#super simple edit is mine please don't copy

[creativexspirit]

Rolling playlist gif for GIMP: a tutorial ▬ by Joy from @creativexspirit​ 

Credit where credit is due, I fell in love with this gif tutorial but EH I don't use Photoshop anymore so I made it my mission to recreate the effect in GIMP.

This tutorial uses AnimStack, a Script-Fu script for GIMP to give you tools for the creation of animated GIFs. As it's super useful, even if you don't follow this tutorial I highly recommend to download. How to install AnimStack to GIMP in tumblr's FAQ: https://animstack.tumblr.com/faq

This tutorial uses my playlist template.

Tutorial with screenshots is under the cut.

Like or reblog if you download. Please don’t request as your own, respect my work. Don’t hesitate to tag me if you follow the tutorial! I would love to see your edits.

STEP 01.

Change the titles, the colors, the icons. Tip if you want to change the song title that are not visible: move the layers group "Song list", so you can see the text you modify.

Add songs by copy/pasting the "Song 5" layers group. Keep this layers group inside the "Song list" group.

Try to move the layers group so that it is aligned with above songs.

To place back correctly the "Song list", here's a tip: use the align tool and click on the "Song list" group. In the tool's options, in the "relative to" drop down menu, choose "Selection". Back to the layers window: in the "Background" group, right click on the "Color nuance" layer and choose "Alpha to selection". Now you are free to align your "Song list" layer group to the top and center of that selection, and it should be alright!

STEP 02.

Now the tutorial actually begins. Flatten all layer groups using Image > Flatten Layer Groups. (Don't mind my GIMP language, it is in French but the AnimStacks tools are in English, you should have the same menu.)

And now your layers window should look like mine, minus the links on the layers.

Now, see the linked layers? Merge them all together. You should end up with only 4 layers: "Song list", "Background", "GUIDE MASK SONG LIST FOR GIF", "Arrière-plan".

Note: you don't really need the "Arrière-plan" layer, so if you want to, you can delete it or you can merge it with the background layer. In my case, I will delete it.

STEP 03.

Reorder your layers. This is very important as AnimStacks will process the layers from top to bottom, so the layers order counts.

Put your "Background" layer on top, your "Song list" layer under it. As for the guide mask, we don't really care as we will delete it later.

STEP 04.

We are now going to add AnimStacks tags to our layer names. Here you'll have to do a bit of maths because you can choose the number of frames your gif will ultimately contain and adjust the tags parameters accordingly. This might seem complicated but it really isn't. I'll start by showing the tags to add, and explain how this will be processed. I will then give you the maths to choose your parameters accordingly.

Below, the tags I have added to my layers. You will have to write the same things as I do but what you might change is:

the number of "30" in Background.

the y parameter of the offset tag "-12".

YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO REMOVE THE [copy:0] and change it.

OK but what does each tag do? Remember, AnimStacks process is from top layer to bottom. Here the first layer is our Background layer: [*30] means it will duplicate the "Background" layer 30 times.

Now, onto "Song list" layer: [copy:0] will check all layers above the "Song list" layer that has no tag (at this point, all of our 30 "Background" layers have no tag), create a group for each found layer and place the "Song list" layer at position 0. Ok this explanation is wacky, for better explanation, please check the documentation.

The offset tag is necessary for the rolling effect: at each addition of the "Song list" layer, it won't just be a simple duplicate of the "Song list" layer, but the layer will have moved a little by (x,y) = (0,-12), allowing us to get that "rolling" effect in our gif. (And now you get why I said "y parameter".)

OK now, but how did I choose my parameters? So for reference, I only have 5 songs - I didn't add any song to the song list. For my maths, you need the height of the "Song list" layer. Check it with the scaling tool.

The height of my layer is 353 pixels (awful number meh). I choose to have 30 frames. So the move of the layers will have to be of 353/30 = 11.77 pixels. I choose 12 pixels because you can't have floats for the number of pixels, can you?

DO NOT FORGET the minus in front of the y parameter. My y parameter is "-12". Otherwise, the playlist will roll towards the bottom.

STEP 05.

We are now going to add a mask to the "Song list" layer to avoid seeing the title songs where we shouldn't see them. See that obnoxious orange layer "GUIDE MASK SONG LIST FOR GIF"? Yes, it is its time to shine.

