyMotion,Veoh,orBlip.tv ClickontheappropriateiconandpasttheURLinthefield. AcceptthedefaultsizeandclickOkay. Itwilldisplayinthepageascode,likethis: youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQ15l4r3HqQ[/youtube]butNOTthe

videoitself.YoucanseethevideoifyousavethepostasaDraftandclickon Preview. ThevideowillshowproperlywhenyouPublish. THINGSTONOTE ClickontheCategoriesthatfitthePost.DontaddnewCategories. Tagthepostwithanykeywordsyouthinkwilldrivetraffictothepost. WedonotuseExerpts,Trackbacks,orCustomFields. LeavetheDiscussioncheckboxeschecked. DonotdisableSociable. YoucansaveyourpostasadraftbyclickingontheDraftbuttonandcomebackto edititlater. ClickonPreviewtoviewyourpostasyoueditit.YoucanalsoleavethePreview openandkeepcheckingasyoueditit.(Notethatthepreviewwillshowyouwhat thefullpostwilllooklikeafteritspublished,butwontshowyouthefrontpage withthejump.) HitSaveDraftwhenyouaredoneandcontactyourEditortotellthemitisreadyfor publication. COMMENTING CommentingisautomaticallyapprovedonFliptheMedia.Anyonecancomment,but youneedtoatleastcreateaContributoraccountorsignintoyourexisting WordPressaccount.Thereisnoanonymouscommenting.Occasionallyacomment willbelabeledspanandputinthePendingfile;anEditororAdministratorcangoin andApproveacommentfromPendingStatus.AnEditororAdministratorcanalso deletecomments.

Chapter4

HowtoEditaFliptheMediaPost
Coveredinthischapter: PROCESS Timeline Thingstoconsiderwhenediting FOLLOWTHROUGH Basicadvice Finalpublishing PROCESS Timeline OnceyouhavebeenassignedasanEditortoapieceyoumustmakecontactwiththe Authorandestablishthelength,focus,andallmultimediacomponentsofthepost. Settwodeadlinesforthepiece: 1. Thefirstdraftdeadlinethedraftwillusuallybefartoolong.Itisyourjobto cutdownunnecessarytangents,tightendiction,andfirmupthethesis. 2. Thefinaldraftdeadlinethisiswhenyouwanttohaveitbuiltasa WordPressdraft,formatted,previewed,andreadytopublish. AsanEditoryouareresponsibleforseeingthisprojectthroughandstayingin contactwiththecontributorthroughout.Thedeadlinesdependonthetypeofpost.

Ifthepostiscoveringanevent,thenthepublishingdeadlineshouldbenomorethan 48hoursaftertheevent. Afeaturepostmayrequireaslongasamonth,butingeneralturnaroundshouldbe within2weeksofassigninganeditor. ThingstoConsiderwhenEditing Cultivateinterest.Ifyouareboredbyyourwriterspiece,youcanbesurethe audiencewillskiprightoverit.Suggestasnappytitle,ahumoroustoneanything tokeepreadersinterested. FocusitcanbeeasytogodowntherabbitholebutasanEditoryoumustrefocus thewriter.Ifs/hehasmorethanoneidea,encourageasecondpost! IsitFliptheMediaappropriate?Youthartprogramsareawesome,butifthepost lacksacompellinglinktotechnology,digitalmedia,ordigitalcommunications,its notforus. Isthetoneright?Oftenpostssoundtoacademic,whichwillalienateorborethe audience.Othertimesthetoneistoocasual.Remindthewriterthats/heisnot writingforagradenorwritinganemailtoafriend. Isthereanydistractinglanguage?Newauthorstendtoseeout$10wordsto impress,butnothingreadsbetterthansimple,relevantterms.Anotherimportant languageissuetowatchoutfor,especiallyintechnology,istheuseofjargon.Spell outacronymsthefirsttimetheyappear,listingtheacronymyoullusehenceforthin parentheses.Explainunfamiliarterms. Doesthepostexplainitself?Especiallyinablog,itisenticingtosimplyhyperlinkto abetterexplanationbutalwaystrytoincludesomeofthewritersownwords.

