Zope publishing: How to manage Zope blogs

There are two section views for blogs that are available through Zope.

1. Deep Dish Blog Section: This section view will allow you to display an individual blog.
2. Deep Dish Blog Rollup: This section view will allow you to organize all of your blogs on a landing and feature GHNS bloggers.
    

DEEP DISH BLOG SECTION

1. Create a new section and assign it the view “Deep Dish: Blog Section.”
2. Slot: blog_header (blank by default, and is optional)
   
   Fill this slot if you want to provide a graphic or description of the content found on this blog. This widget requires the following fields:

• Image: If you have a prebuilt image that you want featured on your blog, submit a photo to the ticket system (https://gatehouse.zendesk.com/tickets/new). The photo needs to be 629 pixels x 320 pixels and 72 dpi. Photo formats include PNG or JPEG and the file should be named [Zope_site_ID]_[section_id].
• Header: If you don’t want an image, type in the name of your blog in this space.
• Summary: Type in a sentence that explains the content of your blog.

     3. Slot: blogs_section_left (blank by default, but should have a widgets added)


Down the left side you can surface widgets that can tease your recent posts, Twitter feeds and external links.

• content_tease_blog: Tease another blog. If your blog is on city government, you may want to tease recent headlines from your government section.
• content_tease_widget: Tease a zope section.
• poll widget: Offer a poll about your blog or a topic you are writing about.
• special_sect link and header: Here you can link to other blogs in your community or blogs on the topic you are writing about.
• Twitter: Tease your Twitter feed with your most recent headlines from your account.
   

GENERAL VIEW: DEEP DISH BLOG ENTRY

This area is used to feature your blog’s bio information or more extended information about your blog. It’s also used to create a general blog post.

Access the “views” section  and change the setting for “Blog Entry” to “Deep Dish: Blog Entry.”

Blogger profiles

In order for a blogger’s bio information to appear, you must create a separate blog entry and rank it as featured in the appropriate section. The screen shot below outlines which part of the featured blog entry appears where.

1. Title: Appears in blog_section_left and should be the name of your blog that would appear under the photo in the left rail on your blog.
2. Body: Appears in blog_section_left and is the description of your bio or more detail about your blog.
3. Synopsis: Appears in “content_promo_blog” and is used as a description of your blog if you have a landing page for  your blogs.

Blog entries

1. Select “blog entry” from the “add” drop down menu.
2. Enter your headline in the “title” area.
3. Chose a writer from the “author” area.
4. Enter the first three or four paragraphs of your blog post under synopsis. Readers will be able to click on the “read more “ tool to find the full post.
5. Paste your full blog in the “body” area.
6. Attach photos through related content. You can select numerous photos and they will stack one on top of the other.

SECTION VIEW: DEEP DISH BLOG ROLL-UP

Use this view to create a landing page for all of your blogs.

1. Create a new section and assign it the view “Deep Dish: Blog roll-up.”
2. Slot: blog_header: This can be used if you want to have a logo for your blog landing page. It is left blank by default, and is optional.
   
   Note: This slot will only accept one widget “blog_head.” The slot requires: Image, title and summary.
               
   Note on images: If you do not have a way to host your own image, please submit a support ticket and attach the image. Images must not exceed 629px wide and should be in PNG, JPG or GIF format.
    
3. Slot: blog_landing_top: This area can be used to promote your local blogs. Use the widget  “content_tab_blog.”  This widget will display the name of your blog, summary and recent headlines.
   
   Note: The blogger profile must be published to the same section and ranked as featured in order
   to appear in the left column.
    
4. Slot: blog_landing_bottom: Fill this slot if you want to provide teasers to your blogs in a smaller format.
5. Widget: contact_dept_title_widget: Use this widget to place a general header on the page, such as “More Blogs.”
6. Widget: content_promo_blog: Displays a blogger profile and summary. Add up to 20 different  blog sections.
   
    

FAQs

What kind of features will we find in the individual blogs?

Nearly all functionality that’s available in Zope, will be available in Zope blogs. Here are a few of the features:

• Ability to feature your own header image with each blog.
• Bio box on the author(s) of the blog.
• Recent posts, teasing other sections in Zope and Twitter feeds.
• Ability to make a blog related content
• Share this tool to promote blogs

Will there be a landing page if I have numerous blogs?

Yes. On the landing page you will be able to feature your local blogs, in addition to blogs that are featured in the GateHouse News Service network.

What kind of blogs are avaliable through the News Service and how will I access those?

You will be able to subscribe to syndication domains for national blog content. Here’s the list of available bloggers and links to their current blog which will be fed in through syndications and maintain the styles of Zope blogs:

                  Tracy Beckerman: A blog for cool moms

                  http://lostinsuburbiablog.blogspot.com/

                  Jeff Vrabel: Laugh at pop culture

                  http://jeffvrabel.com/

                  Terry Marotta: Life’s quirks in stride

                  http://terrymarotta.wordpress.com/

                  Will Pfeifer: Movies, comics and Hollywood then and now

                  http://blogs.e-rockford.com/movieman/

                  Melissa Griffy Seeton: When motherhood meets career

                  http://blogs.cantonrep.com/mommydiaries/the-working-moms-dilemma/

                  Joe Reppucci: Advice for dog lovers

                  http://mysettersam.com/

                  Racquelle Nash: Stay up-to-date on fashion trends

                  http://definingstyle-nash.blogspot.com/

                  Barry Wood: For word lovers

                  http://blogs.e-rockford.com/woodonwords/

How can community bloggers post content in Zope blogs?

At this time, community bloggers would have to submit their entries to an editor, who would post the content. In the future, there will be a feature in Zope that will give a community blogger access just to their blog in Zope and no other area of the site.

If I have a blog, will I be able to feed my content into the new Zope blogs?

Yes. We have successfully ingested blog content into the Zope format from other blogs. Contact darkin@gatehousemedia.com to start the process.

How should I promote my blogs?

• Create a section in your top navigation and as secondary navigation sections have the names of your local bloggers featured in that space. Hot links is another good area for promotion.
• Based on the frequency of your blog posts, create a story in Zope that lists the best of your blogs each day or week, with links to those blogs.
• Utilize the promotional scroll and have an image that promotes your blogs or place a mug shot or image of a specific blog in that area.
• Create a section at the bottom of your homepage with headlines from a specific blog. Using the content_tab widget promote headlines for your blog on any section.

Should we offer a few graphs of our blog and tease the full blog?

Yes. Post three or four graphs of your blog by posting that teaser content in the “synopsis” area. A “read more” teaser will take users to the full post.

How do I qualify to launch a blog?

Papers shouldn’t launch a blog until they are succeeding in the basics of Web Cube. Once a
newspaper is meeting the expectations for these areas laid out in the Newsroom Handbook,
they should submit a support a ticket and a News & Interactive Division staff member will
work with that newspaper to get their blog launched.