Flip the Media Guidelines

7/29/2019 Flip the Media Guidelines

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/flip-the-media-guidelines 1/45

Guide to Collaborative Blogging

TableofContents

Preface–AboutFliptheMedia

Acknowledgements

Chapter1–GuidelinesandTacticsforSuccessfulBlogPosts

Chapter2–WhatMakesaGoodFliptheMediaPost?

Chapter3–EverythingYouNeedtoKnowaboutWordPressBlogging

Chapter4–HowtoEditaFliptheMediaPost

Chapter5–SocialMediaStrategies

Chapter6–UsingMetricsandAnalysisWisely

Chapter7–CoveringUniversityofWashingtonEvents

Chapter8–GuidetoShootingBetterVideo



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,AdrianaGil‐Minor,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,AnitaVerna‐Crofts,andSeanWang.

Wewouldalsoliketothankourprofessionalcontributors,studentwriters,and

readers.YourinsightsandcommentselevateFliptheMediafromanacademicblog

toadynamicandinspiredmeeting‐placeofideas.



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

postsaboutasimilartopiccanleadtodozensof“click‐throughs,”especiallywhen

thetopicistagged.Foragoodexampleoftaggedblogpostseries,visit

www.shakesville.comandsearchfor“HillarySexismWatch.”Theblogmonitored



themediaduringtheleaduptothe2008PresidentialElection,writingabouteach

sexistoccurrenceagainstHillaryClinton.

Trytomakethetopictimely.NoonecaresabouttheWindowsphoneanymore.But

theydidbackinNovemberof2010,whenthepost,“CouldMobileGamingbe

Microsoft’sTicket?”waspublished,garnering21comments(http://bit.ly/a3CN6V).

Ifyourpostisn’taboutatime‐sensitiveissue,findawaytodrawitbacktothe

presentbymentioninghowthingsaretoday ,orevenbetter,what’scomingnext .

Audience

Focusyourpoststotheaudienceofyourblog.FliptheMediahasadiversearrayof

bothreadersandauthors,butthecommonthreadlinkingallpostsisdigitalmedia.

Everysuccessfulbloghaseitheratopicoraperspective.Theblogusedasan

exampleabove,Shakesville.com,hasateamofbloggersthatcoverculture,media,

politics,andmore,buttheyallwritefromafeminist,progressiveperspective,andso

theblogiscohesivewhileremainingdiverse.

Wewillgofurtherintothistopicinthenextchapter,“WhatMakesaGoodFlipthe

MediaPost?”

PERSONALITY

PassionandInterest!

Peoplewhocarewritethebestblogsdeeplyabouttheirtopicand/orexaminingissuesfromapersonalperspective.Yourlevelofinterestwillbeevidentintheway

youwriteyourpost.FliptheMediashouldn’tbeanacademicexercise;itshouldbea

wayforthemembersoftheMCDMtoreachagreateraudienceonanon‐academic

level.Thinkofyourselfasacriticalambassadorforbothyourtopicandyour

program.LCBTadvocacysiteslikeJoe.My.God(http://joemygod.blogspot.com)and



Pam’sHouseBlend(www.pamshouseblend.com)havepoststhatprovidethe

perfectmixofinformation,entertainment,andpassionthatkeepreaderscoming

back.Don’twriteaboutsomethingyoudon’tcareabout.Itwillbeobvioustoyour

readers.

Ifthereisacauseorculturalmovementyouareparticularlypassionateabout,look

forawaytoexaminethatsubjectthroughthelensofdigitalmedia.Notonlywill

yourpassionshow,itwillofferpeopleauniquewayoflookingatthesubject.That

said,itisoftheutmostimportancetomaintainaneutral/critical/explorativevoice

throughoutthepiece.

Passioncreatesavoice.Trytocultivateyourownvoiceinyourblogposts.Evenif

eachofyourpostsaretotallydisparateinsubject(gayyouthandtheArab

Revolution,forexample)thegoalistohavethereaderrecognizeyourvoice—this

way,youcancultivatefansthatwillsearchforyournametoseewhatyouhave

postedrecently.

TitlesandSubtitles

Titlesmatter!LookatKenRufo’s“TheEndofFacebook.”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

paragraph—sometimesevenjustthefirstfewsentences—immediatelyviewableon

theblog.Aestheticsareeverything.Whenareader’sbrowsercanonlyseeonepost

becausetheauthorhasnotplacedastrategicjump,readerscanbecome

overwhelmed.Jumpsgivethereaderstheagencytochoosethepoststheywould

liketoread,aswellasshowreaderstherangeoforiginalcontenttoperuse.Agood

exampleofthisisTheStranger’sartsandcultureblog,Slog

(www.slog.thestranger.com),inwhichjustabouteverypostviewableonthepageis

thesamelength.Poststhatarelongerplacetheirjumpafteraparagraphortwo.