 FOLLOWTHROUGH BasicAdvice Keeppeopletodeadlines!Itseasytoletfolksfudgeafewdayshereandtherebut allowitonceandtheywillkeeppushingtheenvelope.Onthesamenote,be preparedsomepoststakeonedraft,sometakethree.Theprocessgetseasierthe longeryouworkwithsomeone,butitcantakesomegettingusedto. Criticismcannotbeavoided,butitdoesntneedtobeawkward.Thinkofthepostas acollaborationandthusareflectionofyouasaneditorandwriteraswell,andit willbeeasiertoconveythechangesthatneedtobemade.Justtrytoemphasizethe partsthataregoodsothatitisnotallnegative.Trytodeliveryourcriticismina complimentsandwich! Youalwaysneedaheadlineandcaptions!Also,itisasharedresponsibilityofboth WriterandEditortocomeupwithasnappytitle. FinalPublishing Coordinatetheactualposting.Dontforgettoclosetheloopandgetthepiece published.Thinkabouttimingthepostformaximumexposureandconsultwiththe senioreditorsforthebesttimetoputitinthepipeline.Mondaymorningwillalways bebetterthanFridayafternoon. Promotethepost!FliptheMediaencouragesbothAuthorsandEditorstopromote throughtheirrespectivesocialmediaoutlets.

Keeptrackofcomments.Ifthepieceisgarneringtonsofcommentary,lettheAuthor knowthats/heshouldgoaddressthis.Itsgreatfortheblogtocontinuethe discussionandmayevenleadtofollowupposts. TelltheAuthortheydidagoodjob.Thisisoftheutmostimportance.Wewantthem towriteforusagain,oratleastlookuponwritingforusasapositiveexperience.

Chapter5

SocialMediaStrategies
Coveredinthischapter: WHYPROMOTEFLIPTHEMEDIA? Web2.0orwhateveryouwanttocallitisallaboutrelationshipsgreatfor reachingoutandnetworkingwithfolkswemaynotmeetinreallife.Somepeople havecalledchannelslikeTwitteracocktailparty.Promotingyourblogallowsyouto sustaingoodconnectionsontheInternet. Wewanttogainnewusersandbuildaudiences.Weareinthebusinessofspreading thedigitalmediagospel.Withoutsocialpromotion,thegreatcontentonFlipthe Mediaexistsinanechochamber.WejustneedtodrivepeopletoFliptheMedia thecontentwillkeepthemoncetheyrehere. Conversationisnotaonewaystreet.Weshouldexpectcommentsanddialogue fromourposts.Thatalsomeansweshouldrespondandaskquestions,whetherby sharingthelinkortweetinginterestingfeedback. HOWTOPROMOTEAPOST WHYPROMOTEFLIPTHEMEDIA? HOWTOPROMOTEAPOST MAINTAININGANAUDIENCE

Unfortunately,peopledontjustfindposts.Wecantrelyonluck.FliptheMedia hasasharebutton,whichisagreatanddirectwaytogetthepostoutthere.Here areafewmore. 1. TwitterThisisprettystandardforpromotinganythingthesedaysand shouldbeadefaultoption.SendoutautotweetsviaWordPress.This reinforcestheimperativethatblogtitlesbeshortandcatchysotheyre post/tweetwell.AuthorsandEditorsalikeshouldpromotetheirposts,as shouldtheManagingEditor.Dontforgettohashtag(#)yourtopicandtag @uwmcdm,@flipthemedia,oranyotherrelevantentity. 2. FacebookThesamerulesprettymuchapplyforFacebook,thoughthis channelismorepersonal.ProvidecontexttoyourlinkandtagMCDMorFTM whenyoucan.SharefellowFTMerslinks,andconsiderpostingatspikeslike 8am,noon,and5pm.PosttobothTwitterandFacebookinthemorning,if possible.Wednesdaysareparticularlybusydays;Sundaysarenot.Consider usingathirdpartyplatformlikeTweetDeck,whichallowsyoutopostto Foursquare,Facebook,Twitter,etc.withoneclick. 3. PingApingissimplyawayoflettingspecificsearchenginesandother websitesknowyouhaveupdatedyourblog.Itwontcauseanoticeable differencerightoffthebat,butitwillattractsearchenginespidersandhelp getyournewblogpostquicklyindexed. 4. AggregatedemailFliptheMediaalreadyhasanRSSfeed 5. AwayMessagewithLinkThinkGchatseemssimple,butitsagreatand easywaytogetthewordout. 6. Digg.com/Reddit.comExplorethesetoseeifyourpostmightbeworth postingbutdontrelytooheavilyonthem.