Right click on the "GUIDE MASK SONG LIST FOR GIF" layer and choose "Alpha to Selection". (Well in French it's Alpha vers Sélection.)

Now, we are going to use that selection to create a layer mask on the "Song list" layer.

Right click on "Song list" and choose "Add a layer mask". /!\ Your selection must still be active. (Well in French it's "Ajouter un masque de calque" but you can see the icon right? By the way, you can also add a layer mask by clicking on the icon in the layer window, see circled icon in red.)

Now, choose Selection for the creation of the layer mask.

If you don't have the above results for the mask, it might be that you foreground and background colors are not the same as mine, meaning black and white respectively.

If you don't have the same colors as me above, click on the small pair of squares the blue arrow I draw is pointing to. It will default your foreground and background colors to black and white. Keyboard shortcut is D. (I don't think I changed it.)

And now, we don't need the orange guide mask layer anymore, so you can delete it.

STEP 06.

Last check before process: make sure you have no area selected (or you will get a weird result). Cancel all selection with Selection > None.

STEP 07.

We now begin the AnimStacks tags process.

In Filters > Animation, find "Process Animation Tags" and click on it.

The process might take a while depending on the number of frames you have.

If everything is correct, you should have something similar to that. Now, we can check if the gif is correct and if we liked the number of frames and y parameter by previewing the animation in Filters > Animation > Playback...

STEP 07.

This step is optional but you might want to change the time of our first frame to be longer so people have time to read the beginning. Do so by changing the layer group name by adding (800ms) to it. This means the frame corresponding to that layer group will be 800ms.

You can check if it's long enough by doing the playback again.

STEP 08.

Now, we have to flatten all layer groups if we want to export to a GIF. In order to do so, we will just use the same trick as the beginning: Image > Flatten Layer Groups.

STEP 09.

Optional, but good to do: to make our gif lighter, we are also going to optimize the gif. In order to do so, do Filters > Animation > Optimize (for GIF) I don't know personally the difference with the other optimization method. Choose either you'll have similar results it's a difference in the implied algorithm I guess.

This step might take a while, but it's ok. When it's done processing you should have a new image created with the same results as me above. You can playback to check if everything is correct but here our job is done! We will now export the GIF.

STEP 10.

You can now export to GIF! Go to File > Export as..., choose the name of your file and end it with the .gif extension.

If you get an error message because some layers are not cropped, no worries: just choose the "crop" option (but you should not with the optimization).

Now, don't forget to check "as animation" when saving the GIF, if you haven't done the optimization, choose the delay between frames (the first frame will still be of 800ms), and choose "replace".

WITHOUT OPTIMIZATION:

(With the optimization process, all layers already have delay and animation replacement type thingy specified.)

AND VOILA, YOU HAVE YOUR GIF! If you mess around more with AnimStacks, you can do cool stuffs with it!

Now, how do you pronounce the G in gif? Also shh, don't say you saw the mistake I made when changing the title's songs in the tutorial, I wanted to write Everybody Talks by Neon Trees.

#gimp #gimp tutorial #tutorial #gif #gif tutorial #gimp gif #gif gimp #mine #animstack

[therealraeweber]

The New Instagram Update: A Rant

I unfortunately today had the displeasure of being selected for the testing group for the new Instagram update. I felt the need to rant about it somewhere.

This new update is truly abysmal, and for multiple reasons. Fortunately, there is some hope that it will not end up rolling out completely. From my understanding they are still in the testing phase, which only select people are a part of (why me? why?). From what I've heard from other people, they got the update from anywhere from 2 days to a week and it just magically vanished, so I'm hoping mine will do the same.

First things first... the new layout. What the hell? Even if this update didn't have any technical problems (which it has many) the design is so ugly. Genuinely painful to look at. They've taken the beautiful, simple, aesthetically pleasing feed and turned it into a hot garbage fire that is a knock off tiktok. All posts now, no matter if they are photo or video, are fit to a full screen format, to make it more "immersive" as they say. It really does feel like scrolling through tiktok, with each post taking up the entire screen. In theory, it's not horrible... for a video app. For a photo app it makes no sense whatsoever. But it's not really a photo app anymore, is it? But we'll get to that later.

