Do you enjoy making, creating and participating in Fanpop picks? Want to dig a little deeper into the feature and become a true Fanpop Pick Master? If so, you've come to the right place grasshopper. Read along and I'll try to give you some of the tips and tricks I know for getting the most out this fun and addictive Fanpop feature. Oh and if you have any further questions or suggestions, feel free to add to the comments below or pm me.
Update 8/30/07: If you don't like to read, you can also get a great visual tutorial from this video by maybeastarbucks link
Here we go...
Making Picks
Anyone can ask a question. You just need to be signed in to your (free) Fanpop account to make one. And if you don't have an account - link!
First off a few obvious, but necessary pointers:
1. Make sure you are in the correct spot when you create a pick. Why, you ask? It's because the pick you create will be placed in that spot! So don't cause all your fellow fans to scratch their heads when you ask a Star Wars question in a Scrubs spot. Put it in the right place please!
2. Please make sure the question you are asking hasn't been asked over and over already. Oft-repeated questions just annoy longtime fans. So either browse through the current list of questions (it's probably a good idea to answer a few questions first to get a feel for the feature) or run a search.
Once you want to create a pick, click on the "add question" button in the picks section of a spot. You will need the following to make the pick:
1. A pick question (e.g. "What is your favorite color?"). It's best to keep the question short and succinct as possible for the sake of clarity.
2. Two or more pick choices (e.g. "Blue", "Red" and "Green"). Try to keep these choices fairly short too. Overly long choices may be truncated and, consequently, be rendered incomprehensible. If you need to add more choices, just click the link to add more answers (and repeat until you get the number of choices you want).
3. Images for each of the choices. This part is optional (but strongly encouraged!). Images will be covered in greater detail in the next section. But the quick of it is that you can upload images from your hard drive to further customize your pick. Just click the "browse" button and locate the image you would like to use.
4. Expiration. Most picks won't need one, but if you have a time sensitive pick (e.g. "Will Frank die in the season finale?"), you might want to set an expiration. The pick will still be viewable after the expiration date, but other fans will not be able to vote once the pick has been closed.
5. Finally, decide if you want other fans to add their own choices. If you have no problems with letting other fans add their own choices, go ahead and check this option off. It's usually a good idea to do so for picks where there are a lot of possibilities.
Once all of the above is set, click the "Preview" button. You will be returned a page that will show you what the pick will look like.
At this point you'll want to take a moment to look over your question. Ask yourself:
* Does the question make sense?
* Is everything spelled correctly?
* Did I leave anything out?
If you need to fix anything. Now is the time to do it. The reason is that once a pick is posted to a spot and other users start voting on it, we cannot allow you to make any major edits the pick (mainly because doing so would be unfair to users who had already responded. Imagine if someone picked choice "A" but you completely changed it to something else, thus misrepresenting what they originally had selected. That wouldn't be so good, eh?).
Helpful Ideas for Picks Images
Now before I continue, let me just say that while adding images to a pick is optional, I strongly urge you not to skip adding images. Images add a lot of character to an individual pick and make the pick that much more visually appealing.
* Tip 1: If you are creating a question with "Yes" and "No" responses, adding "yes" and "no" as the text for the responses will cause our default yes and no images to be automatically added (easy!).
* Tip 2: If you are having a hard time finding images, here are a few ideas for you:
1. Grab an image from link (e.g. thumbs up/thumbs down, male/female symbols, smileys and more...). Feel free to add to this collection too if you ever find an image that could be commonly used - just make sure you tag it "picks".
2. Check out the image gallery for the spot you're in. It's possible that there is a photo or icon that's just right for what you want.
3. Find an image via image search. Some of the best sites for this are: link, link and link. When you find an image you want to use, save it to your computer OR use a screen capture utility (more on this below).
4. Remember: You don't always need the *exact* image in order to have an effective pick image. Example: Maybe you wanted to add a choice that dealt with a character from a popular TV show's obsession with beets. Sure it would be great to find a picture of that character holding a beet but it's just as effective to find a picture of a bunch of beets (and probably a lot easier too).
