So I assume that you already instaled your language packs, and that you created diferent store views for diferent languages.
Next step is to go to Magento admin/system/configuration/developer.

There you must do two things:

• from current configuration scope select desired store view on witch the inline translation will be aplied
• apply inline translation for that desired store view

Next step is to go to the frontend and select desired language from the dropdown. Red rectagle strokes around text will apear and when you hover it the little book icon will apear. Just click on the icon and insert desired text.

Here is how to:

All translations that are been made by inline translation are stored in database in shop_core_translate table. If you move magento from server to server you need to export this table and import it when you configure your mysql database on another server.

I’ve seen people that are new to the concept of inbound marketing asking questions such as: Should I use Twitter? Should I blog? Should I use social bookmarks? Facebook? LinkedIn? Directories? SEO? SEM? SMM? Conversion rate optimization?

If only they knew that the time spent on asking these questions and reading through answers could be much better used on trying these things for themselves and seeing them work in action.

ROI, ROI, ROI.

The biggest mistake is trying to measure every single one of these elements of inbound marketing separately. Why, you ask?

Because, they work together. Instead of spending ridiculous amount of time on just figuring out how are you going to measure the ROI of each of these elements and then spending lots of time on actual measurement, you should look at all of these elements as one – Inbound Marketing.

All of the elements of inbound marketing work together as one, each making others stronger and more valuable in achieving the omnipresence. Because of this complex interaction between these elements it is almost impossible to measure the actual ROI of a single element in this mix.

“What is the ROI of spending a week on calculating the ROI?” [mp3]

- David Meerman Scott

Could you measure the ROI of 10 seconds it took me to write a tweet? Sure you could, but do you really want to?

• You first need to calculate how much 10 seconds of my time are expense to the company. Then you need to take several measurable factors into equation…
• Did we receive any new followers because of this tweet?
• What’s the monetary value of this particular follower (it’s not the same if you’re followed by a person with lots of money interested in your products / services or some random folk for example).
• Did this follower just found out about our other communication channels like our blog or LinkedIn account, group etc.?
• What’s the value of that follower being there?
• … and so on…

Even if you somehow managed to take all of the possible measurable elements to calculate the ROI of me spending 10 seconds to post this tweet, it would take such a ridiculous amount of time that this kind of measurement makes no sense.

Let’s say that after you did the miracle and managed to actually accurately measure this ROI, this follower we gained brought us a few extra followers. What do you do now? You go back to your ROI spreadsheets and make corrections?

You could have a legion of mathematicians working behind an inbound marketer and they wouldn’t be able to measure 10 seconds of his work in one day.

This is why I advise you to measure the Inbound Marketing as a whole and not every element of it separately otherwise your measurements will not be accurate.

If you take home one line from this text let it be: “The goal is omnipresence.”

Today, according to Google trends, Magento is more popular than ecommerce itself. Somewhere in March of 2009 – less then a year ago – terms “magento” and “ecommerce” became equal and from there on, Magento took the leading position.

Of course, this is not the whole truth, since ecommerce is used in many synonym forms such as “e-commerce”, however, Magento is still much stronger keyword then any of these synonyms individually.

If you look at the curve from the marketing perspective, you will notice that Magento shows significant and stable growth rate with no sign of decreasing or stagnating any time soon.

The graph at the bottom shows us there is significantly bigger amount of articles (or news references) about the term “ecommerce” then there is about “magento” and despite this, Magento still manages to attract more search traffic.

If we compare it to the competing platforms (Magento vs oscommerce vs virtuemart vs zencart) the graph shows us the clear winner is once again – Magento. Tomislav wrote about similar topic long time ago (What’s the best shopping cart).

There is your answer to the question from the title (How popular is Magento?) – a lot. To quote some of the real world numbers from Magento’s official website:

• $25 Billionin transactions
• 30,000+ merchants
• 1,700+ extensions
• 1.5 Million downloads

And counting.