The new design is difficult to scroll through, makes carousel images difficult to navigate, makes it more difficult to engage with the content and comment on it, and removes the save button. It removes the fast scrolling option, so if you want to quickly get back up to the top of your feed it's going to take a while. Also, all the images are now framed with a blurred version of the image behind it, where the white background used to be. Not only is this an aesthetic nightmare, but it can really ruin the way artists and photographers want their photos to be presented. The layout also copies the TikTok style of text-over-image, which is so bad. It is really demeaning to photographers who make beautiful images, only to be covered in text. The text also creates a dark vignette around the images, which is a nightmare for photographers who spend hours editing their pictures to the way they like them.

One thing I hadn't even thought of myself until I saw what other people were saying is that this is horrible for accessibility. The caption text being over an image instead of a white backdrop can make it very difficult to read for those who are visually impaired. This update really devalues both the image and the caption. The only thing that is valuable anymore on Instagram is video content, which the layout and algorithm now cater to almost exclusively.

Many people are saying this update is turning Instagram into a cheap version of TikTok, which is totally true. The whole reason they rolled out this update is to discourage people from posting images, and make people post reels instead. It is a desperate attempt to catch up with the success TikTok is having, but it really makes Instagram look like a joke. This update is completely killing off photographers, artists, small businesses, and any photo-based accounts who do not want to post reels (me). This shows how little they care about the creators on their app, and how much they care about making a few extra bucks off of video content and the engagement it produces.

Along with all the visual changes, there are also algorithm updates which even further their screwing over of photographers. The algorithm now promotes even more suggested content, which I personally find super annoying. I'm following the people I follow because I genuinely want to see what they post. But all those posts get completely flooded with what Instagram wants me to see. What's popular. What's making them money. I don't care about cat videos, or babies, or diy hacks, or slime tutorials. I want to go on Instagram and see pictures of women dressed as fairies or witches or princesses taking pictures in the woods. I want to see the fantasy photographers that I actually follow. I also want to see my actual friends, and what they are up to. But Instagram only cares about showing me what they think will want to make me keep mindlessly scrolling.

These algorithm changes are not only bad for consumers, but really bad for creators. It means that the feed of your followers will be filled with random stuff, and not your content, even though they follow you. It has decreased engagement for so many people, including countless small businesses and artists who rely on Instagram engagement to sell their work. It's so scummy, and really makes me want to leave Instagram, but I've also become so attached since I joined in 2015. I don't want to lose all those years of my life that I've shared on Instagram. But at the same time, these new updates are making the app nearly unusable, so I'm looking into other social medias where I could share photos. Maybe I'll come to Tumblr full time. Maybe Pinterest. Maybe Visco. I don't know.

So yeah. Not thrilled about all of that. I didn't even cover all the points that make this update so bad. Like I said, it's not fully implemented yet, so there is a bit of hope. But Instagram has no official way to submit complaints or concerns, which is also frustrating. After looking around for a long time, I figured out the best place to submit a complaint is on a single reel posted by one of the guys who implemented the update, so needless to say I left some words of discouragement. If you would also like to let them know they are completely ruining their platform, feel free to do so here.

That's it for my rant. Have a wonderful, fantastic day <3

#rant #instagram update #new ig update

[piratefalls]

A McDanno rec list for a new friend. (These are also authors I enjoy, so consider this a blanket rec list.)

The Bareknuckle Poet by pleasebekidding

After a serious accident left Steve temporarily wheelchair-bound, working towards his recovery, he enrolled at Rutgers for a year. He met Danny Williams in his criminology course, wearing pride pins and chipped black nail polish, so sure of himself that Steve found it breathtaking. What happened next redefined Steve's sense of self, his ambitions, and many of his priorities.

Tax Benefits by renecdote

“Everyone already assumes we’re married so maybe we should just...” Danny gestures broadly with his beer. He’s maybe a little bit… Not drunk, but definitely tipsy.

“For the tax benefits.”

Danny gives him an aggravated look. “Yes, Steven, for the tax benefits.”

