A Rose By Any Other Name, May Not Compile
Short, informational post here.
Custom properties for Sharepoint 2010 webparts. I created several this past week using the following syntax:
[Category("Advanced Settings"),
Personalizable(PersonalizationScope.Shared),
WebBrowsable(true), WebDisplayName("Items to show"),
WebDescription("The number of RSS feed items to show")]
public uint ItemCount
{
get;
set;
}
No issues, compile and deploy as per normal. But when I go to set said properties from the UI they are nowhere to be found...
Slightly frustrated, I do some deeper research. 99% of the online examples I find agree with my method. But, deep in the bowels of MSDN I find an alternative:
[SPWebCategoryName("Advanced Settings"),
Personalizable(PersonalizationScope.Shared),
WebBrowsable(true), WebDisplayName("Items to show"),
WebDescription("The number of RSS feed items to show")]
public uint ItemCount
{
get;
set;
}
Yes Virginia, another category designator makes all the difference.
I hope this helps others with the same issue. To help you find this post I'll spell it out:
Sharepoint 2010 webpart property not showing in UI edit mode.
I wonder how many folks will find their way here based on the Google search above.
Happy coding.
p.s. the first example requires using System.ComponentModel; while the second needs using Microsoft.SharePoint.WebPartPages;
As it turns out I had another issue that was causing the properties to not render :/ That being said, the WebPartPages library is the preferred one to use.
I would love to hear opinions on this from all you sharp devs out there. I'm happy to hear alternative views.
Space and Back Again – the Yo-Yo Effect in American Politics
If you recall, I was as a little disillusioned last April when I wrote about the end of the American shuttle era in America Spacing Out.
New hope can come in the strangest of forms, from the most unlikely of sources, as it did last week in a speech by Presidential candidate Newt Gingrich.
I was fortunate to have the opportunity to re-open the question of North Americans and space in my latest column for the Western Star, "Bang, zoom, straight to the Moon".
Whether or not Gingrich is elected, and I do have very mixed feelings on this for a Canadian, I hope his presentation at least gives some momentum back to the industry,.
In the meantime, please hold a ticket for me on the first major commercial flight on Virgin Galactic Sir Richard Branson!
Corner Brook Library Sale 2011
Wow, I love these sales! Even after finally learning to gently weed my book collection while going through repeated moves over the last few years, I can't help myself.
Where: At the intersection of University Drive and Mount Bernard, across the street from Brewed on Bernard. 2nd Floor..
Don't ask me why the Sir Richard squires Building is not on Google Maps, but this will do. Fix that later...
When: Go NOW! The sale runs until 9 PM this evening and until 6 PM tomorrow.
Why: If you have to ask, stop reading. but seriously $1.50/KG for books is just ridiculous. The children's section alone makes it worth it.
I'll post some pics of my favorite finds after work. Happy browsing!
Google AdWords in NL Politics
The latest Beyond the Browser on The Western Star went live today.
I'm still getting used to the formatting for newspaper publishing so I thought I would re-post the beginning section here as it was originally presented.
Online advertising is powerful.
Also lucrative, especially for the ad servers. The biggest player in the online advertising space is Google. Google’s revenues for last year topped thirty three billion dollars. Ninety seven percent of that revenue came from online advertising.
Here’s a crash course in how Google AdWords works:
- Setup an account
- Create a new ad campaign
- Choose one ore more keywords that your advertising will show up for
- Craft your ad, alternative wording is also an option
- Set your maximum budget per day
- Activate your campaign
There are of course a few screens to get through to manage all of that. The online documentation is good though and there are hundreds of businesses that specialize in helping you run AdWords campaigns.
Cuttings
The other thing I am getting used to is editorial changes. I'm not certain why the last section of my article was truncated. I suspect it was due to content or timing. As it related to the recent election, which has of course ended, it may not be considered topical anymore.
The thing is, the truncated portion of my article was inspired by a conversation I had on Twitter pertaining to AdWords use by certain political parties. I think some discussion on the matter is deserved so I'm posting the deleted section here now so we can continue our chat.
Without further fanfare, here is the missing section:
Before I wrap up this column, I’d like to point out an innovative use of AdWords I had never seen before.
A keen eyed reader was browsing the Internet reading information on the upcoming elections. They mentioned on Twitter the result they saw when they typed the keywords nl liberals. Fortunately they were also quick enough to take a screenshot of the result because the ad that was displayed has since been disabled.
The URL for the screen is: http://t.co/3k3T0RA8. Don’t worry about the strange format of the link. That’s a customized short link Twitter uses to help users share links without using up too many characters in the 140 character limit per post.
There are several interesting things about this ad.
- First, it was not a product related ad, it was a political ad that pointed to http://newenergynl.ca.
