What are Shout Groups and how do I use them?
Unreality Shout's Groups features allow you to start a fan group for almost anything and allow like-minded people to join in the discussion with you.
We have groups here for cult shows like Doctor Who, and also for Reality TV shows like X Factor and American Idol.
Some cool things Groups can do:
- Allow you to invite your friends and other fans to join!
- Members of the group can contribute blog posts - sharing news, opinions, reviews and pictures with other members.
- Your members get updates by email so they're always in touch with the latest news from your group.
- You can send bulletins to your group members using the 'broadcast' feature.
- And of course, members can leave comments on every blog post in your group.
How to get started
Well, to start your own group click on the Start a Group link in the top right-hand menu (you must be logged in to see this!).
- Give your group a name that describes it - like Big Brother Fan Group or American Idol Worshippers.
- Give your group a brief description - this'll be shown to people browsing the groups directory.
- Mission Statement: This will appear on your group homepage, and allows you to give more detail for the reason behind the group. You can add pictures and video to this bit if you like!
- Membership Requests: How you want to manage membership requests to the site - Open is the most common and allows people to join up immediately. Moderated allows you to be a bit more selective about your membership - you get to approve each member. You can also choose Invite Only or Closed to lock down your group further. These options can be changed at a later time - if in doubt, leave this set to Open.
- Press Save to create your new group.
Now that your group is created, you can invite people to join. When you visit the group page, you'll see a toolbox at the top of the right sidebar. It'll have the name of the group, plus some links - you can start a blog post for your group, view the members, invite friends and manage your membership.
A good starting point is to write the first blog post for the group, this'll help you set the tone for what you want other people to contribute.
Any questions on managing groups in Unreality Shout, please leave them here for me...
