July meeting of the Cleveland Webbloggers

Social media is a great way to make face-to-face connections. I started going to our Cleveland Webbloggers meet-up group last summer. These real-life meetings have given me a chance to get to know the personalities behind the usernames. When we gather together, be it in a small group like last week or a larger assembly of 20 or more, we'll talk about anything from writing and blogging platforms to Cleveland politics and philosophy. The mood of the group sets the topic and the tone. But at it's core, the Cleveland Webbloggers group gives us a chance to share ideas and best practices with our peers, whether they blog professionally or just for fun.

Of course, as you know, one can only cover so much material in one monthly meeting. And not all of our peers are local. To reach others in our topical niche, particularly those who may come from other industries or backgrounds, we reach out through the Web. Each week via social media services such as Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, StumbleUpon, blogs, etc., I connect with people all over the world, from Syracuse to Singapore.

Most of this is done via time shifting. If I'm still up and Tweeting, when my friend Wayne gets to work in England, it means I've stayed up well past my bedtime. While that is not unusual, it is more often the case that Wayne will share a link via Twitter or save a bookmark on Delicious while I'm off dreaming about vampire sea turtles discovering underwater time portals—or whatever other nonsense floats through my mind. After I wake up I'll see what he and the other Europeans have shared so that I can respond, share my own links, and so forth. Generally speaking this works quite well.

Time-shifting is incredibly useful, but sometimes it's just more efficient to meet in real-time. Skype calls and chat rooms are quite handy when you know the participants in advance. But for larger topical meetings—open to a wide audience—real-time chats via Twitter are a popular alternative.

Last night I spent 2 hours chatting with 100+ fellow bloggers on my couch.

100 people would be a tight fit even on a giant couch like this.

As you may have guessed, my couch doesn't have enough room to accommodate 100 people. But it does have plenty of room for me and my laptop—through which I can login to Twitter and start chatting with bloggers, social media advocates or any other group that meets regularly online.

What are real-time Twitter chats and how do they work?

Real-time Twitter chats are typically held on a weekly basis, though scheduling may vary. Each topic-based chat picks a recurring day and time to meet, then assigns a unique hashtag for users to add to their Tweets. The hashtags mark the Tweets as belonging to the chat so that users can easily follow the discussion through a variety of online tools.

At the start of a chat, a moderator/host will typically ask people to introduce themselves, then ask questions or suggest specific topics for discussion. Some chats may follow a rigid format such as devoting 15 minutes to each question, while other chats evolve more organically. I participate regularly in two chats:

• #blogchat, hosted by @MackCollier is a forum for people to discuss issues related to blogging, including writing, marketing, blog platforms, RSS feeds, design, etc. Meetings are held Sunday nights at 9:00 p.m. U.S. eastern time.
• #smchat, hosted by @SourcePOV (Chris Jones) "explores Social Media best practices, and new ways to drive value in this space, with thought to collaborative innovation and viable knowledge networks." Meetings are held Wednesdays at 1:00 p.m. U.S. eastern time.

Other popular chats include #journchat ( journalists, bloggers and public relations—one of the oldest and most popular chats), #litchat (for booklovers) and #eventprofs (for event planning professionals). Meryl K. Evans assembled a very useful list of Twitter chats on her blog. New chats are constantly being added, so the list is now maintained as an interactive spreadsheet. Whether you are interested in agriculture, design, or food, there's probably a chat available to suit your needs. If not, check the schedule, choose a time, pick a hashtag and start one yourself!

Tools for following Twitter hashtags

If you're following more than a dozen people on Twitter, you've probably noticed that it gets a bit noisy. Trying to follow a hashtag in the middle of your normal Twitter stream can be even more difficult. Thankfully there are a variety of Twitter services and tools that can help. Here are a few of the more popular ones.

Tweetchat

Twitter Search

If you search on a particular hashtag, such as #smchat, Twitter search will pull up a list of all the most recent Tweets including that hashtag. If you see a Tweet to which you would like to respond, you can just click the reply button, write your message and type #smchat at the end of your Tweet. Then return to the search page to continue reading.

TweetChat

Sign into Tweetchat using your existing Twitter ID and password. Then type in the hashtag you would like to follow, such as #blogchat, and TweetChat will present you with a page listing all of the current #blogchat Tweets. Tweetchat features a box where you can type your Tweets and also includes buttons that make it easy to reply or retweet messages.

Tweetgrid

Tweetgrid works similarly to Tweetchat and is the service I use most often. Simply search on the hashtag you wish to follow and you will be brought to a page listing the recent Tweets with a feature enabling you to reply, reTweet, etc. If you select the "party" option instead of the "search" option you can also designate your username and the username(s) of the chat's host. This will bring up a page showing separate columns for the main stream, your own Tweets, and those of the moderator. This can make things a bit easier to follow.

What the hashtag?!

This user-editable hashtag encyclopedia let's users follow a chat as they would in other tools, but also let's moderators add descriptive information about the hashtag to the page. Users may also create transcripts of chat sessions based on date-ranges. These can be printed to .pdf files to be saved for archival purposes. As an example you can read the .pdf transcript from this week's #blogchat.