Danny (jokingly) suggests they should get married. Steve takes him seriously.

ua kaha aku la ka nalu o kuu aina (the surf has pressed upon my land) by icoulddothisallday, TetrodotoxinB

Steve knows, he learned, how a man behaves. He can play his part. Danny, who is a good man and great father, looks nothing like what Steve was taught. Reconciling the two means giving up everything he's clung too for the last two decades, and there's nothing about it that's easy.

*potentially triggery AF (deals with effects of conversion therapy) but beautifully rendered

the art of leaving and saying goodbye by Verasteine

2007 is the year Danny learns that choice can be the worst kind of heartbreak. AU.

*warning for infidelity (not mcdanno)

in jest by apathyinreverie

“No, babe,” Danny shakes his head with a grin. “If the apocalypse were to go down while I’m elsewhere for some godforsaken reason, then you stay put and I’m coming to wherever you are.” His grin widens. “And I expect you to have cleared any aliens or zombies or whatever else might be messing with us off the island and to have set up a nice, comfortable military dictatorship for us to rule over by the time I get back.”

It’s a joke.

Of course it’s a joke.

Until it isn’t.

(A the-day-after-tomorrow-style apocalypse AU, where the world decides to end right when Danny is visiting one of the other islands with Grace. Because, of course, it does.)

not just friendship (romance too) by earthquakedream

Steve's gone and gotten himself a boyfriend. Danny's not sure what worse: the fact that he's stupidly jealous or that he actually likes the guy.

All I Ever Wanted (It Comes with a Price) by leviarty

Steve gets shot. Again. Danny is not okay.

* warning: a young grace shoots someone to protect both herself and a gravely injured steve

After All Our Troubles, We Have This by Banshi13

"I'm ending this," McGarrett muttered after a few moments of silence. "I'm not coming back until Wo Fat is in the ground. I'll dig his own grave and bury him myself if I have to, but my father is dead, my mother is running all over the world in hiding, my sister and I were uprooted from our lives, and now he's got Danny locked somewhere in a basement in the middle of Japan." He looked both Chin and Kono in the eye, deadly resolve in his eyes. "This ends. Now. This is the absolute last time that man interferes with my life and my family."

The Other Guy by haldoor

Danny tells Steve what he thinks is a funny story from when he attended Grace's school play. Steve doesn't think it's so funny; in fact, it makes him jealous.

Strapped by stellarmeadow

Steve's determined Danny's going to be prepared next time.

Warm to the Touch by veronicaluv

Danny didn't think twice about going to North Korea to find Steve. He just didn't know everything would go to hell when they got back.

Me and my heart (We got issues) by SquaresAreNotCircles

“I’m in love with you, Steve,” Danny says. He does it softly, quietly, laying the words into the darkness of Steve’s backyard like they’re something breakable, something to be tiptoed around. “I thought you should know.”

Steve’s heart jumps. It rams against his ribcage so hard it’s going to leave bruises. So hard he startles awake, and he almost yells before he realizes he’s outside because he fell asleep in one of the garden chairs in his backyard again.

how to be gay for your best friend in ten easy steps by commatme

See, the thing is that Danny doesn’t really do gay sex, what with being straight and all, but when Steve says I love you he sounds so earnest he makes Danny want to consider it. Which is crazy, right? He’s pretty sure that’s crazy, or at least a little unhinged.

It’s Not So Easy Caving In by paradis

The one where Danny used to be a heroin addict.

blame it on the ocean view by carryokee

Danny gives in, freaks out, and comes to his senses.

So Have I Loved You by Brumeier

In which Grace has a surprise for Steve's birthday and there's not a dry eye in the house.

take it back to a couple years yesterday by itsrosencrantz

Danny really, really doesn't want to go to his twenty year high school reunion.

Steve decides they're going anyway, and Danny takes it about as well as you'd expect.

View From The Shipwreck by flowerfan

Danny Williams isn’t in a great place – he’s a reluctant transplant to Oahu and an outsider at HPD. Former Navy SEAL Steve McGarrett isn’t doing much better, having suffered a career ending injury. When Danny’s young daughter Grace wanders into Steve’s bar after getting lost on a school field trip, Danny is drawn to Steve, somewhat against his better judgement – he’s got enough on his plate. He’s not exactly sure what Steve sees in him. As they spend more time together, Danny learns how Steve’s injury has changed his life in many ways, but not the most important ones. As one thing leads to another, Danny realizes that things might be looking up after all.

