Do not fear the code!
October 30, 2008
Have you ever seen the words “embed” or “embed code” on a web site, and wondered what that meant? Embed refers to code that you can use to create a small version of a multimedia (visual and/or audio based) Web application on another Web page outside the service that it resides on.
For example, you can put (embed) a YouTube video on a blog or wiki page. But first, you have to face the code — don’t worry, it won’t be painful. First, copy the code. Services like You Tube, Slideshare, Flickr, and many others will usually have the embed code on the page for the video (see above for an example. If you see the video or slide show somewhere else, it might list a link to the embed code). Then copy the code.
Next figure out what you want to do with the code — in a blog post, a wiki (Wikispaces, Wet Paint, and PB Wiki all take embed code), or simple web page sites like Jottit.com? You will either look for an embed tool (usually, it looks like a TV set), or if it gives you the option of seeing “Code,” click on that. Paste the code where asked. In some cases (say, embedding You Tube video) you may just need to paste the page URL without all those pesky brackets. You can also use this trick to add video to Google Earth place marks (just go to the properties page for a place mark, and add the You Tube embed code).
I hope this lets you see how EASY it is to add multimedia to your wikis, blog posts, and other places on the web. -ALICE MERCER
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