Date created: May 2009

Web Address: www.oxfamireland.org/clearurgear

About the Project: Brand new website for the ClearURGear project. The awesome posters were done by Hunter Design, I can’t get over what a great, fun, colourful redesign of the brand it is.

I put together this simple minisite to provide information about the campaign, and to promote its new look.

Oxfam shops are seeing a welcome increase in custom, but because of this, they are running low on donated stock to sell. If you have good quality homewares, books, music, clothes or accessories that you don’t use any longer, now’s a great time to do a clear-out and bring them to an Oxfam shop.

I just received my Postcard Box from Chris Judge in the post (things in the post! yay!) today.  Chris is a Dublin-based illustrator, a lovely chap and very very talented indeed.  He’s currently selling this collection on his website for an extremely reasonable €20.  I’m addicted to buying art on the web, and this might be one of the best deals I’ve come across.  Take a look at Chris’ site and blog to see his  colourful and joyous illustration work.

Updated – Apr 2011

Facebook have changed this yet again. The steps are:

1. Access your Page manager here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/manage/
2. Go to your Page and click “Edit Page” beneath the Page profile picture.
3. Select “Applications” and next to “Notes” please click “Go to Application.”
4. On the bottom left hand side of the page select “Edit Import Settings”

However. Lots of people (myself included) have had problems with this function. Facebook is returning an error message that feeds are invalid. I have been experiencing this problem with a feed that I know is valid, because it’s working on another Facebook page.  Sigh.

Original Instructions

In a few simple steps, here’s how you can import your blog (using the RSS feed) into a Facebook page (rather than profile).

How is it done?

1. Go to your Facebook page (or create a new one here)
2. Click on the Notes tab in the top left hand corner (you  may have to click on the plus sign to display it)
3. Select ‘Write a new note’
4. Once you’re in this window, you can access the Notes settings.
   
5. On the right-hand side of the Notes area, you can choose to import a blog.
   
6. Copy and paste the location of your blog’s RSS feed.
7. The page will then import your blog.  After you have posted to your blog, the post will show up a little later in your Facebook page.

Updated – Dec 2009

Facebook changed this option slightly after I wrote this post, and many commenters ran into problems with their feed appearing on their personal page instead of on their fan page.  Big thanks to commenter Leela Robinson who identified the correct way to do this. In short – use the Notes tab at the top of the page, not the one at the bottom right.

Facebook page?

A Facebook page is different to a Facebook profile: a profile is a personal account and must be linked to an identifiable individual, whereas a page can be set up by an individual to promote a brand, product or service.   The advantage of a page is that people can become fans of that page and can be contacted en masse, sent updates, use discussion boards, upload photos, etc.  Updates to your page will then appear on their Facebook homepage.

Why import a feed?

If you are creating a Facebook page to promote your blog, importing the blog to the page means that all your blog posts will automatically appear on your Facebook page.

What’s difficult about it?

Facebook is strangely user-unfriendly when it comes to setting up and editing pages, groups, etc.  The process is a bit counter-intuitive, as you can see above.

Lots of blogs give pointers on how to import a feed into your profile, but I had trouble finding one that gave instructions specifically for a fan page.  So I noted down the instructions here in a rare fit of helpfulness.

Some of my Facebook pages:

• Oxjam Ireland
• Oxfamhome, Belfast
• CheapEats.ie

Date created: April 2009

Web Address: www.oxfamireland.org/drc

About the Project: Noted fashion and portrait photographer Rankin travelled to the Democratic Republic of Congo with Oxfam in 2008, where he photographed residents of refugee camps in the northern Kivu province.

These photos can currently be viewed by the public in a unique outdoor exhibition in Wolfe Tone Park, beside the Jervis Centre in Dublin 1.  The exhibition will run until Friday 31st July 2009, and is part of a fundraising appeal for the people of the DR Congo.

Date created: February 2009

Web Address: www.resonatepr.com

About the Project: I recently built this site for Orlaith Finnegan, a freelance PR consultant.  Orlaith did some PR work for us on the website CheapEats.ie, and I can’t recommend her highly enough; she did a really great job in a very short amount of time.  If you’re looking for PR advice or services, Resonate PR is an excellent choice.