Monitter

Monitter is a tool to let you monitor keywords used on Twitter in real-time. When you enter the site you are presented with 3 columns listing various searches. Replace the search in any column with a hashtag, @username or plain word to follow it's mentions. You can respond to conversations by clicking a reply or retweet button appearing under each Tweet.

Tweetdeck

Tweetdeck is an Adobe Air application that you can use instead of the Twitter Web page for all of your Twitter activities. I use it because I can create columns multiple columns on topics such as Cleveland, marketing and higher education to which I can assign the users I follow most frequently. Tweetdeck also lets you filter columns by keywords, follow Facebook status updates and create search columns. The latter is another popular way to follow a hashtag or chat.

While these tools are helpful for following Twitter chats, they're also handy for following hashtags for other reasons. People use hashtags for topical searches such as tracking #recipes people post on Twitter, following Tweets related to conferences/events and to keep track of trending topics such as the Iran Election or Spymaster.

Twitter real-time chats offer access to new insights and opinions

As I hinted in the beginning, real-time chats give us the opportunity to connect with people we might never have the chance to meet locally. They give us access to people from a variety of backgrounds and experiences. I find this useful because it gives me insights into different perspectives.

For instance, recently on #smchat a lot of discussion has been focused on the topics of intellectual property and knowledge management. This is a concern for many companies exploring social media. They want to share information with customers that will help sell products and they want to share knowledge with other business and government collaborators as part of product development. But they also need to safeguard trade secrets and other confidential information. So the question for us is, how do they manage both? Should companies restrict access to technologies that make sharing easier? Should they open up technologies but educate users about policies regarding what should and shouldn't be shared? If we as social media advocates come up with solutions, how do we educate the corporate leaders who would implement such policies? How does the model change based on the industry in question or the communications goal? These are hard questions, so naturally we could spend months or years trying to sort this all out.

What's intriguing about this discussion is the variety of minds adding input. When I worked for a university I pondered communications concerns with colleagues in my department, the attorneys' office, ITS or with clients in other campus departments. I might also ponder such ideas with others in higher education or Web development. But I rarely had the chance to hold such discussions with attorneys, engineers, marketers, accountants, etc., working in industries ranging from consultants and government contractors to advertising agencies, restaurant managers and manufacturers—all at the same time.

I find this useful because people in industry X may be facing challenges that those of us in industry Y never encounter. By bringing everyone together we have a unique opportunity to learn how these questions impact others and we can take away knowledge that we can put to use in our own fields. This strikes me a an incredibly valuable way to collaborate.

Twitter chats are a great way to find cool Tweeps

Of course, useful insights tend to be shared by smart minds. The people who provide the ideas are people worth following. I often follow (and am followed back by) dozens of new contacts after a good chat session. While many Twitter users are overly concerned with gaining a large quantity of followers, my focus is on quality. It's hard enough to follow 1,000+ people, so if I'm going to do it they better have something useful to say. The people I meet during Twitter chats do.

This sounds great, but seriously, how could you possibly have a worthwhile discussion in 140 character Tweets?

Before I started attending chats I wondered the same thing. It's challenging to make a point in 140 characters, especially when those characters must also include the hashtag. But in a way it's easier in real-time. If you make point A, and I respond with point B, you'll see it right away. Then you can respond back and things start flowing like a normal conversation. You may have to break up an idea into a few separate Tweets, but somehow it all comes together.

Conversations begun during Twitter chat can also continue later in other venues. For instance #smchat has a sister site on Ning through which users can post discussions, questions, videos and other documents. Mack Collier, posts a recap of the #blogchat on his blog to which users can add additional comments. With all of the social media tools available, there's always some way to continue the conversation.

If there's a Twitter chat related to your field of interest, I highly recommend giving it a try.

Twitter chat and hashtag resources

• Fast & Furious - Twitter Chat (reactions from a guest chat host)
• #hashtags directory
• List of Twitter Chats
• Tweet Your Message to a Larger Audience with Hashtags
• Tweeting With Your Twitter Community: How To Participate In A Twitter Chat

I wasn't there, but back in September (on my birthday of all days) members of the Cleveland Social Media Club gathered together to discuss ways to educate people on the use of social media. At that time they proposed producing an e-book on the topic "Advice that you would give someone on how to get started with social media." Later that day, Nader Ali-Hassan posted a message on the Cleveland SMC forum asking people to submit articles on the subject.

Always willing to share my two cents, I wrote an article for submission. As time went by others did the same, we formed an eBook committee, and by February we had almost 20 chapters. Soon after I joined the editorial team to help edit the chapters and get the book ready for completion. As we worked on the project, the team decided that we needed to produce something more than the usual downloadable .pdf file for the book. We also wanted a Web site where we could publish an HTML version of the book and provide a place to share other educational resources related to social media.

Cover art and layout of the .pdf version
of Welcome to Social Media was done
by Tony Ramos

Tasked with the creation of the Web site, I built Welcome to Social Media, which launches officially tonight at the Cleveland Social Media Club meeting (members of the public are welcome to attend). This new site features an online version of the Welcome to Social Media eBook, a social media blog and related resources. Over time we'll add additional materials to help educate the world about social media and related topics. If you have ideas on things we might include, please submit them via our contact form or here in my blog comments.

