It is impossible to meet everyone in person, so think of your network profile as a representation of your higher self. With that said, I am going to show you a few ways to get your profile looking like you want it. Whether you would like to customize it to match your company brand or just showcase the types of work you have done/are doing. After all, a complete profile is 86% more likely to attract business proposals.
What You Can Do Will Surprise You
You do not need to be a web designer to accomplish the following customizations to your profile. Here are a few tips and pointers for easily customizing the look and feel of your profile so other professionals on the network gain a clear understanding of who they are associating themselves with.
- You can customize your MY LSU (your profile page) in several ways.
- You can CHANGE THE THEME
- Click on the My Page Tab (if you're not already on your profile page)
- Under you Main Photo (upper left) you'll see "Change My Photo" or "Theme"
- Click on the Theme Link to get to the "Edit the Appearance of Your Page" page
(You'll see that you can even upload and add a customized header if you have the wherewithal to create one)
You can MOVE THE FURNITURE (profile modules)AROUND
(okay, it's not furniture, but you can move the elements around to customize your layout)
- go to your MY PAGE
- move your mouse over the top left corner of the element you want to move (more specifically next to the name on the title bar)
- you'll see a crosshairs icon
- click and drag the box to its new location
Where and How to Add Widgets
Let's suppose you want to add a widget, such as a Twitter follow button or a facebook like box. The most obvious place to add widgets, videos, photo slideshows, or text links is the text box module. The text box supports some HTML (see definition below) and can be easily used to add text links to sites off of Land Surveyors United, display a video that you added to the network, add a photo slideshow from an album of uploaded photos, from Slide or any other widget provider! Additionally, most text fields throughout the network, or places where you would answer a profile question, add a comment or create a blog post, support some HTML.
These are some basic HTML tags that can be used in text fields:
<a href="http://surveyearth.com">This makes a link</a>
<p>This makes a paragraph break</p>
<br/>This makes a line break
<strong>This makes something bold</strong>
<em>This makes something italic</em>
<u>This underlines something</u>
<strike>This puts a strikethrough line through something</strike>
<img src="yourimagehere.jpg"/> adds an image
TIP: If you link to your website, make a link on your website which links back to your profile address. This is called a reciprocal link and it will help the search engine rankings for both sites.
RELATED POST:HOW TO MAKE CONTENT IN LSU PROFILE PAGE "TEXT BOX" STAND OUT
ADDING AND WORKING WITH PHOTOS
HOW CAN I ADD PHOTOS
1. Sign in to the network.
2. Go to the Photos section.
3. Click the "Add Photos" link in the upper right corner.
4. By default, you'll be able to use the bulk uploader. The first time you use the uploader, you'll see a pop-up window that says "This applet was signed by Ning Inc and authenticated by VeriSign Inc. Do you trust this certificate?" Click the "Trust" button to proceed. trust certificate
5. In the left pane, find the photos on your computer. To upload them, double click on a photo or drag and drop a photo or a whole folder to the right pane title "Photos to Upload." You can drag and drop the photos within the right preview pane to re-order them. To remove photos, you can drag and drop them outside of the preview pane or highlight them and press the "Delete" key.
6. Once you're ready to upload, click the "Next" button.
7. Add information about the photos . To apply the same information to all of the photos in the batch, fill out the top portion under "Edit Information for All Photos." Then click the button to "Apply this info to the photos below." You can and should individually override this information by filling out individual photo information below the batch edit.
8. If you're experiencing issues with the bulk uploader, you can always use the simple uploader by clicking the link to "Return to our simple uploader" at the bottom of the page.
9. You can also add photos by phone or email. At the bottom of the "Add Photos" page, click on the "More Information" link for a unique email address to use to add photos to the network. The subject of the email becomes the title of the photo and the body becomes the description.
10. You can now also upload photos from the field using the mobile interface.
CAN I CHANGE WHAT PHOTOS SHOW ON MY PAGE
Yes you can! Go to the photos box on your profile page and click the "Edit" button. You will see several options for what photos to show on your profile page.