To quote the great Governator:

…and an official mail sent to all google apps admins:

This is a quote from a polite blog post on discontinuing support for old browsers:

The web has evolved in the last ten years, from simple text pages to rich, interactive applications including video and voice. Unfortunately, very old browsers cannot run many of these new features effectively. So to help ensure your business can use the latest, most advanced web apps, we encourage you to update your browsers as soon as possible.

Read the rest of their blog post and join the google wave of heading forward

However, sometimes you wont wish your extensions depend on the additional module for certain functionality. Stuff like “overriding” the admin view files can easily be achieved with just a few minor modifications of extended class.

Content of my app\code\community\MyCompany\MyModule\Block\Adminhtml\Catalog\Product\Helper\Form\Gallery\Content.php file.

class MyCompany_MyModule_Block_Adminhtml_Catalog_Product_Helper_Form_Gallery_Content extends Mage_Adminhtml_Block_Catalog_Product_Helper_Form_Gallery_Content
{
    /**
     * This method has been overridden merely for the purpose of setting up a new view file
     * to be used in place of the default theme folder.
     *
     * @see app/code/core/Mage/Core/Block/Mage_Core_Block_Template#fetchView($fileName)
     */
    public function fetchView($fileName)
    {
        extract ($this->_viewVars);
        $do = $this->getDirectOutput();

        if (!$do) { ob_start(); }

        include getcwd().'/app/code/community/MyCompany/MyModule/blocks/Adminhtml/catalog/product/helper/gallery.phtml';

        if (!$do) {$html = ob_get_clean(); }
        else { $html = ''; }

        return $html;
    }
}

Which goes inline with the config.xml file entry like:

...
<blocks>
	<adminhtml>
		<rewrite>
			<catalog_product_helper_form_gallery_content>MyCompany_MyModule_Block_Adminhtml_Catalog_Product_Helper_Form_Gallery_Content</catalog_product_helper_form_gallery_content>
		</rewrite>
	</adminhtml>
</blocks>
...

In the example below, I am pointing the block to look for my view file within my module folder, and not within some Magento design folder. Basically my gallery.phtml is the same as the original Magento adminhtml view file for the same purpose, but now I can go in and implement my additional stuff in it.

Approach like this can have its advantage in terms of keeping all the required overridden design files in your own module directory.

For those who need it… cheers.

I called my plugin “Example_Controller_Plugin_Param”, it means that I have created file (class) called “Param.php”
in “library/ Example/Controller/Plugin/”.
Then in “application/Bootstrap.php” class I created method “_initAutoload” in which we need to register nampspace.

< ?php
class Bootstrap extends Zend_Application_Bootstrap_Bootstrap
{
	protected function _initAutoload()
    {
    	/*
    	 * If you don't register namespace
    	 * You will get error :
    	 * Fatal error: Class 'Example_Controller_Plugin_Param' not found in
    	 * ...\library\Zend\Application\Resource\Frontcontroller.php on line 92
    	 *
    	 */

    	$autoloader = Zend_Loader_Autoloader::getInstance();
        $autoloader->registerNamespace('Example_');
        $autoloader->suppressNotFoundWarnings(true);

        /*
         * also you will get Exception :
         * No entry is registered for key 'Zend_Request_Example'
         * called in helper ParamHelper.php
         *
         */

    }

}

Also in “application/configs/application.ini” file we need to prepare plugin ready for usage with line:
resources.frontController.plugins.param = “Example_Controller_Plugin_Param”

When you do this steps, check your application if you got some errors or warnings before you go to coding.
Now when we set up environment, we can start with coding our plugin.

I tried to simplyfie this example so our plugin will only create new custom request parameter,
which will appear when you debug

Zend_Debug::dump($this->_request->getParams()); 

in any Controller class.
And it will start the session, create session namespaces with simple logic which will check if the session params are set or not and it will throw an Exception.

