Minerva

Being a web development firm, we are constantly challenged with engineering issues of complex data sets and how to invoke a working solution that is user friendly for both admins and site visitors. Recently, we were challenge in just such a way - to build a 'program schedule' for a local TV station. Normally, I wouldn't post something like to this to a blog - but this stands out in many ways.

To many of you, it may seem like a straightforward process. There are times, dates, durations, and preempts that must be addressed. The reality of it is - we weren't dealing with data insomuch as we were dealing with patterns. This ephipheny reduced overall development time by 70% or more, provided a longer running set of information with less data.

Identifying the pattern removed a lot of the complex date manipulation that was first assumed to be needed. In a nutshell, we decided to forego assigning a date to any certain aired show. Whoa there cowboy! How is one to know when it airs? The answer is we just needed to know what day of week and time it was to air. That was the pattern. Dates were irrelevant except for preempts. Jeopordy! for example didnt air on dates 1st, 2nd, and 3rd and so forth, it aired every night at a set time. Shows that only aired once a week, or in a 2 or 3 day combo (Tuesdays/Thursdays etc) needed to know only what days were affected at set times. The State of the Union aired on a known date and time as a preempt.

So there we were,  a pattern, 4 known exceptions, and we can schedule shows as far out as 20 years or more down the road in an unlimited manner. Realisticlly, we only shows no more than 30 days in advance from the current running date. But once the pattern is in the database, the client doesn't need to alter it unless changes occur in the pattern. (New shows, new seasons, etc). Once the pattern was in place, the known 4 exceptions, would be date sensitive - we just needed to know when to interupt the pattern with an override.

Sure there are a multitude of ways to devise a TV schedule, thats just data. From the simlple to the complex, there is no right or wrong way - just efficiency on 2 fronts. Programming the process and end user ease of use. People laugh when I say "dateless schedules", it does indeed sound like any oxymoron - BUT thats because most people don't think in terms of patterns. When you see "TV Schedule", do you automatically think a grid of listings sorted by time and date? Delve deeper, look beyound the interface. Once a pattern has been defined, you can then manipulate the data itself in almost any way imaginable.

When we went from using dates to using days - we extended the duration of any given show to infinity. (The 6pm news airs everyday forever). Each show has its own pattern, each day has its own pattern, see the pattern here? Knowing what exceptions could be encountered took some thought, but in the end, when you have less than 5 exceptions (my rule of thumb), I consider the pattern stable. We can plan and program for these exceptions for any scenario.

Understanding patterns and identifying them is no easy task, the human mind can see patterns sometimes easier than any program or device. Honing that skill is the challenge, it requires thinking outside of the box. Take off the pretty interface other people have created, look at the raw data. Take the known and the expectations and throw it out the door - we're looking for patterns not preconceived solutions.

In the end, Digital Beckley created a 'dateless schedule' that is easily administered, can go on for infinity, and is easy to use as a end user. Projected cost savings are in the thousands of dollars. Did we invent something new? Who knows, but its cool to have coined a new term.

Digital Beckley is pleased to announce that we have refined our propriatary Content Management System using our own TruDepth SEM (Search Engine Marketing) process.

Every page the client creates is provided full semantic navigation along with in-depth meta data, above and beyond the normal keywords and description. Every page is automatically GeoCoded and provides additional semantic meta data.

No matter how deep or how obscure the page, our TruDepth SEM process ensures it is easily indexed by the major search engines, geomapping applications and specialized (or semantic) search engines.

Couple this with the fact you will soon be able to update leading social networking sites right from your web site's CMS. A single login to manage all your online assets. This improves your computer's security and saves you precious time.

We've also enhanced many usability factors in the CMS itself. Building photo galleries is now super simple to do. We've added built-in XHTML and CSS validation for those with techies on staff including a full screen previewer. Now that just rocks!

Digital Beckley is the ONLY place in the world to get the TruDepth SEM and we are also the only place to get the TruDepth Advanced CMS.