True North by lavvyan

“Tell you what, my dad’s throwing his annual Christmas Ball on Saturday. It’s not a trip to Aspen or anything, but it is nice. Fancy food and everything. You guys should come!”

On the trail of a suspected war criminal, Steve and Danny have to go undercover at a fancy ball. The sacrifices they make for the job.

Oh, and Steve's pining like the taiga. Nothing new there.

outside the lines by withoutwords

“I’m Detective Williams.” Danny says, not trying too hard to keep it smug free. “This is my partner, Detective Mackenzie.”

Ken Doll keeps his arms up, his eyes flickering between them all as if he's only seeing police for the first time. “Good cover,” he tells Danny, and it sets Danny’s teeth on edge.

“This is the part where you say sorry for assaulting a police detective, for compromising an investigation, and for acting like a complete asshole while doing it,” Danny growls, about to change his mind and cuff the guy himself.

“Sorry, Officer.”

The bastard is still grinning.

Boys Like Me, We Try Too Hard by romanticallyinept

Steve's always wound so fucking tight.

And Danny's worried about him. Legitimately worried about him. Because maybe Steve always lays into the perps a little hard, and maybe he follows his own rules and his own morals and doesn't stop to sleep unless his body's actually shutting down around him, but usually, Steve's okay at the end of the day. Usually, Steve's not leaning against the wall of the alley they're in, eyes closed and shaking, with the perp he'd cuffed a minute earlier lying on the ground and crying about his broken nose.

Steve keeps a secret, and Danny does his best to patch him back up when it comes to light.

Transformative by boxparade

“You know, I’d heard you’d changed a lot after high school, but I’ve gotta admit, this is a little weird.”

* trans (FTM) Danny

All the Way by VictoriaAGrey

Danny has lost count of how many times he and Steve have used the sexual tension between them for undercover work, only for it to be bottled away after the op is over. With Saint Michael as his witness, that ends tonight.

Nocturne in C# Minor (featuring Stevie Ray Vaughn) by minor_demimonde

So, to recap, Danny has beautiful eyes, great shoulders, a pleasantly-shaped butt, a delectable mouth, expressive hands, and he smells good.

You know, Steve has gone to bed with women who didn’t have that much going for them.

seen it in the flight of birds by Siria

AU from the beginning of Season 2. The Five-0 task force has been reinstated, but the new governor's determined to shake things up. Facing changes and unexpected betrayals, the team has to work together to face new challenges.

It Ain’t Me Babe (Nah), It Ain’t Me You’re Looking For (Babe) by tourdefierce

A story in which Danny makes lists and can't find his heterosexuality underneath all his homogay, Steve has a lot of faces, Kono is perfect in every way and Chin continues to keep Hawaii safe from the Five-O's general disfunction—Or, a story about Kono being awesome and how she likes her men with hearts in their eyes for each other.

Ratios, Decimals, and Percentages by fuchs

In which Steve takes an internet quiz and slowly loses his mind. Danny's okay with it.

Let’s Dance Like We Used To by AndreaLyn

There isn't a world in which Danny wouldn't go after Grace. So when Rachel moves the family to California, Danny goes with. Steve gets left to process life without Danny.

Gunfire, Rainfall, and Beach Erosion by thegrrrl2002

Steve and Danny are kidnapped. After which there is too much swimming and too much rain and it's all very romantic. If you are Steve, that is.

Moving In (To Every Single Aspect of Danny’s Life, Including the Boring Bits like Dry-Cleaning by westgirl

It felt wrong for Steve to sound unsure of his place in Danny’s life. His place in Danny’s life was at Danny’s side, driving him slowly insane. Steve should feel secure about that.

Always Known What I Wanted To Be by mickeysixx

Grace Williams has always wanted to be a cop.

The Taper Phase by popfly

It’s like being run over by an armored car, like the impact of gunshot to tac vest. The pride Danny feels for his daughter and something else, something about Steve’s tank top sticking to his stomach, the way his shorts stretch across his thighs. The goofy grin that lights up Steve’s face when he sees Danny and Charlie, waving one hand while he nudges Grace with the other.