Welcome to Social Media excerpt: Setting Goals to Plan Your Social Media Strategy

As many of you know, I have a tendency to prattle on about goal setting in regards to Web development. The same as true for social media, and thus that was the theme of my chapter. Here is an excerpt:

If you don't control your online presence, someone else will.

When embarking on any new project or adventure, it helps to set some goals. What do you want to get out of the project? When it comes to social media I think we all share a primary goal, that of controlling our online presence.

Many people are hesitant to jump into the world of social media. Some are shy while others simply don't know what they'll do once they join the fray.

The advice I give to each is to consider what may happen if they don't get involved. In a day when employers Google job applicants and the charming lass you met at that party last week is searching the Web to make sure you're not a psychopath, you want to be in control of what they'll find.

The fact that you aren't posting about yourself doesn't mean others aren't. Perhaps your name and your clever ideas about composting were posted in the meeting minutes of your neighborhood gardening club. Perhaps your last promotion was mentioned in the online version of your local paper. Then again what if the first thing that comes up in a Google search is your wedding announcement…from five years ago…to the fellow you divorced when you discovered he was pawning your jewelry to invest in a pyramid scheme? Is that what you want to the world to see? Probably not. Read the article in its entirety on the Welcome to Social Media site.

A Cleveland Social Media Club team effort

Kudos to Jim England, Jeff Hershberger, George Nemeth, Stephanie Jansky, Tony Ramos and the many other authors and Cleveland Social Media club members who worked together on this project. On behalf of them all, I hope you will find Welcome to Social Media to be a useful resource for your social media explorations.

Welcome to Social Media Links

• Welcome to Social Media
• Welcome to Social Media, Volume 1, eBook (HTML)
• Welcome to Social Media, Volume 1, eBook (.pdf)
• Cleveland Social Media Club

Coming soon

Flash and usability—the controversy continues, WordPress as a CMS, and more…

The other day journalist Jimi Izrael sent out an e-mail about a new blogging class he's teaching at Tri-C. It occurred to me that this might be a good opportunity for those of you (in Greater Cleveland) who are thinking of taking up blogging. It also made me think that this would be a good time to share some of the other great resources available to bloggers, Web developers and those interested in social media in Northeast Ohio. Whether you want to take a class or network with others in the field, here are some things that may be of interest.

Introduction to Blogging

In this special topics course at Cuyahoga Community College, journalist and blogger Jimi Izrael will introduce you to the myriad types of blogs and explore their evolution as an outgrowth of modern journalism.

Jimi Izrael's work appears in the Los Angeles Times, Salon.com, Philadelphia Inquirer, Chicago Tribune, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, American Spectator, Washington Post, and The Plain Dealer. Moderator of the "Barbershop" on NPR's "Tell me more with Michel Martin."

Monday and Wednesday from 6:30 p.m. to 9:20 p.m. beginning October 20, 2008. Contact Jimi Izrael or view the flyer to learn more.

Bail Out Cleveland! Local Internet Guru Offers Free Consulting at the Cleveland Free Stamp

Need some free Internet advice? If so you're in luck "Jim Kukral, a lifelong Clevelander and web-famous Internet guru wants to help ease the pain. He’s offering free Internet consulting to any business that’s in need of guidance. From web marketing, or strategy or blogging help, Jim is willing to bail out Cleveland businesses in need, for free."

Wednesday, October 15, 2008, 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. by Free Stamp in downtown Cleveland.

Telling your story: Nonprofits and the Media

Sponsored by the Center for Community Solutions this half day seminar will offer ideas non-profits can use in promoting their services through social media and introduce you to members of the local media with particular insight in the field. Learn more and register online.

Thursday, December 11, 2008
8 a.m. - Noon
Cleveland Sight Center

Cleveland Web Design and Development Meetup

Founded in 2006, the Cleveland Web Design and Development Meetup is "here to help folks come together to learn about and discuss making the web, web pages, web programming, all that sorta thing. Membership is open to all. And it's free." The groups holds regular meetings, offers study groups for novices and provides a variety of helpful online resources.

Cleveland Web Standards Association

Founded in 2007, "The Cleveland Web Standards Association (CWSA) is grounded on the premise of sharing information in a relaxed atmosphere. The purpose of this association is to provide practical instruction and techniques that will elevate the quality and functionality coming from Cleveland firms and free agents. We hold monthly gatherings that include presentations on best practices for developing web sites. The gatherings are open to any person interested in web design/development, no matter what their current skill level is."

Additionally the CWSA publishes a blog aggregator featuring member blogs covering Web development and related topics.

The Cleveland Weblogger Meetup Group

Founded in 2002, the Cleveland Weblogger Meetup Group meets once a month to discuss blogging, Northeast Ohio, politics and anything else that seems interesting. I finally made it to my first meeting with them last month during which we ate some tasty vittles while discussing gender roles and a variety of other topics. As I understand it topics vary widely depending on who shows up. If you're a local blogger or just thinking about becoming one, you may find it interesting.

