This guide was put together by DigiActive, An organization dedicated to helping grassroots activists around the world use digitaltechnology to increase their impact. It is a quick introduction on how to use Facebook in your activism campaign and includes real-life examples of Facebook activism campaigns from Egypt, Burma, and Morocco.
http://www.digiactive.org/2008/06/28/guide-a-digiactive-introduction-to-facebook-activism/
Recent Posts in the ‘Web Resources’ Category
Understanding Colors for the Web
Friday, April 17th, 2009 by adminChoosing colors for web projects is slightly more complicated than choosing colors for print projects. Due to the following variables, your viewers will see the colors of your site differently:
1. Viewers see your website on different kinds of monitors (LCDs and CRTs)
2. They work on different platforms (PCs often display colors darker than MACs)
3. Computers are calibrated differently
4. How ’safe’ your web palette is determines the size of your palette (More color accessibility = fewer colors)
Web-Safe Colors
This is a very limited web color palette of 256 colors. If you want to be super safe and design with this palette, then you can be mostly sure that most people, despite of their computer variations, will see your colors more or less similarly. This is the safest color palette to chose from, but if you’re looking for a little bit more variety, take it to the next level.
Web-Smart colors
If the Web-Safe color palette doesn’t do you good, the Web-Smart palette is slightly more adventurous and consists of 4096 colors. With recent advances in technology, more and more browsers can see up to 4096 colors safely. There is still a chance that some folks with old-school monitors or browsers will see only the web safe color palette, and the colors you’ve picked may revert to the closest color in the web safe palette. But for the most part, you’ll be good.
Unsafe palette
Colors from whole RGB spectrum. If you pick a random color that isn’t Web-Safe or Web-Smart color, a selected few will see your color exactly as you intended. A larger number will see it revert to the nearest Web-Smart color, which won’t be too much of a jump. A few will see it revert to the closes Web-Safe color, which could be a dramatic difference.
Check out this cool link where you can choose your own colors in the different categories: http://www.ficml.org/jemimap/style/color/wheel.html
Understanding Content Management Systems
Friday, April 17th, 2009 by admin
What is a Content Management System (CMS)?
A CMS is a dynamic back-end for your website that allow you (the client) to manage the content of your website using an online system. You need not have any knowledge of HTML at all; All you got to do, is select the page you want to edit, and edit your content in a window that looks just like Microsoft Word!
What is an Open-Source CMS?
An Open-Source CMS is a non-proprietary back-end system that shares it’s code and it’s systems online amongst an open community of developers. The community of developers that work with a specific open-source CMS are constantly adding to and updating the system to make it better. Technical support for the system is also available freely via online forums. We greatly support this community-supported system for web development.
Kinds of Open-Source CMSs
There are a variety of open-source CMSs available in the world of web. Some commonly used ones are JOOMLA , DRUPAL , WORDPRESS , AMP (Activist Mobilization Platform developed by Radical Designs ) and . None of these is better or worse than the other. The web developer will often chose a CMS based on project needs. It is good to share the scope of your website with your developer and have them guide you in the selection of an appropriate system.
Design Action Web Process
Friday, April 17th, 2009 by admin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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STEP 1: Contracts, Conversations and Checklist:
Client and DA have a meeting, discuss pricing, overall goals of the site, stake holders involved, back-end development options, overall aesthetics, etc. Client goes over the Web Design Checklist for overall organization of the project.
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STEP 2: Information Architecture:
A. Client Fills Out Site-map and Questionnaire
Client fills out questionnaire in as much detail as possible. Client also writes up a rough cut site-map so DA can know what kind of content categories need to go up on the website. The existing site-map (if available) may be used as a reference. Questionnaire and site-map are then provided to designer at DA.
B. Discussion and Changes on Site-map and Questionnaire:
DA designer will then review the questionnaire to get a sense of the goals of the website (online organizing? brochure information site?) The suggested site-map may then be edited to better the user experience + to emphasize and categorize in accordance to the desired goals of the website. During this step, the designer and client will discuss the elements that need to be highlighted on the front page to use it as a portal to pull viewers into specific sections of the site (defined by the overall goal of the site stated in the questionnaire)
C. Wireframe Development
DA designer then proposes wireframes. These do NOT show any design elements, only information hierarchy, placement and prioritization on the front page. Multiple options are proposed, and the wireframe stage may go through a couple of rounds. See wireframe examples here.
*Once the wireframe and Site-map are final, they will be handed off the the CMS programmer in order to build the back-end. The programmer then works with the client on a parallel track (while the aesthetic design is being worked out) to fill in content into the different sections of the site and develop other functionality. The idea is that when the aesthetic design is done, the back-end complete with content and functionality, will just be married with the visual design and ready to roll. This allows for maximum time efficient.
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STEP 3: Aesthetic Design
A. Client and Designer Discuss Aesthetics:
The conversation will be largely based on examples provided in the questionnaire by the client of sites that they like/dislike; it is important at this stage to think about the way that the organization wants to present itself to the public – formal/official? grassroots activisty?
B. Designer Presents Aesthetic Designs:
This is a long process that will begin with the presentation of multiple prototypes, and go through steps of tweaking and altering till a successful design has been decided upon. The designs are mostly shown on the front page. See visual design examples here.
Once the front page design is finalized. Landing page template + custom page designs will be presented. See some example of landing page templates here.
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STEP 4: Passing on Design to Programmer
Once the designs are finalized, they will be passed on as FIREWORKS FILES to the programmer. The Designer then stands by for any last minute questions/additions while the design is being fit with the back-end.
Quick and Easy Guide to Online Advocacy
Saturday, February 28th, 2009 by admin
This guide, put together by Tactical Tech - an organization that works to advance the skills, tools and techniques of rights advocates, empowering them to utilize information and communications to help marginalized communities understand and affect progressive social, environmental and political change.
The guide offers ways to use social networking and web 2.0 tools to improve advocacy campaigns and aims to expose advocates to online services that are quick to use and easy to understand. It also provides descriptions of online services including social networking sites, image and video hosting services, and services that enhance an organizations web presence. Case studies, security concerns as well as the advantages and disadvantages of various web services are discussed, with the aim of improving advocates ability to conduct online advocacy campaigns. http://onlineadvocacy.tacticaltech.org/
Cross-Posting on Different Social Networking Tools for Advocacy
Saturday, February 28th, 2009 by admin
The guide was put together by DigiActive, An organization dedicated to helping grassroots activists around the world use digitaltechnology to increase their impact. The guide is an introduction on posting content on multiple platforms by using Twitter, Twitterfeed, and Facebook to help organizations promote their cause.
http://www.digiactive.org/2008/06/13/resource-what-should-youtube-do-for-activists/