CAN I IMPORT PHOTOS FROM FLICKR?
You can easily import any public photos you have on Flickr to the network.
1. Go to the Photos tab and click the link to "Add Photos." You will find a prompt to add photos from your Flickr account.
2. Click the "Add Photos" link to continue to Flickr and sign in to your Flickr account.
3. You will then be taken back to your network on Ning. Here choose which of your Flickr photos you'd like to upload.
4. Use the available options to get your most recent photos, get all photos with the same tag or get all of your photos in Flickr. You can also choose to import descriptions or the full-size version of each photo.
5. Click "Get Photos."
WHAT IS THE PHOTO DETAIL PAGE?
In the photos section, clicking on the thumbnail of a picture will take you to the photo detail page, where you can tag or rate the photo, add it to your favorites, view more sizes of the photo and see when it was uploaded. If you are a member of the network and signed in, you can also add a comment about the photo on the comment wall.
HOW DO I ADD A DESCRIPTION TO A PHOTO?
When you upload photos to Land Surveyors United, you have the option to add a title and a description to your photo. If you're adding a photo using the Quick Add feature, you can either click the More Options link to be taken to the standard page for uploading photos or go to the photo detail page after it's uploaded. In the photos section, clicking on the thumbnail of a picture will take you to the photo detail page where you can edit the title, description, tags, location and privacy of the photo!
You cannot edit someone else's photo and give it a description; however, you can leave a comment. If you put another member's photo in an album, you cannot change the title or description.
HOW DO I ADD A LOCATION TO MY PHOTOS?
When you upload a photo, you will be prompted to add a title and description. If you are using the simple uploader, you can also add a location by typing it into the field marked "Location" and clicking "Map It." If you've already uploaded a photo or used the Quick Add feature and want to add a location or change the location, click the "Edit Photo" link below the photo on the photo detail page.
Please drop any comments or questions below!
Replies
SCROLL YOUR COMMENTS
This code puts your comments in a scroll box for easy browsing. Add the code to the bottom of the "Body Section" of your CSS Code. Just choose what size box you like below. You can also customize the box size by adjusting the height px. You can also adjust the text font, size and alignment (left or center).
Small Scroll Box:
/* Comment Wall */ #xg_module_body, #xg_module_head h2, .xg_module_comment_wall{
width : 540px;
height : 650px;
overflow : auto;
margin : 3px;
text-align : center;
font-size : 12px;
font-family : arial;
}
Large Scroll Box:
/* Comment Wall */ #xg_module_body, #xg_module_head h2, .xg_module_comment_wall{
width : 540px;
height : 950px;
overflow : auto;
margin : 3px;
text-align : center;
font-size : 12px;
font-family : arial;
}
ADD IMAGES TO YOUR COMMENT BOX & COMMENT TOOLBAR
This code allows you to add a background image in the comment area. Or you can choose a color for the background. The background image/color is displayed when someone is leaving a comment. The image/color disappears after the comment is added. You can also add a background image/color to the comment tool bar. You can also adjust the height of the comment box to accommodate the image you are using. Keep in mind the visibility factor when choosing an image for your background.
Tip: You can change the font color for the comment are in the second line "color":
Add this code to the bottom of the "Body Section" in the CSS Code.
#xg_profiles_chatterwall_post_comment{
color: #000000;
font-weight:bold;
background-color:#FFFFFF !important;
background-image:url(link to image) !important;
background-repeat: repeat;
background-position: bottom center;
background-attachment: relative;
height:300px;
}
.texteditor_toolbar {
background-color:#ffffff!important;
background-image:url(link to image)!important;
height:30px;
}
SCROLL YOUR PROFILE INFORMATION
This code puts your profile info into a scroll box. Add the code to the bottom of the "Body Section" in your CSS Code. You can also customize the size of the box by adjusting the height px. You can also adjust the font size.
.module_about_user{ height:200px; font-size:12px; overflow:auto; }