FocusMinded.com

Things are moving right along with the magazine. I have been receiving the volunteers needed for the content of the magazine. I am pleased with the overall response the idea has gotten so far and look forward to having the first issue (although it is a couple months away) published.

At present, the site is up and running with limited content so far (as this will depend on a few questions that are up in the air at the moment). Here is a list of things in progress.

• Registering the Business Name
• Trademarking the logo
• Obtaining tax certificates
• Contacting more writers
• Adding content to the website
• and of course anything else that comes up

As things progress I will be sure to keep everyone up to date as I hope everyone is getting as excited as I am. Of course if you are interested in writing for the magazine (contributing author) then simply email me and let me know what your area of ‘expertise’ is and I would be happy to include your articles.

The newest wave in the Google Adsense and Overture are ads in RSS Feeds. While on the surface this seems like a novel idea, there are some underlying problems associated with it.

It sounds perfect. I am currently writing about Ads in RSS feeds, now in a perfect world the ads that are associated with my blog should match in content. Theoretically that is how they are supposed to work. I was reading an article today by Richard McManus entitled “Ads in RSS should be measured by branding value, NOT click-through” and found it very true. Assuming bloggers are posting quality content they are bringing value to their subscribers which in turn should drive advertisers to advertise with them. That way the same association with the blog is passed onto the advertiser.

Unfortunately that is not the case currently with Ads in feeds. Whats worse is I have even noticed the lack of relevance of ads on blog pages, home pages, and even informational pages. What kind of association is that going to have on the advertiser? What kind of impact is that going to have to the reader? What benefit is it of the blogger to have them if they are not fulfilling their purpose. Now while I do not have ads in my RSS feeds yet (they are coming), I am quickly drawing to the same conclusion Richard did:

but the conclusion I’m coming to is that click-through ads are the wrong business model for RSS feeds. Further, unless Google and Overture can hook me up with advertisers that closely fit my niche and who are willing to forgo the pay-per-click model in favour of a brand-based impression model - I’m not sure I want to continue with Google ads in feeds. Particularly if all the ads have the same bland look.

I have been thinking about this a lot lately and toying with the idea of starting my own Web Based magazine. I couldn’t get it out of my head, and there is a reason for it. So after much deliberation and of course checking with the family I have begun the process of forming Design Studio Mag.

The focus is going to be on everything web related. These key areas to the Web include but are not limited to PHP, ASP.net, CSS, Javascript, RSS/XML, Web Applications, Graphics, Software, SEO (search engine optimization), Technology General, Technology Browsers, and of course a Technology cartoon. The annual subscription is going to cost next to nothing to allow many readers the benefit of the content.

I am currently locating and selecting premium contributing authors who specialize in one or more of the areas above. This will bring the professionalism to the magazine that I myself can not bring with all those sections. I am also looking for advertisers so if you are interested in advertising your site/business/product you can contact me admin[at]designstudiomag.com. I look forward to this project as it promised to be beneficial to all Web Developers. Join me in the process or just hang on for the ride.

A friend of mine was showing me one some of the features for his new web application (the application is going to be for a community including blogging, news, and more) and we got to talking about the < Culture > tag. He is looking to incorporate multiple languages for this application and was showing me one he had already set up.

Now I am not too knowledgeable when it comes to Cultures and web applications such as his, but it seemed that there had to be an easier way to set up language support. Currently he would have to take each page and have it translated into the language he wants and then place that language into a dictionary from which he can call on it when that option is selected in the configuration screen. I would think that there has to be a built in convertor, a script that you could build into the program that would translate it on the fly. Surely in all the applications that have been created there is a language support ’shortcut’ somewhere.

I have made it a challenge to myself to find such a thing or get relatively close just for curiosity’s sake. If you want to join in the hunt and help I would be appreciative. Whatever results you may or may not find post in comments or email them to me if you have my email. Good Luck!

The latest from the FireFox campaign (Spread FireFox) is nothing short of humor. They have launched 3 web commercials - simple yet effective. These commericals can be found at FunnyFox.

You can read the full article about this here. I have used Firefox and love it, the only thing that bugged me was the program loading time. It is however a small price to pay for the features and convience of the browser. If you haven’t tried using it, it is free and you can download it by clicking on this image:

Enjoy and don’t forget to Spread FireFox !!