WELCOME!
Washblog is created by the people who post comments, diaries, and stories here. More participation on the site from Washington progressives gives us greater impact on policy and public opinion. Anyone can set up an account and participate. Make a New Account.
This page contains information meant to help you feel comfortable doing that. Our Content Policy page contains the "rules" -- which can be summed up quickly here as: be fair to other people, stay within the law (no libel or copyright violations), provide useful and accurate information on Washington state issues in a clear way, and, if you make a mistake, fix it as soon as you find out. Try to follow the formatting considerations in the guidelines that pop up when you go to post a new story.
CONTENTS
POSTING CHECKLIST: ETHICS, FORMATTING, ETC.
- Check your facts.
- Check ethics. When you post you are agreeing to Washblog's Content Policy. If you want to get a more in-depth understanding of journalistic ethics, the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics is a good standard. There are some differences between blogging and journalism that should be kept in mind, though. Bloggers are generally activists and advocates; unlike journalists, we don't need to aspire to impartiality.
- Check readability. Some factors:
- Short story tops
- Consistent and "tight" formatting (avoid extra space)
- Attention to spelling
- Spelling out abbreviations, defining specialized terms
- Giving context at the beginning - who, what, when, where and importance
- Variety in the length of sentences and paragraphs - with a good number of shorter ones
- Concrete examples/ stories / quotes - real people, places, and things
- Elements that break up large sections of text, such as images, blockquotes, section titles, etc.
- If you are an editor or featured writer, decide whether this post would be better as a front page or a diary (see below)
- Consider if the title and first few lines will be likely to bring outside readers in.
- Titles: Avoid abbreviations except for the most common ones (WA, USA, etc.), and try to make your title descriptive of the story content. Here's a good article on titles from Politics and Technology: Headlines are critical content.
- Opening sentence: Orient the reader to time/place/issue. Try to get some aspect of your most important message in the first line or two
- Provide hyperlinks or contact information on local and state organizations whenever possible.
- If you write about a state or local organization or public figure, send a link to your article to that organization and invite them to come comment.
- When you do a post that you think might be interesting to people or groups you know, send out an email with a link.
- Finally, keep the top part of your post short (generally no more than three medium-sized paragraphs), and keep images no wider than 550px (wider than that distorts the page).
|
READERSHIP FACTORS
This list a first attempt to describe factors that draw readership and make for better stories. Not all suggestions will work with every story. Excellence and readership tend to go together, but not always. Send other suggestions/info to the editors at info@washblog.com
- RELEVANCE, VALUE, TIMELINESS
Some relevance factors: new information relating to current events, controversies, campaigns, new research, policies, people, trends, etc. First-hand accounts of events, quotes, breaking news, interviews -- unique factual information, links to good resources.Research has shown that readers tend to scan web pages in an F-shape -- the first two lines, then down the left-hand side of the page and to the end. So try to get your most relevant content in that "F"....You have probably a fraction of a second to initially catch some reader's eyes. - PROVOCATIVE & CONTROVERSIAL CONTENT
Controversial topics -- especially when related to Washington state -- and your original analysis and strong opinion -- attract readership. Avoid general theorizing and pontificating -- anchor things to the specific. Support opinion with facts or reasoning. Be honest about what you think -- i.e, call a lie a lie if you can show that it is. Avoid questioning or denying the humanity and worth of other people. Avoid defeatist or conspiracy writing. The more controversial you are, the more likely you'll be challenged. - READABILITY
Formatting is easy on the eye and the content is organized well, spelled ok, and expressed with the reader in mind. Make the top part of the story short and informative. In general, you want to provide as many clues for the reader as you can that you've organized your story so they can benefit without undue hassle. Make your sentences short if you can. Break up long sections of text with headings or images. Put things in blockquotes or bulleted lists. You'll find an HTML "cheatsheet" on the Washblog Writer's Checklist that is linked to Washblog's FAQ page. - DETAILS, LOCAL INTEREST & HUMAN INTEREST
Attention is attracted to more specific info. Name the city, name the person (check your ethics), describe the impact of the policy or event or trend. Give a little story or example that relates the trend or issue to real-life impacts. Provide dates or years. Provide images, when possible. - CREDIBILITY, AUTHENTICITY, TRUST
