If you have a question about this tool, some input, or even a tip
of your own, leave us a comment in the Newsroom Forum.
Highlight: Your First Highlight
So do this: Start by closing your new Highlight Tool and go anywhere on the web as you usually would. Find something that you think is news, it could be any news that interests you, something you think people should know about, a bit of a conversation-starter. Choose the passage from the text you’d like to share, and select it using the mouse.
Then, when you have the text you want highlighted, you can either click on the yellow button on your tool bar as you did above.
One click has started the process of highlighting, you should have a screen that looks a bit like this:
Presto Change-O! See what happened? When Highlight opens up, it's smart enough to identify logical tags, and these appear in yellow on the right. You will see a suggested headline. Have your way with it! Your creativity in coming up with a zinger is a good way to start focusing on what you want to say.
Actual News Guy Tip:
"A good headline can make a story. If you can cause readers to do a double take - you've got their attention. "SPCA charges man with mistreating dog" is just so-so. So try this on for size: "Man Bites Dog". Your best creative efforts in coming up with a killer headline will pay off - and you'll have fun doing it!"
Now hit the "Publish" button at the bottom left. Your Highlight is now live on NowPublic.com and - if you are using Firefox - you can also have it go directly to your own personal blog (more on adding to your blog later).
So you’re done… but wait a second. Sure, you could just go ahead and publish this to NowPublic, where the world will instantly see your brilliant contribution. But just how brilliant is it? Did you add tags, make the headline sing - all the stuff that will get it digged, pinged, flagged, remembered? Will this story make you a Thought Leader? That's exactly what Highlight is designed to do. And more.
This is the beginning of a conversation - and you can watch it grow as other users interact with it. Next you'll find some tips on how to use highlight as a great research and publishing tool.
