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Ok, I’ve checked out Apture and decided to use it because it’s pretty cool. I’d like to see what they have to offer in the months to come. Technologies like Apture have so much potential, lets hope they can improve on what they have.

So after my last post about Apture, I got a mail from another company, Zemanta who have also developed a semantic web enabling technology. I’ve given it a try and it seems ok so far, just a bit limited in the information it provides. It only gives you a limited amount of images, some relevant articles and some wiki definitions. Another difference is that Zemanta is available while you create your posts and Apture is only available after.

Using Zemanta is easy enough, you can download it for the browser you use (Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox) and there are also downloads for your blog or website platform, drupal included. It doesn’t really offer much configuration though. In drupal it only lets you select the content types and lets you specify where you want the Zemanta control panel to appear.

I think they are continually working on improvements and adding features and functionality but it doesn’t quite match up to Apture. I think Zemanta needs a more comprehensive and useful image gallery selection, a better selection of related articles, some video and an additional search feature and some other useful stuff. Also, it would be more user-friendly if you could easily delete something that you added to your content. It would also be more user-friendly for your website users if they could preview a teaser to the links added by Zemanta, perhaps in a pop up block or something.

You should check it out and decide for yourself though.

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Semantic Web enabling technology

The way we use the Internet has already changed… Web 2.0 is still talked about as if it’s something new… but it’s been around since just after the Web 1.0 bubble burst… perhaps even before.

Web 3.0 is all about a semantic web and how we use the web to access information. The web and some new web technologies have improved the way we do this.
With Semantic Web enabling technology like Apture, adding information is easier and enhances user experience to turn your website content into a hub of information. It lets content publishers find and incorporate information and multimedia directly into their web content. This is pretty useful and convenient.

But I think that a technology like Apture would be far more useful to users and a lot more effective in delivering information if the backend/admin interface was available to your website users but without the ability to add the content to your site. So if users on your website could use the backend interface for searching and accessing information by merely highlighting the text of interest then the user experience would be more comprehensive, convenient and useful.
Adding Apture to your website is easy enough. If you have a Drupal installation then you need the Apture module installed. If you have a WordPress site then you need the Apture plugin. I’m not gonna go into the specifics of setup and configuration because it’s pretty straight forward.

Once you have that installed/activated you need to register with Apture or login if you already registered to add your website/s where you would like to use the Apture technology. You will then get a bit of script that you need to include in the Drupal Apture settings if you are using Drupal or simply activate the plugin if you are using wordpress. That’s pretty much it to get you started with Apture.

The web is about access to information, whether it’s about something or someone, technologies like this will only make it easier and more convenient to access.

What happened to LightEdge Technology

I only read today, after trying to find them online, that they got placed into liquidation earlier this year. Wow, what a shocker! I thought they were doing so well. Actually they were for a few years.

So what happened? Some say it was BEE that lead to their demise but I think that’s just an excuse. It’s an excuse for poor financial management and a bad business model. Correct me if I’m wrong but they sold to registered dealers/resellers as well as direct to businesses and people who weren’t registered without adjusting prices for for unregistered customers. Why was that a problem?

Well, by doing that, they effectively shut out the resellers that were buying in bulk in favour of selling individual items to anyone, including their resellers customers. That was a move that created problems for resellers who lost out because customers went direct to LightEdge. So, resellers then went elsewhere and LightEdge lost out on bulk sales.

It had nothing to do with their BEE compliance or lack there of.

Function over Form

During the dot-com bubble, around 1995 – 2001 (crash started on 10 March 2000), Internet companies saw phenomenal growth with share prices hitting extraordinary highs. But it didn’t last because all bubbles burst as some point. There were just too many IT companies that tried to get big fast with a strategy of carrying sustained net losses with the hope of gaining enough brand recognition to turn that around to a profit later when they are the big players in the industry.

That was the first wave of the Internet, now referred to as Web 1.0 when websites were more about form, how good a website looked and how flashy and impressive it was. No wonder the dot-com bubble burst the way it did. Companies invested too heavily in web technology that gave them nice looking brochures that used the web to present those brochures to users.

