Class notes from seminar on Saturday 24th November
Having a simple website presence is easy, and can be achieved in very little time and for FREE!
It all depends on what you are looking to achieve.
Best for Photographers & Artists
(painting, drawing, graphics, any 2-d forms) – Flickr
Also good for sharing photos with friends and family.
http://www.flickr.com
FREE (with enhanced functions available for small cost)
• Upload images
• Organise into galleries
• Apply searchable tags allowing people to find your work
• Add blogs and other info to explain your work
• Join networks and groups to share ideas or to display your work as part of a wider set of themes
• Be sure to carefully check PRIVACY settings
More help at http://www.flickr.com/help/ (once logged in)
Other skills and tools needed to make the most out of Flickr:
• Digital camera or scanner
• Photoshop or other image editing packages
NOTES:
Part of yahoo – you will need a yahoo ID / email address which is free of charge
Time Taken to set up profile: About 10 minutes – then time to add your photos will depend on how much work you have to add!
Difficulty Rating 4/10 – some more advanced areas of the site are more difficult.
Best for Bands – Myspace
http://www.myspace.com
FREE
Myspace is a social networking website that has been used successfully by many bands to raise their profile. Notable acts include Arctic Monkies and Lilly Allen. Myspace is seen as a professional tool within music, and you will notice Myspace links listed on advertising for new music.
The website is also useful for keeping in touch with friends.
• Write blogs
• Create a network of friends
• Upload photos, music and video clips
• Be sure to carefully check PRIVACY settings
More help at:
http://www.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=misc.faq
Other skills and tools needed to make the most out of Myspace:
• Digital camera or scanner for photos
• Photoshop or other image editing packages
• Facility to create MP3 files of your music, and MPEG videos
Time Taken to set up profile: About 15 minutes
Difficulty Rating 6/10 – need to know HTML tags to make the most of it!!!
Best for Keeping in touch with friends – Facebook
http://www.facebook.com
FREE
Facebook is similar to Myspace in that it is a social networking website. It can be used for promotional work but is more useful for keeping in touch with friends and family. Tools such as groups and events allow you to easily manage events such as parties, and groups such as clubs and societies. The groups area provides you an instant chat forum, allowing you to communicate easily as a group. Handy features also include photo galleries, allowing you to share images e.g. from a family event quickly and easily.
• Social Networking
• Share photos and other media
• Groups with forums
• Uses American English – e.g. you can search for your “high school” but not your “secondary school”
• Be sure to carefully check PRIVACY settings
Time Taken to set up profile: About 10 minutes
Difficulty Rating 4/10
More Help at:
http://www.facebook.com/help.php
Specialist Networking Sites
There are a wide range of other networking sites, often based around issues such as:
• Culture and ethnicity
• Hobbies and past times
There are networking sites available for businesses that include:
http://www.linkedin.com (FREE)
http://www.network2connect.com (FREE for basic functions)
http://www.ecademy.com (Charges for use)
There is a list of other social networking sites here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_social_networking_websites
Best for Mailing Lists – Yahoo! Groups
http://groups.yahoo.com/
FREE
There are Yahoo! Groups covering a full range of topics. The groups allow users to share photos and information, and they offer a message board facility, which can automatically generate emails.
The Birmingham Freecycle Group uses Yahoo! Groups to manage it’s system. Why not sign up for Freecycle, clear out your cupboards and see a Yahoo! Group in action?
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/birmingham_freecycle/
• Mailing List
• Share information and images
• Be sure to carefully check PRIVACY settings
Time Taken to set up profile: About 10 minutes
Difficulty Rating 3/10 for using existing groups – setting up your own group is 6/10
Best for Blogging or publishing small articles / poems etc. – Blogger
http://www.blogger.com
FREE
Blogging is a great way of building a personal website that is simply about you or one of your interests. It’s like publishing an online journal – you simply login and start writing an article: from a rant about rubbish on your street, to a review of a concert you have seen, a recipe you want to share, your latest poem… anything really can be added to your blog!
Users can also provide feedback to you.
Other useful blogging tools include www.wordpress.com however I have recommended Blogger because you can easily ad Google adverts to it, meaning that you could generate revenue if your Blog becomes popular.
http://urbandigital.blogspot.com/ - there’s not a lot there yet
• Simple to set up and use
• Allows users to add comments
• You need to register a google account to use blogger (relatively simple)
• Google account can be used for adsense advertising programmes, which can generate revenue from your website
• Simple to use
• Share information and images
• Be sure to carefully check PRIVACY settings
Time Taken to set up a blog: About 5 minutes (additional 5 minutes if you do not have a google account)
Difficulty Rating 3/10 for basic editing.
Learning HTML tags will help you to create more effective layouts
Best for Collaborative Projects – Wikis
http://pbwiki.com/
FREE Plus paid options for more advanced features
A “wiki” is a type of computer software that allows users to easily create, edit and link web pages. Wikis are often used to create collaborative websites, power community websites, and are increasingly being installed by businesses to provide affordable and effective Intranets.
The best known wiki is http://en.wikipedia.org - an encyclopaedia that users can edit.
PBwiki allows you to create your own wiki in minutes. You can then begin collaborating with partners to build a simple website.
http://urbandigital.pbwiki.com/ - a wiki for Urban Digital (email jon@theplan.co.uk for the password!)
• Simple to set up and use
• Open and collaborative – anyone can register and ad content
• Customisable layouts for advanced users
• Simple to use
• Share information and images
Time Taken to set up a wiki: About 5 minutes
Difficulty Rating 3/10 for basic editing, 7/10 for ading pages, 9/10 for customising templates
Learning HTML tags will help you to create more effective layouts
The library has facilities for more advanced web design and graphic design, using industry leading packages. We also have access to video and stills cameras.
Ask at the front desk about how to book these facilities for your won media projects.
There may be training opportunities in the future – please look out for notices or contact Joan Henderson: Joan_Henderson@birmingham.gov.uk
