Frequently Asked Questions - Blogging
Questions related to blogging and bloggers on AltGlobe
Becoming a Blogger for AltGlobe is very simple! While creating your account with us, simply answer YES to the question about becoming a blogger on AltGlobe and we will send you a welcome email with further instructions.
What does the Blogger role grant you?
As a Blogger, you will have access to a very advanced publishing tool (rich text editor) that works similar to a Word document. You will be able to manipulate your text: add tables, images, bulletins, links, flash animation, among many others, which you can find by browsing the editor.
As a blogger your blog posts will get dramatically enhanced exposure on AltGlobe and on social networking sites linked to us, like Facebook, Twitter and others. This includes having your content on AltGlobe's bar (Globar) and even on AltGlobe's widget, which is spread throughout the web on our affiliates' websites.
Yes, you can take advantage of this feature to add a personal touch to your AltGlobe blog! When you are logged into the site, you will see an option in the right sidebar that says "Blog Header Image." Clicking on this link will take you to a screen where you can upload a banner image. Images should be 800x120 px or they may be distorted. Allowed file types are gifs, jpgs, or png files, no bigger than 5 MB.
1st option to upload an image
The best option, and actually a requirement for bloggers who post to the Featured Blogs pages, is the Attached Image option.
The first image that is uploaded through the Attached Image option will appear as a thumbnail on the teasers views, like here.
This option is located at the bottom of the Blog form and is a collapsable menu. Note, it is not the image upload from the body of the blog post. All images uploaded through the Attached Image option will be part of the image slideshow that accompanies your blog post.
2nd option to upload an image
The second option is to add an image through the editor, which is very similar to a Word document editing application. This editor is located in the body of the blog post submission form.
Click on the Insert/Edit Image icon, and then follow the instructions in the popup window to select and upload your image.
Here are our general guidelines for posting blogs on AltGlobe.com and several tips to help you out.
Original materials - All blogs posted to AltGlobe ("AG") should be original, unique materials written by the blogger who submits them to the website. (Learn more about adding content to AltGlobe on our Terms of Use page).
Complete articles (Blog Posts) - Only complete articles will be accepted. Nevertheless, feeds from Bloggers' external blogs will appear in some places only as teasers or lists that are click-throughs to the original article/blog on their sites.
Who can blog on AltGlobe? - Everyone can blog on AltGlobe! It does not matter if you are an experienced blogger or a newbie that is about to start with his or her first blog post ever. Everyone is a teacher and everyone is a student here, therefore the possibilities to grow your audience, relationships and knowledge are endless.
Your blog content - Share with us your knowledge, ideas, thoughts, feelings, and experiences from life and enrich us with your positive solutions for them (if you have any). Our bloggers talk about all aspects of life from home and garden to health, well being, education, food, and so much more. The unique thing with AltGlobe bloggers is that they all write about the positive aspects of these issues. For example, popular topics on AG include Organic Gardening, Green Living, Sustainable Products, etc.
Only post things that you wish to share with the rest of the world on AltGlobe. After submitting your blog (or feed), its content will be available to many people who are part of our network. See below for more info about "spreading your word."
No advertisements on blogs - To advertise your holistic services, your web site or sustainable products, there are other forums available on AltGlobe that you can use, rather than blog posts. If you did not find your way to display your products or services, email us and and we will help you out.
Word editor use - You may use the rich text editor or HTML to add formatting to your blog such as headers, bullets and other features. As a blogger on AG you get a bigger selection of features that can help you with putting your blog together. This editor is pretty much like a Word document. Click here for more information on formatting your blogs with HTML. If you did not choose to be a Blogger on AltGlobe when you registered, email us asking to become a blogger and obtain free access to the AG editor.
Spreading the word about your blog - As a member and a blogger of the AltGlobe community, your blog post will be available to all AltGlobe's website users and to the broader AltGlobe community on social networking websites like Facebook, Twitter and others. This will happen automatically once your blog is approved by our team. Nevertheless, if you want to draw more attention to your AltGlobe blog post, use the links at the bottom of your AltGlobe blog page to submit your post to any of the social networking sites.
Supporting media in your blog post - If you use someone else's media to express your idea on your blog, make sure that you have the rights to do that, as described in our Terms of Use. If you do have the rights, properly cite the creator of the original work.
Blogging FAQs
Basic blogging tips
Why blog with AltGlobe
Recent blogs on AltGlobe.com
The Globar is a great tool for discovering Positive Alternative content from people who are committed to making the world a better place, each in his or her own creative way.
Here is an example of the Globar on one of our Blogger's posts.
The bar has exciting features that are available to everyone who follows the AltGlobe ("AG") links from any place they appear on the web. Note that the Globar will appear only on web pages owned by Members of the AltGlobe community and who have posted their Blogger Feed to their AltGlobe account.
What does the Globar do?
- Vote on Content - Anyone can share his or her opinion on AltGlobe Blogs by giving (or not) a "hug" to the post that was just read. More votes (hugs) will promote the post on the AltGlobe home page, search results, and other lists.
- Search Blogs - The Search Blogs link enables logged in users to search AltGlobe blogs with an option to use the advanced search.
- Related Links - Clicking on this button will give you a list of the most related blogs to the current post you are on. In case there are no related links, the button will not appear.
- More (from this user) - This option will give you a list of 5 other posts from the blogger whose post you are currently visiting.
- Random Blogs - With this button, you can browse random blogs from AltGlobe's database.
- Join & Blog - A link to more information about joining as a Blogger on AltGlobe.
-
Send this post to a friend. -
Share this post on your Facebook wall. -
Tweet this post. - Edit - If you are viewing your own blog post, then an Edit link will appear. This link allows you to edit your AG blog and will not affect your own blog's or website's content.
- X - Close the bar and stay on the blogger's website.
More features are coming up! Stay tuned as new features become available!
A Blogger Feed is a form that Bloggers on AltGlobe ("AG") fill in with their RSS Feed. This populates their AG's blog with their original blog's or website's content automatically.
Find out here how to incorporate your blog's RSS Feed to AltGlobe.
To manage your RSS Feed, go to your account (www.altglobe.com/user) and look for the tab that says Blogger Feed. Once there, click on it and on the new page scroll down and configure your blog's feed.
Make sure that you copied the right url from your website and pasted it on AG. If you are not sure where to find your RSS feed url, ask your programmer or your blog system support. If that does not help, email us your user name on AltGlobe and a link to your external blog/website and we will do our best to help you incorporate you blog's feed to AG.
Some HTML tags, such as header tags and images, will not work in the basic input mode.
Just below your text editor (while editing or creating the content) you will see an option that says "Input Format." If you open this menu, you will have the option to save your blog in "Full HTML" mode, which will display your code to readers as you see it on the editor.
Note, FULL HTML is available only for Bloggers on AG.
MUST DO! If you are copying and pasting text from another website, fist copy the text to a notepad (to get rid of all the "junk" HTML) and paste it into your AG blog post's body. You can do the same thing in the body editor itself by selecting all the text you wrote and clicking the Remove Format button, which is located at the top of the editor.
Advanced Option - If you are familiar with HTML, you can see and play with the code by clicking the "Source" button at the top left corner of your editor. To go back to the previous state, just click the "Source" button again.
Check out some basic blogging tips here
Why should you blog with AltGlobe
Recent blogs on AltGlobe
