Welcome to the NewsCube. We’re stoked that you are giving our six-sided, 3D, story experience a spin.
Cubing is a new and innovative way to tell and interact with stories of all types. Using a NewsCube you can break up a complex story into sections or points of view, and let readers explore it in a way that suits them. It’s a lot more compact and efficient than using a standard web page, and it’s fun to use.
Using the content creation tools you can write your own words, upload images and add sounds. The NewsCube can be used to create and curate multi-dimensional narratives, either by aggregating content or creating your own original stories. Cubers can pull together documents, images, videos, and other story parts in one place, bundle them up and share them with others.
Six-sided storytelling
There are plenty of great ways to tell stories using a NewsCube. Here’s six ideas:
- Media: have sides dedicated to text, images, video, social media, links and documents;
- Time: stories in six minutes, hours, days, weeks, years, decades or centuries;
- Space: give your reader six places to explore;
- Voices: there’s always more than one source, maybe even six;
- Perspective: Most stories have more that one point of view. Think politics, economics, society, vested interests, business, or ideology;
- Action: what happened? Explore six events.
Getting started
1. Sign up: To create a NewsCube you need to sign up. As we’re in Beta and ironing out bugs, we’ll give you a code to get access. While you’re waiting, spend some time exploring the NewsCubes already created and share them.
2. Create: Once you’ve created an account you’ll be able to craft your own NewsCube. Use the Create Cube button to name your NewsCube and set it up. All NewsCubes are ‘private’ by default, but you can make it public when it’s ready.
3. Add content: Your Cube will be blank to begin with so use the +Content button to access the creation pane. From here you can write a story, load a URL or embed rich media. The NewsCube can support a range of file types, so you can upload images, audio or documents. Make sure you add a title and a few words to describe the content as this is what appears on the cube. To add more hit the +Content button again. You can put up to nine stories on each side and we’ve created templates for one, four, six and nine.
4. Spin: To work on a new side, spin your NewsCube by swiping your cursor in the black space outside the Cube. Then select the side you want and use the +Content button. You can also navigate between sides by selecting the pencil icon in the top left corner and then clicking on the desired side (numbered 1 to 6).
5. Share: Once you’ve filled your NewsCube you’ll want to make it ‘public’. Head to the My Cubes page. The gears icon will load the management tool so you can change the status, rename sides, or change the category. You can edit or delete your NewsCube from here, and make it collaborative. Use sharing tools to post your NewsCube to Facebook, Twitter, Google+ or embed it on a website.
6. Present: To play or present a NewsCube head to the Gallery or click on one of your own Cubes. This will launch a full screen version without the menus. Alternately, you can launch full scree from the expand icon beside the +Content button in edit mode. Once you’ve filled your NewsCube make sure you tell people about it. Use the sharing tools to post your Cube on Facebook, Twitter or email it to friends.
Need help? Use the Feedback button in the top right or get in touch