That was also a time when bandwidth was a limiting factor. Web 1.0 was a time of dial-up connectivity at 50 - 56k transfer rates. We now have better bandwidth with broadband being between 512Kb/s – 1Mb/s as the average. The better bandwidth opens the door for better functionality.

So Web 2.0 should provide improved website functionality that delivers better service to users, making it easier to turn users into customers. An increased customer base translates to increased turnover that increases net profit. Increased net profit indicates better return on investment.

So businesses should harness the power of web technology as a functional business tool rather than just to display electronic brochures.

Cyber-Terrorism or Cyber-Paranoia

There’s been a growing concern about Cyber-Terrorism and Cybersecurity. No doubt that cybersecurity is an important issue that should be addressed. But does cyber-terrorism even exist? What would be considered a cyber-terrorist attack? And would such an attack be considered an act of terrorism?

So does that mean hackers are now considered terrorists? Isn’t there a life term prison sentence for convicted terrorists? So then does that mean hackers, if caught, will face life in prison?

The FBI defines terrorism as “the unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives.”

So is cyberterrorism or hacking really terrorism or is it just possible to use cyberspace as another tool for terrorist attacks?

Are they just using the term cyber-terrorism to instil fear and create paranoia among citizens? Would that not in itself be an act of terrorism? If so, then this attached video is an act of terrorism, isn’t? or does cyber-terrorism only exist to the extent depicted in the movies?

The Facebook Facelift

The social networking site Facebook is finally getting its first facelift after being in the same ’skin’ for the past 4 years. The plan is to change the profile page so that the presentation of information is more organised and relevant to give your profile a fresher appearance.

It seems all the applications and quizzes and all that other stuff you either love or hate has finally caused the need for a site clean up. It’s kinda like when you in your early to mid 20s and a lifestyle of partying takes its toll on your body, you know… all that junk food and drinking adds on a few extra Kg’s. Then one day you realise that it’s just not good and you decide to go to gym or take up some other activity to lose that fat… Well, Facebook seems to be at that point now. Facebook has gotten chubby in the face and it’s time to lose the weight.

But they not quite gonna lose the weight because users really seem to like all those applications and quizzes so they just gonna tuck it away instead and maybe just tone up bit. The plan is to hide the clutter with some Tabs on the main profile page so that the quizzes and applications and stuff will have its own dedicated page.

It’s about time they clean up the face of facebook but what will user reaction be to the new look… Will they accept the new slender look or will they lose interest and eventually turn away to look at something younger and more appealing…

What is a blog?

I’ll try not to bore you with a history of the term ‘blog’ and get straight into what it is and how you can start your own.

A blog is typically a website that displays your entries in order of your last entry first and allows you to categorize and archive your entries according to the dates it was posted and/or the topic categories that your posts are related to. The term ‘blog’ is really just a shortened form of ‘weblog’ or ‘web log’ that is often a collection of online journal entries about a subject or subjects you want to blog about. Most blogs are primarily textual but some bloggers use video blogs (vlogs), audio blogs (podcasts) and photoblogs to share their interests and/or knowledge on the blogosphere (a term that describes all blogs and blog interconnections).

So now that you know what a blog is, let me tell you how you can start your own blog. I’ll start off with the more popular and free blogging platforms before I get into setting up a blog on your own domain.

It is quite simple to get your own blog started with one of the free blogging platforms like blogger.com that allows you to signup for your own customizable blog. They provide you with a selection of customizable templates and a simple drag-and-drop feature that lets you arrange your blog page elements to suit the theme of your blog. They’ve also made it easy to upload images and even blog via your mobile device or email account with mail-to-blog. Visit www.blogger.com to find out more about this option.

Another popular blogging platform is wordpress.com. With wordpress you have the option of a hosted blog or if you prefer to run your own blog then you can use the open source wordpress installation. If you choose to run your own blog then you will need your own domain that is hosted by your preferred web host. The wordpress hosted option is free whereas the cost of the latter option depends on the cost of your domain plus the cost of your hosting. Both these options have a myriad of features and templates to choose from and it is quite simple to set up and get started, check it out for yourself at www.wordpress.com and wordpress.org. To find out more about the differences between wordpress.com and wordpress.org have a look at this link: http://faq.wordpress.com/2006/05/07/wordpresscom-vs-wordpressorg/

Blogging can be fun, educational and profitable but apart from the theme of your blog there are a few more things to consider before you get started.

