[IMC-UK-Features] Feature Proposal

Wed Oct 15 09:50:58 PDT 2008

Hello

As most of you probably know, the London kollective has been working  
for several months to come up with a brand new, revamped website, and  
now, finally, it is ready for action.

The new website will be launched this weekend with a presentation at  
the Anarchist bookfair, and you are all very much invited to come, of  
course! :-) The presentation is from  12 to 1pm in the Lecture room 1.

We've put together the presentation text below that we would like to  
propose as a startpage special feature for the UK, London and Indymedia  
pages. To go up tomorrow evening when the EDO feature could turn into a  
normal feature (great reporting on that one btw!) We would like to  
propose it as startpage for a few days, maybe till sunday or monday if  
that's ok with peeps here.

Cheers
maqui

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FEATURE
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TITLE: The New Indymedia London Website Ready For Action!

ABSTRACT:

It is now almost five years since <a 
href="/en/regions/london/">Indymedia London</a> came to life as part of 
the <a href="/en/2004/12/302894.html">United Kollectives</a> network of 
IMC's throughout the UK. Now, in 2008, things have moved on; the rality 
in the streets is very different from that of 2003, and so there has 
also been a change in the way people experience the internet. The 
kollective in London has been working hard for the last few months to 
adapt Indymedia London to these new realities, and now we are very 
happy to announce that the <a 
href="https://london.indymedia.org.uk/">New Indymedia 
London</a> website is ready for action!


You are therefore invited to come this Saturday 18th 
to <a href="http://www.anarchistbookfair.org/whatson.html">our 
presentation</a> at this years's <a 
href="http://www.anarchistbookfair.org/">Anarchist Bookfair</a> that 
will take place at 12pm. Come and find out about the new site and its 
<a 
href="https://london.indymedia.org.uk/page/Shiny- 
New%20IMC%20London">exciting new abilities</a>.


The New Site aims to include more political events and media alongside 
the direct action reporting from the streets, and a better method of 
video uploading. Come and find out about these and other exciting new 
developments, and discuss how you and your group can get involved. 
Click at the Full article</stong> link above to know more ...

CONTENT:

h3>Welcome to IMC London New Website<h3><br>

Ok, so you've just been to a demonstration or an action then? Good on 
you. We hope you had a great time! And now you feel like telling 
everyone about it, even better! You've come to the right 
place. Or maybe you've just been to a great benefit party, or 
gig, or workshop, or talk, or film screening, or exhibition, or ... 
whatever else you think you should let everyone know about it. This is 
the place too!


You can write your first hand report, and you can add 
to it any photos you may have taken, or audio files. But remember, a 
report can take many shapes and forms. It can be written, yes, but it 
can also be drawn, or spoken, or made of photographs, or turned into a 
music track, or all of these at the same time. In the spirit of <a 
href="http://www.purplebark.net/maffew/cat/openpub.html">Open 
Publishing</a>, you can easily do any of this by clicking at the links 
below, as long as you are happy to release your material in a 
non-copyright manner, and as long as you are not trying to report on 
any corporate and commercial activity, nor engage in some personal or 
party political promotion.


The medium you use to tell your story it is up to you, but remember, 
even though Indymedia London is an open and collaborative 
project, committed to using media production and distribution 
as a tool promoting social, environmental and economic justice, we have 
a <a 
href="https://london.indymedia.org.uk/page/Mission%20Statement">Mission 
Statement</a> where we sum up the principles we aim to live up to, and 
clear <a 
href="https://london.indymedia.org.uk/page/ 
Editorial%20Guidelines">Editorial Guidelines</a> which form the basis 
of our editorial practices.


So, if this is the first time you come to this publish page, 
welcome! - it's about time you did though! But please 
make sure you take a look at these before publishing, and please also 
note that any contributions that may contravene either our Mission 
Statement or Editorial Guidelines, will be hidden by IMC-London admins 
and users.

So now, a few basics we think can help you using this site:

<ul>
<li> Remember that other people might not know about the issue you're 
writing on, so don't forget to include the who, where and 
when, but also, importantly the why it did 
happen. If you start your report with a short summary stating these 
facts, you are much more likely to catch the reader's attention.</li>

<li> Links to websites and other articles that provide 
background information to your story are very helpful. 
They help putting your report in context.</li>

<li> Also spellchecks can make all the difference. It 
is a good idea to type first your texts into a word processor so they 
can be spell checked before publishing. Don't forget to check the 
spelling of your titles and media captions. Using a word processor 
instead of directly the publish form, also secures your text against 
being lost in case of any problems with the publishing system.</li>

<li> It is also a very good idea to keep revisiting your own article  
after publishing it, so you have the chance of <strong>answering any  
questions</strong> your article may arise, or respond any comments  
other users may post to your article.</li>

<li> See a much more detailed <a href="/en/2007/07/377148">'How to 
Publish Guide'</a>. It contains lots of tips and help about how to 
write a good article.<li>
</ul>

So, if you want is to write a report, or publish media go to the <a 
href="http://london.indymedia.org.uk/page/Publish%20Page">Publish 
Page</a> and follow the easy steps.


You can also publish information about an event coming up - an action, 
a protest, a meeting, a party or a gig, for example - and it will 
appear at the brand new <a 
href="http://london.indymedia.org.uk/events">Calendar of Events</a>. 
Remember, the more background information you include and the more 
creative you are with your posting, the more likely you are to get 
people's interest to your event. And please note the the Editorial 
Guidelines also apply to these posts.


The new site also makes it possible to <a 
hre="https://london.indymedia.org.uk/register/register">make your own 
account</a>. If you become a registered user you will be able to edit 
your article after having published it.


If you are part of a campaign or a group, you will probably be 
interested in the <a 
href="https://london.indymedia.org.uk/collectives">groups function</a> 
of our site. This will enable your group or campaign to have <a 
href="https://london.indymedia.org.uk/collectives/new">your very own 
section</a> on Indymedia London, including a presentation about your 
group, a collection of your articles, and an archive of any other 
articles or media you are interested in, or relate to your group or 
campaign. Think of it like a blog, but better! :-) To register your 
group or campaign click <a 
href="https://london.indymedia.org.uk/collectives/new">here</a>.


The lenght and depth of your contributions is entirely up to you.. Your 
group's section can be as much a resource and outreach as you make it. 
You don't need to be a writer with a capital W, nor a journalist with a 
J or a photographer with a P to contribute to London Indymedia. This is 
a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DIY#Subculture">DIY</a> 
project, where everyone contributes skills, interests and knowledge. It 
is the diversity of approaches of your contributions, and the quality 
of material you publish what will make Indymedia London a vibrant and 
useful resource relevant for this city, hopefully reflecting the 
collective creativity and intelligence of this town. That's why it is 
important that you write your reports first hand, and that the media 
you publish is material you've put together yourself instead of doing a 
lazy copy and paste from somewhere else.


It is time to take back our lives and our city! ... Get publishing! :-)