< ?php
class Example_Controller_Plugin_Param extends Zend_Controller_Plugin_Abstract
{
	protected $_param;

	private $_userID;

	public function routeShutdown(Zend_Controller_Request_Abstract $request)
	{
		/*
		 * we start session here
		 * so we do not need to start it in each action, controller or module
		 */
		Zend_Session::start();

		/*
		 * we create session with namespace 'login'
		 */
    	$namespace = new Zend_Session_Namespace('login'); 

    	/*
    	 *
    	 */
    	$this->_userID = $namespace->user; 

			/*
			 * create some simple logic, just to see application behaviour
			 */

    		if (!isset($this->_userID) or $this->_request->getParam("user") != null) {
				$this->_userID = $this->_request->getParam("user", null);

				if ($this->_userID == null) {
					throw new Exception("user id not found");
				}

				$namespace->user = $this->_userID;
			}

		/*
		 * Just for example we also create new custom request parameter
		 *  with name and value, cannot set this in helper
		 *
		 */
		$this->_param = $this->_request->setParam('param', 'custom');

		Zend_Registry::set('Zend_Request_Example', $this->_param->param);

	}

}

What is so special here?
Well, in this example you do not need to create session namespaces in any action, controller or module and this is something what spares our development time and lines of code.

Source code link: zf.plugin.example
Test your new plugin and enjoy in coding with Zend Framework.

Both guys are from Osijek.

Luka Gabric has a degree in Computing and Communications from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering in Osijek. His thesis was about robots A.I. and here’s a short list of his skills: C/C++, Delphi (Pascal), C#.NET, PHP, JSP, MS SQL, MySQL, JavaScript, CSS, HTML, Flash – ActionScript 3.0. He’s new to the Mac and will be learning the iPhone SDK at record speeds thanks to his Jedi Master, Ivan Kalaica.

Filip Svetlicic studies IT design here in Osijek. He moved to Inchoo from the Ypsilon company where he worked on many web projects from static websites to CMS ones where he used either Wordpress or CMS Made Simple. He is now in the team with Ivan Weiler.

I composed a list of some really nice articles about Apple’s iPad published so far:

5 Reasons Why The iPad Fails To Impress (WebProNews)

WebProNews’ Jeremy Muncy lists five reasons of his disappointment with iPad. The reasons are (in order of appearance): the name, no multitasking, no camera, huge ridiculous adapters, same touch keyboard with a bonus one: no flash.

• Similar: 8 Things That Suck About the iPad (Gizmodo)

Video: The iPad In Action (TechCrunch)

MG Siegler of TechCrunch shows us a video (not one of these videos on Apple’s official site) of iPad in action. This 2:14 in length YouTube video called “iPad hands on” is pretty useful in seeing how iPad truly works.

Steve Wozniak Talks iPad (Video) (TechCrunch)

Another TechCrunch article, written by Robin Wauters features a video of Steve Wozniak (Apple’s co-founder) talking about iPad. Steve talks about what we can expect in future (hint: magazine subscriptions and similar features).

Building iPad Applications with Flash (Adobe’s Blog)

Although Apple stated iPad doesn’t support flash, Adobe wrote this great blog posts reminding developers of possibility of developing Flash apps for this platform. Adobe says:

While we put the finishing touches on the Packager for iPhone, we have invited a few developers and designers to join a closed pre-release program. As they are testing it and giving us feedback, they also have been able to use it to build some applications that they have submitted to the iTunes App Store.

Apple iPad: A Comprehensive Guide (Mashable)

Ben Parr created a comprehensive guide about iPad at Mashable that includes the overview, the specifications, interface, web, emails and maps, connectivity, e-books and publishing features, TV movies and video, gaming, productivity and iWork, pricing, availability, competitors, what the iPad lacks and list of recommended additional reading. The closing statement is really interesting:

The point is this: It’s a first generation device, and it’s not going to include a lot of the things we want. With that said, make sure you know the drawbacks before buying.

9 Upcoming Tablet Alternatives to the Apple iPad (Mashable)

The title of the post says it all, it’s a list and explanation of 9 alternatives (I hate when this word is used in plural -.-) to the new Apple iPad. Including: HP Slate, Dell Streak, Asus Eee Tablet, Compal Tablet, Notion Ink Adam, MSI, Quanta, ICD Vega and Google and HTC but not including the JooJoo (ex. CrunchPad).