Tip 3: Square shaped imaged are used for the picks. More specifically: for 2-choice picks we'll display 160x160 pixel images. For 3-or-more-choice picks we'll display 100x100 pixel images. I tell you this because it means that, for 2-choice picks, you'll want larger images and for 3-or-more-choice picks you'll want AT LEAST 100x100 pixel images. If you upload a 20x20 image, it will most likely look pixelated and terrible :-)
Tip 4: If you download a horizontal or landscaped image, you may end up with some unexpected cropping. The best way to deal with this is to either download a square image OR use a screen capture tool that allows you to effectively create a square image on the fly. Otherwise, make sure your subject is in the center of the image. If you're uploading an image that is taller than it is wide, the top and bottom portions of the image will be cropped to make the image square (hence a lot of lopped off heads on picks where the original image had someone's head at the top of a tall image). If the image is wider than it is tall, equal portions from the left and right sides of the image will be cropped. Again, this is done to make the image square for use in the pick. In my experience, wide images are less problematic since what you see in the middle of the picture is what you'll get (sans the sides).
Tip 5: Using a screen capture tool is often the best way to grab well-suited, properly sized images for a Fanpop pick. The instructions below may seem lengthy, but once you get the hang of it, it's actually pretty easy.
Here are the two tools I recommend for Windows and Mac users respectively. Both are completely free to download and use.
* Windows users: link (free)
* Mac users: link (free)
link crash course (for Windows folks):
Setting it up:
* Download, install and run the application.
* Under the "From" tab, make sure that "rectangle area" is the capture mode enabled.
* Open the application and click on the "To" tab.
* Under "copy captured image to", check "file" (and uncheck clipboard).
* Set the "file type" to .jpg
* Select the folder where you want your images to be saved.
* Click "Stand By" to keep ScreenHunter at the ready and return to your browsing.
Capturing images:
* Return to your browser and search for images on link, link, link or anywhere else.
* When you find an image you want for your pick (thumbnails may be too small, so try to view the full sized image), hit your "F6" key.
* Your cursor will change to a crosshair. Using the cursor click and drag to draw a square around the portion of the image you want to capture. When you have the screen capture you want simply release the mouse button.
* The selected region will be saved to the folder you selected during setup as a .jpg file.
* Now you can add the saved image to your pick.
link Crash Course (for Mac folks):
Setting it up:
* Download, install and run the application.
* When the application is running, it will appear in the upper right corner of the page (in the toolbar) as a scissors icon.
* Click on the icon and select preferences.
* Set the target folder for images to be saved to.
Capturing images:
* Return to your browser and search for images on link, link, link or anywhere else.
* When you find an image you want for your pick (thumbnails may be too small, so try to view the full sized image), go to the InstantShot scissors icon, open the menu and select "Shoot inside a rec -> To Jpeg file"
* Your cursor will change to a crosshair. Using the cursor click and drag to draw a square around the portion of the image you want to capture. When you have the screen capture you want simply release the mouse button. (IMPORTANT: Be sure to move your cursor away from the selected region when you release the mouse button or InstantShot might capture an arrow cursor in the final image).
* The selected region will be saved to the folder you selected during setup as a .jpg file.
* Now you can add the saved image to your pick.
Spread the Word
Once you've created your pick it will appear in the spot in which you created it. Fans in that spot will be able to vote and comment on the pick almost immediately. But what if you want to get folks who aren't on Fanpop to join in on the fun?
How nice that you should ask, since we current provided 3 ways to share your picks (all appear at the bottom of the results page for each pick):
1) IM them the url (immediate gratification)
2) Use the "Share this Question" link to quickly and easily shoot them an email about the pick (less immediate, but very easy)
3) If you have a blog that or a profile on a social networking site like MySpace, you can easily pasted an embeddable version of any pick by click on the "add this pick to your blog..." link and copying and pasting the embed code on your blog or social network profile. The embedded "widget" will show your friends what the current results for the pick are as well as display your personal selection.