Pitching Woo by SBG

In which Danny pitches (and then accidentally catches) woo.

clue: four letters, ‘is a many splendored thing’ by armillarysphere

“Crosswords? What are you, sixty?”

“They stimulate brain activity, Danno. You ought to try it sometime.”

Steve doesn’t even look up from his newspaper, half-chewed pen resting at the corner of his mouth in an entirely too distracting way.

That’s Not Just Friendship, That’s Romance by thismuchmore

Danny and Steve start out accidentally dating each other, and it turns into something more.

it’s not what you’re sure of (it’s what you don’t know) by somehowunbroken

Art thief Steve McGarrett and his team come up against FBI Special Agent Danny Williams, and things spin wildly out of control from there.

Same Deep Water by JiM, kalena

This isn't the first lifetime Danny's been in Hawaii. When the stress ratchets up, the dreams get more and more real. Turns out Danny has some unfinished business . . . with Steve.

Warning: Ambien use may lower inhibitions in a wakeful state.

Curiosity Didn’t Kill This Cat by unadrift

"I'm confused," Rachel says. "Are you two dating or not?"

Danny sighs. "You remember that thing with the cat in the box? The one that's both dead and alive?"

"Schroedinger's cat?"  

"It's kind of like that."

"Okay," Rachel says. She clearly has no idea what he's talking about.

2727 Piikoi Street by imaginary_iby

The ways in which Danny makes himself at home by Steve's side, and the family he gains as the years go by. (Featuring Steve in Timberland boots and little else, and happy goofs who like to make out against the front door).

All The Earth Awaits Thee by Portrait_of_a_Fool

Steve knows all about war and willpower, but this is still the hardest battle he’s ever had to fight.

* warning: life threatening illness, no MCD

The Vertical Challenge by AlamoGirl80

Five times Danny thinks about his height, and then realizes that being "not-tall" doesn't really suck at all.

Some Things to Think About When You Decide to Be an Asshole by sutlers

Steve gets high and tries to fuck Danny; things devolve from there.

Inked by thehoyden

Of course Steve is enjoying himself. They're bait for a serial killer who has some sort of serious hangup about tattooing loved ones' names on their skin -- of course Steve thinks this is practically like a vacation, but better, because the chances of collateral damage are higher.

This Thing Of Ours (It Needs a Better Name) by leupagus

Cosa Nostra: (kō'sə nō'strə) etym: Italian n. The branch of the Mafia operating in the United States. Literally, "our thing" or "this thing of ours."

Ho’oponopono by ember_firedrake

Groundhog Day AU. Danny finds himself trapped in the same day over and over again.

Swim for Brighter Days by zarah5

Danny kisses Steve late on a Tuesday, early on a Wednesday. Steve punches him. (Set vaguely post-finale, so spoilers for that.)

All My Guards Away by sheafrotherdon

Tag to episode 1x18, with all the heartache that implies. Now with bonus fixes. With thanks to dogeared for all her suggestions and edits.

Let’s Take it from the Top by pterawaters

Steve goes along with the bachelor-party-in-Vegas, because he chose Danny to be his best man, and that's what Danny wants to do. Unfortunately, the things that happen in Vegas don't necessarily stay there.

How to Keep Your Mouth Shut by primetime

Danny’s sometimes gay. Gay, sometimes. Does dudes. He doesn’t know how to say it right. He doesn’t know how to say it at all.

Don’t Turn Me Home Again by gyzym

After a rough day of island living, Danny wakes up in New Jersey and learns the hard way to be careful what he wishes for.

End-Around by t_fic

Steve hesitates with his hand on the doorknob, looking back over his shoulder at Danny and nodding once before disappearing inside, and yeah, Danny is going to be so fucking lucky to get through this night without a coronary event.

Lonely People Do Stupid Things by waketosleep

Danny decides to show Steve the true meaning of Christmas, and does it by dragging him to New Jersey.

Down Beneath the Waves by samjohnsson

A picture may be worth a thousand words, but sometimes it takes another thousand to explain it.

Love’s a Battlefield (and the Navy Did Not Train Steve for This Shit) by cyerus

The Kalakaua-Kelly clan are determined to matchmake Steve. Out of desperation, Steve makes up a boyfriend named Danny.