Asformedia,itdependsonthepost.Generally,showingsomepieceofmediahelps

catchreaders’eyes.However,ifyourpostisONLYmedia(avideo,slideshow,etc.),

youshouldhavesomeframingtextthatexplainswhoorwhatisinthevideoor

image.Forveryshortposts,youcankeepalltheframingtextandtheimagesor

videobeforethejump.

DIALOGUE

CommentBack!

Whethercommentingforaclassassignmentoroutofpersonalinterest,FTMgetsagoodamountofinsightfulandinformativecomments.Anotherpartofwritinga

goodblogpostisrememberingthatablogisasmuchaconversationasitisa

megaphone.Youwillfindthatatwell‐lovedblogs,postauthorsdialoguewellinto

thecommentswithreaders,andsometimesevenprovideupdatestopostsbasedon

readers’comments.



LinkLove

Blogsareawesomebecausetheycanbecomerabbitholesofinformation.Thereare

twowaysoflookingatlinkingawayfromyourblog:thatyouaresendingreaders

away(bad)orthatyouareprovidingyourreaderswithmoreinformationthatthey

canexploreiftheychoose(good).Thethingaboutlinkingaway,evenifreadersdo

leaveyourpagetoreadelsewhere,isthatyoumaygetrecognitionfromwhomever

youlinkto.

It’sgoodpractice,forexample,tolinktothebusinesspagesofpeoplewhoare

featuredatMCDMevents.It’sanadditional“thankyou”tothesepeopletorecognize

andpromotetheirworkbylinkingtothem.

Checkeverywebsitebeforeyouhyperlinktoit.Itlooksunprofessionaltohave

brokenlinks.

Setyourlinkstoopeninanewwindowortabsoyourpagestaystherewhenthe

readerfollowsthelinkaway.

Makesureyoutagyourpostwithalltherelevantkeywordsandcategorizeitinas

manyappropriatecategories.

Forbreakingnewsposts,linktothebestplay‐by‐playnewswebsitesorblogs.

RememberthatnooneisgoingtogetcompetecoverageofaneventfromFTMonly,

sodon’tleaveituptochancewhereyourreadersendupandrememberyouarecoveringthedigitalmediaelementoftheevent.Directthemtoaplacetheywillget

thebestadditionalinformationwithasimple“Formoreinformation…”atthe

bottomofyourpost.Also,letpeopleknowwhereyougot your informationwith

“via”links.The“ethicalvia,”asmanycallit,isawayofattributinginformationas

wellasdirectingpeopletositeswithmoreinsightonyourtopic.





Chapter2

WhatMakesaGoodFliptheMediaPost?


• TONE

• LENGTH

• STYLE

• TOPIC

TONE

ThetoneofFliptheMediaisconversational,news‐y,andinformal.Wemaintainan

informaltonebecauseweareattemptingtostartadialogue—wewantcomments!

Andwhilewecannotbeabreakingnewssite,weshouldstrivetomaintainan

authoritative,critical,orinquisitiveperspectivesoourreaderstakeusseriously.Finally,FliptheMediaiswrittenbyavarietyofpeople(atthispointover80people

haveauthoringrights),soaninformaltoneisnecessarytoaccommodateallthe

differentwritingstyles.

Titlesandopeningparagraphsshouldbecatchyanddescriptive,allowingreadersto

quicklygraspwhatthetopicisabout.

Herearesomeexamplesofgoodopeningparagraphs:

WindowsPhone7:CouldMobileGamingBeMicrosoft’sTicket?

YesterdayMicrosoftreleasedWindowsPhone7,thecompany’slatestattemptto

gainafootholdinthemobilespace.Withthesmartphonemarketalreadydominated



byApple,Google,andRIM,somepeoplearesayingitmightbetoolateforMicrosoft.

Butcouldmobilegamingbeitsticket?

URL:http://flipthemedia.com/index.php/2010/11/windows‐phone‐7‐could‐

mobile‐gaming‐be‐microsofts‐ticket/

Inthe‘Post-DigitalWorld,’NewspapersareActuallyHip

Afternewmediaturnedtheold‐mediaworldupsidedown,acoupleofdigital

hipsterstiltedtheirheadsandgaveanalogasecondlook.BenTerrettandRussell

Davies,oftheEuropeandesignfirmReallyInterestingGroup(RIG),spokethis

monthinBostonattheRazorfishagency’sclientsummit.Theywerediscussingtheir

venture,NewspaperClub.

URL:http://flipthemedia.com/index.php/2010/11/in‐the‐post‐digital‐world‐

newspapers‐are‐actually‐hip/

Smokeonthe(SocialMedia)Water

YougottaloveRussianPresidentDimitryMedvedev(ormaybenot!).He’sthe

world’smostpowerfulDeepPurplefan.Anditseemsasifheupdateshisown

Twitteraccount —atleasttheRussian‐languageversion.Ofcourse,it’seasyto

assumethatheadsofstatehaveteamsofhandlerswhodotheirdirectonline

communicationforthem.Forinstance,I’vegonebackandforthonwhetherIranian

PresidentAhmadinejad’snow‐hackedblogbroadcastedhispersonalmusingsdirect‐

to‐the‐people.ButjudgingbythepersonalvoiceofMedvedev’sTwitterfeed(i.e.“My

fathertaughtalotofgraduatestudentsfromVietnam.Itwasverynicetomeetsome

ofthemtoday“),I’mthinkingthatheprobablywriteshisowntweets,butmaybe

getshelpuploadingthephotosfromhisSLR.