 7. GuestBloggersUniquewritersguaranteewiderreachandhelpbuildbrand reputation.Digitalmediaisaninterdisciplinaryfield,sodontlimitexperts tosocialmediagurusandtechgeeks. 8. OptimizationEdityourpermalinksandoptimizeyourheadlineforthe easiestvisibilityontheWeb. 9. EmailSurelytheremustbeoneortwopeoplethatwouldfindyourpost particularlyinteresting.Itdoesntreachahugeaudience,butifthefew targetedemailsfindpeoplewholoveyourwork,theymayshareitwith friends. MAINTAININGANAUDIENCE Jointheconversation.Noonelikestheguyatthepartywholovestotalkabout himself.Itsannoyinganditdoesntbringothersintotheconversation.Thesame goesforonlineconversations.FliptheMediamustestablishitselfasathought leaderbyfollowingotherblogsaboutdigitalmedia.Leavethoughtfulcommentsand participateinthediscussion.DontforgettoleaveyourtwitterhandleandblogURL sootherscanfindyou,andlinktoFliptheMedia.Usesocialmediatoolstoseewhat otherconversationsarehappeningarounddigitalmediaandfollowthoseblogsand personalities.Dontbeafraidtoreachoutand@peopletoinitiateaconversation, especiallyiftheyareconsideredthoughtleadersinthefield. Whenshouldtheaudienceexpecttohearfromyou?Bloggingcanturnintoachoreif wedontsetupsomepostingschedulethatisrealistic.Readerswhosubscribeand donthearfromusonsomeregularbasiswilleasilywriteusoff.Areweeveryday publishers?Onceaweek?Whenever?Determiningthefrequencyofpostsallowsus toestablisharelationshipwiththereadersandbeforeweknowit,theyrechecking backwithustomakesurewevekeptupourendofthedeal.

 Timeisoftheessence!Werenotjusttalkingabouttimelinessinpostingabout currenteventsorhottopicsinthepublicsconsciousness.Itsalsoabouttimeliness inrespondingtocommentsorquestionsthataregeneratedbyreaders.Wecannot justpublishcontentandthrowituponthesite.Itsimportantwemonitorthepost atleastforthefirstweekortwotoseeifanyconversationshaveresultedandtobe readytoparticipateintheconversation.

Chapter6

UsingMetricsandAnalyticsWisely
Coveredinthischapter: ANALYTICTOOLS GoogleAnalytics Quantcast Alexa Compete Othertools FTMANALYTICS SEOOptimizationExamples MonthlyAnalyticsReport UnderstandingtheAnalyticsReport ANALYTICTOOLS GoogleAnalytics ThedatagarneredfromGoogleAnalyticsisrepresentativeofpeoplewhoclick incominglinksfromotherblogs,websites,orsocialnetworks.Thisdataalso includespeoplewhohaveourblogbookmarkedandvisitwithfrequency.Thedata doesnotcountpeoplewhoviewcontentviaRSSoremailfeeds.Ifyouvisitonepage atFTMandclickalinktoviewanotherpage,thatisconsideredtwopageviews.

Theaveragetimespentoneachpageisimportant,especiallyifyouspenda significantamountoftimeononepageversusanother.Moretimeonthepage equalsmorevalue. Newvisitsarealsoimportant,fortheyhelpindicatereferrallinks,howlikelyyou aretovisitagain,andhowrecentlyyouvisited. Quantcast www.quantcast.com Quantcastfollowsusersaroundthewebtoseewhereelsetheygoandwhattheydo toguesstimateage,ethnicity,ageofkids,andmore.Everythingisanaggregate;no personalinformationistracked. Quantcastclaimstoprovidedetaileduserdemographicsatthecampaign,publisher, placement,creative,site,andeventlevel.Theycreateacompositionofthewebsites audiencesoweknowtowhomwearespeaking. Alexa www.alexa.com Alexawillcrawlandanalyzeyourwebsitetogiveanindepthviewofyoursites visibilitytosearchengines,andprovideinsightsintotheoptimization,monetization, andoverallhealthofyourwebsite Compete www.siteanalytics.compete.com CompeteallowsustogaugewhosvisitingFliptheMediainrelationtootherblogs inordertoascertainwhatwemightwanttowriteabouttoenticetheirreadersto