Social Media Club - Cleveland (SMC)

Founded this summer, "SMC is being organized for the purpose of sharing best practices, establishing ethics and standards, and for promoting media literacy." Members can share ideas and questions through online discussions as well as meet each other in person at monthly meetings.

Not in Cleveland?

Similar organizations and meetups occur all over the world. Whether you want to join a meetup group that meets in person or prefer to share information online, the following will help get you started.

• Find Web Design Meetup Groups
• Social Software Meetup Groups
• Search Engine Optimization Meetup Groups
• FriendFeed Social Media Room
• FriendFeed Social Media Club Room

Obviously this is but a tiny sampling of the resources available. Feel free to suggest other resources that may benefit fellow readers in the comments below.

Forthcoming topics: More about URLs, Linking Strategies…

There comes a time in every Web maintainer's life when the boss or client asks to see the Web stats for the past 6 months/year/5 years or what have you. Ideally you or your server administrator set this up long ago; you—being equally keen to understand the usage patterns of your site, and to use that knowledge to improve your content—check them on a regular basis, and can provide the information immediately.

Then again, if you've been busy building and updating sites, this may be one of those projects that has been patiently waiting on your to-do list. If your server doesn't have analytics software pre-installed, and you've not yet installed any yourself, now—before the boss asks—is the time to do so.

This is particularly important for users who host sites on the main Case server.

Since upgrading the Web server, we have switched from using Aurora Stats to using Google Analytics on our sites. Where in the past you would have run a monthly report using the A.P.A.S. utilities, now you just install your tracking code once—after which you can view your data at any time. (We are also exploring additional server-based analytics software that we may install in the future to augment what is available through Google.)

Getting Started

To begin the process go to http://www.google.com/analytics. If you have an existing Google account you can login here to set up your analytics account. If you don't already have a Google account you can sign up to create one.

Creating your site profile

1. Login to Google Analytics, then select "Analytics Settings"
2. Click on Add Web site Profile
3. Choose your profile type. If this is the first time you are setting up analytics, choose new domain. If you are adding another Web site within the same domain, choose existing domain. In this example we'll choose new.
4. Type or paste in the URL of your site's domain. Note: If your site, like many Case sites, does not reside on the root of the domain, do not include the full path to your site, only include the domain. A complete URL, such as www.case.edu/community, will give you an error message as pictured here. Instead just include www.case.edu or whatever domain you use. (You will modify this later in step 13.)

   

5. Select your location and time zone then click continue
6. On the Tracking Code page, you will see 2 options. Select New Tracking Code (ga.js). This will give you the tracking code for your site. The code will look something like this:

   <script type="text/javascript">
   var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://ssl." : "http://www.");
   document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + gaJsHost + "google-analytics.com/ga.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E"));
   </script>
   <script type="text/javascript">
   var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker("UA-1279047-11");
   pageTracker._initData();
   pageTracker._trackPageview();
   </script>

7. Add the code to your site

   Instructions for those on the main Case server

   1. Create a new blank file in Dreamweaver or any plain text editor and copy the tracking number into the file. In our example the number is UA-1279047-11 as shown in red.
   2. Save this file as .googleanalytics. In Dreamweaver select "all files" in the "save as type" dropdown box to make sure no extension is added to the filename. If your program saves it as something like .googleanalytics.html or .googleanalytics.txt simply exit the file and rename it without the extension.
   3. Upload this file to the root or main directory level of your site. The server will use this file to embed the code into your pages.

   Instructions for those on other servers

   1. Copy the full code provided by Google and paste it into the bottom of each of your Web pages immediately above </body>. If you are using server side includes (ssi), templates or some other method for including standard content across your site, you can put this in which ever file controls the lowermost content on your pages. I generally put mine in the bottom of the .ssi file I use to include the footer on my pages.
   2. Upload your edited pages to your site.
8. Click the Finish button. This will take you back to the Analytics Settings page. If you have a site at the top level of your domain and everything was installed correctly you should see "Tracking code installed Waiting for Data" under the status column to the right of your profile listing. Your installation is now complete and you can return in 24 hours to see your data.
9. If, like accounts on the main Case server, your site is hosted in a subdirectory within your domain, you will see "Tracking code not detected" under the status column. This is perfectly normal and will be remedied in the following steps.
10. Click Edit under the Settings column to the right of your profile listing. This will take you to the profile settings for your site.
11. Click Edit in the upper right corner of the Main Web site Profile Information box.
12. Change the name of your profile to one of your choosing.
13. Replace your domain URL with the complete URL for your site. In our example we're using http://www.case.edu/community/.
14. Type in the name of your default page. On the main Case servers we use index.html as the default pages within directories. Other servers may use default.html. If you're not sure, check with your server administrator or Web hosting provider.

    

15. Click Save Changes to return to the Profile Settings page. On this page you can click on "Check Status" to make sure everything is working. It may take a minute or two for Google to process everything after which it should say "Waiting for Data -
    Analytics has been successfully installed and data is being gathered now." Your installation is now compete.

Additional reference materials and instructions have also been provided by ITS as part of the new Aurora Project Administration System (APAS) Toolkit (login required).