URL:http://flipthemedia.com/index.php/2010/11/smoke‐on‐the‐social‐media‐water/

LENGTH



Onaverage,FliptheMediapostsshouldbebetween300‐800wordslong.

Shorterpostsaretypicallyannouncementsofevents,breakingnews,and“thingsto

watchoutfor,”wherethereisnotalotofinformation.Thesecanbe200‐300words.

Longerpostsaremoredescriptivefeaturearticlesthatincludeintroductionstoa

topicandfurtheranalysis.Thesetendtobeabout800‐1000words.

Besuretoputthejumpafteroneortwoparagraphsorafterthefirstgraphic.

STYLE

TheaudienceofFliptheMediaarereaderswhoareinterestedindigitalmedia.They

arealsopeoplewhoareassociated—asstudents,instructors,orcolleagues—with

theMCDMprogram.

FliptheMediadoesnotusepassivevoice.Forexample,“DirectorHansonHosein

wasintroducedbyProfessorKenRufo”shouldbeeditedtoread,“ProfessorKenneth

RufointroducedDirectorHansonHosein.”Avoidingpassivevoicemaintainsan

authoritativeanddynamicwritingstyle.

WhileFliptheMediaistheblogoftheUW’sMCDMprogram,academicpapersare

nottobepostedtotheblogwithoutheavyrevisiontomatchtheblog’sinformaland

readabletone.Thereisanotherpublication,theFourPeaksReview,foracademic

works.

Postsshouldbewritteninthirdorfirstperson.

Postsshouldhaveanengaginglead—ahook—todrawinreaders.

TOPIC



Generally,listsgooverwellassubjectsforposts.Theytendtogeneratefeedback

andsometimesevencontroversy,andcanbeveryinformative.

How‐to’s,advice,suggestions,etc.arealsobigtrafficgenerators.

RespondingtoanotherblogpostontheInternet,orevenFliptheMedia,isagreat

waytogeneratefeedbackandcreateadialogue.

Aboveall,topicsonFliptheMediavarybytasteandfocus,butultimatelyMUST

containakeydigitaltakeaway.Forexample,youmayfindyourselfcoveringabig

eventattheUWCampus,butyourfocusmustbethewaytheeventusedTwitterto

furthertheconversation,orhowaFacebookgroupledtheassembly,etc.

Agoodexampleis,again,GregRasa’sarticle,“InaPost‐DigitalWorld,Newspapers

areActuallyHip”.Theprintedmediumisexaminedthroughitsrelationshiptodigital

media:Gregmakesthecasethattangibleartifactshaveactuallygainedvalueasa

resultoftheabundanceofephemeraldigitalmedia.URL:

http://flipthemedia.com/index.php/2010/11/in‐the‐post‐digital‐world‐

newspapers‐are‐actually‐hip/

Anothergoodexample,AlexStonehill’s“TheNewFaceofNonprofitJournalismisn’t

Pretty,”adiscussionaboutjournalismhighlightsnewmedia’sroleinquestionable

journalismpractices.

Finally,ElizabethHunter’s“TheArabRevolutionandSocialMedia”critically

examinestheroleofsocialmediaduringtherevolutioninEgypt—abreakingnewseventexaminedfromadistinctlyFliptheMediaperspective.

Nomatterwhatyoublogabout,FliptheMediaisthevoicefortheMCDM,andthe

MCDMisallaboutthedigitalmediarevolution.Keepthatinmindandyourposts

willbemeaningful.





Chapter3

EverythingYouNeedtoKnowAboutWordPressBlogging


• USERROLES

• HOWTOBECOMEANAUTHOR

• HOWAPITCHTURNSINTOAPOST

• HOWTOBUILDAPOST

• ADDINGANIMAGE

• UPLOADINGAVIDEO

• THINGSTONOTE

• COMMENTING

USERROLES

ThereareseveralWordPressuserrolesformanagementoftheblog.ForhelpandgeneralWordPressresources,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,sotheycan’tadd



picturesorothermediatoapost.TheyneedapprovalfromanEditoror

Administratortopublish.

Author

TheAuthorhasthesamepowersasaContributorbutalsohasaccesstothemedia

libraryandcanaddinnewphotos,etc.Canpublishwithouthigherapproval.

Editor

AllthesamepowersasAuthor,butcanalsoeditallpostsandcanaccessallback

posts.MostpeopleintheFTMIndependentStudyandontheEditorialBoardwill

haveEditorstatus.