Editorial: Engadget on the Apple iPad (Engadget)

Nilay Patel wrote a really extensive article about iPad at Engadget. The articles includes the opinion of a lot of Engadget’s staff members including the people who have been actually using the device. Important quotes:

I know that I’ll find a reason to drop $500 (at least) on this thing — but for the vast majority of consumers, I think the case for the iPad has yet to be made.

As a portable gaming platform, the iPhone represented a sea change in quality; at first blush, the iPad carries no such distinction.

This is simply Cupertino’s answer to the smartbook executed with typical Apple spit and polish, and whether anyone really needs the world’s slickest smartbook remains to be seen.

My initial impulse is always, I have to have that. But then reality sets in: do I really need a third device?

I’m not going to form an opinion until I actually read with the iPad, but it looks like the best alternative to an actual book I’ve ever seen.

Touché, Mr. Jobs, but it’s also easy to argue that a $399 netbook can do a number of things better than the $499 Apple iPad — like multitask, play Flash video and make a video call.

Why the iPad Will Crush Netbooks and Ebook Readers (Gizmodo)

A nice analysis of current state of the industry and prediction of how and why will Apple’s iPad crush netbooks and ebook readers. It talks about iPads targeted audience in a really smart and logical way.

Two ways to win Apple’s iPad using your Twitter account:

• CONTEST: Tweet to Win a Free Apple iPad!
• ReTweet This to Win One of 3 Apple iPad Tablets from @HubSpot

class Inchoo_Vendor_Model_Activpayment
{

	public function getActivPaymentMethods()
	{
	   $payments = Mage::getSingleton('payment/config')->getActiveMethods();

	   $methods = array(array('value'=>'', 'label'=>Mage::helper('adminhtml')->__('--Please Select--')));

	   foreach ($payments as $paymentCode=>$paymentModel) {
            $paymentTitle = Mage::getStoreConfig('payment/'.$paymentCode.'/title');
            $methods[$paymentCode] = array(
                'label'   => $paymentTitle,
                'value' => $paymentCode,
            );
        }

        return $methods;

	} 

}

• URL structure
• Meta data
• On-site elements structure
• Internal linking
• Distance of deep links from the homepage

All of these might influence your rankings in negative but also as likely in positive way. If you are attempting to move to Magento platform, I strongly advise you to seek for a Magento SEO expert first, to make sure your move is as smooth and as painless as possible for your rankings.

The most important thing to do when making a switch is to 301 redirect the old URLs to your new URLs, which will allow you to keep the link juice you collected so far. For everything else, consult with your Magento SEO professional.

This is Toni Anicic, if you are reading this, you are the resistance.

In some cases, the required product logic can extend to such level that you are better of with building a new product type in Magento. Why, you might ask? Becase of the more finer control you can achieve on product trough your own models than to poke around on the existing stuff.

Attached to this article is a fully working extension I wrote that creates a new product type in your Magento store. This new product type uses code name “customproduct”. Its based on the Mage_Catalog_Model_Product_Type_Abstract class, the one on which the “simple” product is build upon. Unlike “simple” product type, this “customproduct” does not have any, whatsoever, additional logic built in. This, I leave to you.

Also, extension comes with several “hooks” to certain Magento controllers actions. If you open the app/code/local/Ajzele/CustomProduct/Model/Observer.php you will see implemented several “blank” methods as hooks. Going to config.xml file of this extension will show you what these methods “observe”.

Here are few screenshots of how this looks like on frontend and on backend.

And here is the module (extension), Ajzele_CustomProduct.

Note, DO NOT INSTALL the extension on LIVE SITE. Use it merely for development testing and getting to know Magento product types. Extension is tested on my PC, latest Magento 1.3.2.4 version and it seems to work fine, both in admin and frontend. It is by no means intendant to be used on live site. Use it at your own responsibility.

Hope you find it useful

Cheers.