Odds and Ends
Here are a few other things to know about picks:
* If you want to keep track of what other fans are saying on your picks, be sure to visit your "my profile" page and look at the "my updates" module.
* Your profile page keeps a history of all your picks. To view all the picks you've ever made, go to "my profile" and click on the "Picks" link near the top of the page. You can view picks from individual spots by using the spot filter (useful if you only wanted to see your picks for "Food" or "Harry Potter").
* You can view all the picks in a spot that you have NOT answered, by going to the spot and clicking on the "Picks" link (grey bar below the spot banner). Click on the "filter by:" menu and select "unanswered". The resulting list will show you questions you have yet to answer.
* You can give "props" to other fans for picks that you really enjoy by going to their profile page and clicking on the "props" link. I strongly encourage you to do this. It's a great way to let others know that their efforts are appreciated. And getting props is just as much fun too (the image below shows you a collection of "props" medals on a user profile page).
Picks Inspiration - Learn from the Best!
If you ever run out of ideas for picks, don't hesitate to check out the picks of some of most celebrated and prolific pick creators. Here's just a handful of my favorites (apologies in advance to any who have been left off this list -- I can't list everyone and frankly, there are just too many great Pick Masters to list!):
* link
* link
* link
* link
* link
* link
* link
* link
And while my picks may pale before other Pick Masters, I may as well pimp my own picks so that I can get more people to vote on them ;-)
* link
[i]That's it for now! Please comment below if you have any feedback for the feature or the guide or if you think you have a great collection of picks that you've created (let the other picks enthusiasts know).
Update 8/30/07: If you don't like to read, you can also get a great visual tutorial from this video by maybeastarbucks link
Here we go...
Making Picks
Anyone can ask a question. You just need to be signed in to your (free) Fanpop account to make one. And if you don't have an account - link!
First off a few obvious, but necessary pointers:
1. Make sure you are in the correct spot when you create a pick. Why, you ask? It's because the pick you create will be placed in that spot! So don't cause all your fellow fans to scratch their heads when you ask a Star Wars question in a Scrubs spot. Put it in the right place please!
2. Please make sure the question you are asking hasn't been asked over and over already. Oft-repeated questions just annoy longtime fans. So either browse through the current list of questions (it's probably a good idea to answer a few questions first to get a feel for the feature) or run a search.
Once you want to create a pick, click on the "add question" button in the picks section of a spot. You will need the following to make the pick:
1. A pick question (e.g. "What is your favorite color?"). It's best to keep the question short and succinct as possible for the sake of clarity.
2. Two or more pick choices (e.g. "Blue", "Red" and "Green"). Try to keep these choices fairly short too. Overly long choices may be truncated and, consequently, be rendered incomprehensible. If you need to add more choices, just click the link to add more answers (and repeat until you get the number of choices you want).
3. Images for each of the choices. This part is optional (but strongly encouraged!). Images will be covered in greater detail in the next section. But the quick of it is that you can upload images from your hard drive to further customize your pick. Just click the "browse" button and locate the image you would like to use.
4. Expiration. Most picks won't need one, but if you have a time sensitive pick (e.g. "Will Frank die in the season finale?"), you might want to set an expiration. The pick will still be viewable after the expiration date, but other fans will not be able to vote once the pick has been closed.
5. Finally, decide if you want other fans to add their own choices. If you have no problems with letting other fans add their own choices, go ahead and check this option off. It's usually a good idea to do so for picks where there are a lot of possibilities.
Once all of the above is set, click the "Preview" button. You will be returned a page that will show you what the pick will look like.
At this point you'll want to take a moment to look over your question. Ask yourself:
* Does the question make sense?
* Is everything spelled correctly?
* Did I leave anything out?
