I want to give a big virtual high-five to Dave Rahn and my associates at CustomChannels for the great article written about them in today’s Denver Post. While the radio industry itself suffers, its outside ideas like custom playlists on CD quality formats and genres targeted to listeners specific tastes that really stand out.
CustomChannels has a great crew and I’m proud to have collaborated with them on so many unique opportunities!
Being a big proponent of OpenSource software, I’ve been using the OpenX ad server platform for many years now. Needless-to-say I was very happy to have recently downloaded and installed their latest release which features some huge improvements to their only shortcoming- the user interface.
OpenX is a free PHP/mySQL software thats fantastic for delivering advertisements for web for pretty much any kind of delivery from small ad tiles on your website or full server functionality (like for media players). Recently implemented on a Flash radio player developed for my buddies at CustomChannels, I’ve found it to be an easily customized and implemented solution for keeping tracking of ads and getting professional level statistics.
If you’re looking for a way to increase revenue to your website or implement a full-scale ad campaign for media delivery, ask me more about OpenX!
Contracted through my associates at MindFlint Media, the heavy hitting IT consulting firm RampRate requested some snazzy data-driven Flash items developed for their new site redesign undertaking via the MindFlint crew.
Using XML to drive the data, these simple animated Flash pieces add a nice pop to their new layout and are easily updatable and scalable! Since I’m not involved in the full development of the site, I posted some samples up on my test server for viewing: check out RampRate’s Flash pieces here.
I read an interesting article on Yahoo! Tech news today following a case of a mayor in a suburb of Raleigh, North Carolina who has decided to begin posting public notices online rather than using local newspapers. The mayor claims to have saved the city budget a surplus of $13,000 by utilizing online advertising rather than papers and it has caused quite a stir in the local media since state law previously required all public notices to be in newspaper form.
I think this poses and interesting conundrum: posting public notices (such as re-zoning and land developments in this case) online obviously shows a clear-cut pricing difference than newspapers which arguable saves everyone money, but at the same time folks who don’t have internet access (do they even exist anymore?) could miss out on important public messages.
I’m all for the death of newspapers and not just because I’m an online aficionado- I happen to think the newspaper had plenty of opportunities to change its pricing model, but like many dying media industries, refused to do so while it was still profitable. Evolve or die, no?
Mountain High Water
Today I launched a refitted site for my associates Mountain High Water. Mountain High offers quality products for large scale water purification (like for lakes, parks and golf courses). Eager to make updates to their website as business has grown, I recommended an upgrade to allow the site to run off a content management platform in order to ease their ability to keep their content up-to-date.
This version of the site features some new Flash highlights, better usability organization, more SEO friendly perma-linking, and a brand new cost-savings calculator. Lookin’ smooth, guys!
So I’ve been throwing the “W” word around a lot lately, and I’ve got to say there’s a solid foundation behind it. Let it be known- I love the WordPress platform! Coming from a guy who’s sampled a dozen different content management toolsets and even developed a number of my own, that’s a resounding vote of confidence.
In my mind, the two biggest aspects of using a CMS are: it has to be easy to use and it has to be flexible enough to tackle unique designs. By mastering the ability to create my own skins and custom plugins, I’ve been able to accomplish both of those facets quickly and effectively- with some new plugins developed lately that utilize WordPress data in Flash. The final bonus- since this is free software it benefits both myself and my clients: they essentially get the exact site they’re looking for with the ability to update it for free!
Keep an eye out for more WordPress updates – I’ll have some neat new sites posted soon and may be presenting a quick ‘Press seminar at IndieArsenal in the new future.
This simple blog belongs to Tom Benway: a web developer, graphic designer, and streaming media expert who likes to turn typical design and programming solutions on their sides.
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