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Hoverzine
May 21, 2012 Volume 1 Issue 2

View - Webpage | Document | Activity Feed Inside Building your Content Stream - Third Iteration What is happiness? Monologue 5/15 User Testing Opportunities

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The Webmaster Diaries

Building your Content Stream - Third Iteration
This week I was pretty excited when I published the first issue of the Hovercast, a compilation of a weeks worth of web posts. I announced the issue inside the stream of content for the May 21 issue of the Hovercast which should come out either next Monday or Tuesday (my cut off date is 5/21). Even as I am writing about the zine version of the Hovercast, Ive been thinking that I should call it the Hoverzine instead. Ive published a lot of different things over the years, but this is the first time that its happened because most of my theories about the flow content were coming true. I was able to consistently compose my writing inside Google Docs, publish it as a webpage or document, present it via Weebly, and then share it via Facebook and Twitter. Once I was able to compile the articles into the Hovercast (Soon to be the Hoverzine), I had already scored my first victory. The zine is only an exercise in curation, so by then most of my work had been done. Now Im watching to see if the compilation has better traction that the same documents when they were published as single-topic articles.

You caught me monologuing

This was also the first week when I was able to write a Monologue. I picture the monologue as a type of post-newspaper era version of the Note from the Editor that you might have once read inside newspaper. However, when I write it I think of it as more like the monologue that talk show hosts give at the beginning of their episode. Like when Conan OBrien cracks a few jokes about current events. My first monologue followed the same pattern. I brought up some odds and ends about things going on in the community which would normally be difficult to stretch out into a full standalone article. I also see the monologue as a way of referring back to my favorite articles, or maybe talk about an idea I have for a future article.

These are my collections

My only remaining struggle has been with settling on a method of presenting the content that I write. So far Ive been sticking with Weebly, but I really liked the idea of using Google Sites, and for a while it looked like Google Docs might be the way to go. Id prefer to cut out Weebly because it would be one less hop, but then Facebook and Twitter dont always pull in the preview correctly when I reference the article as a webpage. I steered away from Google Sites when I discovered that the embedded documents arent going to work on mobile devices (it didnt work at all for my iPad, at least). At least with Weebly Im directing the reader to either the Google Doc (which should always work) or the contents activity feed (On Trello, which I know works on most devices). The Hovercast has actually gone so well that Ive shifted the pages around in Weebly so that the homepage is now this weeks stream, and then previous streams are stored under an Archive tab. I hid any references to other publications because it just seems like the Hovercast is my strongest content vehicle.

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These are my collections on Facebook

On Facebook, the Hovercast fan page is a silent partner to all of my other pages. I have regularly been posting content on the Hovercast page, and then sharing those links with the other pages. This works pretty well, but I am not sure yet if there are downsides. For example, if I am spoiling my stats tracking by moving things around so much. Also, when I share a link seven times that creates duplicates around Facebook. Im not sure how that looks to people. However, this helps to confirm my theory that Facebook could support two kinds of fan pages: One for the daily posts, and the other for longer, more long term articles. In other words, Shepherd Today and Hartland Today are my social media engines, while the Hovercast fan page is my content engine. Both are needed, but only one will generate the majority of my content which goes into some kind of publication. I have launched a sister fan page to the Shepherd Today called The Shepherd Journal. My thinking is that Shepherd Today will continue to report on the more immediate news and information, while the Shepherd Journal will look farther ahead into the future with its stories. Then, posts on the Shepherd Journal could be shared on the Shepherd Today. If things work out right, I will have increased the quality as well as the quantity of the content which is posted on Shepherd Today and built the foundation for a publication.

Google Currents
Speaking of publications, Ive also created a Google Currents version of the Hovercast. If you go to this address, you will be able to download Googles Currents app and subscribe to the Currents version of the Hovercast. Ive really enjoyed Google Currents because it allows you to import and then modify Google Docs that you have saved in your account. Up until now, I havent seen any tool that would allow you to import content and allow you to make modifications before you publish it.

