Multimedia message in a box

Online toolkit: Message-in-a-Box

Publisher: Tactical Technology Collective, 2009

Image credits: Message in a Box

How can Web 2.0 new interactive internet tools and multimedia be used for advocacy and international development? This clear and comprehensive online toolkit covers every aspect of setting up a multimedia strategy, recommending tools, downloads and advocacy tactics and approaches.

It offers practical advice and instructions on using sites such as Flickr, content management tools, blogging, video and audio, and provides a diverse number of links to downloads for beginner multimedia users. These enable photo editing, website design, content management, DVD ripping and animation.

The toolkit provides information and advice on developing communication and advocacy strategies using the following types of multimedia:

• Audio looks at information on how to use specific types of software such as Audacity, SongBird and OurMedia, podcasting, recording and editing interviews 

• Internet looks at planning and maintaining a website, running a blog, email marketing, search engine maximisation and content management systems

• Images looks at information on copyright and photo-sharing, comics and animation, and how to crop or scale images

• Print looks at creating a logo, designing a newsletter and available software such as OpenOffice, Scribus and Inkspace

• Video looks at strategies, security and safety; creating videos and tools for doing this, publishing and publicising videos, advocacy videos without a camera 

• Mobile phones looks at creating and sharing content, multimedia capacity, updating blogs and websites, security and privacy

Topics specific to development workers and campaigners are addressed, such as working with low bandwidth, freely available software or making a video without a video recorder. In addition, the contents of the website are available on CD for offline browsing.