Tracking .pdf, .mp3 and other downloadable files

As one of our campus Web maintainers recently observed, Google Analytics doesn't track downloadable files such as .pdf's by default. Google offers a way to do this by adding a small bit of code to each download link, but this requires you to edit each applicable link and move your tracking code towards the top of the page.

If you would prefer to install this on a site wide basis I recommend using the javascript solution offered by Good Web Practices. With this method you simply download their Google Analytics link tracking JavaScript, save it to a scripts directory on your site, and add <script src="http://www.yoursite.com/scripts/gatag.js" type="text/javascript"></script> immediately before the Google tracking code you installed at the bottom of your pages. Those of you using the Case .googleanalytics file method should add this to the bottom of your pages just above </body>—the same way maintainers not on the main server did to add the tracking code in step 7.

Advanced Techniques in Google Analytics

Analytics Resources

• 5 Lesser Known Google Analytics Features
• Google Analytics Help Center
• Google Analytics Blog
• Google put the anal into Analytics
• Web Analytics Demystified: A Marketer's Guide to Understanding How Your Web
• Wikipedia: Web Analytics

Registration is now open for summer classes at CaseLearns. Whether you're building your first Web site, adding video to your blog or just want to learn something fun, CaseLearns has a number of options available.

The classes listed below may be of particular interest to those developing or maintaining Web sites.

If you are new to Web design and want to learn Dreamweaver, I recommend reading I'm not going to teach you XHTML/HTML, but you should learn it anyway and doing the homework assignment before taking your first Dreamweaver class.

All CaseLearns classes are open to current Case faculty, students and staff, emeriti faculty, alumni, and Senior Scholars. Case affiliates may register if openings are available. Class schedules are subject to change. Please visit the CaseLearns Web site for the most current information.

Adobe Acrobat 8: Introduction

Instructor: Debbie Korodi
Prerequisites: Familiarity with Windows or Mac OS; knowledge of Microsoft Word.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008 9:00am-Noon

Adobe Acrobat 8: Creating PDF Forms

Instructor: Debbie Korodi
Prerequisite: Knowledge of Adobe Acrobat 8.
Thursday, August 7, 2008 9:00am-Noon

Digital Images I: Introduction & Basic Photoshop

Instructor: Jared Bendis
Wednesday, July 9, 2008 3:00-6:00pm

Digital Images II: Advanced Photoshop

Instructor: Jared Bendis
Prerequisite: Digital Images I: Introduction & Basic Photoshop
Wednesday, July 16, 2008 3:00-6:00pm

Digital Images III: Even More Advanced Photoshop

Instructor: Jared Bendis
Prerequisite: Digital Images I and Digital Images II
Monday, July 21, 2008 3:00-6:00pm

Dreamweaver CS3: Introduction

Instructor: Thomas Hayes
Tuesday, July 15, 2008 1:00-4:00pm

Dreamweaver CS3: Intermediate

Instructor: Thomas Hayes
Thursday, July 24, 2008 1:00-4:00pm

Dreamweaver CS3: Advanced

Instructor: Thomas Hayes
Tuesday, July 29, 2008 1:00-4:00pm

How To Make Web Pages Using HTML: Part 1

Instructor: Thomas Hayes
Tuesday, August 12, 2008 1:00-5:00pm

How To Make Web Pages Using HTML: Part 2

Thursday, August 14, 2008 1:00-5:00pm

Introduction to Pachyderm

Instructor: Jared Bendis
Wednesday, July 30, 2008 3:00-6:00pm

Understanding RSS Feeds

Instructor: Brian Gray
Thursday, July 17, 2008 10:00am-Noon

Video Workshop I: Introduction To Digital Video

Instructor: Jared Bendis
Thursday, July 10, 2008 3:00-6:00pm

Video Workshop II: Advanced Digital Video

Instructor: Jared Bendis
Prerequisite: Introduction to Digital Video
Thursday, July 17, 2008 3:00-6:00pm

Step One: Define your site

Click on image to enlarge

I recommend doing this when you first start working on your site. In doing so you will provide key information to Dreamweaver that will allow it to better manage your links and other information.

1. Under Dreamweaver's site menu, choose "Manage sites."
2. Click the "New" button and select "site" from the drop down menu. This will open the dialogue box pictured on the right of this page.
3. Making sure you have the "advanced" tab selected, enter a name in the "Site name" box. This can be any name of your choosing.
4. In the "Local root folder" box navigate to the folder on your local computer or network where you are storing your files for this Web site.
5. In the "Default images folder" box box navigate to the folder within your site folder where you are storing your main images. (Note: This is optional; you do not have to keep all images in this folder)
6. In the "HTTP: address" box type in the url for your site, such as http://www.case.edu/community/.
7. Check the "enable cache" box.
8. Your site has now been defined, but don't click OK just yet!

Step Two: Define your remote server connection

Click on image to enlarge

This step tells Dreamweaver what protocol to use, the location of your server, and your login and password information.

