8 Ways to Go Public on the Internet

You can post information on the internet in lots of different ways. Some require more start-up effort than others. Here’s an overview of the best methods for putting your own information online:

• Join a social network: Websites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and MySpace started as glorified personal ads and have expanded to include photos, video, email, blogs, polls — you name it.

• Create photo galleries: Many sites enable you to create an online gallery of photos or other pictures. Make your gallery public or share it with only friends and family.

• Share videos: If you have home videos, animated movies, or other digital video you created or edited using software on your PC or Mac, you can post it on a number of video sites.

• Share documents, spreadsheets, and calendars: Post word processing documents or spreadsheets that select personnel can view or edit, and create calendars that others can see and change.

• Write a weblog (blog): Create an online diary or journal with chronological entries.

• Build a handcrafted website: You can use Google Sites, Homestead, Weebly, or a web page editor to create a website with pages of your choosing.

• Sell stuff: Sell goods or services in an online storefront or auction.

• Use Twitter to let your friends know what you’re up to: Twitter is a microblogging platform where you post short messages (tweets) and read other people’s messages. If you're interested in getting other users to retweet your messages, see below.

Tweeting for Retweets

Most people use Twitter to follow what’s going on in the world. But some use Twitter to get a message out to as many people as possible. If you are one of those people, here are tips for getting other people to retweet your message to their followers.

• Don’t sound like an ad. No one will retweet a tweet that sounds like self-promotion or an advertisement.

• Relate your tweet to a trending topic. Connect it to what’s going on right now in the news and include a popular hashtag or two so your tweet gets noticed.

• Include a link to a web page that includes an image. Your tweet will appear in Twitter feeds with the image.

• Keep your tweet short. If you use the full 280 characters that Twitter allows, there’s no room for someone else to add their own comments. If they have to edit your message to fit, they may decide not to bother.