@T: ALWAYS THE TWAIN

What a woman has to do to make online advertising work……………Apply 360-2020 sense and get coding………..

It’s well-known that Flash advertising on the Web is not as successful as it should be. This is because the marketers, SEO specialists and advertisers may not have either the technical skills or the imagination to increase user interaction with the advert. What currently happens is that the Flash advert acts as a PUSH mechanism, bombarding the online user with its message (which they resent as an intrusion) — rather than pulling and attracting them in as a process of discovery.

The current solution deployed by marketers, to make adverts work better, is to ask UI designers to recommend where the advert would be better positioned. The answer the UI designer typically provides is:

* near any log-in panel

* top of right-hand side column

* middle of the article to break up the text

* bottom of left-hand side column

In fact, the real problem lies NOT in the position of the advert but in the way with which it entices online users to engage with it and go on a journey of discovery about the content! That’s an obvious.

Now, when things don’t work I have a tendency to go ahead and fuse any technical, creative and business knowhow I may have……..until it DOES work. Here’s what I mean in relation to increasing advertising engagement and user interactivity on a website.

In the next tech videos, I’ll demo how to re-imagine and customize AJAX to create a dynamic RSS page, an ordered list accordion and a non-SVG edit in place collaboration areas which foster more user interactivity and is flexible enough for their personal choice.

This will provide a glimpse into the types of technology I’m leveraging to create my version of what features a website UI should have and what the site should be able to do for users, advertisers, companies and collaborators alike.

Finally today sourcebinder has invited me into their alpha testing group.

I registered on their site many months ago because as readers are aware I’m interested in systems which facilitate linkage and sense-making of what may be seemingly discrete, silo information sources. When I saw this video from them on YouTube, it looked like they’re trying to synaptically connect information sources in a visually and technically innovative way (with Wii, haptics, Papervision3D and AS3 in synch):

Initially, it’s obvious that this alpha group is extremely small. At this initial stage I count 6 participants, including myself, who’ve activated their invites and are exploring the features available.

Over the next few days I’ll explore more and update everyone on functionality and ease of use as I discover it myself. At first glance, the layout is quite neat — although clearly oriented towards people who may be more technically capable than the mass consumer; this UI does not look like a MySpace / Facebook / Twitter. It’s an amalgam between viewzi, onellama (a radio music site a friend of a friend founded) and a music download iPhone app store that I once happened upon. In any case, I’m looking forward to playing around with it and testing what it has to offer.

ALPHAs, BETAs, CONTENT OWNERSHIP + TWAIN

Following what was an unexpectedly awful experience with a SemWeb beta last year (appallingly unprofessional management team, systematic breach of user goodwill and trust on their part, lack of consideration towards user feedback and the decimation of collaborative user content), I’ve made the decision NOT to contribute my content or insights to any site / mgmt team where users are not valued, where users can’t monetize their content within a reasonable timeframe, where users’ time(s) and positive energies are being wasted or where, as a user, I simply feel uncomfortable with my reputation being associated with that particular platform.

I am a quality content contributor — as shown by the fact Google Knol has awarded me “Top Pick Knol” for three different postings — and I will only engage on quality platforms with quality management teams.

Platforms and management teams I do recommend entrusting content with include:

* Google Knol (http://knol.google.com/k/twain/how-to-lol/31fjy9fjsu1x2/25)

* Slideshare (http://www.slideshare.net/twain/web-30-socially-voiced-cocreation-47097)

* dipity (http://www.dipity.com/Twain)

* debategraph (http://debategraph.org/Flash/fv.aspx?r=7714&d=2&i=1)

* Ning (http://www.ning.com)

* LinkedIn (http://www.linkedin.com)

* Thumbtack (http://thumbtack.livelabs.com/)

A lot of marketing research is currently being conducted on online behaviors and motivations. Here’s an insight into me as an online contributor. I’m not the type of person who creates a socnet account to garner followers or to throw electric sheep around — although I admit I have a facebook and myspace account simply to prevent anyone squatting on my name and then posting items pretending to be me.

For someone who enjoys sharing knowhow, I’ve simply made the choice to exclusively participate on platforms where the return on utility (ROU), the reciprocity of user respect (RUR) and the collaborative  dispersion of sense (CDS) is high. Users’ content, their collaborative capabilities and their time are precious and valuable.

There is absolutely no point giving a platform like that SemWeb play these treasures and gold nuggets for them to exploit when there are a million and one other competing platforms out there which do treat users, their content and their contributions with respect, and where they can monetize their content or organize / promote / own it in a way which suits their needs.

CONTENT IS KING, CONTEXT IS QUEEN AND CONSIDERATION ARE THEIR PROGENY, (C) Twain, 2009

This weekend I’ll expand on this phrase I coined in response to someone’s comment to my Google knol on ‘The Global Brain’ and explain how it relates to a viable monetization model for Web 3.0.

