RSS
 

Archive for the ‘Technology’ Category

Twitter: 140 reasons it’s worth your time

17 Jan

twitterrific-icon If someone at your company is not watching your brand on Twitter (website: Twitter.com wikipedia: Twitter) you could be missing out on valuable market intelligence and an opportunity to interact with your customers in a way that makes your brand more personal. Plugging into twitter a little each day is a good way to “listen” to what is happening: in the news; in your industry; and with your customers and to the web. The web is changing fast and changing society as it does. Ideas are generated in small sub-cultures and explode outward in viral waves that influence consumer behavior, innovation, even language.

If you have not heard of Twitter, heard of but never tried it, tried it but didn’t “get it”, or seen the value but weren’t sure how to extract it, then this article is written for you.

Read the rest of this entry »

 
7 Comments

Posted in All Blog Posts, Social Networks, Technology, Web Design, Web Marketing

 

Installing wordpess into server2go

25 Jun

If you want to have a local development version of WordPress (or any other local development platform for that matter), the best way to do this is to install Server2go. This lets you have a simple, portable version of the database (mySQL) and the web server (Apache) that you can run locally and copy with all your folders, or give to others to run…

Why do this? Because otherwise, getting to the point where you can start developing themes or plugins is a pain.

I consider myself a well rounded developer. I don’t play favorites. That means, from one day to the next I may find my self in php, coldfusion, or java. I build prototypes using ext.js framework and also have local versions of Joomla, Conflunce, MediaWiki, and even Websphere portal with WCM, and SAP Portal (I keep those beasts locked away in a WMWare enviroments). But VMware is overkill for something as light Lose Weight Exercise as WordPress.
Here are the steps for setting up a local WordPress dev enviroment with Server2Go.

  1. Download Server2Go – there are several versions. To pick the right one, check the requirements of the software you want to run. Since I want to run wordpress – I look at it and downloaded this one - (only ~23MB – nice).
  2. Extract it somewhere (you can move it later) and and launch the server2go.exe. this starts the server. Any time you want to work in in, just launch it. If you want to change the way it works (like launch firefox instead of IE, edit pms_config.ini file.
  3. Server2Go will launch IE for you and show the default screen. Now we have to create a wordpress database. So click phpMyAdmin under tools on the right.
  4. In the Create Database feild type “wordpress” (no quotes) and press “Create”.
  5. Download the WordPress package and unzip it into the htdocs folder in your server2go folder.
  6. In your browser type: http://127.0.0.1:4001/wordpress/
  7. Follow the instructions onscreen – click the create wp-config.php button, then “let’s go”
  8. Type “wordpress” (no qoutes) into the Database name feild and submit.
  9. Then you see this and that’s it! WordPress should now be installed.
  10. Once your in wordpress, you can download themes from the internet and unzip them to the themes folder. Once you do, you can see them on the Design page in the wp_admin.
  11. I like to find a theme that is close to what I want and modify it. Once you find one you like, create a site in dreamweaver and edit the theme from there. You can save changes to the php files and css and see them in immediatly on the site by refreshing.

 
14 Comments

Posted in All Blog Posts, Guides, Web Software

 

Google the redeemer! Thanks be to Google.

07 Mar


Google giveth, then Google taketh away. And then, Google giveth back again. Just as in the biblical story of Job, Google looked out across its user base and spoketh undo one who is a tempter, smiling and saying “lookth ye at my user base, how upright and righteous are they. Consider my user bshoemate.”

“Ha!” sayeth the tempter, “Take away his adsense account and he will curse and defame you!” And so Google did, accusing him of click fraud although he had done none. And in his confusion and despair he looked upon the face of Google and appealleth saying – “Why have you forsaken me?” But Google made no reply…

Long bshoemate suffered. And in darkness and despair, he looked at Yahoo, but that strange portal offered no comfort. He looked to MSN but found no solace there. He traveled to the mighty Amazon, but path was not straight, the language unclear, and lost he became.

But then, an email. “Could it be! Cahloo Cahla” he cotorted in his joy and he read the email subject aloud from his open window to the streets below: “[#249567499] Google AdSense Account Reinstated!” Sweet, sweet justice he thought.

So where are the fabled ads of yore? Has he not yet put the code back on his site? Surely he must have only commented it out. “Nah, I’m in no hurry” he said, and wiser and a wearier man he rose the morrow morn.

 
8 Comments

Posted in All Blog Posts, Email, Google

 

Google Adsense Account Disabled

29 Jan

See Update: Sweet sweet justice. Praise be to Google.

I’m a big fan of Google (always have been) but I’m staring to worry that maybe I’ve given them a little to much trust and power. I have been a beta tester on almost all of their programs. I’ve played with everything in the Google lab, and been an advocate of all their services. But today I was sent a message telling me that my adsense account was disabled. I understand they have to protect the integrity of the system, but after looking into it, I can not figure out what they think I have done wrong. This is what they wrote:
Read the rest of this entry »

 
90 Comments

Posted in All Blog Posts, Google, Thoughts, Web Design, Web Marketing

 

Where were you during the internet gold rush?

09 Jan

I have a birthday that falls within days of the new year. This means I get hit with 2 wake-up calls at once. Another year to look back and reflect on then WHAM! I’m another year older.

Working in the web industry, I am constantly aware of the wealth being generated and the constant, ever increasing change going on. We are truly living in a golden age of wealth and information. I am also aware that I’ve spent my time making other people richer. I missed the first internet bubble, I coasted right through the second web 2.0 rush. And now, in my ear I can hear the distant questions from my future grandchildren who, having read about these golden days in their history book will ask:

“Grandpa, what were you doing when all this was happening? Why didn’t you invent the iPhone?” they’ll ask.
“Well,” I’ll reply, “I guess I was too busy working on other things.”
“Like what?” They’ll ask. They always ask. They are just kids after all. You can not expect them to notice the subtle tension in their grand father’s voice or the the regret in his eyes warning them that some subjects are best not talked about.
“Oh, I don’t remember…some kind of purchasing system for some corporation that threw it away 2 years later.”
“But grandpa, why didn’t you go work at Google!” they say cheerfully flipping back to the colorful page about the search giant. “It says here that even the cleaning staff got stock options and became rich. One of them was even the first man on Mars!”

“Shut up you kids!” I’ll say, “No more books!”

Then when they start to cry I’ll say “Now…who wants ice cream?”

 
1 Comment

Posted in All Blog Posts, Google, Humor, Philosophy, Thoughts, Web Design

 
« Older Entries
Newer Entries »