How to Spotlight an Image
Footnote has an amazingly immense database of photographs and images from historical collections, which members may view as they please. Footnote is an impressive innovation that has taken appreciation of historical events to a whole new level.
Nearly everyday, thousands upon thousands of images are uploaded and shared on Footnote. May they be personal photos, family album collections, or even antique pictures of historical events, persons, and places. One of the assets that Footnote has, as compared to other social networking sites, is the added interactivity among members.
Members can go beyond just viewing or looking at a photo and commenting on it, they can also make annotations, write story pages with photos, as well as spotlight an image as they prefer. Historical documents and photos are appreciated more, and are granted more relevance, thanks to the ability of members to discuss and share them across the Footnote network.
What is an image spotlight on Footnote?
These are personal references or notes that you can make on a particular image or document on Footnote that has caught your eye. For example, you were doing a search, and found a very interesting caricature of Benjamin Franklin, as uploaded by a fellow Footnote member.
You may spotlight this image, highlight a certain portion of it, and write a description on why it is relevant to you. You can crop only a specific part of a larger picture, and create a spotlight to focus on that aspect of the image. For instance, if you found a class picture that had your great-uncle in it, you could crop the part of the photo containing your great uncle and spotlight it. Furthermore, you can also supplement necessary info on the image, if you think the member who uploaded it requires additional information or data on the photo.
Spotlights on Footnote images are a great help when conducting document searches on the database. When the keywords for a search query are related to a spotlight you made, you will be included in the results page, so others may view what you had made a spotlight on. Furthermore, whenever a spotlight under your username is viewed, members on Footnote will also find other spotlights made by you, even for other topics.
Why should you spotlight an image?
Aside from complimenting a member for the photo, or for adding extra data to it, you allow other viewers of your spotlight to comment on your spotlight. This makes it easier for others on Footnote to know more about your interests, particularly in the photo or topic you decided to make a spotlight on. If you made a spotlight on Civil War events, then others may find out that you are particularly into memorabilia of Civil War. Perhaps you may even find a fellow member who is an expert on it.
Because your spotlight contains a link to your username, as well as your photo, other people on Footnote can link towards your Profile Page, and learn more about your other spotlights, story pages, annotations, and the like. When members view your Profile Page, they can contact you as well. Such are the means offered by Footnote to help members widen their networks.
Steps on how to spotlight an image
Make sure that you are logged in to Footnote with your username and password. Select any image that you have done a search on, so you open the Footnote Viewer page. On the Viewer toolbar, found above the image you are looking at, click on the "Spotlight" button.
You can choose to spotlight the entire image, or only a portion of the image. If you choose to make a spotlight on specific parts of the photo, you need to drag the handles of the yellow box around the area you want to focus on. When you click the button "Spotlight," you are prompted to write your title and description.
The title for your spotlight must be well-chosen, and you can write it in a max of 75 characters. The description should say enough of why you want to spotlight that said image, and you can write one as long as it is less than 250 characters. After you have made your description with the title, click on the button "Create Your Spotlight" to implement the changes.
Tips on creating your spotlight
- Use a good title for your spotlight. Have keywords in mind, as this allows the rest of the Footnote community to search for your spotlight more easily. For example, it would be better to write "Ben Franklin and His Inventions" instead of just "Ben Franklin" as the title.
- Write an appropriate description for your spotlight. A good spotlight description is one that is concise and well-written. Because the number of words for description in the spotlight is limited, you should communicate your thoughts clearly and precisely on it.
- Get additional ideas on writing your spotlight by looking at those written by other members of Footnote. Feel free to make a comment on the "What do you think?" box so that others have an idea of what tickles your interest pertaining to history. Remember that your spotlight can open up wider channels for communication between you and others on Footnote.
There is no limit as to the number of spotlights you can create on Footnote. All the spotlights you make may even be updated by you as you wish. You may also view the number and listing of spotlights you have made when you visit your Profile Page.