How to Help Update an APOD-Related Social Mirror
Are you interested in volunteering to help popularize astronomy, and in particular helping to popularize APOD-related images? This thread indicates one method involving Facebook and Google+. Underlying impetuses include the better utilization of APOD's really cool and extensive archive, and to give better exposure to the some of the really great images submitted to APOD via this Asterisk bulletin board that APOD does not have room to run.
Following the rules on this thread will allow people to run a recognized "APOD social mirror" site so that APOD-archived and APOD-submitted images can be used. Otherwise, people are acting on their own and so must obtain separate permissions for the use of copyrighted images and text.
Please also note that APOD already has primary recognized mirrors on Facebook (here: https://www.facebook.com/AstronomyPictureOfTheDay ) and Google+ (here: https://plus.google.com/u/1/+AstronomyP ... eDay/posts ). The social mirrors being discussed in this post are meant NOT to compete with them and so will therefore not encourage the posting of the APOD for that day. (Still, there is a LOT of cool APOD-related content that can be posted.)
What to Do
1. Select a really cool or educational image from the APOD archive. A good method is to look at all the APOD images previously posted on the same day but in the previous 17+ years. One way to do this is to use the APOD collections page linked to this bulletin board (the Asterisk) here: http://asterisk.apod.com/library/asteri ... lendar.htm .
Post this image to the APOD-dedicated social mirror site you are affiliated with. Please remember to include the credits, copyright notice (if there is one), and the caption, even if the links are not preserved. The caption can be placed as text when posting the image, or in the first comment to the social post.
OR
2. Select an image from those recently submitted to APOD. Those can be found in the latest APOD Submissions thread here on Observation Deck of the Asterisk here: http://asterisk.apod.com/viewforum.php?f=29 . For example, the one for February 2013 is here: http://asterisk.apod.com/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=30639 , but of course a will be a new Submissions thread every month.
Post this image to the APOD-dedicated social mirror site you are affiliated with. Here no text will be available, so just post the image title, or make up an image title yourself. Again, please be sure to include the credits and copyright notice, if there is one,
In General
This is a volunteer effort. You will not be re-imbursed any money for your time, effort, bandwidth, etc -- ever. Also, APOD cannot accept any liability for your actions. Volunteer only if you can agree to these conditions.
Post a few times a day. Anecdotal evidence indicates that posting about three times a day is optimal, with more posts being annoying. Also, please mix up submitted and archived APOD images. Still, playing around with these attributes might be illuminating. Also having more than one person involved might be good so that individuals don't feel isolated and other(s) can help out when you are too busy. Again, one guess here is that three people might be optimal, perhaps with each person making one social post once a day. It takes perhaps 10 minutes of less to make one post. Posts on Facebook can be queued and hence scheduled in advance.
No commercial advertising. Yes, sometimes the social mirror site itself may place ads, which can't be avoided,
but the idea here is to promote science and astronomy, not make money. APOD will not officially recognize any APOD-related social mirror site where its operators gain financially from commercial advertising. Note that APOD does not receive money and will not accept money from any APOD-related social mirror sites.
Languages other than English are (also) encouraged. Many people in the world don't speak English but might enjoy these types of images. So non-English social sites are one path. Since APOD is translated into several languages (also voluntarily) as indicated here: http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html , APOD-social sites might self-coordinate themselves with a full APOD mirror in the same language, using the translated text when available. When not available, the title should be translated by the poster.
Examples of APOD-content social mirror sites include Sky on Facebook found here: https://www.facebook.com/APOD.Sky , and APOD River on Google+ found here: https://plus.google.com/u/1/103211579003359376826/posts . An example of an APOD social mirror on Facebook in Spanish is Universo found here: https://www.facebook.com/apod.es.universo
Please post questions and helpful hints to this thread. If you would like to volunteer -- great! -- but please do so here: http://asterisk.apod.com/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=30804 . This present thread is trying to be a "how to" thread. If you are already an APOD social mirror site participant, and you wish to share some of your tricks and insights, then please do post them here.
- RJN
How to Help Update an APOD-Related Social Mirror
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- Baffled Boffin
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