We get many inquiries thanks to all of our inbound marketing efforts and, even taking into account that I rarely use my email for saving children around the world by the sheer power of a “forward” button, quite a lot of emails are getting sent. My job revolves around handling all the leads, filtering them out to figure out which of these are prospects and then preparing quotes with the help of our senior developers, basically everything leading up to signing the agreements. Essentially, the whole lead to prospect to client process. After that, project managers take over.

So, you can imagine there’s much communication going on to determine their needs and to see if we’d be a good match for their projects. There are many hurdles along the way (budget vs. our rates being the most common one), but you all know that feeling when you finally land a deal. It’s great and exhilarating – your efforts were worthwhile. And that’s clearly the best case scenario.

But, let’s get back to when that dreaded “no” comes into play. More often than not, leads will be the ones saying this word, but there are times when you have to be the one to say it, even to those you know might turn into a very good client down the road. So, why would you do that? You might simply be swamped, which is a great thing, but what if a great opportunity comes along at a time when you simply don’t have a single developer to spare?

It’s simple – play it fair. Be honest, tell the prospect what’s your availability and clearly let them know when you’d be able to start working with them. Of course, this requires having a clear overview of all your projects and good planning skills, but not many things are worse than promising what you can’t deliver. Don’t stall the communication and just remember how WYSIWYG makes life much easier.

But make sure your “no” doesn’t feel like “never again”. Don’t leave your prospects hanging, offer them some alternatives – send them directly to some of your partners or companies you believe can help them out. If you don’t have anyone that springs to mind, let them know about some places where they can find more resources. A huge must – give them information on when you expect to become available again and, if possible, offer them ways to stay in touch (the option to subscribe to your newsletter is nice if you have one).

And, above all, don’t forget to follow up in a month or two to see what’s happening. The follow-up alone has brought us a couple of projects recently.

So, what are the good things that can come out of saying “no”?

• you’ll put out a professional vibe – instead of getting your grip on a project and then overloading your developers only to see your overall quality of work go down the drain, just be honest and let them know you simply don’t have the resources to meet their deadlines – they will appreciate it as they can quickly move on

• you’ll have more time – just make sure you invest it in something you feel useful, and if time=money, turns out that by saying “no” you’re actually in a position to earn more down the road… funny, isn’t it?

• you’ll “spread the wealth” – you should always give your prospects some alternatives after saying “no” and help your fellow developers get a piece of the cake

And there you go. I dare you to say “no” the first time you get the chance, and truly mean it. Many good things can happen…

By now, most of us have seen how “cool” Magento models are, and how “easy” it is to write values to models by using syntax like

//$someModel = new Company_Modul_Model_SomeModel();
//or the preferable way
$someModel = Magent::getModel('company/somemodel');

/* To use some existing model record from database */
//$someModel->load(); /* Some valid id in database */

//$someModel->setSomeField = 'Some value';
//or the preferable way
$someModel->setSomeField('Some value');

//Save model
$someModel->save();

Code example shown above is clean, easy to use, etc. Probably the main thing to note is the usage of “$someModel->someField = ‘Some value’;” or “$someModel->someField(Some value);”. Safest, and more “cooler” way would be to assign field values trough “virtual methods” like “$someModel->someField(Some value);”. By doing so you are preparing a “safe ground” for yourself for possible latter modifications on individual fields (attributes) of model before “save” operation.

Lets say you wish to parse some logic on certain field before its set, in that case its easier to do “$someModel->someField(Some value);” and later implement the actual “someField()” method inside the model that handles the necessary logic.

Hopefully you catch my point

Moving along, the model itself. To get the model class to behave like the one shown above, you need to implement it in the proper way.

Attached is a sample module, that does exactly that. All you need to do is un-archive it, copy-paste the /app folder to your demo store, and refresh the demo store home page.

Module creates database table called “ajzele_hello” and appropriate “installation mark” entry in core_resource table called “hello_setup“.

Once you refreshed your home page, you should be able to do something like:

//$model = new Ajzele_SimpleModel_Model_Hello();
$model = Mage::getModel('hello/hello');
$model->setField1('Branko');
$model->setField2('Ajzele');
$model->save();

This should make a new entry in the database table “ajzele_hello”.

