Writer River: Tech Comm Social News

Instructions: Drag this POST IT link to your browser's link bar. Go to the page you want to add to Writer River and click the POST IT link. Or use the manual form below.

How to Use This Site

Anyone interested in posting articles on this site can freely do so. You just have to register, and then you can use either the POST IT link below the title or the manual form at the top of the page. See the following topics for more information:

Register for the Site

  1. To register, click the Register link in the Login section of the sidebar.
  2. Type a username and email address, and then click Register. A password will be mailed to you.
  3. Click the link in the email and log in.
  4. After logging in, you’ll be in the Dashboard. Click Visit Site at the top of the screen.

As long as you’re logged in, you’ll see a submission form at the top.

You’ll remain logged in unless you click the Log out link in the Login section, or until you clear your browser’s cookies. I recommend that you stay logged in so you can post to the site using the POST IT link from any Internet page you’re visiting.

Change Your Password

You can change your password at the bottom of the Profile page. See the next section, “Update Your Profile,” for information on accessing your profile.

Update Your Profile

  1. If you’re not logged in, first log in to the site by clicking the Log in link in the Login section of the sidebar.
  2. Click the Profile link in the same Login section.
  3. Update the relevant fields. Except for the IM fields, everything you enter here appears on your Author page.
  4. Click Update Profile at the bottom.
  5. Click Visit Site at the top of the page to return to the site.

You can view your profile information on your author page. To view your author’s page, click the Author Profiles link in the sidebar, and then click your name. Or just click your name beside a post you added.

Note: Your profiles page becomes available only after you’ve posted an article on Writer River.

Post with the Submission Form

  1. Make sure your logged into the site. If you’re not logged in, the submission form is hidden.
  2. Type a link in the main field following the sample format shown below the field.
  3. If desired, add tags to describe your post, separating each tag with a comma. Tags are similar to free-form categories.
  4. Click Post It.

Post with the POST IT Link

This is absolutely easiest method to post articles on Writer River. Once you add the POST IT link to your browser, it takes just two clicks to add an article to Writer River.

  1. In Firefox, first make sure your Bookmarks toolbar is visible. Go to View > Toolbars > Bookmarks Toolbar. Then drag the POST IT link to the Bookmarks toolbar.
  2. In Internet Explorer 7, first make sure the Links toolbar is visible. Go to View > Toolsbars > Links. You can’t drag the link to the toolbar directly. So right-click the POST IT link and select Add to Favorites. Click Yes to continue. Then rather than the Favorites folder, select the Links folder and click Add.
  3. Go to the page you want to add to Writer River. (Make sure you’re viewing the actual post, not just the general site URL.)
  4. Click the POST IT link in your browser. A small Press This window appears with the page’s link automatically inserted into the post form.
  5. Modify the link title as desired. Also, add a couple of tags in the Tags field as desired.
  6. Click Publish.

If you go back to Writer River and refresh the page, you’ll see your new post.

Add an Avatar Image Next to Your Posts

If you already have a Gravatar (globally recognized avatar), it automatically appears next to your post on Writer River. If not, a random substitute image is instead inserted. You can sign up for a Gravatar image by doing the following:

  1. Go to Gravatar.com.
  2. Move your mouse over the Log into… button at the top, and select Sign Up.
  3. In the Email field, type the same email you used when registering for Writer River, and then click Sign Up.
  4. A confirmation email is sent to you. Use the username and password you receive to log into the Gravatar site and finish setting up your Gravatar image.

It may take a while for Writer River to pull in your Gravatar image, but after it does, it will appear next to your posts. Note that if you have multiple posts in a row, Writer River inserts your Gravatar image next to the first post only.

Edit a Post You Wrote

  1. Click the edit link next to your post.
  2. Make any changes.
  3. Click Save.