LONDON 2012 — ROYAL MINT DESIGN A 50 PENCE COMPETITION

I’ll also release some images and a video of my submission to this competition. Essentially, the Royal Mint is inviting the public to design the tails side of the 50 pence coin in the run-up to the London 2012 Olympics. There are 27 sports themes for designers to choose from and the prize includes seeing their designs appearing on 50 pence coins in circulation as of March 2010.

It’s been a little while since I sketched anything so I found the flow arcs of my wrists not as flexible as they were when I sketched more, but I’m pleased with the design concept I submitted!

That’s all for now except perhaps to say that my Knol entry “How to LOL” is apparently in the lead to win the Google Knol-Dummies contest and that some parties from the Knol Authors Foundation would like me to join them.

Again, because of the bad experience with the SemWeb play I’m reluctant to allocate my time to helping systems and teams improve — unless it’s actually my job or I’m being financially remunerated for my efforts, upfront.

Goodwill which isn’t reciprocated or respected is simply exploitation and that’s……….MORALLY WRONG.

I’ve been busy as usual. Firstly, I’ve created the favicon which is now inserted into each web browser so that the browser too is distinctively ALWAYS THE TWAIN (@T):

Tomorrow, I’m going to include a counter on the site to show how many visitors have arrived @ ALWAYS THE TWAIN.

On another practical side, in the search for a new mouse, I’ve ordered this one whilst I wait for my Christmas gift of a WACOM kit:

Today I spent most of my time getting to grips with Google Maps API again and wondering how to do a dynamic RSS feed with geocode into something like JACKSphere with Papervision3D and some Flex. Well………..I happened upon this brilliant desktop and website application:

* Flickrvision built by David Troy (who did twittervision)

There’s also a cool 3D version that makes use of Google Earth to showcase live dynamic updates of flickr photos posted all over the world, with their times and geocodes:

I have seen something similar by a German Flash developer a few years ago — albeit it was with news rather than Flickr photos and I’m sure someone will do a videoplayer version soon.

As well as working out how to code this (Adobe Edge and other Adobe tutorial sites do a tutorial on dynamic RSS and Papervision3D), there’s also localized drag+drop within AS3 that I’m investigating. The objective is to create an environment in which rss newsfeeds flying in and are also dockable at certain grid points. A bit tricky code-wise but……..hey……….life is for positive experimentation!

I’m simply happy to be focussing on my own interests rather than trying to make someone else’s vision work and wasting my time, IQ, goodwill and skills.

I feel extremely L-I-B-E-R-A-T-E-D!!!

GOOGLE KNOL

The ‘Global Brain’ posting is almost at 200 views in 3 days which is a LOT more than any single posting on a certain semantic service can dream of. Plus Knol has versioning. Plus there’s comment moderation. Plus a whole stack of Google goodies to make producing quality content fast, easy and user-friendly (such as the ability to insert YouTube videos, spreadsheets and other documents). 

Most importantly, I don’t get bothered by trolls / vampires / rats and I don’t have to defend Google Knol or do anything which isn’t my job. I also don’t have to feel angry or insulted by their marketing strategy or how I monetize my content because I can choose to earn through AdSense in and around my knols.

All-in-all, I can just be happy to produce and share quality knowhow and relevant links. This is what I’m about, so Knol is serving my needs quite nicely on that side for now. 

This is how my cool Flash pre-loader and homepage now look. I hope you’ll agree the site’s taking shape reasonably:

Compass pre-loader to Always the Twain (@T)

Always the Twain (@T): homepage

The pre-loader is essentially a 100-frame swf with a customized compass complete with a color wheel and flared camera lens that I created with Adobe Photoshop. I used the circular cut out tool……….A LOT — lol.

Designing websites isn’t easy. However, it can be extremely helpful for exercising your own creativity and I’d definitely recommend it. For absolute beginners there’s a wealth of packages out there including:

·      Apple iLife

·      Frontpage

·      Dreamweaver

Plus there’s a plethora of free online literature on everything from html to CSS (to control layout and design/style) to how to set up an SQL database.

I used to hand-code the html until I discovered that with Adobe Flash you can save the file as html too and this auto-generates all the html you need. Nevertheless, it is helpful to know html yourself because you can go back in and edit where appropriate; knowing where tags and divs begin / end and how they affect the layout is useful.

It gets more complicated when you start including Javascript or C++ to make calls and functions to the server and databases — particularly when you have an online form, forum, blog or any information gathering text box (that you may want to publish or simply store in archives).

We won’t cover that………………..yet. It is possible to teach yourself Java and other OOPs (object-oriented programs) in 14 days.

For now, I’d like talk a wee bit about Flash CS3 and Papervision3D.

