Mon
14
May
2012
Learn to build and promote your JimdoPage: Webinars this week!
Brent, your Jimdo webinar guide!
Our growing support team is always excited to lend a hand and give advice to new Jimdo users. This week, we have two webinars lined up. We'll walk you through building your first JimdoPage and share the necessary steps for making sure the right people can find your website on Google.
Each of these free online workshops includes 60 minutes of instruction, demonstration, and a question-and-answer seession with a Jimdo team member. We'll also be available in the chatroom to answer any of your questions. Keep an eye on www.jimdo.com/help/webinars for the schedule and to register for upcoming webinars!
This Week's Sessions:
Brent Gummow
Multi-talento
Fri
11
May
2012
Lights, Camera, Action! -- Announcing The New Video Element
Have we got news for you! We've completely revamped the Jimdo video element - taken it apart and redesigned it from the inside out. Now it's ready for you to use on your JimdoPage.
You can use the redesigned video element to embed videos from many different video platforms. Here's a breakdown of the changes:
- Embed videos from many different video services easily: YouTube, Vimeo, Blip, Veoh, and more
- Maximize the video size at the click of a button, just like you can with an image
- Choose the video proportion (16:9 or 4:3), so you can match the way the original video format so it looks just right
- Adjust the size down to the pixel, without having to use the HTML / Widget element
But let's not waste any more words. What better way to show how the video element works than with a video? Check it out above.
For more details on how to use the new video element, take a look at video element help article.
Powen Shiah
U.S. Country Manager
Wed
02
May
2012
Jimdo Spotlight: Dunava
What's the story behind Dunava?
The story behind Dunava is the story of the evolution of Balkan singing in the United States. I'm not sure who did it first, and whether the songs came independently or with the rising popularity
of Balkan folkdances, but certainly one of the first influential groups was The Pennywhistlers, led by Ethel Raim in the
1960s. Since then, Balkan music and dance has steadily gained popularity in the US and women's choirs have sprung up in many major cities -- some amateur, some professional. Dunava was founded when Dina was considering joining Kitka in the Bay Area, but could not imagine
leaving her home city of Seattle. Seattle had had many iterations of Balkan choirs in the past, but when the latest version disbanded, the opportunity was there to start fresh and introduce new
singers to this music.
Are you from the Balkans?
No! Well, one of our singers is from Bulgaria, and we are so happy to have her. Aside from Tedy, we are all Americans. Hila was born in Israel, and Dina was born in Germany, but the international
connection stops there.
How do you get your music?
Lots of ways! We hire professional singers for workshops and ask them to teach us new songs. We attend other classes (many of them at Balkan music camps in California and Oregon), and share
repertoire with other singers and groups. Some songs we transcribe from recordings or YouTube. Sometimes our singers will travel to the Balkans and "collect" songs from groups and singers over
there. There is certainly no shortage of beautiful songs from the Balkans!
What has been the most rewarding part of being in the ensemble?
Singing this music is immensely satisfying! We memorize all our songs, and there is nothing like standing on stage, looking and smiling at each other, while locking in to some complicated harmonies that are so otherworldly and so beautiful. Aside from bringing this music to life, we have great camaraderie in the group. Some of our best memories singing together include discovering that we all know Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsodie" from start to finish and that we share an affinity for many Broadway and Disney musicals. We very much enjoy each others' company and respect each others' musicianship.
How has having a Jimdo website benefited Dunava?
More than I can count! Believe it or not, but people actually search for Balkan choirs in Seattle on Google, and there we are. Numerous people have contacted me for auditions through the site,
and we've found several performance opportunities. Similarly, when we are applying for a grant or festival application, we know our Web site can give anyone a good idea of who we are, what we do,
and how to contact us.
For a list of Dunava's upcoming shows go to dunava.org.
Photos by Steve Borzilleri and Rik Katz | Video by Dunes Wijayratne.
Ana R. Alvarado
Publicity & Media Outreach
Would you like to be in our next Jimdo User Spotlight? Leave us a note in the comments!
