Since you can’t upload mp3 files to WordPress for free, we will use SoundCloud. Here’s how you should use SoundClound to host and embed your audio stories:
The embedded audio file will look like this:
Here are the two tools we will use to track web analytics for our sites.
1) WordPress Site Stats. Go to your site and add “/wp-admin” to the end of the URL (e.g., iowadigital.wordpress.com/wp-admin). You can find the built-in analytics by clicking Dashboard -> Site Stats. You can also access the built-in analytics from your public site by mousing over My Sites and scrolling down to Stats.
2) Twitter Analytics. Go to analytics.twitter.com. The main page will provide an overview of your Twitter activity. Click on the Tweets tab on top to view metrics for individual tweets. Remember Impressions measures the number of times users saw the tweet and Engagements measures the number of times a user interacted with the tweet.
Check out the Resources tab on this site for instructions on how to embed YouTube videos, how to embed tweets, how to embed Instagram posts and how to embed photos from Getty Images.
Here is a list of a few sites that offer free stock photos:
creative commons -Franz Patzig- (Photo credit: A. Diez Herrero)
Also, you can incorporate multimedia elements that are licensed for your use through the Creative Commons, as long as you provide proper attribution. The Creative Commons search feature is great at helping you find music, videos and images licensed through the Creative Commons.
Creative Commons licenses were designed for people like you, but it’s important to understanding the differences between the six licenses offered through Creative Commons.
Whenever you use material that is not your original creation, it is important to attribute the source properly. If your style guide does not already dictate the proper attribution format, I recommend adding a statement that identifies the non-original work and includes a hyperlink to the location where you found the media file. For example:
“Put the Needle Down” by Admiral Bob. Licensed under Creative Commons.
Now that you’ve turned in your Launch Kit, it’s time to launch your niche site! Between now and Tuesday, I’d like you to register your site on WordPress.com. You’ll want to click the “Create Website” button (this will only appear if you’re logged out), pick your category, select the theme identified in your visual brand manual, and then register your site URL. Be sure to click all of the “Free” options—you do not need to pay for anything for this course.
Tuesday, I’ll walk through the backend of WordPress, and then you’ll have time to publish your first content and customize your site. If you want to look ahead, here’s a useful tutorial to help you get familiar with the basics of customization in WordPress.
Once you’ve launched your site, add a comment to this post with your niche site title and URL. I’ll put links to everyone’s sites on the sidebar of this page.
Follow Brian’s instructions for this in-class exercise. In short, for each story, I want you to write the following:
Stories:
Here a few examples of students sites from previous semesters. Although course requirements change semester to semester, look through these to get a sense of what makes a successful niche site.
This site will host course materials for Applied Digital & Social Media (JMC:3620:0001) at the University of Iowa. Stay tuned for the syllabus, assignments, and various resources for budding professionals in online media production.
As you design artwork for your niche site, it may be useful to incorporate clip art or graphics created by others. Legally, you can’t just grab anything you find on Google Images and work it into your logo. Instead, you should take a look at these websites, which offer clip art and graphics which are in the public domain or are licensed as Creative Commons Zero.
Applied Digital & Social Media 