ourblog,whetherviaintelligentcommentsontheirblogpostsorflatoutwriting abouttopicsthatsearchengineswilleventuallyindex. SomeadditionaltoolstocheckoutwhenworkingwithFTMsiteanalyticsareas follows: WebConfs.comhttp://www.webconfs.com/keyworddensitychecker.php SubmitExpressAnalyzerhttp://www.submitexpress.com/analyzer/ Ranks.nlhttp://www.ranks.nl/tools/spider.html FTMANALYTICS SEOOptimization FliptheMediahasbeenusingseveraltoolstotrackandmonitortrafficandexamine individualposts.Letslookatsomemajortrafficdriverstogetabetterfeelforwhat causesaspikeintraffictoFTM. KenRufosTheEndofFacebook http://flipthemedia.com/index.php/2010/06/theendoffacebook/fromJune, 2010skyrocketedto1292hitsandhad2000+thepreviousweek.Why?Well,a similarlytitledarticlefromMSNBCcameoutonJan.14.RufosposthasgreatSEO, soitendeduptopofthesearchresults,whichiswhyitgotclickedazilliontimes.It alsogotatonofcomments,mostlyspambutplentyoflegitimatecommentsaswell. JonathanCunninghamsMarshawnLynchsEpicRunviaTecmoBowlandSuper MarioBros. http://flipthemedia.com/index.php/2011/01/marshawnlynchsepicrunvia tecmobowlandsupermariobros/

Thispostsucceededbecauseofperfecttiming.Itgarneredawhopping2245unique viewsbecauseitwaspostedrightafterthegameandrightasthevideowasgoing viralontheInternet.Italsogarneredseveralcomments. HansonHoseinsDidSocialMediaPropeltheTunisiaUprising? http://flipthemedia.com/index.php/2011/01/didsocialmediapropelthetunisia uprising/ Thispostgot491uniqueviewsand4comments,andagaincanbeattributedtoboth timingandrelevancy. PeterLuyckxssatirical5Technologiesfor2011 http://flipthemedia.com/index.php/2011/01/5technologiesfor2011/ Thispostreceivedtotalof260uniqueviewsand8comments.Itisatestamentto thefactthatlistsingeneraltendtodowellasblogposts,particularlyiftheyarealso funny! Fromthisinfowecanconcludethattimeliness(whethersportsorpolitics)isreally keyindrivingtraffic,readers,andpostinteraction.Thismeanswewanttofocuson quickerturnaroundstoriesandmaybeevenputoutcallforposts/contributorson Twitterasnewsbreaks. MonthlyAnalyticsReport OnceamonthamemberoftheFTMEditorialBoardwillpresenttheFliptheMedia Analytics.Hereisanexampleofonesuchreport,fromAugustof2011. FTMsiteanalysisAugust2011 Overview

AfterabusyJuly,Augustsloweddownabit,with24%dropintotaltraffic.Thisisto beexpectedduetovacationsandlessnewcontents.Mostvisitedcontentduringthe monthisshownbelow.

Thisanalysisfocusesonuserbehavior,includingacloserlookatnavigationand clickthroughonFTMsite. Generalbehavior Despiteofloweroverallvisits,thereareactuallysignificantreturnvisits,whichisa goodsign.Andinterestingly,adramaticincreaseinvisitsfromCalifornia.Itishard topinpointwhythatmightbethecase.

 Trafficsourcescontinuetobedrivenheavilybysearchengine(Google),withalmost allsocialmediasitesplayingarole.GooglePlusseemstobegainingtraction,given itsrelativenewentry.

ThechartbelowshowstopkeywordsduringthemonthofAugust.

 UnderstandingtheAnalyticsReport Theabovegraphicsrepresentapartofthemonthlyanalyticsreport.Somethings worthemphasizing: BothBitcoinandSpotifyweretrendingtopicsthissummerwithhugecontroversy andlotsofdiscussiontimedevotedtoboth.Itisnotsurprisingthatevenduringa slowmonthlikeAugust,thosetwotopicswouldgeneratethehighestnumbers. Google+sentryintothesocialmediamarketoccurredthesummerof2011andis worthwatchingfurther. Overallthesereportstendtoreinforcetheimportanceofjumpingontrending topics,timingourblogpostswell,andusingwordsthatwillbeeasilysearched.It furtherreinforcestheneedtotagallpostswellinthepublishingphaseandcomeup withapowerfulrelevanttitle.

