What if we were to tell you, noble reader, that you could post anything you wanted (ahem, within reason) to Smile Politely? Is that something you might be interested in?
If so, meet the SPlog, our brand new platform that makes uploading music, videos, photos, links, and quotes a snap. It also slices and dices, but does not currently julienne.
Say, for instance, that you have a blog. You’ve just finished a brilliant, incisive post with some tenuous connection to life in Champaign-Urbana, and it is necessary that you share your wisdom with the world. You are in luck!
Simply:
- Log in to your Smile Politely account, or, if you’re not hip yet, create one. (You must be a registered user to SPlog. Creating an account is free and simple, and we won’t spam ya. Registered readers can also upload a picture, write a bio, include a link to a personal site, etc.)
- Click the “SPLOG” tab along the top right of the page.
- Note the black box on the right-hand side of the page that reads, “Submit to the SPlog.” When you click this box, something magical will happen!
- Okay, really just a new window will pop up. This is your ticket to submitting an entry to our SPlog. Select a category from the drop-down menu. Then suggest a title and compose your post. If you want to link to another web page, include the URL in your copy.
- Finally, if you’d like to share a photo or an mp3 file, you can use the file upload box to grab a file from your computer and upload it to our server. (Please don’t use a band’s mp3 without their permission.)
- When you’re done, click SUBMIT. Your post won’t go live that second. Instead, it travels through a series of tubes, pulleys, and wires until it ends up on the desk of one of our editors. We’ll review your post, and if we feel it’s appropriate to share it with others (i.e. you’re not submitting a post full of dirty words and pictures), then we’ll make sure it goes live on the SPlog in a timely fashion.
What could be simpler? (Brushing your teeth, flipping on a light switch, pouring a glass of water, feeding the cat, illegally downloading mp3s, makng fun of Hugh Jackman’s opening “song” on the Oscars broadcast, etc.)
Here are some other examples of ingenious ways to use the SPlog:
- Pimping your organization’s upcoming event (check out my Facebook invite!)
- Sharing your band’s new demo with the bestest music fans in town
- Recommending a great post from a local blogger
- Sharing a photo you just snapped while at a concert, eating lunch, sitting on the bus, walking around campus, ogling some local art at the coffeeshop of your choice, etc.
- Posting video footage of your kid’s game-winning basket in the YMCA’s third-grade basketball league (Hey, it was a helluva shot — his eyes were closed and he took thirteen steps without dribbling the ball!)
- Sharing a choice quote you read somewhere
Just use your best judgment, because we’ll be using ours when we decide whether or not to let your post become public knowledge.
So, without further ado, go check out our newest section, and let us know what you think. We’d love to hear from you.