1. On the left side of the dialogue box select "remote info." This will bring up a different dialogue box.
2. In the "Access" box scroll down and select "WebDAV."
3. In the URL box enter the url for your server. On the new Case server that will be: https://www.case.edu:8000/<your network id>/<your group's Aurora account name>. (Don't type the angle brackets, you want an address that looks something like https://www.case.edu:8000/xyz67/departmentx.)
4. In the "login" box type in your username. For Case users this is your Case user ID, not the Web account name you have used in the past.
5. In the "password" box type your password, for Case users this is your Case network password. Click the "Save password" box.
6. Leaving all the other boxes unchecked, you are now ready to click "OK."
7. This will return you to the first dialogue box. Click Done. When this box is closed the "files" panel will automatically open on either the left or right of your open file.

Uploading ("putting") files to the Web server

1. With the files panel open and set to local view, click the blue button that looks like an electrical plug connecting to an extension cord. This will open your connection to your remote Web server. You may, or may not, also need to click on the round arrow button to the right of the plug to refresh your file list.
2. Select files and folders you would like to upload and push the "Put file(s)" button which is identified as an upward pointing blue arrow.
3. In the drop down menu where it says "Local view," switch to "Remote view" to verify that your files have been uploaded.
4. In your Web browser go to your site to ensure that everything looks right.
5. Note: If you would like to view local and remote files at the same time, simply click the expand collapse button to the far right of the other buttons in the panel screen. It has a blue and green bar on the top and a small right pointing arrow.

Downloading ("getting") files from the Web server

1. Downloading is very similar to uploading. With your connection already open, switch from "local view" to "remote view."
2. Select files and folders you would like to download and push the "Get file(s)" button which is identified as a downward pointing green arrow.

Once you've defined your site, the process is pretty easy. Just upload or download files using the up and down arrows, and you're all set!

Other ways to connect via WebDAV.

If you experience difficulty uploading files with Dreamweaver, you may prefer to use one of the following alternatives (these are what I use).

• Uploading files with the WebDrive WebDAV client for Windows
• Introduction to WebDAV: Connecting on a Macintosh
• How to Access Upgraded Aurora Server: instructions on the Case Wiki

If, like me, you develop sites on multiple servers, running different prototocols, you'll also be happy to know that WebDrive supports many of the more popular protocols including:

• FTP
• WebDav
• SFTP
• GroupDrive^®
• FrontPage^®
• Amazon-S3^®

Where in the past I've been using WS_FTP for sites using FTP and WinSCP for sites using SFTP, I can now use WebDrive for both those and WebDAV, conveniently keeping all of my accounts in one place.

Getting started with WebDrive

Web maintainers at Case can download WebDrive from the software center. After downloading the program you will be e-mailed a registration code. Non-case users may download a trial copy of the program from the manufacturer, South River Technologies. After downloading the program simply double click on it to start the installation process and paste in the registration code you've been provided at the appropriate prompt. Once the program has been installed you can begin defining your site(s).

Configuring sites on WebDrive

Configuring sites on WebDrive is a simple process, similar to what you've done in the past to define sites on WS_FTP or Dreamweaver. The following steps will guide you through the process—as also shown in the animation below.

1. Select WebDrive from the Windows program menu.
2. In the configuration box click on "new site" to begin using the site wizard.
3. Type in the name of the site. This is purely for your reference, so name it anything that aptly describes the site. Click Next.
4. From the scrolldown menu select the protocol you will be using for this account. For the Case Web server this will be WebDAV, but for other accounts you may use FTP, SFTP or whatever that server requires. Click Next.
5. Enter the url for your server. On the new Case server that will be: https://www.case.edu:8000/<your network id>/<your group's Aurora account name>. (Don't type the angle brackets, you want an address that looks something like https://www.case.edu:8000/xyz67/departmentx.)
6. Check the box marked "Connect securely" then click Next.
7. Choose a drive letter that you would like to assign to this account. This will map the account to that drive so you should pick a letter that is not already in use by your computer's other drives. Click Next.
8. Enter your account information. For Case users this is your Case user ID and password, not the Web account name and password you have used in the past. Click Next.
9. Check "Connect to site now" and click the Finish button.
10. A window will open showing all of the files on your site.
11. You may now edit those files directly, or open the directory in which you store the local copy of your site to copy files back and forth. I would recommend that you continue to edit locally, then drag the files to the site when ready.

Once your site has been defined you may connect to again in the future by choosing it from the site list is WebDrive and clicking connect. To add additional sites simply repeat the process described above. Additional information on connecting via WebDAV is available on the Case Wiki.

WebDAV programs and resources for Windows

To learn more about using WebDAV with Windows XP or Vista, visit the following sites.

• Accessing a shared (WebDAV) webfolder from Windows XP or 2000
• Using WebDAV with IIS
• Uploading files to Resources using WebDAV with Windows XP or Vista
• Web Folders/WebDAV Support
• WebDrive User's Guide

In my next and final article on WebDAV I'll walk you through the procedures to connect using Dreamweaver.

What are Firefox add-ons?

According to Firefox Support:

"Firefox add-ons are small pieces of software that add new features or functionality to your installation of Firefox. Add-ons can augment Firefox with new search engines, foreign-language dictionaries, or change the visual appearance of Firefox. Through add-ons, you can customize Firefox to meet your needs and tastes."