Chapter7

CoveringUniversityofWashingtonEvents
Coveredinthischapter: GENERALTONE PostsfocusedonMCDMorUWeventsshouldcarrythesamegeneraltoneand lengthofFTMblogentriesasoutlinedinpreviouschapters,butmustalso incorporatethefollowingelements. 1. Informativeandfactualeventattributes.Thedate,location,host,attendees, venue,andotherhelpfuljournalisticdescriptorsmustbeincludedinthe post. 2. Imagesarecriticaltoframeevents.WhencoveringaneventforFlipthe Media,makesureyouorsomeoneelseisphotodocumentingtheeventand canprovideyouwithimagesforthepost.Yourreadersneedtoknowwhois there,whattheirexpressionsare,andwhattheyaretalkingabout. 3. RememberthatUWandMCDMeventsareviewedthroughapubliclens. Theseeventsaremeanttohighlightthescholarlyworkbeingdoneon campusbutthereisalwaysacriticalpubliccomponentinthatalleventsare GENERALTONE IMPORTANTINFORMATION SUGGESTIONSFORANGLES

potentialoutreachopportunities.Writeabouttheeventasthoughyouwere familiarizingsomeonewiththeUWlandscapeandmakesureyoulethimor herknowhowtogetinvolved. IMPORTANTINFORMATION Trytoincludecommentsandquotesfromattendeesorspeakers.Capturesome soundbitesthatwillhelppeoplethatdidntattendgetafeelofwhathappened duringtheevent.Therearealwayspeopleateventswithsomethingtosayask whatwasgood,bad,orinterestingabouttheevent. Includerelevantorinterestingstatistics.Howmanypeopleattended?Howmany Twitterparticipantsusedtheeventshashtag?WasthereaLivestreamoftheevent? Whostalkingabouttheeventnow,andhowhasitmadeanimpressiononthe community? Considermakingaslideshowjust5or6imagescanmakethereaderfeellikes/he wasthere,orshouldhavebeen! Attheendofthepost,addresseventsorfollowupconversationscomingdownthe pipelines.Thereisnothingworsethancoveringaneventandthenclosingthedoor. Wherecanthereadergotofindoutmoreinformationonthetopic?Willtherebe futureevents?Considerincludingfutureeventsthatthepanelshostsorguestswill beinvolvedin.IfitisaUWevent,linktothatparticularprogram,department,or college.Forabroaderimpact,includerelevantarticlesorwebsites. SUGGESTIONSFORANGLES Researcharoundthetopic.Theeventisjustagathering.Whatisattheheartofthe eventthatgotpeopleinthedoor?Researchthetopicandmakethatafocus.

Isthereacompellingangle?Findtheonethingthatreallymakestheeventwhirr. Maybeitsthereallycoolvenueorthefactthatitfeaturedinterdisciplinaryvoicesor anawesomesocialmediastrategy. Howwasthetopicinformationpumpedouttotheaudiencepriortotheevensothat theycamemoreinformedandengagedinahigherlevelconversation?

Chapter8

GuideforShootingBetterVideo
Coveredinthischapter: PLANNINGYOURSHOOT Timeline TIPSFORSHOOTING Sound Picture AESTHETICELEMENTS INTERVIEWS Sound Lighting PLANNINGYOURSHOOT Timeline Writeashortlistoftheshotsyouwillneedandabriefsynopsisbeforeshooting,and listthekeyvideoelementsyouwanttocompletethestory.Jotdownatimelineof notesbasedontheimagesyouarelookingtocapture: 1. Establishingshotsetsthetone 2. Fromabovewavescrashing 3. Leftrevealsmorebeach 4. Rightrevealsabitmorebeach BASICSUCCESS

5. Headonwidelowrevealssubjectsrelationshiptopalmtree 6. Backtotheright 7. BacktoHeadonwidelow Thinkofyourshotsascinematicandsequentialasshotsthatallowthestoryto moveforward. TIPSFORSHOOTING Sound Useheadphonestomonitoryouraudioandsettheproperaudiolevels.Makesure yourmicrophonesaresetontheproperaudiochannel.Audioisjustasimportantas video,sometimesevenmoreso. Whenthecameraisrecordingtheaudiowillpickupeverything.Thismeansyou! Youwontbeabletoremovetheunwanteddistractionfromthesameaudiotrack. Thisisofcriticalimportancewhenshootingraworbrollofambientsound,likea bustlingcitycenter,birds,acashregister,orbicyclespokes,etc!Saveyourwitty commentaryfortheblogorDVDextras. Picture Shootresponsibly!Dontshootunlessyoureallyneedit.Thinkaboutwhatyouwant toshootandthenshoot.Insteadofcapturingtwohoursoffootageonlytounearth fiveminutesofwhatyoureallyneed,planahead.Thiswillhelpyousavetimein editing. Holdyourshotforatleasttwentyseconds.Thiswayyouwillhaveenoughfootageto workwithwhenyouareeditinganditwillensureyouhaveenoughincase,say,you bumpthecameraatthebeginningorendofyourshot.