Download Ajzele_SimpleModel.

Note, DO NOT USE this module on live site. This is merely for educational purposes. As much as I can confirm that module is essentially simple and it works out of the box, I do not wish to comment on any “it broke my site” replies.

Cheers.

Since the web is constantly changing, search engines are following as well, and with the dawn of the real time web, SEOs noticed Google started giving some credit to the websites that are regularly updated. As the matter of fact, having a regularly updated homepage is often a solution for many SEO problems websites encounter.

I’ve seen a lot of Magento stores that have a completely static homepage and experience some problems with indexing. You can see them complain at Magento forums every now and then about not being able to make Google index their online store.

I’m not saying that having featured products (regularly updated content on homepage) will fix all of your indexing problems, chances are your problems might be in some other aspect of on-site optimization, however, it’s something that will improve your indexing for sure.

Inchoo has developed a featured products extension for Magento that can be downloaded and used completely free via Magento connect. Feel free to test it and come back with any comments. It has already been downloaded over 1 000 times via Magento Connect.

When I compare January 2010 with January 2009, many things have changed:

• Team is more than doubled (from 5 to 11 employees)
• Number of projects is greatly increased
• Number of project managers increased from 1 to 3
• We have dedicated sales manager
• Number of phone calls in the office is increased by ten

Working only with international clients emphasized the usage of eMails, Collaboration tools like Basecamp, Skype, Yahoo IM, etc. Phone was ringing only rarely. Things are changing now and we have at least one phone inquiry per day mostly from Croatian clients.

Having a local clients will definitely be something new for Inchoo. This old fashioned meetings that end with handshake instead of  meeting review eMails will be part of our daily activities.  We will face new challenges, but in case the choice of partners is good, I am sure this will bring fun and action to the team and everyday work.

We will keep you in the loop.

<crontab>
        <jobs>
            <inchoo_birthday_send>
                <schedule><cron_expr>0 1 * * *</cron_expr></schedule>
                <run><model>birthday/observer::sendBirthayEmail</model></run>
            </inchoo_birthday_send>
        </jobs>
</crontab>

Next step, we have to create model file observer.php (in folder model) with method sendBirthayEmail

class Inchoo_Birthday_Model_Observer
{

    public function sendBirthayEmail()
    {
        //this collection get all users which have birthday on today
     	$customer = Mage::getModel("customer/customer")->getCollection();
    	$customer->addFieldToFilter('dob', array('like' => '%'.date("m").'-'.date("d").' 00:00:00'));
    	$customer->addNameToSelect();
    	$items = $customer->getItems();

    	foreach($items as $item)
    	{
        // send email or do something
    	}

        return $this;
    }

}

This cron will be executed every day at 01:00 AM. The important thing: You have to set cron execution on the server (www.yourstore.com/cron.php), without it will not work.

First of all, I wanna show you this really nice screencast I found on Vimeo that guides you through the process of adding your Magento products to Google Base, however you will probably have some issues after you follow the screencast since it doesn’t really tell you everything there is to know.

Step by step guide to importing Magento products into Google Base:

Step 1: Create a Google Base (merchant) account. This is the first thing you need to do since you’ll need to enter account access data in the next step.

Step 2: Log-In to your Magento admin panel and go to System > Configuration > Google API > Google Base and enter your Google Base account data, Save Config.

Step 3: Go to Catalog > Google Base > Manage Attributes and synchronize the applicable Magento’s attributes with Google Base attributes.

Step 4: Go to Catalog > Google Base > Manage Items. View Available Products button will show you items in your store that can be added to the Google Base.

That’s it, pretty simple, right?

Known issues:

Expected response code 200, got 400. Type: data. Field: condition. Reason: The item is missing a required attribute.

Google Base requires an attribute that describes the item’s condition. This is the solution for this problem:

Step 1: Go to Catalog > Attributes > Manage Attributes. Create a new attribute called “Condition” with dropdown values “New” and “Used” available.

