Link to Public Google Doc for this post:
Link to Ayana Baltrip’s IDST 165 Course blog posting on this presentation:


Social Sites for publicizing:

  • http://www.flickr.com – allows for you to post and tag your work, allow for download or copyright protect (is occasionally searched by big production houses for work to purchase and sell for royalty)
  • http://irovr.com/ – for ipod touch and iphone users
  • http://stumbleupon.com – the tags you create increase your visibility in the search
  • http://twitter.com – use to post updates to your blog on professional topics
  • http://linkedin.com – network with other professionals, get on the boardshttp://epsilen.com – once you get ccsf.edu email address (projected Fall 2009), sign-up is free – you can post your portfolio (choose public or selectively share) and participate in online communities.

In-person networking and online community sites:

Become member of professional organizations and PARTICIPATE in them to gain recognition:

Sites with local influence or display art that also show on the web:

Business end:

Search Engine Optimization and Meta tags

Blogs:  Categories and Tags

And if you really want to see the importance of using tags for your images and presence on the web, just check out this tool that searches BY tags (it’s a “mashup”):

Note from Flickr site (http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/browser/):

  • What are tags? You can give your uploads a ‘tag’, which is like a keyword. Tags help you find things which have something in common. You can assign up to 75 tags to each photo or video.”  (P.S. – Flickr is owned by Yahoo…so how about those tags/meta tags?!)

Web 2.0 (for those interested in design for education):

Finally, don’t forget your medium and audience:
Optimized file formats for the web: .swf, .pdf, .png, .jpg, .gif, .mov, .mpeg, .mp3, etc.

Just remember that the file format you choose will determine what software/browser plugin the user will need to view the files.  The audience you reach depends upon this information.  Tips:
  • Always test your work in multiple browsers (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari are most commonly used, but IE does NOT run on Macs anymore).
  • Consider too, multiple operating systems – PC, Mac, Linux are the top 3 most common.
  • Some file formats are LESS accessible.
  • Some file formats require browser plugins (Flash player, PDF, QuickTime, RealPlayer, etc.) so notify your audience of the requirements to view your work and provide links to download latest plugins.

Accessibility issues on the web:

Anyone working with a publicly funded institution/project must be aware of Section 508 compliance (Federal).  Additionally, it’s just good practice to make your content/site accessible in order to maximize the audience you reach. Here are some resources:

Your audience and usability:

  • Know your audience.  Know their habits, know what they are looking for.  More than half the time this will require you explaining to them what they need because they don’t have the words for what they need (they don’t know the technical jargon or what they’re asking for is not what they need to meet their goal – such as improper “tool” selection).
  • Always make it easy for your audience.