The recent tragic happenings in Haiti is futher being compounded by fake scams, alerts, and donation bids on Facebook (and other non-validating social sites).  Even Facebook had to take direct counter-measures to reduce the impact of 'fake' pages and scams. What will we learn from this?

Social networking continues to be hounded upon for marketing businesses - BUT - there is no way to glean whether a business is legit or not on most social network sites. It is unfortunate that many people will be taken in by some of these neferious perps that make a bad situation worse. A current MSNBC article denotes some pitfalls for businesses and network security.

Anyone can create a facebook page without any type of authentication (other than a confirmation email).  I could create one to misdirect potential customers from my competitors to my 'fake' page that 'looks' like a competitor's. (but thats bad form) The only REAL self-authenicating place for online interaction is your real offical business web site. These are much harder to usurp (and probably more expensive to do!).

Protecting a business's good name online is much more than just good marketing content online - it also involves how your end viewers use and interact with that company online. Allowing 'anyone' the ability to post to your 'wall' - produces content your users have access that to that you may or may not condone. Oh, so your security allows friends of friends to post not everyone, ah well, thats different then. Not. Think about it - do you know EVERY person within that network? Well lets just make it for 'Friends' only - wow, still alot of people huh? Remember, it only takes 1 single individual to go from a positive enjoyable experience to "holy crap how am I going to fix/correct this?" Do you, as a business, scruntize every friend request?

I continually wonder on the beneficial use of social networking sites - it does work for some, others eh maybe not so much. For small companies and organizations using the leading social sites, all it takes is one neferious post on their 'wall' that links to a virus or trojan and customer trust goes out the window.

I recently received an unsolicited commercial email from an esteeemed business owner and that got me thinking of what in the world West Virginia marketing and digital marketing companies are doing.

In essence, WV State Code prohibits the sending of unsolicited bulk email to WV residents. It additionally provides for reciptients of that bulk email to be awarded about $1000.00 PER EMAIL! Basically, if you are using a OPT-IN service for bulk e-mail you're fine, but if you are using an OPT-OUT email service you may be up a creek without a paddle (and liable!). Section 46 A- 6 G- 1 of the State Code clearly states the standing policy.

If your marketing or digital marketing firm advises the use of any OPT-OUT service, run like hell. Not only will it serve to increase the amount of spam (which we ALL hate), but it very well could make potential (or existing) customers relunctant to do business with you. They have to take minutes out of their already busy day to handle some thing they shouldn't need to - getting off the list you put them on. This can be a pretty harrowing experience depending what in the world YOU got them into. Not a positive user experience thats for sure.

Sure collecting e-mail addresses is a good business practice, but what to do with them is a whole other ballgame. Even an overall positive campaign can have some serious financial reprocussions if just ONE person decides that an email was 1 spam too many. So if your marketing firm said something to the effect of "get all the email addresses you can and send them mass emails", you could be getting yourself into trouble. Obviously, now, there is more to it than just sending a simple email to thousands of people.

There is a good way and a bad way to use list servs or bulk e-mail transports, the good way CAN increase business and customer relations. Digital Beckley provides a powerful solution for list serv/bulk e-mail use and can provide guidence on how to maximize its use without being spam.

 

The new year 2010 is going to be just awesome for Digital Beckley. Our 5th year in business and it is the year we once again raise the standards bar in web development. A new epoch if you will.

Over the course of the year we will be offering several new technologies, using some old technologies in new ways, and expanding our horizons as we continue to grow.

First and foremost - we will begin offering hosting for PHP driven web sites. This will allow us to expand our hosting services to a wider variety of clients (and of course we can host our competitor's stuff now!). We will be running the latest Windows PHP Engine available to take advanatge of all the PHP 5.3.x features.  We have a specialized dedicated server standing by to start PHP hosting in January which time we will begin accepting a limited number of 3rd party web sites for hosting.

Additionally, our in-house proprietary Content Management System (CMS) is REALLY expanding! Not only do we offer some of the most powerful editing features but we will be expanding it to include updating YOUR social network directly from our CMS. One centralized login and you can manage all your online assets! (is this another first? being able to manage social networks from a CMS? I like to think so) - Imagine: 1/3 the time to make these updates, for some companies, this could be a considerable cost savings for them.