Early on in a story people will form an opinion of the author. Over time, writers build reputations. Stories that are positive; that are seen to be fair and reasonable; that are written for the benefit of the reader -- even if they are also supporting a party or cause, and that include the personality of the writer, are more readable. Overblown rhetoric can be a turnoff.Check your facts, verify quotes and statements, and print corrections quickly when you make a mistake. - ADVERTISING, NETWORKING, LINKING
If you have a story that you think people will benefit from reading, let them know. If you're at an event to write about it, let people there know. Get their contact information and send them the story when it's published. If you mention a person or organization, send them an email and tell them how to find the story. Invite them to comment on the site. You can even arrange for a conversation where several commenters come on at once. If you go to an in-person event shortly after posting a story -- advertise it there. Cross-post your story to other sites like DailyKos or an Indymedia site. - READERS' COMMENTS
Posts with more comments get more readers. Comments on a story can be the best, most informative part. If you are going to post a story that you have put a lot of time into writing and/or would be improved by community input, consider asking for comments in advance. Try to join in on the conversation and respond to comments that your readers post. - THE LARGER CONTEXT
Link and reference to people and organizations that others should know about. If you learn about something from another blog or site or article, say so and provide a link. Before you delve into a topic, see if other bloggers have posted on it and link to them. - FOLLOW-UP, CONSISTENCY, TEAM-WORK
The better the writing from each contributor, the more audience the site itself will attract. Following up on stories -- and providing ongoing content on issues -- helps build a return audience. - GOOGLE AND OTHER SEARCH ENGINES
Much of Washblog's readership, perhaps a quarter, comes from Google and other search engines. Descriptive terms toward the top of your piece and clear writing get better search engine results. High quality hyperlinks -- links that lead to credible pages such as research institutes, established non-profit organizations, academic sites, and well-maintained blogs -- also increase the likelihood of high search-engine rankings and cross-postings from other organizations.
|
MINI HTML CHEATSHEET
When you post, there's a little drop-down box that allows you to choose html, text, or automatic. Choosing the "automatic" option will insert html coding for you. If you want to to do html editing, change the option to html.- To make a hyperlink or "hotlink" to another page:
<a href = "http://www.theurlyouwannalinkto"> the text you provide to describe the link</a> - To put a section of text into a box
This is often used to put a quoted section of text. It can also help organize the page for better readability. The Contents section of this page is in a blockquote
<blockquote> quoted section
</blockquote> - To put a blank line or extra paragraph break between paragraphs
<p> </p> - To make a nice long line across the page
Each section heading on this page is between two of these lines
<hr> - To post an image
<img width = "300 px" src = "put the url/location of the image in quotes”>
Note: [width = "300 px"] specifies the number of pixels across for the image. You can leave this code out entirely or play around with it. Sometimes it's necessary, as images wider than about 450 px, will distort the site. - To create a bulleted or numbered list
<ul>
<li>list item #1</li>
<li>list item #2</li>
</ul>
"ul" stands for unordered list and will give you bullets. If you use "ol" instead, you'll get an "ordered" list -- in other words, numbers. You can use as many li's as you want. - To embed a Youtube video
Cut and paste the code provided on YouTube into the Washblog post - To change the font:
<font size = "1" face = "arial narrow"> Text goes here -- from full page to just a few words</font>
Most common reason to change font is to put a caption in small letters below an image. The size and font provided here as examples work well for this purpose - To "bold" a section of text
<b> Bold text here</b> - To italicize a section of text:
<i> Italicized text here</i> - To place text on a new line without inserting a blank line below
<br> - Learning more
Doing a Google search with the words, "html tutorial" and the action you want to perform (for example, create a table), will lead you through many questions.
|
FRONT-PAGE STORY OR DIARY?
| All stories start out as diaries. Once you "submit" your diary, you can change its status -- if you are a front page writer -- so that your story shows up on the front page. Enter back into your story, click on "Edit Story". Scroll down to the bottom and, click on the little arrow on the right-hand side of the drop down menu box that says: "Only Display Within Section". Change that option to "Always Display." Voila!
