Guidelines

[last update: 9 Feb 2018]


WHY to join CCT?

We live in the “Urban Millennium“: today more than half of the world’s population lives in cities and by 2030 this number will swell to about 5 billion. Because of globalisation and gentrification, many cities are rapidly losing their local, historical and communal identities in a land-grab for commercial space, for the so-called “non-places”. – [like our friend and partner The MNR says and demonstrates] – Creative people, artists and activists, are often plugged into interesting networks, they know places worth visiting for aesthetic or social reasons and they know fascinating people and unique stories. They have a cultural awareness and an unusual sensitivity that make them see life and reality in a different way: they see those details that make the difference and – we believe – different is beautiful! Somehow, they always and wherever look for beauty. So they can help us to find it in our cities, often made ugly and all similar by the “non-places”. Why? We need beauty. Humans need beauty. Isn’t it?

CCT is The Guidezine for curious people made with ❤ by creative locals & travellers [like you]! – who want to be part of an ever-growing creative curious and passionate global community sharing projects and experiences, co-working to create and communicate beauty everywhere!

CCT’s mission is to promote Creativity, Culture, Territory and to inspire people to Create, Communicate, Travel. I C & U? 🙂



HOW TO BE(COME) A CCT-Author!

  1. FILL OUT & SUBMIT this form: Be a CCTzen! (if you are a creative, curious and passionate) or this form: Be our Friend! (if you are an independent cultural organisation).
  2. CONTRIBUTOR | After this submission, you’ll receive (within few days) an EMAIL with: your personal LOG IN access to our platform (username & password that you could modify) as Contributor, to create and save your first 3 posts/stories as drafts, and some useful GUIDELINES.
  3. YOUR FIRST POSTS | Every time you save a draft, the CCTeam will check it and – if in harmony with our editorial line – we’ll publish it within few days. If not, we’ll let you know why not… and if you want, you could try again with a new post. Or we can simply be friends!
  4. AUTHOR | After your first 3 posts/stories – saved as drafts by you and published by the CCTeam – you’ll be able as Author to create and directly publish as many posts/stories as you love. Being “author” means also to be featured in our CCTzens page and map, and to be officially part of this creative community!


Here 9 TIPS to be a PERFECT CCT-Author!

  1. TELL what you LOVE.
  2. TELL a STORY. Behind PLACES and PEOPLE, CULTURES and TRAVELS, there are stories made of DETAILS that make the difference. And different is beautiful, you know.
  3. TEXT: Every post (lenght: min. 1.000 characters, including spaces) should belong to 2 Categories, a CITY and a COLUMN. Before writing your article, START with the CITY (or COUNTRY if it’s a Travel article) in CAPITAL LETTERS (see the format of our articles as examples). And before publishing, select both City and Column in the Categories. Also, don’t forget: Title, Excerpt (short intro/description to start with the CITY in capital letter), Focus Keywords (SEO), Tags, Featured (Cover) Image. And to select the format (standard, video, gallery, audio). In the article, LINK only USEFUL external pages to open in a new window; HIGHLIGHT some key-words in BOLD. JUSTIFY the text! We accept reportages, features and interviews, as well as visual pieces of all kinds. IMPORTANT: we aim for our posts to hold certain LONGEVITY (articles about Events should therefore be written in a way that prolongs their relevance, focusing more on the history and cultural significance). Yes, we want “eternal” stories! Ah, last VERY IMPORTANT thing: we avoid duplicate content (please, do not copy-paste from your blog) and we also try to avoid “diaries” (we want your personal point of view, we do NOT want your personal journal).
  4. LANGUAGES: Feel free to write in English AND/OR in Italian (more languages COMING SOON: Spanish, Portuguese, French, German). If you write only in English (for example), the Italian page will automatically say that the article is available only in English at this link… and vice-versa. But if your post is mainly visual (photos/illustrations/video), you could simply copy-paste your content in every different language version (with Title + Excerpt in English).  Coming soon: our readers could translate every post in any language thanks to a Google translator plugin (it’s not perfect but it’s the best we can do for now).
  5. IMAGES & VIDEOS: Every post must have AT LEAST 1 image/photo/illustration (72 dpi; long side: min. 1024 or 1280 pixel / max. 2048 pixel) with copyright permission or Creative Commons licenses (please include their original URLs) or BEST thing: you are the author! VIDEO (song/movie/whatever): instead of simply link it, EMBED IT from Vimeo or YouTube to show it directly on your post (width: 730 pixel).
  6. If you are more PHOTOGRAPHER than writer, then you can publish a photo GALLERY. Anyway, it’s better if there is a short or long introduction* to your photo reportage or series. And you can also write a short description under each photo. | If you are a FILMMAKER, you can embed your videos from your Vimeo or YouTube channels. | If you are an ILLUSTRATOR, you can publish your illustrations (same thing: with a short or long intro). | If you are an ARTIST (poet, painter, musician, songwriter, street artist, designer, guerrilla gardener, etc…), you can tell us something about your CITIES and TRAVELS with/through your Art. Here, every kind of communication is welcome IF used to tell curious stories about Seeties!
  7. VERY IMPORTANT: please, try to publish at least 1 POST per month. Inactive authors’ profiles are too sad! Be active and smile 🙂
  8. SHARE! As soon as your post is online, SHARE IT on your social networks (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+, Linkedin, etc.); and if you tag CCT-SeeCity, we’ll re-share it on our social media (as soon as we read the notification).
  9. SPREAD CCT! JOIN our Facebook Group (for CCTzens & CCTravellers) to share news, questions and projects, and INVITE your CREATIVE FRIENDS/colleagues to join this community just sending them this link: www.cct-seecity.com/you/. Sharing is caring! Thank you!! 🙂

* Do you need help?

We use WordPress: if it’s your first time with this smart and simple platform, you can visit https://en.support.wordpress.com/posts/#publish-a-new-post. For any doubt or trouble, do not hesitate to contact the CCTeam: hello@cct-seecity.com.


JOIN the CCTeam!

We are always looking for Community Managers & Editors-in-Chief from different countries and continents. If you are interested in joining the CCTeam, let us know! We’ll be very very happy to hear from you. But first of all you have to be(come) a perfect Author! 😉



I’ve seen a Silent Song, I’ve heard a Smiling Star, I’ve tasted a Small Street,
I’ve breathed a Secret Soul, I’ve touched a Different Life.
#SeeCity, Surprise.