While I can't let all the cats out of the bag until formally announced, I can say we've made some MAJOR modifications to our automated Search Engine Optimization (SEO) data and usage. Aside from all the 'normal' SEO stuff like meta data and content management, our new enhancements will allow OUR clients to be semantically available for newer more specific search engines. Our clients information will be more easily mined by government, research, and academic faculties. These 3 'arms' of the internet have been leading innovation since the inception of the Internet - why not make our clients appeal to them better?

On an inside note, Digital Beckley is ramping up to release a private Internet search engine to begin cataloging ALL local and regional web sites. Watch this blog for our data requirements for getting YOUR web site indexed. No, we don't plan on taking on Google any time soon - but we think this will become a useful tool locally and regionally when we release the search engine for public use.  This is not an aggregating service, we will actually be spidering local web sites and indexing these for searching.

Need to reach 'specialized' audiences like the visual impaired? Ask us what we can do with a TTY capatible web site or direct dial-in services! Need a specialized 'community' environment? Message boards, file exchanges, private e-mail, user management and sharable documents can all be accomplished - right from your own in-house server or ours.

Digital Beckley has already established itself as a powerhouse for web design and development. Watch for our upcoming press releases for more news and precedent setting features from us.

 

 

Useful for creating complex RegEx sequences based on actual string input.

http://www.txt2re.com/index-vb.php3

Digital Beckley has made a number of accomplishments in 2009. Releasing around 13 custom designed web sites, our production schedule has been phenomenal!

We are a small company, no doubt there - but like our services and products, we can play with the big boys. What makes us atrractive to the new customer is our ability to provide ENTERPRISE level services. Each and every web site is custom coded by hand, including our powerful (and flexible) content management system (CMS).

Here some site objectives we have seen no where else locally:

• One web site that can be configured to operate no less than 8 domains simutaneously and have the ability to scale with new companies and domains. (check out www.raleighmine.com) - The ENTIRE web site is managed in-house by the client.
  
  
• Targeted vertical markets using 3rd tier domain names with a sinlge web site. (check out www.hortcoutureplants.com). The client manages all 4 mini-sites as one web site. The specialized CMS we designed allows the client to target specific markets.
  
  
• Highly specialized custom 'ad hoc' searches. (check out Heriatge's Truck Inventory search feature). Happily, it also includes a definable keyword search, you can select what parts you want to search in.
  
  
• Established a baseline of what consitutes a 'standard web site' for commercial use. (check out www.houchinsblock.com). Provides powerful SEO/SEM features. Can handle up to 25,000 pages of content.
  
  
• Weather DIRECTLY from the government's NOAA mainframes. (check out - opps wait THAT site hasn't been released as of this posting shhhh). Fully private branded to boot.
  
  
• Provided online demos on how to perform tasks with our technology and services. Easy to follow step-by-step insructions in a playable flash format. (check out www.digitalbeckley.com/demos.asp )
  

With every site release we raise the bar on what a web site can do for a company. Of course, this goes without saying that the excellent developers and artists behind the scenes at Digital Beckley are truely the ones who make it happen.

Now thats what I call news.

Finally some vindication that social networking outlets really are a waste of time (and money). A recent study by Pear Analytics has shown that 40.55% of all posts on Twitter is actually just pointless babble that really accomplsihes nothing. The whitepaper (found here) has other interesting tidbits concerning the content (and context) of twitter posts.

 In my humble opinion - the majority of tweets are complete waste of time and resources. Lets face it - unless a company is generating something newsworthy or setting the bar for anything - is there that MUCH worthy of twitting? Most small to mid size companies specialize in a central product or service, really just how much 'relative' information can be posted FREQUENTLY?

If you use Twitter for commercial purposes (aka non-personal/social) what percentage of posted data would be considered "babble"?

Document sharing. The foundation of collaborative work. Many people are excited know that Google Docs is allowing sharing of documents now.