 Alongerclipisalwaysbetterthanashortone. Whenshootingfortheweb,youneedtostartwithaclear,establishingshot(usually awideormediumshot)givingenoughtimefortheaudiencetovisuallycomprehend whatyouarepresenting.Becausethequalityandsizeoftheonlinevideowillnotbe verygood,youshouldstayawayfromlotsofpanning,zooming,andfancyshots. Keepitsimple. Aftertheestablishingshot,youcanthenzoom/pan/movesidetoside/closeup. Keepissimplebutincludeatleastonewide,onepan,andonecloseup,ifpossible. Dontjustusethecameratozoom.Moveyourcameraandyourbodyclosertothe subjecttogetwhatyouneed! Whenyouholdthecamera,youaretheaudience.Youareinchargeofselectinghow thestorydevelops.Shootwhatyouneedtokeepthestorymovingforwardand makingsenseandshootasmanydetailsaspossible. AESTHETICELEMENTS Framing Payattentionwhenframingyoursubjectduringaninterview.Makesuretheydonot haveanythingdistractingcomingoutoftheirheadorbehindtheirbodypoles, wires,cornersofbooks,plants,anotherhuman,oryourowngearwhatever.Itwill irreparablydamageyourvideo.

Youcanalwaysmovethesubjectorfurniturearoundtheroomifyoudontgetthe shotyouneedorifyouarehavingtechnicaldifficulties.Dontstartshootinguntil yoursceneisreadyyoucannotfixeverythinginpostproduction. Shootingfromeyelevelcanbeboring.Bendyourknees.Itsalwaysfuntogiveyour audienceadifferentpointofview.Sometimespeoplewalkinginandoutofaframe addenergyifpossible,includelotsofaction!Forexample,ifyouseesomeone takingadogforawalk,dontshootheadongetdownlow! Again,dontjustzoom.Moveleft,right,down,below,above,orfromthesubjects pointofview. Youwillneedatripod.Thisisnonnegotiable.Noonewantstoseeashakyvideo.If youfindyourselfinasituationwhereyoucannotuseatripod(inacar,onabike) braceyourselfandyourcamera.Useatabletop,books,wall,theground,ashelf, anythingthatwillmakeyourshotuseable. INTERVIEWS Sound Makesureyoursubjectlooksatyouandnotyourcamera:setupyourshotassuch andlockitdown. Makesureyoursubjectisseatedinacomfortableandquietchairandrollthetape forafewsecondsbeforeandaftereachquestion.Ifyouareusingahandheld microphone,placeitabout6inchesbelowandjusttothesideofthesubjectsmouth toavoidrecordingpoppingnoises.Considerusingalavalieremic(whichattachesto thesubjectonthecollarorshirt).Makesurethemicwillnotpickupnoisefrom clothing,jewelry,etc.Trytohavethesubjectnottouchthemicandhidethecordas bestyoucan.

 TheSoundRecordingAutomaticGainControl(AGC)inthecamcorderseeksto presentaconstantlevelsignaltothetape.Hence,inquietmomentsitwillturnthe gainupandrecordveryloudambientnoise.Whenthesoundfromthesubjectis loud,theAGCwillturndownthefinaltopreventoverloadinganddistortion. Althoughitmayseemconvenienttousethisfeature,manuallycontrollingthesound isbetter,andAGCisnotalwayspresentoncamcorders. Lighting Whateveryoudo,makesurethelightsourcefallsonyoursubjectevenly.Dont shootinfrontofawindowbecauseitwillmakeyoursubjectdarkandthe backgroundoverexposed.Switchplaceswiththesubject. Itisagoodideatoshootwiththesunatyourback.Justmakesureyoursubjectisnt squinting,looksangry,orliketheyhaveblackholesinsteadofeyesandamouth. Rememberyoucanalwaysmovetoashadyspaceorcreateonebyblockingoutthe sun. BASICSUCCESS Makesureyouhave: 1. Familiarizedyourselfwithyourgear. 2. Enoughbatteries. 3. Headphones 4. Atripodyouarefamiliarwith 5. Balancedthewhiteonyourcamera 6. Turnedoffautofocus