If you need to fix anything. Now is the time to do it. The reason is that once a pick is posted to a spot and other users start voting on it, we cannot allow you to make any major edits the pick (mainly because doing so would be unfair to users who had already responded. Imagine if someone picked choice "A" but you completely changed it to something else, thus misrepresenting what they originally had selected. That wouldn't be so good, eh?).
Helpful Ideas for Picks Images
Now before I continue, let me just say that while adding images to a pick is optional, I strongly urge you not to skip adding images. Images add a lot of character to an individual pick and make the pick that much more visually appealing.
* Tip 1: If you are creating a question with "Yes" and "No" responses, adding "yes" and "no" as the text for the responses will cause our default yes and no images to be automatically added (easy!).
* Tip 2: If you are having a hard time finding images, here are a few ideas for you:
1. Grab an image from link (e.g. thumbs up/thumbs down, male/female symbols, smileys and more...). Feel free to add to this collection too if you ever find an image that could be commonly used - just make sure you tag it "picks".
2. Check out the image gallery for the spot you're in. It's possible that there is a photo or icon that's just right for what you want.
3. Find an image via image search. Some of the best sites for this are: link, link and link. When you find an image you want to use, save it to your computer OR use a screen capture utility (more on this below).
4. Remember: You don't always need the *exact* image in order to have an effective pick image. Example: Maybe you wanted to add a choice that dealt with a character from a popular TV show's obsession with beets. Sure it would be great to find a picture of that character holding a beet but it's just as effective to find a picture of a bunch of beets (and probably a lot easier too).
Tip 3: Square shaped imaged are used for the picks. More specifically: for 2-choice picks we'll display 160x160 pixel images. For 3-or-more-choice picks we'll display 100x100 pixel images. I tell you this because it means that, for 2-choice picks, you'll want larger images and for 3-or-more-choice picks you'll want AT LEAST 100x100 pixel images. If you upload a 20x20 image, it will most likely look pixelated and terrible :-)
Tip 4: If you download a horizontal or landscaped image, you may end up with some unexpected cropping. The best way to deal with this is to either download a square image OR use a screen capture tool that allows you to effectively create a square image on the fly. Otherwise, make sure your subject is in the center of the image. If you're uploading an image that is taller than it is wide, the top and bottom portions of the image will be cropped to make the image square (hence a lot of lopped off heads on picks where the original image had someone's head at the top of a tall image). If the image is wider than it is tall, equal portions from the left and right sides of the image will be cropped. Again, this is done to make the image square for use in the pick. In my experience, wide images are less problematic since what you see in the middle of the picture is what you'll get (sans the sides).
Tip 5: Using a screen capture tool is often the best way to grab well-suited, properly sized images for a Fanpop pick. The instructions below may seem lengthy, but once you get the hang of it, it's actually pretty easy.
Here are the two tools I recommend for Windows and Mac users respectively. Both are completely free to download and use.
* Windows users: link (free)
* Mac users: link (free)
link crash course (for Windows folks):
Setting it up:
* Download, install and run the application.
* Under the "From" tab, make sure that "rectangle area" is the capture mode enabled.
* Open the application and click on the "To" tab.
* Under "copy captured image to", check "file" (and uncheck clipboard).
* Set the "file type" to .jpg
* Select the folder where you want your images to be saved.
* Click "Stand By" to keep ScreenHunter at the ready and return to your browsing.
Capturing images:
* Return to your browser and search for images on link, link, link or anywhere else.
* When you find an image you want for your pick (thumbnails may be too small, so try to view the full sized image), hit your "F6" key.
* Your cursor will change to a crosshair. Using the cursor click and drag to draw a square around the portion of the image you want to capture. When you have the screen capture you want simply release the mouse button.
* The selected region will be saved to the folder you selected during setup as a .jpg file.
* Now you can add the saved image to your pick.
link Crash Course (for Mac folks):
Setting it up:
* Download, install and run the application.
* When the application is running, it will appear in the upper right corner of the page (in the toolbar) as a scissors icon.
