Friday, January 17, 2014

Video News Playlist Code for Blogger (Blogspot) "Gadgets" - Step by Step instructions

Blogger gadgets are simple to use and many of the free templates accomodate 300x600 video playlists perfectly.
























The most customizable and targeted video widgets can be made using logic and embed code from syndication platforms such as ClipSyndicate.com.

Here are the instructions for building a vertical video channel using ClipSyndicate's local broadcast news tools and Blogger's "HTML/JavaScript Gadget" as a right column page element:

We can use the following as the use case:
I am a blogger who posts news on "Fishing" and want to add a "Fishing News Video" widget to my blog.

  •  I want to make sure the content is relevant
  •  I want the content to refresh automatically
  •  I want the content to be professional / news only

Step 1.
Create an account and log in at ClipSyndicate.com

Step 2.
Go to "Advanced Search" and elect to use "Boolean" in the options tab

Start with a simple search, such as (title:fishing)

You can experiment with more keywords if need be (title:(fish* or fishing or fisherman))

Save these results (we can modify the logic later) by clicking "publish this channel" and give it a name such as "fishing news feed"

A quick review of the results will show some hits and misses that are easily corrected.

Let's assume that stemming the word "fish*" is just too broad and the only peripherally relevant clips are easily removed...

Now we might settle on something that looks like this:

(title:(fishing or fisherman)) -compliments -recipe



















Step 3.
Once the changes to the search are saved, you have the opportunity to publish the channel and grab the vertical embed code.
Paste this code in a txt file (no word wrap) and save it for later.
(You can also access these saved searches by logging in and going to the "My ClipSyndicate" tab)
























Step 4.
Log into your Blogger account and select your Fishing blog from your blog list.
Click on the "layout" button in the left nav (under the "new post" button) you should see the opportunity to "Add a Gadget" if your blog is set up with columns.















Step 5.
Click the "Add A Gadget" link and scroll to select the HTML/JavaScript 'gadget by blogger'.
When this opens, you can give it a custom title and paste the player code into the "content" box.





















Step 6.
Save and preview. You may want to edit the gadget, depending on the width of your columns, to make it match the rest of your column content by simply changing the width of the player code (from 320, to 300 as an example).


Step 7.
Arrange the gadget's placement in relation to your others by simply dragging it into the correct location based on your other gadgets' priority then "save arrangement."

Your video channel should now be live on the blog...

Fish on!

http://www.fishingvideonews.com/