UrbanMinistry Blogger Training

1. UrbanMinistry.org Blogger Training Topic Two: Adding Content to UrbanMinistry.org

2. Note: You must have a registered blogger account with UrbanMinistry.org before continuing. If you do not, please visit http://www.urbanministry.org/blogger

3. Topics Covered • Posting a blog entry • Adding an image • Adding an online video • Posting a link to an online resource

4. Posting a blog entry

5. Navigate to the blog posting pagehttp://www.urbanministry.org/node/add/blog • Several ways to do this: • At the homepage, once you’ve logged in, there is a “Blog” link • Under the “Post” menu option, there is a “Blogs” link • There is also a post blog link at the Editor Central at http://www.urbanministry.org/editor

6. Elements of the Blog Posting Page • Title: Where the title of your blog entry goes • Channel/Issue Area: Select the assigned categories for your blog entry, as noted in the Topic One: Blogger Basics training • You are also free to tag your entry with other Issue Areas, but be aware that they may not show up in one of our Issue Channels

7. Elements of the Blog Posting Page (cont.) • Body: Where the body of your blog entry goes • Publishing Options: Select the “Promoted to front page” option under “Publishing Options” • Hit the “Submit” button to post your blog entry.

8. Posting an image

9. Choosing an Image to Post • Make sure that the image that you are posting is a Creative Commons-licensed content • Places to look for images • Flickr • Google Images • Yahoo Images

10. What makes a good image? • Creative Commons-licensed • Conveys emotion • Is related to article/topic • Is good resolution/not blurry or pixelated Colour my community...(carf, Flickr) Let There Be Light (sgrace, Flickr)

11. Navigate to the image posting pagehttp://www.urbanministry.org/node/add/image • Under the “Post” menu option, there is a “Stock Photo” link • There is also a Post Blog link at the Editor Central at http://www.urbanministry.org/editor

12. Elements of Image Posting Page • Title: Use, where applicable, the original title of the image, followed by the username of the photographer, followed by the source of the image (only for images from Flickr) • Example: Photo of cat (kittylover27, flickr) • Image Galleries (free urban Christian stock photography): Select any tags that describe the image • Urbanresource.net: Select this only if your image is not Christian or faith-based

13. Elements of Image Posting Page (cont.) • Image: Click on the “Browse” button to navigate to your image on your computer, and then upload it. • Note: You have to save the image on your computer before you can upload it to the site • Hit the “Submit” button your save your image.

14. Adding an Image to Your Blog Entry • Adding an image to your blog entry makes its more visually appealing and draws more readers • Make sure that you have already saved your image in our Stock Photo gallery before attempting to add it to your page • To start, click on the “Add/Insert Image” icon in the Body editor • located under the “Source” icon

15. Adding an Image to Your Blog Entry (cont.) • Fill in the URL with the URL of the image • You can get this by right clicking on the image and selecting “Copy Link Location” • Make the width and height no more that 100x100 • Fill in the other fields accordingly: • Border: 0 • Hspace: 5 • Align: Left

16. Adding an online video

17. Choosing an Video to Post • Make sure that the video is free to embed and upload to other sites • Places to look for videos • YouTube • GodTube • Yahoo Videos • Google Videos

18. What makes a good video? • Free to use • Good quality • Is related to article/topic • Is informative Video: NOOMA - Rich

19. Navigate to the video posting pagehttp://www.urbanministry.org/node/add/video-import • Under the “Post” menu option, there is a “Video Import” link • Make sure to use the “Video Import” option and not the “Post Video” option • There is also a Post Video link at the Editor Central at http://www.urbanministry.org/editor

20. Elements of Video Posting Page • Title: Use the original title of the video • Channel/Issue Area: Select the assigned categories for your blog entry, as noted in the Topic One: Blogger Basics training • You are also free to tag your entry with other Issue Areas, but be aware that they may not show up in one of our Issue Channels • Audience: Same as Channel/Issue Area

21. Elements of Video Posting Page (cont.) • Media Type: Select “Video” • video_import: Paste the URL of the video here • Body: Add a description of the video

22. Adding a Resource link

23. What makes a good resource link? A resource link is basically a way of featuring and displaying interesting and helpful websites and online articles on our UrbanMinistry homepage. • Is from a reliable source • Presents information and opinions clearly in a way that is not disrespectful to other beliefs • Is current or recent

24. Navigate to the link posting pagehttp://www.urbanministry.org/node/add/link • Under the “Post” menu option, there is a “Resource Link” link • There is also a Post Link link at the Editor Central at http://www.urbanministry.org/editor

25. Elements of Resource Link Posting Page • Title: Use a title that is eye-catching yet still summarizes what the article or site that you are linking to is about • Think of the title as a newspaper headline • Link URL: Paste the URL of the link • Body: Add a 1-3 sentence of description of the link • Refer to Slide 13 for instructions on adding a related image to your resource link description. • Media Type: Select “Link”.

26. Elements of Resource Link Posting Page (cont.) • Channel/Issue Area: Select the assigned categories for your blog entry, as noted in the Topic One: Blogger Basics training • You are also free to tag your entry with other Issue Areas, but be aware that they may not show up in one of our Issue Channels • Audience: Same as Channel/Issue Area

27. Hints and tips

28. Copy/Paste from Microsoft Word • Creating your blog article in MS Word before pasting it into the Body field on the Post Blog page can cause formatting errors with our homepage. To alleviate this, please follow these steps: • In the Body field, click the Source button. • Paste your text from MS Word into the Body field. • Click the Source button again. • You will have to recreate all of your line breaks by pressing the Enter button where they originally were.

29. Other Things to Note • On Blogging: • It is easier to create bulleted lists for your blog entries using the Bulleted List icon in the Body Field than to try to do it with HTML, unless you’re a pro coder. • On Posting Images • On Flickr.com, when saving an image to your computer that you want to later post, never choose the largest, or original-sized version of the image. Normally, go for the large or medium-sized version.

30. Email: rakiesha[at]techmission[dot]org Phone: 617.282.9798 ext. 107 For more information, or if you have questions, please contact Rakiesha Chase.