* Click on the icon and select preferences.
* Set the target folder for images to be saved to.
Capturing images:
* Return to your browser and search for images on link, link, link or anywhere else.
* When you find an image you want for your pick (thumbnails may be too small, so try to view the full sized image), go to the InstantShot scissors icon, open the menu and select "Shoot inside a rec -> To Jpeg file"
* Your cursor will change to a crosshair. Using the cursor click and drag to draw a square around the portion of the image you want to capture. When you have the screen capture you want simply release the mouse button. (IMPORTANT: Be sure to move your cursor away from the selected region when you release the mouse button or InstantShot might capture an arrow cursor in the final image).
* The selected region will be saved to the folder you selected during setup as a .jpg file.
* Now you can add the saved image to your pick.
Spread the Word
Once you've created your pick it will appear in the spot in which you created it. Fans in that spot will be able to vote and comment on the pick almost immediately. But what if you want to get folks who aren't on Fanpop to join in on the fun?
How nice that you should ask, since we current provided 3 ways to share your picks (all appear at the bottom of the results page for each pick):
1) IM them the url (immediate gratification)
2) Use the "Share this Question" link to quickly and easily shoot them an email about the pick (less immediate, but very easy)
3) If you have a blog that or a profile on a social networking site like MySpace, you can easily pasted an embeddable version of any pick by click on the "add this pick to your blog..." link and copying and pasting the embed code on your blog or social network profile. The embedded "widget" will show your friends what the current results for the pick are as well as display your personal selection.
Odds and Ends
Here are a few other things to know about picks:
* If you want to keep track of what other fans are saying on your picks, be sure to visit your "my profile" page and look at the "my updates" module.
* Your profile page keeps a history of all your picks. To view all the picks you've ever made, go to "my profile" and click on the "Picks" link near the top of the page. You can view picks from individual spots by using the spot filter (useful if you only wanted to see your picks for "Food" or "Harry Potter").
* You can view all the picks in a spot that you have NOT answered, by going to the spot and clicking on the "Picks" link (grey bar below the spot banner). Click on the "filter by:" menu and select "unanswered". The resulting list will show you questions you have yet to answer.
* You can give "props" to other fans for picks that you really enjoy by going to their profile page and clicking on the "props" link. I strongly encourage you to do this. It's a great way to let others know that their efforts are appreciated. And getting props is just as much fun too (the image below shows you a collection of "props" medals on a user profile page).
Picks Inspiration - Learn from the Best!
If you ever run out of ideas for picks, don't hesitate to check out the picks of some of most celebrated and prolific pick creators. Here's just a handful of my favorites (apologies in advance to any who have been left off this list -- I can't list everyone and frankly, there are just too many great Pick Masters to list!):
* link
* link
* link
* link
* link
* link
* link
* link
And while my picks may pale before other Pick Masters, I may as well pimp my own picks so that I can get more people to vote on them ;-)
* link
[i]That's it for now! Please comment below if you have any feedback for the feature or the guide or if you think you have a great collection of picks that you've created (let the other picks enthusiasts know).
here are some motto's that i have either made or have gotten from things i've seen!
Anyone who's never made a mistake has never tried anything new! - Albert.A. Einstein
Always be yourself, unless you can be a unicorn. Then always be a unicorn!
Always be you, because eevryone else is taken - Anonymous
ill post more when i find more!!!
these are for eeryone to use so feel free to put them up, but plz put my username with them cuz i wanna get some credit for it plz!
im need to make this longer so heres some random stufff
ghghghghghghjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjtrhasjasjasjfhalkfhsdigsihguihuisrhgishrnguihsbukvjkdddbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbfrhrgkv
Anyone who's never made a mistake has never tried anything new! - Albert.A. Einstein
Always be yourself, unless you can be a unicorn. Then always be a unicorn!
