how to use storify

2. Storify: What Is It?
 A tool that makes it easy to create and update a
string or stack of items from various sources
 Items can come from Twitter, YouTube, etc.
 Text can be inserted between items to add context,
to explain
 A Storify can be embedded in a blog post or Web
page on your own site

3. Why use Storify?
• You help your readers sort through all the social media
noise and share the best or most representative material.
• Sometimes, you can’t get to the scene fast enough. Let
social media be your eyes and ears.
• Storify is a good way to capture the emotion of what’s
happening in your community – people are worried about
an impending storm; they’re excited their team is in the
championship; they’re proud a local athlete is in the
Olympics, etc.

4. Storify: Best Uses
 Breaking news
 Social movements
 Internet humor and memes
 Reaction stories
 Weather events
Source: Poynter.org

5. Storify to showcase live tweeting

6. Point of View/Feedback

7. Example: The Washington Post used Storifyas part of its coverage of this news event.

8. Sign up for Storify (free) at storify.com
and make a “Storify” immediately

9. How to Storify
headline
description
Fill in the fields on the left
Write a headline and description. You may want to add your newspaper website’s
URL so people who find your Storify through Storify know who you are.

10. The icons at
the top enable
you to quickly
find and add
items from
popular social
media sites.

11. Example:
After selecting
YouTube,
a search for
syria
(18 March 2012)

12. How to Storify
ENTERPRISING | ENGAGING | ENTERTAINING | ENLIGHTENING
Restructure your story
Once you have a bunch of posts on the left, rearrange them to appear in the
order you think makes sense. Simply click, drag and release in the new spot
you want the post to appear.
Add text/connecting thoughts
A Storify should not just be a dump of tweets. There should be a narrative, and
the posts serve as “quotes” supporting the narrative.
Click anywhere between posts to add text. A box will pop up. Just start typing.

13. How to Storify
Preview
You can see how the Storify is shaping
up by clicking on the Draft button and
choosing “Preview Draft”
Publish
When the Storify is done, click on the Publish button at the top….
And then select “View and
Publicize It.”

14. How to Storify
13) Notify people on
social media
A pop-up window
allows you to craft a
tweet to send to
people “quoted” in
your Storify. It
provides text, but you
can amend it. You
might want to
pointedly ask them to
retweet.
Check off all the
accounts you want to
“tweet at.”

15. How to Storify
Notify people on
social media
The goal is that the
people quoted will
retweet the link to
their followers. In this
case, the link brings
them to Storify.
If you want, you could
make note of these
users and later
@tweet them
manually, but include
the link to your article
page so you get the
traffic.

16. BEST PRACTICES
• Try different search words
Blizzard, snow, Snowmageddon, storm – try the various words people may use.
• Write a catchy headline for your site. Two approaches:
STORIFY: What people are saying about the storm
vs.
Cleaning up after the blizzard
• Promote it on Facebook
Include the link to your site so you’ll get the traffic, as opposed to directly to
Storify.

17. BEST PRACTICES
• Don’t use posts that include offensive language.
• Take a look at the user’s name, handle and photo to be sure they aren’t
offensive.
*THAT*
guy