Grower's Guide - Smart Tips for Smarter Marking
From Ma.gnolia Community Wiki
The Grower's Guide is a community documentation project that aims to capture the tips and tricks our members use to shine with Ma.gnolia.
Contents |
The Tips
There's a group for every bookmark
When adding a bookmark, take a moment and consider which of the groups you belong to would benefit from also having that bookmark. Chances are that you belong to a group for many of the subjects you bookmark about, and if not, you might be missing something. And if there's no group, think about starting one!
Describe and brand your groups well
A good group description tells people not only about the kinds of bookmarks inside, but also about the kinds of people who contribute to it and who might find it interesting. How do you want people to see and use your group? Tell them!
Can a group have a brand? Sure it can - brands are what make things recognizable and distinct. Your Ma.gnolia groups can have their own avatars, which help create a visual identity for your group. Along with the group's name, description, and the first bookmarks you add to get things going, the brand is what will help people recognize your group and its value when they see it again.
Invite experts into your groups
When growing your group on a certain topic, having people in there who are recognized as experts on that topic can be a great way to attract interest from others, not to mention add to the quality of your group's content. Ma.gnolia, being a place for smart folks, has its share of experts on a variety of subjects, and many of those experts are in on the list of featured linkers. Why not invite them to join your group? Chances are they'll appreciate the chance to share their wisdom a bit, and the chance to learn something new themselves.
Take Advantage of Spaces in Tags
With the ability to use spaces in your tags, you can use tags that are more expressive and accurate, not to mention easier to read and understand. So instead of trying to jam too much into a single word with your tags, you can use multi-word tags that get the idea across. Remember that each tag can only be 40 characters long.
Microformats
If you're plugged into Web 2.0 you've already felt the move towards Microformats growing. Ma.gnolia already supports a number of microformats, and the list is growing:
Publish a 'mark in ma.gnolia' on every blog post
If you publish a blog, your readers can help spread your words around the web. Adding a Mark in Ma.gnolia link to your blog templates will automatically make the permalink page for each post markable in Ma.gnolia, meaning that people can save your posts for later and share them with friends, colleagues and groups.
Be More Informed with Roots
Roots is like a friend that surfs the web with you and whispers in your ear what others think about the websites you look at. Knowing what others have seen in a web page that you're thinking about marking can help when you add your own take in the description.
Check it out at ma.gnolia.com/meta/roots