Google Drive
After I upgraded my Google Docs account to Google Drive, I discovered that when someone visits your folder on Google Drive, they will see a navigation tree on the left and thumbnail representations of your Google Docs on the right most prominent frame. So in other words it is now possible to organize your files into a folder and then allow your readers to browse them like pages in a publication by sharing that folder and then distribiting the folders URL. Its not perfect, but I could see a lot of potential here. View: Web | Google Doc | Activity Feed |

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What is happiness?
It turns out that humans are born with the need to seek out things that make us happy. Babies, for example, are born preferring sweet foods, smooth surfaces, and pretty faces. Later on its our outlook on life that controls whether or not we are happy. You are invited to join me in a free discussion about happiness inside an EduGuide Team at http://www.eduguide.org. This short term discussion will use video and web resources to spark discussion about this subject. Participants are also welcomed to share their thoughts about happiness. Join the discussion by going here, or email me for more information at 32bpwr3@gmail.com. This discussion will also help me to test a new feature that we are currently working on for the website. View: Web | Google Doc | Activity Feed |

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Monologue 5/15
About fifteen years ago, I might have called this a Letter from the Editor, given that I am addressing my readers directly and writing in the first person. Ive called this a monologue because the whole concept of a Hovercast is modeled after the late night talk shows. My favorite lately has been Conan OBrien. Conan, Leno, and David Letterman all kick their shows off with a monologue which pulls from current events. My monologue wont be quite as sophisticated, nor as funny, but I think that it gives me the chance to tie everything that has been said--or, in some cases will be said--throughout the week. Be sure to check out my call for user testers in User Tester Opportunities. I have a couple of features coming up that could really use the feedback, and our user testing program is still new so just having a few people on board as user testers will help me to work out any kinks. If you are interested but dont want to make a long-term commitment, thats perfectly okay. I will have assignments which are both short- and long-term. One of my properties is the Facebook fan page called Shepherd Today. It allows me to share news about upcoming events in my community. There is a Spaghetti Dinner being put on by the Shepherd Soccer Club on May 18. For details, read this flyer. There is also a Health Fair coming up on May 19th. For more information, check out this flyer. I just watched an interesting video on Google+. Teachers video bombed their students while the students were recording an interview about the end of the school year. The teachers would sneak into the background and begin dancing wildly while the student talked. Its great to see teachers that arent afraid to have a little bit of fun. The video can be seen here, and is the first item Ive added to my list of favorited links for the week. You can view that list here. On a more personal note, last night I was showing my daughter how easy it is to create a cartoon on goanimate.com. As I demonstrated the process, I began to remember how easy it actually was to use the sites tools to create an animation. Through a little bit of extra fiddling, I was able to produce a quick animation that I wanted to share. If I was really a talk show host, it would feel right to end my monologue by saying that I have a great show planned, but I really cant say that because I dont know what I will be writing during the next few days. Ive had some ideas, but I never truly know what will be produced until I sit down and start writing. So, the best I can do is assure you that I will be sharing a lot of great stuff during the rest of the week, and then sometime around next Monday or Tuesday I will be compiling the best articles into a collection. Also, if youre interested in contributing to my weekly Hovercasts, please contact me at 32bpwr3@gmail.com or like the fan page for Hovercast on Facebook. View: Web | Google Doc | Activity Feed |

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User Testing Opportunities

I am currently looking for people who would like to help out my organization by testing our website and then giving feedback. I am looking for beta testers who are interested in trying things out every once in awhile and answering some quick questions, but I also have two projects in mind that are currently being worked on. EduGuide Goals - We are currently in the process of revamping our goals system. You can currently try out the personal goal system on our website at EduGuide.org. The update will include a cleaner design and some additional features. The new version of goals is scheduled to go live this month, and Im going to need 15-25 people who would be able to spend some time testing it and then sending us their feedback. I might also be able to send you screenshots with questions to get your feedback before we go live. EduGuide Mentoring Tool - We currently have a new feature in the design stages which would allow mentors, teachers, advisors, etc., to schedule and then engage in structured discussions with their students via the web. Id like to share some images with a few testers just to get their input, but as we get close to launching Ill be looking for individuals who want to go onto the live site and help me test. Any time or feedback that you can give will help. If you want to take a look at the website and just share some thoughts, the URL is http://www.eduguide.org. If you would like to be a beta tester, join the EduGuide User Group (eGUG) on Facebook, or on EduGuides Website, or email me at 32bpwr3@gmail.com. View: Web | Google Doc | Activity Feed |