Explore the National Archives through social media

The National Archives is a fantastic resource for learning about our nation. Their collection of historic documents, photographs, film, recordings and other materials is no less than the history of our nation. The internet has made accessing their records so much easier but did you know the National Archives is also a participant in social media? You can visit their Facebook page or follow them on Twitter but they don't limit themselves to these two social media giants. Below are links with brief descriptions of what you will find in their other social media ventures.

Flickr
The National Archives on Flickr has over 12,000 pictures arranged into over 200 photo sets. Their extensive collection features historical images, documents, and political cartoons.

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You Tube
The National Archives You Tube channel contains over 1000 videos with all sorts of topics. There are old news reels, debates, and many other types of educational videos to explore.

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Pinterest
The National Archives Pinterest page contains  44 boards that are overflowing with great images, teachers resources and other great educational material.

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Tumblr
Overall, the National Archives has twelve Tumblr pages which you can discover here. The main Tumblr page of the National Archives reports on the news and current activities of the Archives.

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My favorite National Archives on Tumblr is Our Presidents which features photographs and information from past U.S. Presidents.

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Another great Our Presidents resource can be found here at their Pinterest page. With over 1000 pins on 67 boards, it is an excellent resource for Presidential history.

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Google +
If you are a fan of Google+ then why not try out the National Archives Google+ page which has both news and historical information.

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Wikispaces
The National Archives also have a site through Wikispaces. Their page has pictures, documents and other historical records covering 13 major topics including the Revolution, Civil War and immigration.

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Blogs
The National Archives boasts 13 blogs that range from Black History to declassified military documents.

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History Pin
The National Archives History Pin page currently has over 1000 images on 18 collections and 9 tours.

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Storify
Finally there is the National Archives at Storify which currently has 7 stories.

Vintage Ads for Modern Products

Hongkiat has this very cool collection of modern products and websites being advertised in vintage looking style. The ads feature such big time names such as Facebook, You Tube, Twitter, and Skype to name four and you really do have to see the ads to appreciate the quality of the work. (see the Twitter example below.)

Curate.us - Clip and share anything from the web

Curate.us is a new online tool that allows you to share your favorite web content. When you find something you want to share you can paste the URL into their website or you can add their clipping tool onto your tool bar and clip whenever you'd like. When you first clip, an image of a large dog will appear (called the Big Shmoo) for about 20 seconds, which means the clip is being processed. When your webpage image appears you can add your own note and then share it via Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, email. or embed it into a blog or webpage. The image includes a link to the original web page so anyone who has an interest can go to the original source for more information. Curate.us is a much more useful way of sharing websites because it allows you to share more than just a link. Thanks to Make Use Of for the information regarding this site.

PicMark - Brand your pictures before sharing them

PicMark is a simple tool that allows you to brand your pictures with a custom frame before you post them online. Adding a mark is as simple as uploading your picture to their site, choosing a frame, and sharing it to Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest. The site allows you to further enhance your frames by choosing colors, styles, and typing messages on the frame. If you'd like, you can even design your own custom frame to use anytime. PicMark is great for teachers to share class pictures on their class web page or with students in projects. PicMark is free to join and it makes sharing pictures just a little bit more fun.

Repinly - The Pinterest Directory

Pinterest has quickly become one of the most popular sites on the web. Several times I have featured Pinterest boards that have an educational theme on this blog. If you are a devoted Pinner like millions of people are, then Repinly will certainly interest you. Repinly is a directory that identifies the most popular pins, Pinners, and boards on Pinterest. It contains a video section and also has a statistics page that shows things like the popularity of each category and the top sources of the sites pins. The site is free to join by using your Facebook or Twitter account and it will show your Pinterest statistics and your overall Pinterest "score." Repinly is a must see site for Pinterest devotees young and old.

Make Use Of these Free Cheat Sheets

Make Use Of is one of my favorite sites as I have previously mentioned here. If you aren't a regular visitor to their site or don't get their daily "best website" list emailed to you, what are you waiting for? Another great feature fro Make Use Of is their collection of tips sheets, guides and shortcuts for popular programs and websites such as Gmail, Twitter, You Tube, Drop Box, Evernote, Google Drive, iTunes, and Facebook and that's not all. As of this post they have 42 of these help guides and best of all they can be downloaded for free. So you certainly should take advantage of these free help guides but be sure to check out Make Use Of, you'll probably become a devoted follower like me.

Picovico - An Easy Way to Create and Share Videos

With Picovico, you can turn simple photographs into cool videos. Once you sign up (it's free) you begin by choosing a video template and then adding your pictures from Facebook, Flickr, or your computer. You can set the order of your pictures, add captions to them and add text slides if you wish. Next you add music, either from their library or add your own from your computer. Your last step is to add a video title and any additional text and you're done. Completed videos can be uploaded to You Tube or Facebook and can even be embedded into a website or blog. The site does have a 30 picture maximum but that is long enough for most people. If you like making great videos and sharing them with friends and family then give Picovico a try.

Good Films - rate, review, and find movies

If you love movie then you should check out the website Good Films. They believe that critics sometimes are wrong and the best way to find a good movie is from the people you know. Their home page contains a dot graph and each dot represents a movie that has been rated by Good Films members. Members of the site can rate review, and share the films they love with other members. Membership is free and you can invite your Facebook friends and Twitter followers to join you. Discovering a good film to watch has never been easier and Good Films is a good resource to find your next movie.

News, Sports, and 10 second videos

The journey around the world wide web has many turns and twists. I never know what new (to me) site I will discover or cool resource I'll uncover. Here are three sites I came across and am happy to share.

First is Newseum, a website that features the front pages of over 800 newspapers from all over the world. The papers can be searched by using a map, selecting a location from a list or by using the gallery which contains thumbnails of every newspaper. Please be aware that use of materials from the website does require permission of the site and the respective newspapers.

The GIF file has just become outdated. Coub is a new service that allows you to create 10 second videos uploaded from your computer or taken from You Tube or Vimeo that are similar to GIF's but the difference between them is that Coub videos have sound while GIF files are silent. Creating a Coub video is very easy to do but it does require a Facebook account to sign in which shouldn't be a problem for most people.

If you are a sports fan then you may want to check out  Sportz Hype, a new site with Pinterest like qualities. Their tag line is "a place where Sportz fans can share photos, news, videos, and much more." This site looks and feels a lot like Pinterest but there is no mistaking the focus of the site. Sports, sports, and more sports. If sports are your passion then you should certainly give Sportz Hype a try.