Administrator

Cansetandchangeuserroles,installandupdateWordPressplug‐insand

WordPressitself.Thereareabout12administrators.

HOWTOBECOMEANAUTHOR

‐Gotoflipthemedia.comandscrolldowntothebottomrightcolumn.

‐ClickonRegisterandWordPresswillaskforausernameandemailaddress.(Ifyou

alreadyhaveaWordPressaccount,usethesameemailaddresstoregisteronFTM).

‐Atemporarypasswordwillbeemailedtoyou.

‐Clickonthelinkintheemail,logintoFTM,andsetupyouraccount.Youcanchangeyourpasswordatthispoint,andyouarenowconsideredaSubscriber.

‐ContactanAdministratorafteryou’vecompletedtheaboveinstructions,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

theLinkURLandselecttheTargetas“Openlinkinanewwindow.”Youcanleave

theTitleandClassblank.



ADDINGANIMAGE

‐Clickonthelittlewindowicon.

‐Thethreetabsatthetopgiveyouthreeoptions—uploadanimagefromyour

computer,aURL,ortheMediaLibrary.

‐FromYourComputerclickSelectFile,addintheTitle(thisisfortheMedia

Library),AltTag,Caption,Description,andchooseRightAlignedforthefirstimage

andLeftAlignedforthesecond.Thisisnotahardandfastrule,forexampleifyour

postisonlyimagesyoumaywanttoCenterAligntheimages.

‐FromaURL,simplyinserttheimagesURLandTitleintheopenfieldsandfollow

thesamedirectionsasabove.

‐FromtheMediaLibrary‐Thisiswherealltheimagesthathaveeverbeeninserted

intopostsarestored.Youcanalwaysre‐useanimage.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.Don’taddnewCategories.

‐Tagthepostwithanykeywordsyouthinkwilldrivetraffictothepost.

‐WedonotuseExerpts,Trackbacks,orCustomFields.

‐LeavetheDiscussioncheckboxeschecked.

‐DonotdisableSociable.

‐YoucansaveyourpostasadraftbyclickingontheDraftbuttonandcomebackto

edititlater.

‐ClickonPreviewtoviewyourpostasyoueditit.YoucanalsoleavethePreview

openandkeepcheckingasyoueditit.(Notethatthepreviewwillshowyouwhat

thefullpostwilllooklikeafterit’spublished,butwon’tshowyouthefrontpage

withthejump.)

‐HitSaveDraftwhenyouaredoneandcontactyourEditortotellthemitisreadyfor

publication.

COMMENTING

CommentingisautomaticallyapprovedonFliptheMedia.Anyonecancomment,but

youneedtoatleastcreateaContributoraccountorsignintoyourexisting

WordPressaccount.Thereisnoanonymouscommenting.OccasionallyacommentwillbelabeledspanandputinthePendingfile;anEditororAdministratorcangoin

andApproveacommentfromPendingStatus.AnEditororAdministratorcanalso

deletecomments.



Chapter4

HowtoEditaFliptheMediaPost


• PROCESS

-Timeline

-Thingstoconsiderwhenediting

• FOLLOWTHROUGH

-Basicadvice

-Finalpublishing

PROCESS

Timeline

OnceyouhavebeenassignedasanEditortoapieceyoumustmakecontactwiththe

Authorandestablishthelength,focus,andallmultimediacomponentsofthepost.

Settwodeadlinesforthepiece:

1. Thefirstdraftdeadline‐thedraftwillusuallybefartoolong.Itisyourjobtocutdownunnecessarytangents,tightendiction,andfirmupthethesis.

2. Thefinaldraftdeadline‐thisiswhenyouwanttohaveitbuiltasaWordPressdraft,formatted,previewed,andreadytopublish.

AsanEditoryouareresponsibleforseeingthisprojectthroughandstayingin

contactwiththecontributorthroughout.Thedeadlinesdependonthetypeofpost.



Ifthepostiscoveringanevent,thenthepublishingdeadlineshouldbenomorethan

48hoursaftertheevent.

Afeaturepostmayrequireaslongasamonth,butingeneralturnaroundshouldbe

within2weeksofassigninganeditor.

ThingstoConsiderwhenEditing

Cultivateinterest.Ifyouareboredbyyourwriter’spiece,youcanbesurethe

audiencewillskiprightoverit.Suggestasnappytitle,ahumoroustone—anything

tokeepreadersinterested.

Focus—itcanbeeasyto“godowntherabbithole”butasanEditoryoumustrefocus

thewriter.Ifs/hehasmorethanoneidea,encourageasecondpost!

IsitFliptheMediaappropriate?Youthartprogramsareawesome,butifthepost

lacksacompellinglinktotechnology,digitalmedia,ordigitalcommunications,it’s

notforus.

