WinWorld

Using Eggdrop App as a virtual yard sale

General

Written by Jase Clamp Tuesday, 20 September 2011 14:17

I've sold my stuff on a number of yard sales throughout my life as I'm sure many have. One thing I never liked was all the effort involved. It don't like how you have to pick everything up and take it outside and potentially tag it. Then if it doesn't sell, you bring it back inside or take it to the thrift shop or dump. Or worse yet, if it rains you run around like crazy with tarps, etc. All this to make a couple hundred bucks (depending on what you're selling).

If you don't want to have a yard sale, there's always eBay. To me, eBay only seems to be for certain things. If you have something unique, valuable and shippable, then eBay is the way to go. A custom guitar for example. If it's a keyboard and mouse combo for $2.50 then eBay is not the way to go since there are 1000s of other sellers and you won't sell your item. The alternative is craigslist. You get to deal locally. To their credit, craigslist has kept things simple. You put in a title, price, description, place and pictures. To me this still seems a little harder than it needs to be. You've got to verify who you are and there are all these rules for posting stuff. A drawback of craigslist is that it seems you only have network marketers and dating services on there any more. They have not evolved.

Here's what I want...

I want a mobile app where all I have to do is take a picture of what I'm selling. That is litterally it. One step. If I want to title and price it, fine, its easy enough to do that quickly. Mobile phones have camera's built in so it just seems like the most logical decision to use them to make it easier to sell stuff. Recently the app "Eggdrop" came out. It seems to be pretty close to what I want. This article is a review of the app plus some things that I did to extend it's functionality into what I wanted.

How to compare us to other web firms: what's not included

General

Written by Jase Clamp Tuesday, 16 August 2011 14:22

When shopping for a new web provider, it can be difficult to compare apples to apples. There are so many variables. One of the main points of comparison is price. With web development however there could be so many things included or not included.

Take house building for example, will the builder also landscape your yard? Will they also furnish and decorate the new house?

With websites, there are services that some firms throw into the package deal that we feel should be priced seperately (analogous to the house example in landscapers and interior decorators).

How not to get scammed on SEO

General

Written by Jase Clamp Tuesday, 16 August 2011 13:09

What is SEO?

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. It's the practice of doing things to and around your website that optimizes it to rank higher in search engine results. Many people are aware of SEO but knowing that it has something to do with tags is about the extent of their knowledge.

The purpose of this article is to help you undrestand how not to get burned by companies who are promising a great deal in the arena of SEO for for maybe only a few hundred dollars.

A true story

I was speaking with a client recently. He had asked us about SEO and we'd referred him to our number one provider who we always refer people to for SEO. The gentleman contacted our SEO referal but was discouraged by the truth. He was told that it would take months to build up a first page ranking in a primary search phrase and was also told that the effort would equate to $2-3,000.

Understanding web templates

General

Written by Jase Clamp Tuesday, 16 August 2011 12:42

What is a template?

A template is a design someone has already put together that can be used for a website. It may be a generic all-purpose design or it may be an industry specific design, such as for restaurants or churches.

A good example is a Power Point template, have you ever gone to a conference and see two people use the same design theme on their powerpoint? Not really a huge deal but they did look the same. Another example is showing up to an event wearing the same dress as someone else. That is embarassing.

It's not that templates look bad, some look great. We've actually written posts on this blog before saying that if you're budget is very limited, at least get a good looking template and get started with that.

Comparing us to other web firms: design

General

Written by Jase Clamp Tuesday, 16 August 2011 11:59

When you're purchasing a web site from a design company, there are a number of comparisons you can make, such as:

• Price
• Are they local? 
• Are they big/old enough to indicate they'll be able to support you tomorrow?
• What system do they base the website on?
• Design

Both clients and web companies vary in design perceptivity

Clients: Over the years I've come to learn that design is very subjective. The way I know this is sometimes a client who is designing a site with us will give us an example of something that they like. I look at it and I have to ask "are you kidding?" I don't want to point any specific examples out, but they might look like the ones found here.

Designers: Flip the perspective - some web developers also are not very design concious. It's just a matter of how the brain is wired. Some web developers have engineering backgrounds. They enjoy the technical and functional aspects of web development, but they may be the first to tell you that their design sense is ver limited. They will deliver a functional and clean website but it may be just plain.