Author Help
I have posted a video online showing some tips and tricks – divided into 2 different parts. Take a look – but be warned that this is a REALLY low-budget production!
Part One
Watch on Youtube • Metacafe • Dailymotion • Veoh
Part Two
Watch on Youtube • MetaCafe • DailyMotion • Veoh
================
THE SITE
The site is divided in major sections, roughly following the committee organization. At the beginning I’m setting up accounts for the Board rep and the committee chair – who will then be able to login and add content, edit what’s there, etc
Later we can add additional people – which I will do when instructed – who can also add content to particular major sections. There is also the capability of having someone marked as a Contributor – they can write, but cannot post what they’ve written (i.e. it won’t show up on the site until approved by an Editor). Scroll down to the bottom for a note about this.
TYPES OF CONTENT
There are two major types of content with this system – I’ll call them Permanent and Temporary, primarily because I can’t think of anything better.
More permanent types of information are called PAGES in this system – they’ll show up at the top of the page. (That’s there the link “Author Help” is in the Webmaster section, for example.
More temporary types of information – event announcements, etc, – should be placed in POSTS – they’ll automatically show up in the main section of “your” site. They’ll ALSO show up off the main page in the “latest news” link (the title, anyway), and will be shot out to anyone who has subscribed to the RSS feed. (More on that later.)
TO LOGIN
You’ve already been given your username and login info – right? If not, contact Tom pronto (the form below will work) and let him know your preferred email address.
Swing over to the main page at lakewildwood.org. Scroll ALL the way to the bottom – you should see, in small type over on the left, a link that says “Author Login”. Click it, then login.
YOUR FIRST TO-DO LIST
Change your password to something better than what I gave you. There’s a profile page – nose around the menu items – where you can change your password, ass a website link to your profile, other contact info, bio info, etc. The password is the big thing to be concerned about – the other stuff is not as important, and will not raise or lower your taxes or your cholesterol in any way.
WRITE SOMETHING
You will probably use the two sections WRITE and MANAGE the most. Use Write to create a new post or page (remember: Posts are for Temp info, Pages are for permanent). The MANAGE menu item is to edit the material thats already up on the site.
WHAT CAN YOU PUT IN A POST OR PAGE?
Text of various sizes and fonts – you’ll see a little menubar in the box where you type that works a lot like “Word” or any standard word processor.
Click the icon on the right marked “Kitchen Sink” for more options.
Pictures – Click the “ADD MEDIA” link. A box will popup and allow you to add a picture from your computer. You can also add video, but that’s probably going to be problematical. I haven’t tried it yet, though.
You can save your work – but it won’t be published until you click the PUBLISH button. I know – that sounds stupid, but I’ve forgotten to click PUBLISH at least three times and gotten aggravated because my work wasn’t showing up.
You can also mark something as PRIVATE – it will only show up for memebrs of your team.
WHAT’S ALL THAT STUFF BELOW WHERE YOU TYPE?
Click on the little arrows beside each title to pull down the details.
All in One SEO Pack – helps the search engines find what you’ve typed. I suggest doing this – add a title, short description, and a few keywords that fit your entry. For example, for this entry I put the keywords lake wildwood, macon, author, help
Custom Fields – ignore this
Comments and Pings – Leave the “Allow Comments” box UNCHECKED – unless you’d like people to be able to comment on a post. Leave the “Ping” box checked – it let’s the restof the web know something has been posted.
Password Protect this page – well, that should be self-explanatory.
There are a few others you’ll see – you can ignore them. Ask me if you have questions.
HOW OFTEN SHOULD I POST SOMETHING?
When you have something to say. When there’s something to announce. When there’s a change in policies. When you have a meeting coming up. When you’ve had a meeting. When someone had an idea.
The whole idea is for the site to be a first place to go for information.
I’m a Committee Chair. I need some help with this stuff!
Find a volunteer to help with the content. Contact me with their name, preferred email address, what committee, and if you want them to be an Editor (can change anything in your section), Author (can publish their material and edit just their own stuff, or Contributor (can write a post, but it won’t be published on the site until you approve it.) I will get them setup and send them an email with instructions.
================