Isthetoneright?Oftenpostssoundtoacademic,whichwillalienateorborethe

audience.Othertimesthetoneistoocasual.Remindthewriterthats/heisnot

writingforagradenorwritinganemailtoafriend.

Isthereanydistractinglanguage?Newauthorstendtoseeout$10wordsto

impress,butnothingreadsbetterthansimple,relevantterms.Anotherimportant

languageissuetowatchoutfor,especiallyintechnology,istheuseofjargon.Spelloutacronymsthefirsttimetheyappear,listingtheacronymyou’llusehenceforthin

parentheses.Explainunfamiliarterms.

Doesthepostexplainitself?Especiallyinablog,itisenticingtosimplyhyperlinkto

abetterexplanationbutalwaystrytoincludesomeofthewriter’sownwords.



FOLLOWTHROUGH

BasicAdvice

Keeppeopletodeadlines!It’seasytoletfolksfudgeafewdayshereandtherebut

allowitonceandtheywillkeeppushingtheenvelope.Onthesamenote,be

prepared—somepoststakeonedraft,sometakethree.Theprocessgetseasierthe

longeryouworkwithsomeone,butitcantakesomegettingusedto.

Criticismcannotbeavoided,butitdoesn’tneedtobeawkward.Thinkofthepostas

acollaborationandthusareflectionofyouasaneditorandwriteraswell,andit

willbeeasiertoconveythechangesthatneedtobemade.Justtrytoemphasizethe

partsthataregoodsothatitisnotallnegative.Trytodeliveryourcriticismina

“complimentsandwich!”

Youalwaysneedaheadlineandcaptions!Also,itisasharedresponsibilityofboth

WriterandEditortocomeupwithasnappytitle.

FinalPublishing

Coordinatetheactualposting.Don’tforgettoclosetheloopandgetthepiece

published.Thinkabouttimingthepostformaximumexposureandconsultwiththe

senioreditorsforthebesttimetoputitinthepipeline.Mondaymorningwillalways

bebetterthanFridayafternoon.

Promotethepost!FliptheMediaencouragesbothAuthorsandEditorstopromote

throughtheirrespectivesocialmediaoutlets.



Keeptrackofcomments.Ifthepieceisgarneringtonsofcommentary,lettheAuthor

knowthats/heshouldgoaddressthis.It’sgreatfortheblogtocontinuethe

discussionandmayevenleadtofollowupposts.

TelltheAuthortheydidagoodjob.Thisisoftheutmostimportance.Wewantthem

towriteforusagain,oratleastlookuponwritingforusasapositiveexperience.



Chapter5

SocialMediaStrategies


• WHYPROMOTEFLIPTHEMEDIA?

• HOWTOPROMOTEAPOST

• MAINTAININGANAUDIENCE

WHYPROMOTEFLIPTHEMEDIA?

Web2.0orwhateveryouwanttocallitisallaboutrelationships—greatfor

reachingoutandnetworkingwithfolkswemaynotmeetinreallife.Somepeople

havecalledchannelslikeTwitteracocktailparty.Promotingyourblogallowsyouto

sustaingoodconnectionsontheInternet.

Wewanttogainnewusersandbuildaudiences.Weareinthebusinessofspreading

thedigitalmedia“gospel.”Withoutsocialpromotion,thegreatcontentonFlipthe

Mediaexistsinanechochamber.WejustneedtodrivepeopletoFliptheMedia—

thecontentwillkeepthemoncethey’rehere.

Conversationisnotaone‐waystreet.Weshouldexpectcommentsanddialogue

fromourposts.Thatalsomeansweshouldrespondandaskquestions,whetherby

sharingthelinkortweetinginterestingfeedback.

HOWTOPROMOTEAPOST



Unfortunately,peopledon’tjust“find”posts.Wecan’trelyonluck.FliptheMedia

hasa“share”button,whichisagreatanddirectwaytogetthepostoutthere.Here

areafewmore.

1. Twitter‐Thisisprettystandardforpromotinganythingthesedaysandshouldbeadefaultoption.Sendoutauto‐tweetsviaWordPress.This

reinforcestheimperativethatblogtitlesbeshortandcatchysotheyre‐

post/tweetwell.AuthorsandEditorsalikeshouldpromotetheirposts,as

shouldtheManagingEditor.Don’tforgettohashtag(#)yourtopicandtag

@uwmcdm,@flipthemedia,oranyotherrelevantentity.

2. Facebook‐ThesamerulesprettymuchapplyforFacebook,thoughthischannelismorepersonal.ProvidecontexttoyourlinkandtagMCDMorFTM

whenyoucan.SharefellowFTM’erslinks,andconsiderpostingatspikeslike

8am,noon,and5pm.PosttobothTwitterandFacebookinthemorning,if

possible.Wednesdaysareparticularlybusydays;Sundaysarenot.Consider

usingathird‐partyplatformlikeTweetDeck,whichallowsyoutopostto

Foursquare,Facebook,Twitter,etc.withoneclick.

