The Facebook Facelift

Posted on May 20, 2008 
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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…

Stage 3

Posted on January 11, 2008 
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The third stage of your training should be your power training. This should be the last thing that you need to focus on. Once you have a solid stamina base (building stamina improves strength as well) and you’ve developed some strength, do a bit of power training. On your weekday rides, choose a climb, switch to your big chain ring and your 15, 16 or 17 at the back.

Then, remaining seated, maintain a steady pace for at least 1km up the climb. Change to a lighter gear and relax for about 1 to 2km. Then once you’ve recovered, repeat the exercise. If the climb is long enough keep doing this till you get to the top then spin and recover. Remember that by the time you get home you must feel totally recovered.

Power training should be the very last phase of your training, so if you are training for the Argus tour, don’t even think about power training until February. And remember no pain sometimes strain all the gain.

What is a blog?

Posted on January 7, 2008 
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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)

Posted on November 23, 2007 
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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

Posted on November 4, 2007 
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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?

Posted on October 22, 2007 
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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.

The importance of a website

Posted on September 28, 2007 
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“Do I need a website?” Is a very common question, especially from small to medium sized businesses. The short answer is “YES” every business needs a website.

The Internet has changed the business arena and you need to use current technologies, like the Internet to be competitive in today’s business world. A website gives you the opportunity to market your business to a broader audience, a global audience, and it’s cost effective. It can be the easiest way of doing business with the widest audience.

The web technologies available allows you do transactions online so your website need not only be a marketing tool but rather a business tool. It should be seen as an online representative that markets your business to a global market and brings in new business.

Your web presence is as important as having a phone or fax number. Many people don’t use telephone directories anymore but prefer searching online for what they need and if your business is not online then they won’t find you.

A website should serve as more than just an online brochure though. Even if you don’t plan to sell your products or services online you could have an online email contact form or newsletter subscription to keep customers informed.

Your website could be like an interactive or functioning business card or brochure that allows customers or potential customer to interact with your business online 24 hours a day, 7 days a week every day of the year.

People don’t ask for your business card anymore, they ask for your URL. So as you can see, a web site is important for your business. Without it you will lose to the competition who do have a web presence.

So get a website, get noticed!!

The three stages - Stage 2

Posted on September 21, 2007 
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Ok, so now that you’ve been building that stamina base it’s time to start building the next level of our fitness, strength.

After a few weeks of stamina training it’s time to mix the stamina training with strength training. The difference between stamina and strength training? Well, strength training involves a bit of strain but not too much. So, assuming that you ride more than once a week, on your shorter weekday rides you can increase the intensity.

Interval training is one way you can improve your strength. I sometimes increase intensity up the small inclines, either maintain or increase your speed up these little inclines and recover if you need to once you over the top. Do that on a few rides and soon you won’t even notice the inclines.

And remember, recovery is very important… so always make sure that you eat, stretch and rest after every workout.

Why e-business?

Posted on September 5, 2007 
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Implementing your e-business plans can make your effective processes more Effective, Efficient and Economical… Yes, the three E’s can be achieved with a properly planned e-business strategy.

Looking back to our definition of e-business, “e-business or electronic business refers to the use of telecommunication networks, like the Internet, to conduct business.” it becomes clear that e-business allows you to connect with employees, customers/clients, suppliers and just about anyone else you want regardless of geographical location.

So e-Business makes it possible to automate many processes and by automating these processes you eliminate/reduce human functions from otherwise time consuming activities. Efficiency is improved with faster processing and reduced errors in routine data processes and business interaction.

We are in an era were you need to use the technology that’s available to stay in business. Something as simple as not having an email address can turn a potential client toward your competitor who does have an email address and the same applies to having a website.

I’ll get into the importance of a website with my next post.

The three stages - Stage 1

Posted on August 28, 2007 
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There’s a lot of debate around how you should train but the truth is, we are all different so one individual’s training program could be totally different to another. But we all want to train without sustaining injury and to do that And improve your fitness you need to follow the 3 stages to fitness.

Think of it like a pyramid and with a broader base your pyramid will be able to support a broader mid-level and that mid-level will support a broader top-level. Make sense?

The first stage of your training should be to build a solid stamina base. To do that you need to spend time in the saddle at a comfortable pace, a pace slow enough (but not too slow) to maintain a conversation without breathing heavy. You also need to be on a gear light enough to maintain a high but comfortable cadence.

This will most certainly improve your endurance. After each ride you should feel good and the next day you should feel great. One very important aspect of training that athletes tend to forget is recovery so make sure you recover between rides. The three rules of recovery, refuel, stretch and rest…

I’ll tell you what stage two is all about later in the week…. but for now… get on your bike and ride, safely…

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