- Second, the ad was tied to at least the keywords nl liberals and muskrat falls, there were likely other keywords.
- Third, the disparity between the headline, “NDP”, and the website the ad redirected to, newenergynl.ca (a PC site), should have lowered the accuracy score given by Google. Google checks the content of the target website against your ad wording to ensure there is some relationship.
I am not sure how I feel about the wording of the ad but I do find this use of AdWords innovative. Technology, at its best, is a disruptive game changer that can supercharge your marketing efforts.
One thing is certain, political campaigning in Newfoundland & Labrador has just been changed forever.
Let me know what you think of this type of AdWords campaign. Thanks to @hydroqueen and @thefightingnewf for sparking the conversation.
Speed Counts Netflix
Image Courtesy cheezburger.com
Speed is everything online and I'm not talking about slow loading video or laggy audio.
I'm talking customer service/awareness and responsiveness.
PR-wise, Netflix has been taking some hard hits over the last few weeks. First, the pricing changes separating streaming video and mail order DVD subscriptions into two fees. Then, the Internet is raging over the fact that you can only stream Netflix on one per device per household at a time.
This article from PCWorld articulates the issue with single streams very well. If you have multiple people in your home and multiple streaming capable device, why shouldn't you be able to watch Netflix on both devices at the same time.
Buried somewhere in their agreement Netflix has mentioned multiple streams are only allowed if you take the multiple DVD at a time rental option. Of course, now that has been recreated as a separate option the old wording doesn't even make sense.
StoptheCap.com had an article yesterday saying they received notice from Netflix that multiple streams should not be a problem and is in fact, just a technical glitch. They go on to say that at least some of their users are still reporting the issue.
My main issue with all of this is not the inconsistent stories or the technical problems. My problem is with the lack of communication from Netflix themselves!
Where are they? Why aren't they blasting the "technical glitch" story all over their blog and main website? This is not a new problem and people are fuming; over 5000 negative comments on the Netflix site already. Who knows how many emails and phone calls are being traded. Meanwhile, all of the media I see from Netflix is firmly stuck in broadcast mode blithely spewing happy little ads about their new content and ignoring the PR storm blazing all around them.
Speed counts. When there is an issue, respond to it and fast. Don't leave it for others to speculate on while you figure out the best PR spin tactic to use. Tell us what's going on before we move to one of the rapidly appearing competitors.
Oh, and Netflix; while you formulate a response to my questions, have someone update your Facebook pages too. There's not a whisper of any of this on the Canadian page. Plenty of other complaints mind you.
For you, the reader, keep in mind that even if you stick with the cheapest $7.99/month streaming only plan, you are still paying for that bandwidth from your ISP. Watch your limits and decide if that 5 year old B movie is worth it.
Full Tilt Afternoon
Beautiful day for a drive. Helen & I took advantage to check out the show in McIvers. 
Some of the installation pieces included Faces: Billboards by Phil Robbins / Jillian Parsons.
I know Phil took the pics but wow Jill put in a lot of effort to get this in place, excellent job.
Besides the lovely food with full on vegan options in the form of hummus, and other delights I can't name, beside the spicy sausages and wraps, there was wine and lots of conversation to be had.
Met some great people out there today and saw friends too! Great experience.
I'll add the rest of the pictures to a gallery in the morning. For now, it's off to bed.
Oh, but first let's see how my first panoramic shot taken from my phones looks:
You can see a few of the billboards scattered about.
Entering a New Medium!
New to me that is.
If you have not heard already, the first article for my new technology column, Beyond the Browser, was published in The Western Star this week.
I'm pretty excited to see how this "new" media works with what I have running already. I have added the RSS feed for those articles that are cross-published online to my sidebar.
It's more difficult than I imagined to write for a newspaper column. I've never been too concerned with word count and those other little details. Please bear with me as I find my print media voice.
I've started the column with a series of informational articles related to businesses first entering the online world. I look forward to your comments and feedback.
Feel free to comment and post ideas here as well. I've already found I have more to say than can be reasonably published in a biweekly feature. So expect to see follow-up posts here as companion pieces to my print articles.
Thanks to Troy Turner and Chris Noseworthy for considering me for the column. And thanks to Helen Jayne and Dara Squires for the read through and advice on my first article.
Tumbleweeds – Why I Haven’t Posted in a Month
Photo credit bbenedet https://www.pierce.ctc.edu
This isn't a whiny apologetic post about why I'm too busy with work, home life, or my furby collection (I don't have one fyi) to blog.
I have been busy but I've also been trying out Tumblr, the neato micro-blogging platform.
When I first saw Tumblr, I thought why? I have a blog already. it's just something else to update and monitor, right?