Fri
27
Apr
2012
The New Mobile Photo Gallery
Photo galleries are a great way to spruce up your Jimdo website and show off your best images. Until now, there was only one downside: they didn't show up properly on the mobile version of your JimdoPage. As you probably know, one of the awesome benefits of having a JimdoPage is that all Jimdo websites are automatically optimized to look great on mobile devices. However, the photo gallery element was one area where the mobile display didn't quite match the standard display. Instead of showing up in a gallery, the photos were displayed in a single column. But there's good news!
Our developers have been hard at work and recently revamped the mobile photo gallery, so now when someone views your JimdoPage on a mobile device, your photo galleries will appear the same as in
your standard display. Like the picture above shows, you can now view your photo galleries as thumbnails, tap to display a photo in fullscreen, and swipe to move from one photo to the next. You
don't have to do a thing to deliver the best mobile experience to your users - Jimdo takes care of everything! How cool is that?
We hope you enjoy your new mobile photo galleries. If you need a few more tips on how to make the most of images on your website, check out our post on how to use
images the right way.
Kurt Lash
Jimdo Community Support
Thu
26
Apr
2012
Jimdo Spotlight: George's Aeroplane
While most people only dream of owning an airplane, George Richards set out to build one from scratch. Jimdo recently chatted with George to learn more about him and his little Falco.
Why build an aeroplane?
My father was a very handy person and passed the interest down to me. When I saw an opportunity to use my handyman skills to build my own aeroplane, it was something I had to do. Initially, the attraction of having my own plane to fly was probably stronger than the attraction to build, but by the time I had finished the build, it was definitely the other way around. It's been an amazing experience and the end result is a fantastic little aeroplane. I still get a huge kick out of taking people for a ride in my own creation and seeing them admire it.
How long did it take you to build?
While the Falco is a brilliant aeroplane, it wasn’t initially designed as a homebuilt aircraft. This means that while possible, of course, it is a little more labor-intensive than a lot of modern
homebuilt aircraft designs. I also chose a longer route in that I constructed most of the parts myself from plans rather than buying it as a kit-set. This, as you can imagine, increases the
complexity somewhat and at least doubles the time to build it. So I took 9 1/2 years to build my Falco.
What is a Falco?
Italian for “Hawk”, The Falco is a wooden aircraft designed in Italy in 1955. People still struggle to believe both of those statements. It looks as modern as anything designed today and it also
looks like it's made from state of the art composite. People always raise an eyebrow when I tell them this. The design was so ahead of its time it won the designer, Stelio Frati, an award for
exactly that. It still looks modern and as such is often referred to as the Ferrari of the air.
What's been the most rewarding part of your experience?
I think for me, the most important part of anything is people. I’ve met some great people from all walks of life from all parts of the globe. And I really find it hard to describe the
satisfaction, the buzz, the thrill I get when I show someone my plane and watch their reaction, especially after taking them for a ride. There is nothing else like it. Like life, I guess, it's
all about sharing.
What do you like most about the Jimdo CMS?
It's the simplicity. I’ve struggled with a lot of systems; as it turns out, prior to becoming an airline pilot I was a computer engineer. I'm not scared of computers, but they can still be
frustrating, and some of the other content management systems define the word. Jimdo is super simple and all I have to worry about is my content. With other systems I had to manage the back-end
and always seemed to be trying to figure out complex design philosophies. When I was shown Jimdo, I couldn’t believe it could be so simple without there being a catch. Now I can have a great
looking website and share all my experiences with minimal time spent and absolutely no worry. It's super simple. I LOVE it.
George has recently packed his bag, and little airplane, and flown to the USA for the Experimental Aircraft Association convention (a homebuilt aircraft expo) in Oshkosh, WIsconsin. To follow George's adventure, check out his blog at falco.co.nz.
Ana R. Alvarado
Publicity & Media Outreach
Would you like to be in our next Jimdo User Spotlight? Leave us a note in the comments!
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