Monthly Archives: May 2011

Everything Else, Ideas and Sorts

Time to take a break

For this weekend I am going to take a break. But here are a few articles I have viewed and read today:

Google and the new Wallet and Offers – does anything really need to be said?

AltLy – Now this one I find really funny. This is a supposed alternative to Facebook, yet is using Facebook for Likes and Pages. I signed up anyway, figure why not, give it a try when it comes out.

Urban Outfitters steals yet another artists design and work – Is it just me or does this place really wreak. And I have to say, every time I walk by one of their sister stores in the mall, it stinks to high heaven of pretentiousness and poser-ness.

iPad 3 News about the screens – Yes, that is right, already the iPad 3. Apple’s motto? Never miss an opportunity to market products via rumour that do not exist. I honestly think they really have a whole department that does nothing but start rumours and help perpetuate them.

Crisis Communications from An Unlikely Source – Really great article for how Twitter helped in the storm ravaged area.

Microsoft’s Ballmer must go, says hedge fund tycoon – Alot of what this covers I agree with. And as full disclosure, I was a Microsoft person, heavily. And they seemed to lose sight and touch with actual reality. Remember when Ballmer said the iPhone would do nothing. Yeah because Apple’s other previous product the iPod was such a disaster right Ballmer? And how about that Zune, where is that now?

Applications, PHP

SOAP Server and Client, now with WSDL part 2

3 Comments

Now here is the part where I give the example files. After we have planned the application functions, we need to figure out what we are going to return to the client. This is going to be a standard array with at least two levels: The Response array and the Data array. It will look similar to this:

Array
(
    [responseMsg] => Array
        (
            [status] => ok
            [message] => Service call was successful
        )
    [allColors] => Array
        (
            [0] => blue
            [1] => green
            [2] => black
            [3] => white
            [4] => yellow
            [5] => red
            [6] => beige
        )
)

Now that we have the basic idea, we need to create the WSDL file. Remember, it is very important to think of WSDL files as of reading from bottom to top. The final WSDl file is located here. Here is the basic idea of the WSDL file I created (going from the bottom to the top):

  1. Service: This houses the binding, the location, the port, and the name.
  2. Binding: This houses the functions that will be exposed, the operation and the input and output encoding. Most of the time these will be similar with only the names being different.
  3. Port Type: Here is where I define the operations and the input/output definitions
  4. Message: These are individual nodes for the Request and Response messages for all functions. These will usually have two message nodes per function, and they will define the structure for each action
  5. Types: This defines each structure that has been mentioned in the Message and any subsequent structures that have to be defined. This is usually the area where most struggles occur.
    • This structure will be encompassed by schema target namespace
    • Import the XML namespaces to help build the structures in the reasponse
    • For each complex type, it should either mention a specific data type (xsd:), or a new defined structure (tns:)
    • Each structure that is an array should be defined as a SOAP-ENC:Array with a wsdl:arrayType parameter

So that is the WSDL. The one I have created defines the 2 functions, the input, the output, and the structure of each. Now we can move on to the Server code.
Continue reading SOAP Server and Client, now with WSDL part 2 →

PHP, Planning

SOAP Server and Client, now with WSDL

Trying to get the post in for the day, and this is about the PHP SOAP service. So we have the array of items we need, and we are going to create some quick code for the server and client, but unlike nuSOAP, we do not get a great WSDL generator. So we have to create that ourselves. And it has to work. So that is going to have to work well for us. I have the base WSDL file ready. And it is late tonight, and I got to get a post up, so here is the link to my SOAP directory, and tomorrow we will get into the code and WSDL.

Part 2, with the code

Digital Marketing, Planning

And we are still here

In thinking about the past week, and more specifically, this past weekend, there is one major non event that most people seemed to be tuned in to: The Rapture. Yes, the Family Radio group has been preaching for months now in their RVs that the end of the world was going to happen this weekend. It got a lot of air play, and spread like wildfire through the “internets”. Now Mr Family Radio has over one hundred million in his account, and many people were left here in the real world. For those of you keeping count, this is now the second time that Harold Camping has declared the world would end. We first hit that date in 1994. The proposed date, September 6, came and went without any great fanfare. But this is the day of over-information sharing. Here we are in 2011, and the new prophecy came out that the world was going to end on May 21. And the message spread rapidly.