3. Ping‐A“ping”issimplyawayoflettingspecificsearchenginesandotherwebsitesknowyouhaveupdatedyourblog.Itwontcauseanoticeable

differencerightoffthebat,butitwillattractsearchenginespidersandhelp

getyournewblogpostquicklyindexed.

4. Aggregatedemail‐FliptheMediaalreadyhasanRSSfeed

5. AwayMessagewithLink‐ThinkG‐chat—seemssimple,butit’sagreatand

easywaytogetthewordout.

6. Digg.com/Reddit.com‐Explorethesetoseeifyourpostmightbeworthpostingbutdon’trelytooheavilyonthem.



7. GuestBloggers‐Uniquewritersguaranteewiderreachandhelpbuildbrandreputation.Digitalmediaisaninterdisciplinaryfield,sodon’tlimit“experts”

tosocialmediagurusandtechgeeks.

8. Optimization‐EdityourpermalinksandoptimizeyourheadlinefortheeasiestvisibilityontheWeb.

9. Email‐Surelytheremustbeoneortwopeoplethatwouldfindyourpostparticularlyinteresting.Itdoesn’treachahugeaudience,butifthefew

targetedemailsfindpeoplewholoveyourwork,theymayshareitwith

friends.

MAINTAININGANAUDIENCE

Jointheconversation.Noonelikestheguyatthepartywholovestotalkabout

himself.It’sannoyinganditdoesn’tbringothersintotheconversation.Thesame

goesforonlineconversations.FliptheMediamustestablishitselfasathought

leaderbyfollowingotherblogsaboutdigitalmedia.Leavethoughtfulcommentsand

participateinthediscussion.Don’tforgettoleaveyourtwitterhandleandblogURL

sootherscanfindyou,andlinktoFliptheMedia.Usesocialmediatoolstoseewhat

otherconversationsarehappeningarounddigitalmediaandfollowthoseblogsand

personalities.Don’tbeafraidtoreachoutand@peopletoinitiateaconversation,

especiallyiftheyareconsideredthoughtleadersinthefield.

Whenshouldtheaudienceexpecttohearfromyou?Bloggingcanturnintoachoreifwedon’tsetupsomepostingschedulethatisrealistic.Readerswhosubscribeand

don’thearfromusonsomeregularbasiswilleasilywriteusoff.Areweeveryday

publishers?Onceaweek ?Whenever ?Determiningthefrequencyofpostsallowsus

toestablisharelationshipwiththereadersandbeforeweknowit,they’rechecking

backwithustomakesurewe’vekeptupourendofthedeal.



Timeisoftheessence!We’renotjusttalkingabouttimelinessinpostingabout

currenteventsorhottopicsinthepublic’sconsciousness.It’salsoabouttimeliness

inrespondingtocommentsorquestionsthataregeneratedbyreaders.Wecannot

justpublishcontentandthrowituponthesite.It’simportantwemonitorthepost

atleastforthefirstweekortwotoseeifanyconversationshaveresultedandtobe

readytoparticipateintheconversation.



Chapter6

UsingMetricsandAnalyticsWisely


• 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.Theycreateacompositionofthewebsite’s

audiencesoweknowtowhomwearespeaking.

Alexa

www.alexa.com

Alexawillcrawlandanalyzeyourwebsitetogiveanin‐depthviewofyoursite’s

visibilitytosearchengines,andprovideinsightsintotheoptimization,monetization,

andoverallhealthofyourwebsite

Competewww.siteanalytics.compete.com

Competeallowsustogaugewho’svisitingFliptheMediainrelationtootherblogs

inordertoascertainwhatwemightwanttowriteabouttoenticetheirreadersto



ourblog,whetherviaintelligentcommentsontheirblogpostsorflat‐outwriting

abouttopicsthatsearchengineswilleventuallyindex.

SomeadditionaltoolstocheckoutwhenworkingwithFTMsiteanalyticsareas

follows:

WebConfs.com‐http://www.webconfs.com/keyword‐density‐checker.php

SubmitExpressAnalyzer‐http://www.submitexpress.com/analyzer/

Ranks.nl‐http://www.ranks.nl/tools/spider.html

FTMANALYTICS

SEOOptimization

FliptheMediahasbeenusingseveraltoolstotrackandmonitortrafficandexamine

individualposts.Let’slookatsomemajortrafficdriverstogetabetterfeelforwhat

causesaspikeintraffictoFTM.

KenRufo’s“TheEndof Facebook”

http://flipthemedia.com/index.php/2010/06/the‐end‐of‐facebook/fromJune,

2010skyrocketedto1292hitsandhad2000+thepreviousweek.Why?Well,a

similarlytitledarticlefromMSNBCcameoutonJan.14.Rufo’sposthasgreatSEO,

soitendeduptopofthesearchresults,whichiswhyitgotclickedazilliontimes.It

alsogotatonofcomments,mostlyspambutplentyoflegitimatecommentsaswell.