There are countless add-ons available that will let you do anything from tracking your trades on Ebay to validating the code on your Web site. Add-ons are categorized by type or function and offer tools for both casual Web browsing and development.

A sampling of my Firefox add-ons

I just counted, and apparently I have 35 add-ons installed on Firefox. Some I rarely use, some I actively use and others work passively in the background to add value to my browsing experience. I think I take the latter for granted, but they offer some interesting insights. While I'm not going to discuss all 35, here are a few (in addition to those mentioned in the video) that you may find interesting:

Web Developer

Chris Pederick's Web Developer is the work horse of my add-ons. I use it to validate my HTML and CSS, measure things onscreen, outline elements, display line guides, view javascript, disable styles, and view or analyze details of a page in order to troubleshoot problems or fine tune my CSS. It's incredibly useful and a tremendous timesaver.

Delicious Bookmarks 1.5.44

Adding bookmarks to del.icio.us is pretty easy to begin with, but sometimes I forget. With this installed I don't have to think about it. When I add a bookmark to Firefox a box pops up asking if I would like to add it to del.icio.us as well. It then lets me add the bookmark and relevant tags in the same box and continue on my merry way. Now I don't have to worry that I can't access the bookmark on computer A because I only saved it on computer B.

StumbleUpon 3.18

The StumbleUpon toolbar is inherent to the StumbleUpon experience. If it's 2:00 a.m. and I can't sleep I can hit the Stumble button to be shown sites in areas that interest me. If I come across a cool page, that I think others should know about, I can hit the thumbs up, either to promote it or to be the first to write a review. If I want to know if a blog entry or news release has been stumbled, I can click on the reviews button to see who (if anyone) said what. And if I find a nifty new recipe that I want to share with my friend Josh (an avid Stumbler) I don't need to bother with e-mail, I just click "send-to," select his username and it will be shown to him next time he goes Stumbling.

SEO for Firefox

This is an interesting tool for Web marketers. When you do a search with this turned on you'll find data ranging from Google page rank to the age of the site underneath each result description.

Social Media for Firefox

When you install Social Media for Firefox, icons appear in the bottom status bar of Firefox to indicate how many users have bookmarked or reviewed the page you are viewing on Digg, Reddit, StumbleUpon and Delicious.

KGen

KGen lets you scan a page to see which key words are strongest on a page—handy for search engine optimization.

This sampling should give you a good idea of the power of Firefox add-ons, needless to say there are hundreds (perhaps thousands) more to choose from. To learn more, visit the resources listed below.

Are you already an add-on fan? If so, leave a comment listing some of your favorites. I'd be interested to see how readers are using these handy tools and which great add-ons I may have missed.

More Firefox add-ons resources

• Customizing your Firefox with add-ons (Firefox Support)
• Firefox Add-ons: All You Need To Know
• Tech Notes: 16 Must-Have FireFox Add-ons
• Spread Firefox: Firefox Add-Ons/Extensions

Registration is now open for spring classes at CaseLearns. Whether you're building your first Web site, adding a podcast to your blog or just want to learn something fun, CaseLearns has a number of options available.

The classes listed below may be of particular interest to those developing or maintaining Web sites.

If you are new to Web design and want to learn Dreamweaver, I recommend reading I'm not going to teach you XHTML/HTML, but you should learn it anyway and doing the homework assignment before taking your first Dreamweaver class.

All CaseLearns classes are open to current Case faculty, students and staff, emeriti faculty, alumni, and Senior Scholars. Case affiliates may register if openings are available. Class schedules are subject to change. Please visit the CaseLearns Web site for the most current information.

Audio Recording and Editing

Feb 13, 3:00 p.m.
Feb 13, 6:00 p.m.
Mar 20, 3:00 p.m.
Apr 9, 3:00 p.m.

Digital Images I: Introduction & Basic Photoshop

January 16, 3:00 p.m.
Jan 27, 1:00 p.m.
Feb 7, 3:00 p.m.
Mar 5, 3:00 p.m.

Digital Images II: Advanced Photoshop

Jan 30, 3:00 p.m.
Jan 30, 6:00 p.m.
Feb 3, 1:00 p.m.
Feb 14, 3:00 p.m.
Mar 26, 3:00 p.m.
Apr 17, 3:00 p.m.

Digital Images III: Even MORE Advanced Photoshop

Feb 20, 3:00 p.m.
Feb 20, 6:00 p.m.
Apr 24, 3:00 p.m.

Dreamweaver CS3: Introduction

Feb 12, 1:00 p.m.
Feb 12, 4:00 p.m.

Dreamweaver CS3: Intermediate

Feb 29, 9:00 a.m.
Feb 29, 12:00 p.m.
Mon, Apr 7, 1:00 p.m.

Dreamweaver CS3: Advanced

Apr 22, 9:00 a.m.
Apr 22, 12:00 p.m.

Dreamweaver CS3: New Features

Jan 22, 10:00 a.m.
Jan 22, 12:00 p.m.
Mar 17, 1:00 p.m.

Macromedia Flash: Introduction

Jan 31, 9:00 a.m.
Jan 31, 12:00 p.m.

Photoshop CS3: New Features

Feb 28, 3:00 p.m.
Feb 28, 5:00 p.m.