Here are some more points to ponder:

There is so much more to blogging and the blogosphere that it’s not possible to delve into it all with just one article. I will be covering other interesting blog topics so visit my blog again or subscribe if you would like to receive email notification of updates.

5 Advantages of a Web Content Management System(CMS)

Websites have to be updated regularly to keep your content current and up to date but this can become very time consuming and cumbersome, unless you are using a website content management system. Content management systems used to be very costly to design and implement but it’s become a lot cheaper with the availability of open source CMS.

Open source requires a bit of customization to produce the website with the functional requirements that you need but costs are significantly reduced.

  1. Fresh Content – A CMS makes updating and adding new content very easy and less time consuming.
  2. Lots of functionality is available – Adding website functionality is easier and less costly especially with the use of open source software.
      3. Some of the common modules available include:

    • Site search
    • Polls
    • User role defined content
    • Content workflows
    • Email newsletters
    • Blog
    • Discussion forums
    • Photo galleries
    • Email Contact forms
    • The list goes on…
  3. Dynamic categories – In addition to adding content quite easy, you can also categories your content to make site navigation much more efficient.
  4. Extensibility – With open source software, new modules are created all the time. These modules are usually written in php and allows for further customisation.
  5. User friendly interface – Most content management systems are user friendly and fairly easy to learn if you have the time.

In the past, it was large companies that used web content management systems because it was expensive to design, implement and maintain but open source software has made it viable for small business use CMS. I create all my websites using a very well maintained and supported open source CMS called Drupal. Contact me if you need a website for your business. Using an open source CMS to market your business online offers a great return on your investment. Keep in mind also that Drupal, among other things, is a Search Engine Optimised CMS which makes it a firm favourite for online marketing

Web CMS Capabilities

Ok, so a web content management system is a software system that makes it easy to publish, manage, edit, organize and display your website content. These systems typically use template theme engines to display your content to your website visitors.

The templates can also be edited and modified but this requires a bit of HTML and CSS knowledge. It is also fairly easy to add features and functionality to your website but this usually requires a bit of technical knowledge.

Web Content management systems typically have the following features:
Automated templates – That allow you to create a visual template for your entire website or in some cases lets you assign a particular template to certain content groups or types.

Easily editable content – Most content management software includes a WYSIWYG editor that makes creating and editing your website content a little easier.

Scalable feature sets – Most content management systems have plug-ins or modules that extend your website functionality.

Web standards upgrades – Active CMS software usually gets regular updates that ensure the system stays up to current web standards.

Workflow management – The workflow management within a CMS allows you to create content but hold it back from being published until it has been edited and approved.

Document management – Some CMS systems allow for managing the life cycle of a document from creation, publication, archive and deletion.

Content virtualisation – Some CMS systems allow users to work within a virtual copy of the website which enables changes to content before it is submitted.

What is a CMS?

The letters CMS is an abbreviation for Content Management System. Knowing what the letters stand for gives a clearer idea of what it is but still it’s necessary to define what it is that a Content Management System actually does. Yes, it does just what it says, i.e. it’s a system that manages content but what is content, what is meant by “management” and what is a system?

OK, I’ll try to clarify it a bit more by defining each word to create a clearer definition of a Content Management System(CMS).

Content can be any electronic information. So things like text, images, video, sound, or other electronic files would be considered as content.

If content is any form of electronic information, then content management is the management of such content by combining process, functions and workflows in a way that its electronic storage is deemed to be managed rather than unmanaged.

A system is considered a to be tool or a combination of tools that makes it possible to produce the desired output using the managed content efficiently and effectively.

So we can say that:

“A CMS is a tool that enables a variety of (centralised) technical and (de-centralised) non technical staff to create, edit, manage and finally publish (in a number of formats) a variety of content (such as text, graphics, video, documents etc), whilst being constrained by a centralised set of rules, process and workflows that ensure coherent, validated electronic content.”

Just as a document management system manages documents and an asset management system/tools manage assets, so does a web content management system manage the content of a website. There are however many different types of CMS but the type I’ll be focusing on is for the management of web content.

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