The Only Yard For The Internet Junkie

Archive for October, 2008

With an increasing number of businesses embracing Web 2.0 technologies, Ian Hardy met a webmaster hoping to turn his website idea into a revenue stream.

Graham Steele travelled from Australia to the Web 2.0 Expo in New York to find out about changing trends on the net.

His motivation was getting help to update the site he runs, itineraryshare.com, so it matches the new generation of websites in terms of design, applications and interactivity.

“I want to learn about advertising, chatrooms on my site, video integration, all of these things that I have no idea about,” said Mr Steele.

The concept behind his site is to to create a social networking space where travellers share their itineraries and locals can post tips for tourists.

Widgets and plug-ins

Mr Steele hoped that incorporating existing Web 2.0 elements into his basic HTML homepage would help turn it into a destination for millions of users.

Jim Louderback from web TV firm Revision3 recommended Mr Steele plug resources into his site rather than re-write it from the ground up.

“Look at the ability to plug into Facebook, MySpace, and other social networks,” he said. “But also technology that allows users to upload things.

“If I’m sharing my itinerary, I probably also want to share my photos, my videos, I might want to write about my experiences,” said Mr Louderback.

It is also possible to update and develop a site by using web publishers that offer a one-stop shop for add-on elements such as widgets, user interfaces, chatrooms and online video players.

“Widget Studio is the fastest way for you to make a video player widget or a 3D slideshow, any type of widget you would want,” claims Nick Gross from widget-maker Kickapps.

Community test

It is not just the big name social networking sites that have gone Web 2.0, many smaller destinations use those community elements too.

Bryan Person, from Liveworld.com, said it was important to allow users to talk about the content, interact and add comments to brew a rich community and get conversations going.

“Livebar is a tool which allows you to put community and conversations right on the pages of your own website,” said Mr Person.

Ready-made web plug-ins have made page design much easier, but Mr Steele was concerned that his website would end up looking generic.

Christopher Fahey, from Behaviordesign.com, said sites were now being built in a “mash-up” fashion that brought in brands such as YouTube and Google Maps, so it was fine to adopt the same look as others.

“I wouldn’t worry about that undermining the design look because we’re used to that in real life,” said Mr Fahey. “We’re used to people walking around with the same several brands on their sneakers or cell phones.”

Revenue slice

Mr Steele was also keen to find out how to turn itineraryshare.com into a profitable net business.

One solution offered by Smeet.com enables webmasters to build customised chatrooms where visitors can mingle surrounded by advertising billboards and video screens.

Mr Steele said this might make his site resemble virtual online world Second Life.

Not so, said Mr Matthias.

“First of all, no downloads. On Second Life you have about 100MB to download, it’s a big hurdle,” he said. “So if you have it on your website, your users don’t have to download 100MB, they just click on the link and it opens.

“Another thing is that you can integrate it on your website, which you can’t do with Second Life. It’s your chatroom for your website,” explained Mr Matthias.

What Mr Mr Steele did discover at the convention was that the applications are not as free as they appear at first glance. Most of the firms making them want a cut of ad revenue from any site that signs up.

Committing to add the Web 2.0 elements would also mean having to refresh his site more often so it did not fall behind the curve

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation

Similar Posts:

• Google Adds Friend Connect to Blogger
• Facebook imposes site facelift
• Stanford Students May Have Answer To Video Monetization
• Combine Your Blogging and Social Network Efforts for More Online Business Exposure
• More valley view

By Andrew Webb
BBC News Website

Two stunt planes have raced a computer-generated aircraft over Spain.

The pilots and a gamer manoeuvred through images of hoops.

Up in the real skies, the pilots swooped around their opponent’s virtual plane, which they watched on screens.

On the ground, gamer Ernest Artigas could see the real planes in relation to his supposed position.

The Sky Challenge could pave the way for massive online competitions.

Peter Newport, Chief Executive of New Zealand-based Air Sports, masterminded the project.

“It was amazing to see it come together,” he told BBC News. “Ernest did surprisingly well against Castor Fantoba, the world number four pilot (in his class), coming only 1.5 seconds behind him.”

Television spectacle

Mr Newport hopes the trial can lead to huge televised public competitions involving online gamers.

Technology developed for military use has made possible the fusing of real and electronically generated worlds.

It incorporates Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) technology and an Inertial Navigation System (INS), which measures momentum to track a plane’s location. That information is relayed to gaming computers and pilots’ navigation systems.

The team had to apply for permission from authorities governing the non-proliferation of weapons before flying the INS equipment to Europe.

Chris Hyde, a scientist at New Zealand’s Geospatial Research Centre, helped calibrate the positioning technology.

“GPS isn’t good enough in an aerobatic aircraft,” he said. “When it goes upside down and accelerates very quickly it’s a very difficult environment to receive GPS signals, so we have to integrate INS.”

Retina projection

Air Sports aims to ramp up the virtual experience in the cockpit.

It is considering projecting images of obstacle courses on to the retinas of pilots.

Nevertheless, safety concerns are an issue. One of the pilots from the trial reported feeling detached from reality in his cockpit.

Peter Newport is wary of pushing boundaries too far.

“We wouldn’t suggest this is carried out by amateur organisations. We are working at the top of the game, using highly skilled pilots. Until virtual reality is better understood, widespread use should not be encouraged.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation

Similar Posts:

• Microsoft sees end of Windows era
• Game on
• How to convert DRM protected m4p music to mp3 wma wav with TuneClone
• Discovering Computers 2008: Complete (Shelly Cashman Series) (Paperback)
• Site Renovations. We Have A New Design!