MY DESIGN TOOLS OF CHOICE

I’m autodidactic in Flash and have learnt it organically via direct application rather than theoretically; this has its advantages and disadvantages (more on this in another post). There are several good sources of information so I tend to go in search of code Enlightenment here:

·      The Flash Enabled Blog

·      Actionscript.org

·      Sepiroth

·      Kirupa.com

·      Papervision3D

My favorite Flash anything at the moment is obviously Papervision3D — which is what the brilliant Spanish team, Bestiario, leveraged to build the TEDtalks videosphere:

* AMAZING VISUALIZATION COMBINING PV3D WITH YOUTUBE VIDEOS

Already, I can develop a few 3D swfs:

·      3D film wall (link soon)

·      3D JACKSphere (link soon)

·      3D carousel (link soon)

What would be “too cool for school” would be if I learnt how to cross something like sourcebinder with MSNBC’s Spectra  product with some form of Quantum4D.

THEN that resultant application would be something close to….AMAZIN+.

The products in action can be seen in these YouTube videos:

The limitation with Flash used to be that Google didn’t have much capability to search for Flash content. However, hopefully, with its recent strategic alliance with Adobe this will change.

* Google collaboration with Adobe to make Flash content more searchable

OPTIMIZATION

Whenever I create an swf, the thing I always forget to do which I DEFINITELY SHOULD DO FROM THE OUTSET(!!!) is to optimize the images and to choose the right format (jpeg / gif / png / png-8 / png-24) so that the file size doesn’t become unmanageable.

Needless to say…………..I forgot and then had to go back into the FLAs and optimize the images with Photoshop. Some of them went from 120KB to 12KB — proving that optimization makes a world of difference!

THE BEGINNING OF AN ADVENTURE

I have a definite strategic vision of what I’d like to see the Always the Twain site become over time: a collaboration hub with cool tools.

There’s a much more immediate to-do: my MPM (Media Perception Matrix) tool which I’m coding in Javascript — with plans to pitch it to Google (seriously), so this site will build up over time rather than overnight.

Thanks for following its progress! Lots more still to do and to enjoy………………

:*)

This is what I’ve been busy with today:

A preview of the homepage portal coming soon..........

The bubbles you can see is an Actionscript coded in Flash CS3 (AS3) which simulates Brownian motion. Against a black background the particles move in a balletic motion, collide with each other, momentarily conjoin before they spring apart and progress to interact with other globules. With this white setting they appear as free bubbles which glide across the page.

With respect to the avatars, these were created in Photoshop using the circular rainbow tool followed by the circle cutting tool. With the exception of the tiger, the skull and the Sony UX1 all the other photos were taken by me during my travels — well, I figured I should try to make use of my own assets! Ha ha. 

Tomorrow, I’m going to pool together a few Flash and Papervision3D samples I coded previously to use them to populate the pages indicated (brain, technology, books, business, art, food and travel). They’ll include:

* a custom built video gallery of the Pearl Awards 2007 where the guest of honor was HRH Prince of Wales (the organizer personally invited me; he’s now created a Chinese-European lifestyle site in conjunction with BSkyB and Shanghai Tang, a designer label)

* 3D film wall of Top 100 posters leading to the IMDB database

* Jacksphere of Jack D. Logan’s twines

* 3D flipbook of a film script

* fun puzzles, including a jigsaw based on the video library of Babelgum, an IPTV platform

At some point, I would also like to code a Flex time line like Google Finance’s:

* http://finance.google.com/finance?q=apple

Plus I’ll show you a Google Maps I’ve done of film locations. I wish there was a more straightforward way to send batch geo-codes and populate the map API more readily rather than one-at-a-time as it currently is. This is something I have raised previously with the Marketing Director of Google Maps when she was visiting from Switzerland. We’ll have to wait and see what happens there…….

Meanwhile I’ll be building up my little online time-space in between knitting Christmas pressies for my friends, writing the Google Knol entry on The Global Brain and planning where I’m going to spend New Year’s Eve (PARTY TIME!!!).

For the moment I’ve opted for the Lizommi design which is provided free under the Creative Commons license by Top Tutorials. WordPress is great because it’s possible to adjust the CSS styling and have it applied throughout the blog design. This is particularly useful for those of us who can code CSS and luckily I can!

Over the years I’ve come across several good sites for CSS and I’d like to share these:

* http://matthewjamestaylor.com/blog/perfect-multi-column-liquid-layouts

* http://www.cssdrive.com/

* http://www.alistapart.com/articles/seo

* http://www.html.it/articoli/niftycube/index.html

* http://www.cssjuice.com/25-rounded-corners-techniques-with-css/
 

In all probability I’ll go in search of a different theme tomorrow (rounded corners, SEO-optimized and 3-columns) and, over time, I’ll also code up my own Papervision3D, IM and translation plug-ins to incorporate into this site. Once I resolve some SQL database issues and configure the Apache bits of code I will also convert this to a WordPress MU blog so that multiple users can cross-share their blogs on the same URL. WordPress MU is used by Harvard University, Le Monde and other notable institutions so ALWAYS THE TWAIN will be in great company!