centre{source}
INTERACTIVE AGENCY
Archives Apr 2008
Web 3.0: Curing the Information Avalanche
I’m not complaining, but sometimes I feel like Google Reader is running my life.Google Reader is a taskmaster. Sure, she aggregates loads of great information for me, but she can be a little demanding. If I’m away from her for a few hours, I return to find a list of new blog posts and news items. Most days I’m tied up until the evening, and when I pop in to say hello she in turn greets me with 200+ new items to peruse. And she never stops.
Homework for an Interactive Strategist…
Since we’ve been doing more strategy, it has become more and more necessary to formalize our ‘ramp up’ process for new strategists. Our strategist typically herald from the marketing side of the world & combine their knowledge with practical elements of technology. This dual-combo makes for a powerful strategist.However, there is a BIG difference in doing one interactive project during a marketing career & actually being a qualified Interactive Strategist. As such, we put together “homework” for our planners and strategists to answer that at least give them some basic familiarity into combining traditional business with the world of interactivity. Here are the questions we ask…
Couple Sues Google Over “Street View”
According to the Smoking Gun website, “A Pittsburgh couple is suing Google for invasion of privacy, claiming that the web giant’s popular “Street View” mapping feature has made a photo of their home available to online searchers. Aaron and Christine Boring accuse Google of an “intentional and/or grossly reckless invasion” of their seclusion and privacy since they live on a street that is “clearly marked with a ‘Private Road’ sign,” according to a lawsuit the couple filed this week in Allegheny County’s Court of Common Pleas.”By the way, you can Google their street address: 1567 Oakridge Lane, Pittsburgh! Here’s the link to the Smoking Gun story
Apple xServe: dscl, dsimport and web services aka fun!
So, recently here at CentreSource we’ve been working on a project which is using the brand spanking new xServe from Apple. First, let me say the server is pretty slick, but like any other software it has issues. The reason we went with the xServe was because we needed the ability to have web applications which have central authentication and calendaring data. Open Directory, CalDAV, PHP, Apache, and MySQL are just ready to go with xServe, so it made sense!Our usage is that we have these web applications on the net which will use the PHP LDAP Functions to authenticate our users on Open Directory from our PHP web applications, we also communicate to Open Directory whenever adding or changing users passwords to keep things up-to-date. To accomplish this I have written a small web service which lives on the xServe and runs under Apache and PHP. This code talks to Open Directory via the dscl and dsimport command line utilities provided by Apple. I use dsimport for adding the initial working records, and I then use dscl to change passwords. So essentially this web service is just a web service wrapped around those two commands.
If you bill time & materials, you deserve to hear this…
History has proven to me that it is very difficult for clients to understand time & knowledge as an actual currency. If you’re in the time & materials industry, you’ll appreciate what I’m talking about. My wife, who’s a lawyer, was kind enough to send me a song that really helps me bridge the gap with my clients :) [Remember, this is meant to be funny - don't get your feelings hurt!]
centre{source}.com Announces Name Change
NASHVILLE, TN, United States, 04/01/2008centre{source}.com is now ZENtre{source}.com. Nashville’s interactive strategies firm has renamed its company name to reflect its core competencies.
Since the beginning, ZENtre{source}.com, formerly centre{source}.com, has become a fountain of knowledge for progressive clients looking deep within their online persona for a user relationship that goes beyond casual clicking.
Read the full press release of centre{source}’s name change here
[ Update: For those that didn't already figure this out, April Fools! ]
