The world has become a global village these days due to the availability of the internet. It has helped people to pass on information to places that would take days to reach by traveling.
Snowball is a powerful plugin that makes it easy for bloggers to create modern, immersive articles as seen by world-class news organizations. This plugin empowers people from all sorts of background to express and create or tell their stories online. Snowball plugin for WordPress is powered by WordPress since WordPress users represent a target audience and it powers over 20% of the entire web. It is used by CNN, TechCrunch, and various institutions. For each block, you can set your own content and style choice. Advanced users can customize a block further using the built-in code editor to inspect and modify the style. Snowball plugin uses various filters to make the content unique.
The tool works by creating a post, and then when a visitor lands on the post, it creates several more. This means that snowball gets bigger and bigger until it reaches its max level. Using this technique makes a complete natural posting schedule which is combined with unique content and links that visitors can monetize. You need to start a snowball by giving it a post and then it will roll that post down the hill creating a huge network in a period of time. The initial post you published is called the source post.
Table of Contents
Digital age in storytelling
Storytelling comes in many forms but this plugin takes the form of articles in storytelling. A good example of effective storytelling on the web is the work of the NewYork Times. They have three qualities that set apart articles as a form of storytelling:
• Minimalistic – One aspect of articles is minimalism. This presents a respect for both the content and the audience to make for the more immersive experience.
• Interactive – The most important aspect of articles is the interaction. One of the things that set the web apart from mass media like newspapers and television is the interplay between the creator and consumer. Online journalism is now starting to tap into the potential by making articles interactive and social.
• Bespoke – Not only are the destructions removed but what remains to bring purpose to the article. The design is tailored to the content
How snowball works in article writing
Most organizations don’t have the luxury of hiring a word class art department and software development team. And even though most people have a story to tell, they lack the technical skills required to craft these types of articles. This is where snowball applies. Although the plugin has plenty of room for people who know how to code or want to learn along the way, the plugin does not require technical skills. To make it accessible to beginners, the software has adopted the following principles.
Chunking
It takes more codes to try and make sense. Snowball immersive article plugin has t2ticles, identifying different chunks of content that are used to construct them and have given users a way to build articles using these content types, one block at a time. Snowball plugin for WordPress supports contents from pull quotes to interactive visualization.
Looping
Snowball has a live preview feature with a tight feedback loop that encourages playful experimentation and learning, which is no0t offered by the WordPress default. If you tinker with any value you will immediately see the rendered results. You can also inspect changes in the underlying HTML and CSS.
Scaffolding
The overall structure of each block is determined by its type, the users can still add their own touch. The snowball plugin offers a different degree of support, depending on the user’s ability and goals. This tool provides a graphical interface that makes it easy to populate a block’s content and styles. A code interface allows you to add your own tweaks with a dash of CSS if you want to do more. For power users, an entire custom block can be created with a code.
How to install snowball
You can install it automatically or manually
Automatically (recommended)
1. In the WordPress admin interface, go to plugins Add plugins
2. Search for snowball plugin
3. In the search results click “Install Now” for snowball plugin
4. After installation, click “Activate Plugin”
Manual installation
1. Download the snowball.zip plugin file 2. Upload the snowball.zip through the WordPress admin interface at Plugins> Add New> Upload Plugin 3. After installing the plugin click “Activate Plugin”
Setup
When you have activated the plugin, there will be an icon at the bottom left-hand menu. On clicking it, it will take you to the WordPress snowball dashboard. Have a glance at the different tabs, to familiarize yourself with the plugin’s settings. Here is a description of the various tabs.
Dashboard
This is where you need to concentrate more since the dashboard displays all the key stats you may want to check every now and then. The dashboard is split into three sections: 1. Key stats – This shows you totals for snowball’s posts, links, and clicks. 2. Snowball graph – This shows a visual representation of your most recent snowball. You can double-click on a post to trigger more posts 3. Post frequency – Here is a great way to see how many posts are going own life each day.
Source
At this section, you can choose which sources you want to use the content, media, links, and monetization. You will need to enter account information for links and monetization. Each source is different and may not suit your niche so it is important not to click them all. Take time to see which one is the best for you.
Settings
This is where you choose which setting you want. Most of them are optional, but the most important section here the “core keywords”.
Check out Quick Video Review on SnowBall
Source: CodexPlugins
Final Remarks
Snowball plugin is a great tool for those who want to exploit their writing skills and don’t have a platform to air out their stories. You don’t need to have technical skills to develop the articles you can do that while writing good stories on the Snowball immersive article platform.
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