It doesn't quite go according to plan.

put your mind at ease by eleanor_lavish

Somewhere in the last year, while Steve was busy killing bad guys, Don’t Ask Don’t Tell has been erased from the books and guys like Jeff can marry whoever they damn well please.

You’ve Got Hawaii (and all I’ve got is you) by queenklu

In which Danny has issues, presents, and Steve fleas, not necessarily in that order.

Jaws by JoeLawson

Danny has a secret.

#mcdanno #fic rec #super simple edit is mine please don't copy #it's also my twitter header I WILL KNOW #Hawaii five-0 #h50 #holy shit this got so long it took like three hours

[sierratheory]

Don't be offended please but was your account's name influenced by Callie's account?

Yes! I’ve said from the start that it was inspired in partial by her blog, and the url had just happened to be available (surprisingly), so I was like, “Why not just use it?” It’s simple, effective, and straight to the point. That’s what I liked about Callie’s url. I was kind of tired of tea blogs that had “tea” or “drama” or something to that effect in the url. I’ve had a few anons come into my askbox to accuse me of simply copying her blog, but that’s not true, aside from the url.

It’s also not very fair because I put a lot of hard work into my research, and a lot of time and attention to this blog. That’s a lot of effort for someone to make when they could just “copy” someone else’s work, ya know what I mean? It’s just not that deep, and I’ve noticed some anons trying to pin others blogs against mine. It’s a little bit much, ngl. I’m not looking to involve myself in any in-fighting with other blogs, I’d rather just stay in my own little bubble over here and do my own thing.

I’ve spent days worth of research at times for posts that I’ve created; Sourcing, cropping, editing, compiling, writing, and formatting. This blog started because I wanted to share my observations and theories, and get feedback, and just sort of bounce theories and ideas off of one another. Nothing more, nothing less. It’s grown more than I ever thought it would, and it’s super cool, because I’ve made a lot of friends over here. So it’d be nice if some people would just let me have that much without accusing me, ya get me? Not that I’m saying you are, but I just went ahead and took your ask as an excuse to set the record straight and also defend myself a little bit. It’s more than you asked for, l know lol. But it would’ve felt weird addressing it any other time.

#thanks for asking this tho bc i've been meaning to clear the air about it! #ask #anon #owner

[mimmerr]

How do I start my own education blog?

The other day, I was mentioned on Twitter as someone to talk to if you want to know about blogging. I know - madness. The compliment inspired me to write this post, passing on everything I’ve learnt onto you, should you wish to join the wonderful world of #edublogs!

Do I need to tell you why writing online is a good thing? If not you can skip this part, I won’t know. Blogging is a great way to connect with other educators, share your worldview and have your opinion challenged. You’ll learn loads, improve your patience and writing skills and a bonus - someone might read it and think it’s fab!

So where to start? Setting up.

There are many websites you can pick from: Wordpress, Weebly, Medium and Tumblr. From what I have seen, Wordpress is the most popular: it is an easy to use site which serves a beginner well. 

But Molly, you use Tumblr! 

Yes, yes I do. Tumblr is less popular but I picked it because it’s very simple to post and edit my blog’s appearance. 

Your site has .co.uk not Tumblr. 

That’s because I bought the domain after getting used to blogging. You can do this with most blogging sites but don’t worry about this for now.

The URL

There are loads of great articles on picking a good URL by people that are much smarter than me. Do some Googling to find them. In the world of edublogging, you’ll be glad to know that it’s quite easy to get right. Many people will just copy their Twitter URL across: simple, effective and links your accounts together. Other people may have more of a brand style title like mine. 

The blank page

So it’s all set up but what to write… that was the whole point! Disaster strikes as the blank page stares at you, reminding you that you can’t do this, leave it to someone else. No! All writers, new and experienced, have periods of creative waterfalls and pitiful puddles, you will be no different, forgive yourself and make hay when it’s sunny: aka write loads when the ideas come. 

During those trickier times here’s what I do to get ideas:

Read education news sites and write an opinion piece. It goes without saying, don’t plagiarise the post and if you use any facts/quotes, link back to the site.