The guidelines below are not hard-and-fast rules. How you’re feeling, how important you think the topic is, and considerations like what is already up on the front page, should come into play. Don't worry about making the "wrong" decision on a piece -- it's important to try to keep the best, most researched content on the front page -- but not a huge deal if you make the wrong choice. Stories can always be put back into the diary section. The goal is a Washington-centered front page with good writing, fact-checked pieces, provocative information, enticing titles, visually interesting, and lots of original ideas and content – and a diary section that is almost completely open to anything. The one "rule" for the presidential election in 2008 is to keep stories that are about specific candidates in the diary section so that the front page remains Washington-focused.
FACTORS WEIGHING IN FAVOR OF FRONT-PAGING - Essential: You have checked out both the facts and the context. If this is a subject that other writers on Washblog specialize in, you've read their pieces and maybe even contacted them. Quick pieces are ok on the front page, but if they address a serious issue of public policy, they should be adequately sourced and solidly understood -- not just an attempt to provoke discussion.
- Washington-specific topics – connected with WA events, issues, organizations or people (links, examples, images, and quotes are great).
- Timely: Connected with events, legislation, actions, organizations, or people that are in the news (or should be) or are upcoming or just past, particularly if you were there and are reporting on them.
- Political, civic, progressive
- Original: your own research, ideas, analysis, photos, reports, first-hand accounts, etc.
FACTORS WEIGHING IN FAVOR OF MAKING A POST INTO A DIARY - Little "new" content: event announcements without any original details; quick mentions of someone else's blog content, etc.)
- National issues, general issues
- Opinion/analysis that is not specific to Washington people, places, events.
- Non-political subjects
- "Rushed" Diaries are good for putting things up really quickly. As long as your facts are checked and you’re not libeling anyone, etc., you’re probably good to go on a diary.
|
COMMENTS
Comments are a centrally important feature of the site. They provide:
- Information
Corrections, updates, additional information, and links to related info are much appreciated. Corrections are especially important. Blogging is a kind of collaborative citizen journalism. Sometimes the information in comments is as important -- or more so -- as the original post. - Perspective
Your experiences and opinions help others understand issues and understand better where they stand. Seeing someone's opinion can give a person who may think that they're alone or just unusual in the way they think, courage to "own" it for themselves. - Encouragement to the writer
Comments can mean a lot to a writer who, after all, has spent some time putting a post together. By encouraging the writers, you help keep them -- and the site -- going. - Political influence/Visibility
Stories with comments get more readership. And comments, in themselves, lend credibility. This equals political influence. Members of the media and policymakers read Washblog and comments are a message to them too. - Encouragement to political speech
People are more likely to jump in and commment when they see others have been commenting. When you comment, you are helping give others opportunities to learn to express themselves. - You create this site
Washblog is a community creation. It's as interesting as we are.
Anonymity
When you comment, can you be anonymous?
Pretty much, yes. But it's not technologically iron-clad. In other words, if it's absolutely critical that you remain anonymous, you're taking a chance.
You are welcomed to create an account under an anonymous 'handle'. Here on the "back end" of Washblog we have access to the IP address/es you created your account from and that you post from. It's our policy to not reveal that information. We don't "out" people here. However, unlikely as it is, we can be hacked like any other system. In addition, with enough effort, people may be able to trace ip addresses from the site meter. |
|
Coastal/Grays Harbor