He had a plan, a radio broadcast, and a site. Many other groups started to inadvertently spread the word, not because they believed, but because they were ridiculing this. So now we are here. The guy was 0 for 1 and still people believed him. No matter what your religious persuasion be, I think one thing we can agree on, is humans are not that bright to figure out what a deity may be thinking or planning. Heck we have been on this planet for (at the very least 3000 years), and no civilization have been able to figure out “the gods”. But it did not matter with this. People wanted to believe something. They followed this guy because of his message, his charisma, his leadership and unwavering belief that this event would occur. And it did not. Now comes the time of denial and flabbergasted responses.

So what positive lesson can we learn from this event? One thing I can take from this is a company has got to give the public something it believes in. This is mainly for the smaller businesses, but can also apply to bigger businesses. Many times a business will just push products out and not really put the belief in the product. Have a plan of action to promote the product along avenues that suit your targeted demographic. Camping did not buy air time during the Fox Business Channel market watch, nor did he get time with leaders of the world, or powerful business men. He went around in RVs to people whom he felt would be receptive to the message. He was not ostentatious about the message either, he appeared humble, and kept the message on a level for mass understanding.

Now, I am not saying go out and be evil about the marketing, nor am I saying put the fear of God into people so they give you money. Be practical about it, message it properly, and believe in what you do. Yes this whole campaign by Family Radio was big, but it flopped. And that is the next biggest lesson to learn from this whole non-event. If you are going to make promises, deliver when it comes time to deliver, otherwise do not promise anything you can not reasonably deliver. That will kill your business quicker than anything else.

Now will Family Radio recover? Possibly. Remember this is the day of over-information. We will laugh about it, and we will keep it in our consciousness for the next few days, then it will be “so last month”. And there will be the next major gaffe about to happen. Just make sure it is not you or your business that is on the receiving end.

Digital Marketing, Social Media

I am Here

Location! Location! Location! The three words you usually here when looking for real estate. But what about in the cyber world. What does this really mean? We have location services for GPS, and that works great for items like navigation systems, and locating devices. Location services for tracking purposes, like with shipping services and company vehicles. But now we have location services for Tweets, Updates, and Check-ins. What does this really mean or get one?

In previous posts, some of the things I have experienced, I have posted. Some of this has been on the business side, and some has been on the personal side. But the question I usually seem to get often, is why should anyone be a part of Foursquare, or use any type of location services. And that is a fair question. If some method is not useful for a business, then why use it? If some new technology comes out and the person is not that interested, why use it? And that is the question only one person can answer: you. Whether it is for yourself or for your business, it is something that you must decide if this is right for you. Not all technology or services will be a “one size fits all”. Especially in technology, if it is a one size fits all, then it usually will not be able to do what you need it to do.

So let’s first examine the personal aspect of the location based services. What are some of the benefits for a person to use it, besides broadcast/brag to the world where you are? One of the reasons I use it is when I travel. By checking in at different locations on the journey, I can let me friends, family and business associates know where I am. Foursquare has a great tool to post to Twitter and Facebook as well, so you can get all bases covered in one check-in. Another reason I use it is so I can still “play around” with friends and associates who are no longer close. We have contests to see who can check in the most, become mayor of as many places as possible, who goes to the most areas, etc. It is another way to keep those relationships alive. I also use check-ins when I go to new places, especially restaurants, to see if there are any deals, or suggestions, or better yet, cautionary advice to stay away from a place. And most important thing to remember about Foursquare, if I do not want to be found, I do not check in at all. Just because one has the service does not mean one has to use it all the time.