Video Workshop I: Introduction to Digital Video

Jan 17, 3:00 p.m.
Jan 17, 6:00 p.m.
Feb 6, 3:00 p.m.
Feb 24, 1:00 p.m.
Mar 6, 3:00 p.m.
Apr 2, 3:00 p.m.

Video Workshop II: Advanced Digital Video

Jan 31, 3:00 p.m.
Jan 31, 6:00 p.m.
Feb 27, 3:00 p.m.
Mar 2, 1:00 p.m.
Mar 27, 3:00 p.m.
Apr 23, 3:00 p.m.

Understanding RSS Feeds

Apr 9, 1:00 p.m.
Apr 9, 3:00 p.m.

If they read what you write, they may also want to read what you read. Webmasters and bloggers know this. That's why we'll embed links within our text, build pages with links to recommended sites and/or add linkblogs to our side bars. In a world where most of us don't have the time to research and write everything we'd like to share, such resources add value to our existing content and give readers guidance on where to look for additional information.

Recently I've come across some other good ways to share what you read, so I thought I'd share those with you today.

Publish your OPML file to share your blog subscriptions

A few weeks back I was reading an entry on David Bradley's blog, Sciencebase, when I noticed something interesting in his footer. There, at the bottom, he has a section called "Geeky Fun Stuff" in which he shares, among other things, a link to his OPML file. That, I thought, is a really good idea. For those of you who don't know what this is, an OPML file is basically a type of XML file that includes the links to the RSS feeds of the various blogs one reads through RSS Readers such as Google Reader, Bloglines, etc. Such services allow you to import and export these files so that you can easily switch services or add a batch of feeds to your existing service. Thus, if I wanted to subscribe to all of David's feeds I could just save that file and import it into Google Reader myself. Or if I wanted to subscribe to only a few I could edit the file (in Dreamweaver or any plain text editor) to delete any I didn't want.

If you are already using an RSS reader, sharing such a file is fairly easy. Just export your file from your reader and save it to your computer. If you don't want to share everything, just open the file in a text reader, and delete the extraneous feeds—lolcats, curling news from In the Hack and anything else that may not be of interest to your readership. Once the file is ready, just upload it to your site and link to it as you would any other page.

Using Google Reader to share specific stories

Google Reader recently added some enhancements to its sharing features. I first noticed this when Robert Scoble posted a note on Pownce with a link to his Google Reader shared items page. When I went to view the page I realized that this could be a useful feature, one that made me want to revisit Google Reader.

When you visit a shared items page you will see a site that looks pretty much like a typical blog. Stories are posted on the left, information about the page owner is on the right—along with links to other resources, a feed, etc. The main difference is that the stories are things the page owner has read rather than written (though, if you subscribe to your own feed, you can share your own entries as well). Each story also includes a link to the original entry and the original source—so the material is not mistakenly attributed to you.

After viewing Scoble's page, I immediately thought of my friend X, who says she wants to establish an online presence, but isn't quite yet ready to blog. Sharing stories on a page she can link to might be a good way to get her feet wet and let people know what she is thinking about.. For those of us who already have one or more blogs and Web sites, the shared items page adds to our online mix and provides an easy way to share stories with our readership.

Getting started with Google Reader

Getting started with this is pretty easy. Just go to the Google Reader site and sign-in. If you don't already have a Google account for Gmail, analytics, etc. you can create one there. Once your account is set up, just subscribe to some of your favorite blogs and start reading. A menu at the bottom of each story gives you the option to share the story so it will appear on your public shared items page. (There is some controversy about this, but you just have to understand that it's a public page that can be seen by anyone who has, or discovers, the address. For us, that is what we want, so it's not a big concern.) If you change your mind later, you can unshare the story the same way. You can also organize your subscriptions into topic folders and share topics rather than individual items. To learn more about using Google Reader visit the Reader Help Center.

If you don't want to send readers to your Google page, but still want to share stories, you can also share a clip from the feed on your own site, as I have done on my "What I've Been Reading in the Blogosphere" page.

More sharing options

My Streamy Subscriptions

Google isn't the only service that allows sharing, but aside from the hubbub regarding privacy settings (pertaining to how and with whom one is sharing—see links below) it's very easy to use and will be familiar to a large audience. I've been sharing blog stories with groups on Streamy since last summer, but my Streamy shares aren't fully public. Another friend has recently recommended Feed Each Other which looks promising and also produces a public page. StumbleUpon, while not a reader, is also a great way to share blog stories and other Web sites. (Stumbling is quite popular with insomniacs and is a great way to learn about other sites.)

These are all useful services, but how you share is less important than what you share. If you can find articles and sites that offer additional information on the topics you discuss, or even stories that add insight to your personality or world view, you'll be providing a helpful resource to your readers.

OPML, Google Reader and Sharing Resources

• fav.or.it - favorit RSS Reader and Blogging Platform
• Google's new Reader Features
• Google Reader needs GPC (Granular Privacy Controls)
• Google Reader "Share With Friends" Feature Gets Privacy Complaints
• Google Reader Sharing FAQ
• Is Google Reader Sharing Too Much?
• OPML (Outline Processor Markup Language)