Blogging is much more fun when you are part of a team, and our editorial community is a powerful source of ideas, inspiration and support.

We use several different communication tools to share content, ideas, and participate in discussion. These are divided into a few areas:

• Real-Time Chat: Skype video, voice, or text chat (or any other instant messaging service)
• Sharing Story ideas: Post via Google Reader! (see below)
• Sharing your expertise/Asking Questions: join and participate in Groups on the community of interest to you!
• Editorial Collaboration/Coordination: Skype video, voice, or text chat, or within site-specific Groups on the community.
• Announcements: Platform Updates Group on the community; coming soon: posted in WordPress dashboards

Here’s how to get started with each:

Text chat in real-time with other IM writers in our Skype chat-room:

Download Skype if you haven’t already.

Add one or more of the following Skype users to your contacts: davidryal, glueandglitter, zachary.shahan

Send a chat message and ask to be invited to the Skype Writer’s Virtual Office. We’ll add you to our the Skype chat right away

Exchange ideas, get help, communicate with Important Media writers & editors in a private forum

This BuddyPress-based community is set up to allow each of our sites’ teams to coordinate among each other privately, but also to share any widely-useful information.

If you use Google Reader, you can set it up to send story idea links to the IM Community as an update with one click! Here’s how:

In Google Reader, go to ‘Settings’ > ‘Sent To’ > click ‘Create a custom link’ and fill the required fields like this:

Name: IM Community (or whatever you want to call it)
URL: http://importantmedia.org/members/[YOUR USERNAME]/?o=1&goog=${source}:%20${title}%20-%20${short-url}    (All but your username is filled automatically)
Icon URL: http://importantmedia.org/favicon.ico

Click save and give it a try from within Google Reader!

Communicate directly with fellow writers from your IM sites.

Many of our blogs have specific intra-blog communications, such as mailing lists, private forums or Google Groups. Get in touch with your editor and ask them the best way to make contact with other writers.

Press Release Desk

Press Releases are a valuable writer resource and source of ideas, inspiration and original information for new posts.

We used to have a very complicated press release routing system, and are contemplating a new one. For now,  press releases are sent to a common mailbox on the IM Google apps domain. Ask David for the password if you’d like some packaged story ideas.