Digital Beckley offers, as part of our Enterprise class e-mail solutions, folder sharing. This allows a customer to share out a folder from with their online e-mail with other members of their team. This goes for contacts, calendars, tasks, notes, and actual e-mails. (oh wait - does your e-mail provider place restrictions on document sizes to be attached? Typically 10 MB or less.  Digital Beckley provides CUSTOM file size attachments up to 100MB and larger!)

See our online demo of this built-in feature at http://www.digitalbeckley.com/demos/demos.htm

Wait, well that is all well and good but what if you wanted to share with some one OUTSIDE of your organization? We have a solution for that too! In fact many of our clients are doing that now (and have been for several years) - our sites can be designed to allow our clients to upload ANY file to be shared/disseminated or what have you by uploading directly to their web site and providing their customer access to a special section of the web site. This can be restricted based on passwords or open for all to access.

Is Digital Beckley saying we're better than Google? Not at all. What we ARE saying is that we are truely a professional development firm that doesn't depend on FREE tools from 3rd parties to get our job (or yours) done to the highest degree.

Heres a "gotcha" you may want to consider. If you upload a confidential or proprietary document containing sensitive 'protected' information to Google - you may lose certain rights. Google is considered a platform where you agree to THEIR terms to utilize it. By uploading a document to Google, you are giving up certain rights. That document may be considered 'pubically accessible' since Google can read the information and present ads based on it. This potentially can render the information as 'pubically' available. So all the effort to keep something confidential, company trade secret, or otherwise sensitive - becomes moot. Trade secrets MUST be protected or you lose the right to call it a trade secret. Check with your attorney on the legal ramifications! (oh bother another expense)

Excerpt from Google's privacy page for Doc Sharing:
Some features (e.g., gadgets) are provided by third parties, who may receive and process your data. When you use one of these features, you may be sharing data with the third party, including allowing the third party to process your data. Access to your data by these third parties is not governed by this Privacy Policy.

And finally - the fine print in the Terms of Service from Google:
11. Content licence from you

11.1 You retain copyright and any other rights you already hold in Content which you submit, post or display on or through, the Services. By submitting, posting or displaying the content you give Google a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free, and non-exclusive licence to reproduce, adapt, modify, translate, publish, publicly perform, publicly display and distribute any Content which you submit, post or display on or through, the Services. This licence is for the sole purpose of enabling Google to display, distribute and promote the Services and may be revoked for certain Services as defined in the Additional Terms of those Services.

11.2 You agree that this licence includes a right for Google to make such Content available to other companies, organizations or individuals with whom Google has relationships for the provision of syndicated services, and to use such Content in connection with the provision of those services.

11.3 You understand that Google, in performing the required technical steps to provide the Services to our users, may (a) transmit or distribute your Content over various public networks and in various media; and (b) make such changes to your Content as are necessary to conform and adapt that Content to the technical requirements of connecting networks, devices, services or media. You agree that this licence shall permit Google to take these actions.

11.4 You confirm and warrant to Google that you have all the rights, power and authority necessary to grant the above licence

In the end - ask yourself - "how protected am I on Google docs?" THIS is why Digital Beckey provides all the needed services within our clients control - securely, privately, and without loss of any rights or priviledges.

Absolutely nothing. Nada, Zip, Zero, Zilch.

Did you know that NONE of the major search engines use meta keywords? Oh my, how can that be? Did your SEO/Integrated digital marketing company tell you search engines used keywords? I am sure they did, along with other misinformation in order to get you to write a check. (Heres a widely accepted article on this - http://www.pandia.com/optimization/SEO-metatags.html )

Keywords are used in meta data to describe what your site is about. Some search engines then see if those words are in your content, usually page by page. If there is a match then and ONLY then will the search engine possibly rank you. Search engines are more concerned about what words are used in your CONTENT than what is in your meta data keywords.

Google ignores the keyword meta data! Did your SEO company tell you this? I wonder else they may have or NOT may have told you.

Did you know that by using a 'format' of keywords for one search engine rankings may actually be lowering your rankings in other search engines? There is no standard format for using keywords, but every SEO firm will tell what THEIR format is. Just take it all with a grain of salt.