JonathanCunningham’s“MarshawnLynch’sEpicRunviaTecmoBowlandSuper

MarioBros.”

http://flipthemedia.com/index.php/2011/01/marshawn‐lynchs‐epic‐run‐via‐

tecmo‐bowl‐and‐super‐mario‐bros/



Thispostsucceededbecauseofperfecttiming.Itgarneredawhopping2245unique

viewsbecauseitwaspostedrightafterthegameandrightasthevideowasgoing

viralontheInternet.Italsogarneredseveralcomments.

HansonHosein’s“DidSocialMediaPropeltheTunisiaUprising?”

http://flipthemedia.com/index.php/2011/01/did‐social‐media‐propel‐the‐tunisia‐

uprising/

Thispostgot491uniqueviewsand4comments,andagaincanbeattributedtoboth

timingandrelevancy.

PeterLuyckx’ssatirical“5Technologiesfor2011”

http://flipthemedia.com/index.php/2011/01/5‐technologies‐for‐2011/

Thispostreceivedtotalof260uniqueviewsand8comments.Itisatestamentto

thefactthatlistsingeneraltendtodowellasblogposts,particularlyiftheyarealso

funny!

Fromthisinfowecanconcludethattimeliness(whethersportsorpolitics)isreally

keyindrivingtraffic,readers,andpostinteraction.Thismeanswewanttofocuson

quickerturn‐aroundstoriesandmaybeevenputoutcallforposts/contributorson

Twitterasnewsbreaks.

MonthlyAnalyticsReport

OnceamonthamemberoftheFTMEditorialBoardwillpresenttheFliptheMedia

Analytics.Hereisanexampleofonesuchreport,fromAugustof2011.

FTMsiteanalysis–August2011

Overview



AfterabusyJuly,Augustsloweddownabit,with24%dropintotaltraffic.Thisisto

beexpectedduetovacationsandlessnewcontents.Mostvisitedcontentduringthe

monthisshownbelow.

Thisanalysisfocusesonuserbehavior,includingacloserlookatnavigationand

“clickthrough”onFTMsite.

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


• GENERALTONE

• IMPORTANTINFORMATION

• SUGGESTIONSFORANGLES

GENERALTONE

PostsfocusedonMCDMorUWeventsshouldcarrythesamegeneraltoneand

lengthofFTMblogentriesasoutlinedinpreviouschapters,butmustalso

incorporatethefollowingelements.

1. Informativeandfactualeventattributes.Thedate,location,host,attendees,

venue,andotherhelpfuljournalisticdescriptorsmustbeincludedinthe

post.

2. Imagesarecriticaltoframeevents.WhencoveringaneventforFlipthe

Media,makesureyouorsomeoneelseisphoto‐documentingtheeventand

canprovideyouwithimagesforthepost.Yourreadersneedtoknowwhois

there,whattheirexpressionsare,andwhattheyaretalkingabout.

3. RememberthatUWandMCDMeventsareviewedthroughapubliclens.

Theseeventsaremeanttohighlightthescholarlyworkbeingdoneon

campusbutthereisalwaysacriticalpubliccomponentinthatalleventsare



potentialoutreachopportunities.Writeabouttheeventasthoughyouwere

familiarizingsomeonewiththeUWlandscapeandmakesureyoulethimor

herknowhowtogetinvolved.

IMPORTANTINFORMATION

Trytoincludecommentsandquotesfromattendeesorspeakers.Capturesome

soundbitesthatwillhelppeoplethatdidn’tattendgetafeelofwhathappened

duringtheevent.Therearealwayspeopleateventswithsomethingtosay—ask

whatwasgood,bad,orinterestingabouttheevent.

Includerelevantorinterestingstatistics.Howmanypeopleattended?Howmany

Twitterparticipantsusedtheevent’shashtag?WasthereaLivestreamoftheevent?

Who’stalkingabouttheeventnow,andhowhasitmadeanimpressiononthe

community?

Considermakingaslideshow—just5or6imagescanmakethereaderfeellikes/he

wasthere,orshouldhavebeen!

Attheendofthepost,addresseventsorfollowupconversationscomingdownthe

pipelines.Thereisnothingworsethancoveringaneventandthenclosingthedoor.

Wherecanthereadergotofindoutmoreinformationonthetopic?Willtherebe

futureevents?Considerincludingfutureeventsthatthepanel’shostsorguestswill

beinvolvedin.IfitisaUWevent,linktothatparticularprogram,department,or

college.Forabroaderimpact,includerelevantarticlesorwebsites.

SUGGESTIONSFORANGLES

Researcharoundthetopic.Theeventisjustagathering.Whatisattheheartofthe

eventthatgotpeopleinthedoor?Researchthetopicandmakethatafocus.



Isthereacompellingangle?Findtheonethingthatreallymakestheeventwhirr.

Maybeit’sthereallycoolvenueorthefactthatitfeaturedinterdisciplinaryvoicesor

anawesomesocialmediastrategy.