Create a blog series that has a concept, enabling you to continue adding to it. See my examples: #MusicalOddities, #CommunitySpirits.

Find someone to collaborate with on a post, sharing ideas on what to do.

Complete a writing challenge. These enable you to read other pieces and join a community with other writers. Also creativity is high when you are given constraints or a theme. Try Hannah Wilson’s daily one.

So if I run an education blog I can only write about education? 

No hun, you are a chameleon, teacher in one light and a film buff in another. If there’s one thing I would change about #edublogs is that I’d love to see people write about their interests outside school. It shows your reader who you are *insert Disney song here*, can engage non-edu people and encourage others to have a life outside school.

The Dos(ish) and Don'ts (ish)

The reason for the ishs above is that it's very easy for me to say: people hate reading, 500 words or less only! Or only write about current issues. Whereas in reality, these rules are more nuanced and are dependent on who is reading. Therefore, I would say:

Vary your word choice depending on the purpose. Research pieces are rightly longer whereas opinion pieces are shorter. Always think: does this need to be explained/described or will my audience already know this info?

Have a mix of different purposes (research, opinion, creative, response) or have a style all your pieces follow.

What about structure, planning and SPAG?

You are not taking your SATs! These components of writing are important but should you find yourself less confident about one area, please don’t let it stop you starting a blog. So what if you spell a word wrong? If I see a spelling mistake in someone’s work, I just think, That’s a spelling mistake, never mind. And that’s the end of it. I’ll go and make a cup of tea and never think about it again. 

Structure is hard to get right at first but planning using bullet points or a mind map as well as proof reading refines this skill quickly. You don’t necessarily need to have a point per paragraph, let it flow. 

My tips would be: 

Scan your work for repeated words, ideas and phrases

Argue with yourself and consider the opposing view, these easily build paragraphs which link

Vary paragraph size where appropriate

Read your work from conclusion to introduction to ensure the ending is as good as the beginning.

But these are my preferences, not a prescriptive list.

Reception (not the year group)

A lot of people can be apprehensive about blogging because they worry about employers finding their sites. And to this I say...fair enough *shrug*. We are constantly telling our children that what we share online sticks and this rule applies to us. What your blog is about will dictate how this affects you. On one side of the spectrum, we have those who anonymise completely and on the other, are those who link their blogs to school accounts. But unsurprisingly, most of us sit in the middle, known as one name (Molly or Mr/Miss A for example). 

Some guidance though:

Don’t name staff, children, specific and identifiable situations. No one should read your blog and think that’s literally me or my child… :(

Unbelievably, you can criticise something without sounding rude or unprofessional. But consider: is your blog the right platform for this? For example, exploring why you believe academisation is bad on your blog sounds reasonable. Explaining why your school shouldn’t become an academy in excruciating personal detail is questionable and blogging is not the place to have the debate. It is in your head’s office, hopefully with tea and biscuits. To summarise, wider issues good, smaller ones in identifiable detail linked to you, bad. Some effective phrases are: ‘Across the country,” “In many schools,” “It is very common to see...”

And follow any advice from your teacher training/employer on e-safety and privacy. A blog (unless you change the settings) is a public space everyone can access.

Reality’s bitter sting

You’ve spent an hour on the post, tweeted it out and sent it to your mum. And she is the only reader. Now, I learned my lesson that sadly, the world doesn’t revolve around me and my blog. Shocking, still upset about it. But, there is nothing I can do to change this; I can’t expect someone to drop everything in their life to read my post on why dogs are the best thing that have ever happened to me (and the planet/universe).  So, do go in with a mindset that anyone reading your blog is a real bonus, an honour. Even better if they respond to you. Then you’ll be less disappointed at first. 

If you are super keen to have your work read, most people on #edutwitter are genuinely lovely people who will, if you tweet them a link and ask them to retweet. But it is crucial should they do the same, you return the favour, kindness costs nothing.

That is my advice for anyone starting out and as I’ve mentioned, this is very much my opinion, and what has worked for me and my strange little brain. I am sure someone could go through every single point and explain why I’m wrong but hopefully no one has time for that. 

You are more than welcome to visit my Twitter (@mimmerr) and tell me your blogging tips or ask a question. I’ll be writing more advice as soon as I’ve learned more myself.

#education