Always be you, because eevryone else is taken - Anonymous
ill post more when i find more!!!
these are for eeryone to use so feel free to put them up, but plz put my username with them cuz i wanna get some credit for it plz!
im need to make this longer so heres some random stufff
ghghghghghghjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjtrhasjasjasjfhalkfhsdigsihguihuisrhgishrnguihsbukvjkdddbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbfrhrgkv
A few minutes ago I thought of a partial answer to the recent outbreak of internet trolls we've had over the last few moths.
Ladies and Gentlepoppers, I introduce to you:
The ATSOF (The Anti Troll Squad Of Fanpop)
This will be a society of fanpoppers who work together to justly rate any content which has (without reason) been rated low.
My plan is to make an ATSOF Spot; if a spot or particular piece of content has been rated low you can alert the ATSOF spot about this and some of the "fans" of the spot will head over to the content and rate the content fairly, therefore boosting the rating.
Please tell me what you think; I don't want to create a Ghost-Spot-to-be
Ladies and Gentlepoppers, I introduce to you:
The ATSOF (The Anti Troll Squad Of Fanpop)
This will be a society of fanpoppers who work together to justly rate any content which has (without reason) been rated low.
My plan is to make an ATSOF Spot; if a spot or particular piece of content has been rated low you can alert the ATSOF spot about this and some of the "fans" of the spot will head over to the content and rate the content fairly, therefore boosting the rating.
Please tell me what you think; I don't want to create a Ghost-Spot-to-be
If we make a new spot we want to make it popular. Recently I made a new spot so when I wanted to send a message to all my friends about it I got tired of typing individual messages so I quit. So we should be able to send one message to all our friends at the same time if necessary. Also there should be an area that says "new spots" on the home page so that people can see what has been recently created and if they want to join the particular spot. It would really make the people who created the spots happy because they could get some good publicity.
By the way I made a new spot about Kal Penn, the indian guy from the van wilder movies, Harold and Kumar go to white castle, and Epic Movie.
So if u like those movies check it out. all you have to do is type "Kal Penn" in the search engine" (obviously, I know)
Also this soapbox was ment for the fanpop spot
By the way I made a new spot about Kal Penn, the indian guy from the van wilder movies, Harold and Kumar go to white castle, and Epic Movie.
So if u like those movies check it out. all you have to do is type "Kal Penn" in the search engine" (obviously, I know)
Also this soapbox was ment for the fanpop spot
Hello to everyone,
my name is Inès, and I'm French.
As a lot of you know, Paris has been attacked yesterday by terrorists. The concert hall "Le Bataclan" has been attacked during a concert.
128 dead and more than 200 wounded are for now counted. This is a tragedy.
I was born and I've lived in Paris, and I often go there and to the Bataclan to attend concerts, and seeing this, is just awful. The whole country is shocked and desperate.
3 national days of mourning have been declared.
I invite you to leave a few words, thoughts for the victims of this disaster.
Thank you <3
my name is Inès, and I'm French.
As a lot of you know, Paris has been attacked yesterday by terrorists. The concert hall "Le Bataclan" has been attacked during a concert.
128 dead and more than 200 wounded are for now counted. This is a tragedy.
I was born and I've lived in Paris, and I often go there and to the Bataclan to attend concerts, and seeing this, is just awful. The whole country is shocked and desperate.
3 national days of mourning have been declared.
I invite you to leave a few words, thoughts for the victims of this disaster.
Thank you <3
alpha omega male ultimate life form chaos god
age 114 but stop ageing age 14
HIGHT 5.0/hermaphrodite /ageless/immortal
midnight black emerald red quills like
shadow going down his back
emerald red round his ruby red eyes
th3d eye on his for head
ice white chest fur like silver
emerald red marks on his quills for head
arms legs
ice white ice blue inhibitor rings with
dark blue shade jolt lighting marks on them
dark blue alpha omega chaos
emerald in the middle of each inhibitor rings
ice blue ice white hover shoes
with dark blue shade jolt lighting marks on them
shoes like neo
shade jolt mom midnight dad knight
end of part 2