Well, there are lots of things I'd like to share that are perhaps not best expressed in a blog post. Either I don't have to time to put it into a nice formal post, or I just don't think it fits with what I'm trying to do here.
Of course, if it's too little to blog, then tweet it, yeah? I do have Twitter, and I use it plenty but posting pictures, quotes, and other interesting tidbits there lack the impact that a Tumblr stream has when viewed in full.
When I find a new Tumblr user, I can quickly skim through their stream and get an idea of what they are into and whether I care. That can take a bit more time with a Twitter stream and biography.
I use Tumblr primarily as quick posting tool, a picture, or quote. As time goes on I use Twitter more interactively, less broadcast only. Twitter is great for mini-conversations and for tracking items of specific interest using hashtags like #econobrook.
Besides, I've been ignoring Facebook for a very long time. Now Tumblr and my blog are both wired to post to my FB account.
I'm seeing a pattern emerge where all these different media streams work together without overwhelming me in a constant need to check and update all of them all the time. I can use whichever outlet I find appropriate at the time and know that the message will find it's way out to all my online friends.
- On the go? Tweet
- See a cool pic online? Tumble
- Have a comprehensive thought about something? Blog
A feature I like with Tumblr is their use of tags. For example, I've started a little picture story using my Scott Pilgrim desk buddy. So, while you will see Scott sprinkled through my Tumblr stream, if you want to see the Scott Pilgrim VS the Office story in full you can hit: http://tumbling.jonreid.ca/tagged/scottpilgrim.
I tried adding my Tumblr feed to my sidebar like I have with my Twitter stream but I found it cluttered things too much. Instead, I gave it a page of it's own. Yes, it's a flash widget. I'll convert to JQuery at some point but right now I'm trying out WidgetBox. Easy to hook up with my Tumblr RSS feed and it didn't take an all night coding session.
What do you think? Is Tumblr a waste of time? Is Twitter? Or are there other tools you prefer?
Faces:Newfoundland
The Spring is flying!
Only ten days until the Faces: NL exhibition at the JL Gallery, 86 West St, Corner Brook.
If you haven't heard of this project yet, the intrepid Phillip N. Robbins, a photographer, teacher, and co-founder of Stockpile Artists Collective, is on a mission inspired by the portraiture of Richard Avedon.
Phil traveled Newfoundland taking portraits with a blank background to focus on the individual. Phil and his significant other Jillian video-blogged the journey to St. John's, Fogo and back to Corner Brook.
Phil sums up his intent with:
"The goal of this project is to focus on people I encounter in Newfoundland and to highlight, by removing the context, a glimpse into the history we carry around with us in our expressions."
One interesting aspect of this project is that it was paid for through crowdfunding. Inspirational and innovative, impressive Phil. You can see the original project page here.
Of course another awesome point is that I have a chance to be in the exhibition, yay! Phil and Jillian made the experience really enjoyable. I look forward to seeing the results on May 19th.
America Spacing Out
- Man in the Moon Laughing
The End of an Era?
The lights are going out for the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) program.
All American space shuttles are grounded.
President Obama has declared trips to the moon useless.
Is the classic dream that inspired countless fiction and childhood dreams over?
It's been many years since we haven't seen major debates over their so called "Black hole" budgets.
Don't get me wrong, I'm glad I'm not footing the bill but I am down over the thought of no American astronauts heading up in American ships.
It's clear we have some things to deal with right here on Earth that may outweigh the potential benefits of space exploration but I fully expected to have a pre-retirement party in the relative comfort of at least a dome on the Moon.
Re-Birth
This is not a doom and gloom post. I have firm belief that someone will continue our efforts in space exploration. China, India, Russia, they all have growing space programs, including and not limited to manned flights. In fact, American astronauts will be hitching rides with cosmonauts for the foreseeable future.
In my opinion, the real advancements will come from private enterprise. Most likely from Virgin Galactic or someone similar. Beginning with low orbital flights, I really do hope to see full fledged adventures in space. I can think of no where else I would rather spend my aging years rather than a gentle low gravity colony with a garden to tend.
Richard Branson, you have begun. Don't let anything or anyone hold you back. If necessary, follow the lead of D.D. Harriman, the main character in "The Man Who Sold the Moon".
It can be done. And it can be done to the benefit of all humanity, not their detriment. Do you agree? Are we entering a new era with new approaches to space or is this the beginning of a soft and slow decline of looking outward with hope?
The moon image is from The Woggle Bug book, by L. Frank Baum, illustrated by Ike Morgan
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- A Rose By Any Other Name, May Not Compile
- Space and Back Again – the Yo-Yo Effect in American Politics
- Corner Brook Library Sale 2011
- Google AdWords in NL Politics
- Speed Counts Netflix