Howwasthetopicinformationpumpedouttotheaudiencepriortotheevensothat

theycamemoreinformedandengagedinahigher‐levelconversation?



Chapter8

GuideforShootingBetterVideo


• PLANNINGYOURSHOOT

-Timeline

• TIPSFORSHOOTING

-Sound

-Picture

• AESTHETICELEMENTS

• INTERVIEWS

-Sound

-Lighting

• BASICSUCCESS

PLANNINGYOURSHOOT

Timeline

Writeashortlistoftheshotsyouwillneedandabriefsynopsisbeforeshooting,and

listthekeyvideoelementsyouwanttocompletethestory.Jotdownatimelineof

notesbasedontheimagesyouarelookingtocapture:

1. Establishingshot‐setsthetone2. Fromabove‐wavescrashing3. Left‐revealsmorebeach4. Right‐revealsabitmorebeach



5. Headonwidelow‐revealssubject’srelationshiptopalmtree6. Backtotheright7. BacktoHeadonwidelow

Thinkofyourshotsascinematicandsequential—asshotsthatallowthestoryto

moveforward.

TIPSFORSHOOTING

Sound

Useheadphonestomonitoryouraudioandsettheproperaudiolevels.Makesure

yourmicrophonesaresetontheproperaudiochannel.Audioisjustasimportantas

video,sometimesevenmoreso.

Whenthecameraisrecordingtheaudiowillpickupeverything.Thismeansyou!

Youwontbeabletoremovetheunwanteddistractionfromthesameaudiotrack.

Thisisofcriticalimportancewhenshootingraworb‐rollofambientsound,likea

bustlingcitycenter,birds,acashregister,orbicyclespokes,etc!Saveyourwitty

commentaryfortheblogorDVDextras.

Picture

Shootresponsibly!Don’tshootunlessyoureallyneedit.Thinkaboutwhatyouwant

toshootandthenshoot.Insteadofcapturingtwohoursoffootageonlytounearth

fiveminutesofwhatyoureallyneed,planahead.Thiswillhelpyousavetimeinediting.

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,andoneclose‐up,ifpossible.

Don’tjustusethecameratozoom.Moveyourcameraandyourbodyclosertothe

subjecttogetwhatyouneed!

Whenyouholdthecamera,youaretheaudience.Youareinchargeofselectinghow

thestorydevelops.Shootwhatyouneedtokeepthestorymovingforwardand

makingsenseandshootasmanydetailsaspossible.

AESTHETICELEMENTS

Framing

Payattentionwhenframingyoursubjectduringaninterview.Makesuretheydonot

haveanythingdistractingcomingoutoftheirheadorbehindtheirbody—poles,wires,cornersofbooks,plants,anotherhuman,oryourowngear—whatever.Itwill

irreparablydamageyourvideo.



Youcanalwaysmovethesubjectorfurniturearoundtheroomifyoudon’tgetthe

shotyouneedorifyouarehavingtechnicaldifficulties.Don’tstartshootinguntil

yoursceneisready—youcannotfixeverythinginpostproduction.

Shootingfromeyelevelcanbeboring.Bendyourknees.It’salwaysfuntogiveyour

audienceadifferentpointofview.Sometimespeoplewalkinginandoutofaframe

addenergy—ifpossible,includelotsofaction!Forexample,ifyouseesomeone

takingadogforawalk,don’tshootheadon—getdownlow!

Again,don’tjustzoom.Moveleft,right,down,below,above,orfromthesubject’s

pointofview.

Youwillneedatripod.Thisisnon‐negotiable.Noonewantstoseeashakyvideo.If

youfindyourselfinasituationwhereyoucannotuseatripod(inacar,onabike)

braceyourselfandyourcamera.Useatabletop,books,wall,theground,ashelf,

anythingthatwillmakeyourshotuseable.

INTERVIEWS

Sound

Makesureyoursubjectlooksatyouandnotyourcamera:setupyourshotassuch

andlockitdown.

Makesureyoursubjectisseatedinacomfortableandquietchairandrollthetape

forafewsecondsbeforeandaftereachquestion.Ifyouareusingahand‐heldmicrophone,placeitabout6inchesbelowandjusttothesideofthesubject’smouth

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.Don’t

shootinfrontofawindowbecauseitwillmakeyoursubjectdarkandthe

backgroundoverexposed.Switchplaceswiththesubject.

Itisagoodideatoshootwiththesunatyourback.Justmakesureyoursubjectisn’t

squinting,looksangry,orliketheyhaveblackholesinsteadofeyesandamouth.

Rememberyoucanalwaysmovetoashadyspaceorcreateonebyblockingoutthe

sun.

BASICSUCCESS

Makesureyouhave:

1. Familiarizedyourselfwithyourgear.2. Enoughbatteries.3.

Headphones

4. Atripodyouarefamiliarwith5. Balancedthewhiteonyourcamera6. Turnedoffautofocus







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