Step 2: Go to Catalog > Attributes > Manage Attribute Sets and drag the attribute “Condition” from the right column to the appropriate place in the left column. Make sure you have dragged it into the attribute set you’re using with Google Base if you have more then one attribute set defined.

Step 3: Go to Catalog > Google Base > Manage Attributes and synchronize Magento’s “Condition” attribute with Google Base’s “condition” attribute.

Step 4: Edit products you wish to include in Google Base and give them appropriate Condition attribute value (New or Used).

Expected response code 200, got 400. Type: data. Field: description. Reason: There is a problem with the character encoding of this attribute.

This error is shown when you have characters in your product description that are not supported by Google Base. This (or similar) error is also shown when you’re using code in your product description.

Removing the code or some strange characters from your product’s description should fix this problem.

A similar error will also appear if you left your description blank. You will need to add some description to every product you wish to add to the Google Base to fix the issue.

In all these years, I wrote thousands of status updates (or however they called them) and read probably hundreds of thousands more, but if you ask me to tell you what I learned from this massive amount of data I consumed, I’ll have to say: nothing.

One big fat zero. That’s the value of hundreds of thousands of status updates day after they were posted and that’s the biggest problem today’s social networks have to face.

If we look at the more primitive social networks, ghosts of the past that are still lurking in the shadows of the internet – forums, you will see they are pretty much the same thing as social networks with one big difference – they provide value! This is the only reason why Facebook, Twitter and their clones didn’t destroy forums. Not to digress to much, you can read here about forums and social networks comparison.

Why don’t users bring valuable content on Facebook and Twitter?

It’s not because they have no way of doing it. They have a great way to post really any kind of content on Facebook. They can use notes to write extensive “blog posts”, add video, pictures, tag people, link to profiles and make content very valuable and interactive.

It’s because they:

• Have limited audience. They are sharing their valuable content to group of their friends. When I write a super good article, I don’t want my friends to read it, I need my targeted audience to read it or that content brings no value to me.
• Lack the motivation. Everything on Facebook is built to make you as lazy as possible. I bet non-power-users of Facebook have no idea how to write a note, and these that actually do know, use it for chain letter purposes. Facebook simply doesn’t encourage creating valuable content. Pity.

Where is the big brother?

Another problem is obvious absence of a big brother figure. When you come to a professional forum and start writing stupid stuff or start a chain letter, there will be a big fat moderator or administrator who will smite you like a little worm. There is no one to smash the trolls, to delete the useless content, to filter the good and wrong, to encourage creation of value on Facebook and similar networks. Due to it’s audience being a bit older and possibly more tech savvy, Twitter brings a bit more value then Facebook but also desperately lacks the big brother figure. Twitter is also just a messenger, you can’t build valuable content on it, you can just point to it.

I believe the first social network that solves the problem of absence of valuable content or introduces the big brother figures might be the next big thing.

Why is my site slow?

Well, I don’t know but if you have Firefox installed on your computer you can add one more valuable add-on: Y-slow and find out for yourself

Introduction to YSlow from their site:

YSlow analyzes web page performance by examining all the components on the page, including components dynamically created by using JavaScript. It measures the page’s performance and offers suggestions for improving it.

The new YSlow will not only measure, suggest it will also do the legwork for you by resizing images if you choose using the famous smush.it tool.

As you can see from the screenshot smush.it will even neatly organize the archive of the images for you to download.

As far as how does the YSlow works Yahoo team states that they have identified 34 rules that affect web page performance and Yslow test 22 of those. Some of them are well known as the size of the files or that “never do it please” HTML resizing of the images and so on but what about other rules you should follow to optimize site’s performance?

Here is the list:

It comes with three already defined rulesets but you can make your own rulesets and/or edit the existing ones.

The actual window of YSlow offers you 4 main tabs that cover site’s grade, list of site’s components, statistics and tools like JSlint or smush.it as mentioned at the beginning of the post.

Head over to YSlow page for more detailed and elaborate content on how to install and use this tool.