Next, why should a business use it. This all depends on what the business is. Obviously if the business does a lot of secret projects, then they probably do not want to check in all the time. But there are useful ways to use Foursquare. First, a business should register the place, venue, location. Once you are there, make it exciting for people to check-in (and by that, they make it in your door) by offering them something. Even if it is 10% off a drink, or copies, etc. In this economy, even 10 cents could be the difference maker. And on the same token, offer interesting items, or tips, about the place. Movie theatres can offer tips like all movies before 4pm are matinee and cheaper prices, or days when there are not as many people showing up to the theatre. This can drive traffic and revenue on some of the more slower times. And make sure you read what others post about the place. This is invaluable as it is direct feedback about the business and how it is perceived. A really good presentation examines what different companies have done with Foursquare and was presented by David Stutts, 20 Interesting Things: Foursquare. Yes this is 11 months old and technology changes quickly. But this should give a good start on generating ideas on what could be useful.

Everything Else, Ideas and Sorts

Thoughts

Today I am going to break from the schedule and post about something different, jobs.

In this country (and I am sure around the world), jobs are hard to come by. What is even more difficult is finding the right kind of job where one is happy and challenged. Not every job is glamorous, and not every job will make you a millionaire. There has to be something out there that will make one happy, challenge them and make it not seem like a job. Too many people are out there working 80 hours a week out of fear of losing the job. Do more, cost less, and be more productive seems the be the sense in businesses today. Salaries are going lower for the regular every day worker, while the hours have gone up. Fear of being out of a job for months can drive that person to work a ton and kill themselves in the job.

Yes, I speak from firsthand experience. Getting downsized, or re-structured, from a business you put your life into really sucks. And when you do get a job after that, sometimes there is a fear that drives the person to work harder (not always more efficient mind you), work longer hours, not cost as much, and more like this. In the past, businesses were more loyal to the worker. Today, they are not. As much as we build strong relationships with the people at the job, when it comes down to the bottom line, everyone is a number, figure against the balance, and can always be expendable. Which is sad.

I think more people would be dedicated, and take ownership of their work if they knew that they were not expendable, and at any downturn in the economy, they would be safe. And I know this does not apply to everyone, but I feel that it would be a lot better. We all want to do something cool with our lives, and have a legacy. Too many times we misplace that legacy as a product of our work, instead of family and service. We put all our effort, time and energy into the job, one that many of us dread going to every morning, and then spend maybe 1 hour a day with family.

Sure, I am writing this from the perspective of a father and husband. And I know many out there are either single or have no intention of having children. And that is fine, there is no problem with that as well. But there are other legacies out there. Service and helping others out. Taking time to help others is huge, and touches more lives than we will ever know. It provides a sense of self worth and confidence. And if nothing else, it helps one maintain perspective.

Yes we all need to pay bills and provide for ourselves or our family. I am not saying go quit your job and live like a hippy. In fact, I am saying just the opposite of that. Find something that makes you happy, and does not suck your soul. Make it so that you can be excited about the day, instead of watching the clock for the end of the shift.

PHP, Planning

PHP Web Service Example Set Up

In a previous few posts, I posted examples for the NuSOAP server. Now it is time for the intrinsic PHP SOAP web service. This will be a quick post for the server and client, as they are easy to do. The hard part will be the WSDL document. With NuSOAP, it created a WSDL for you, but with PHP SOAP, you must do the WSDL yourself. Be sure to read up on the documentation at PHP.net.

So first off, we need to create a few ideas on what we will return. This will be a simple example with data returned. So for the data set, we will return an array of colors, and an array of named pairs for boys/names and girls/names. Two simple methods to the service, and we need to build the client as well.

So this post will only be the set up of those, and maybe next week I will post the actual server and client code. So for now, here are the data arrays we are going to work with:

$colors = array(
	'blue', 
	'green',
	'black'
	'white',
	'yellow'
	'red',
	'beige'
);

$names = array(
	'boys' => array(
		'stephen',
		'dave',
		'ryan',
		'brian',
		'chris',
		'tom',
	), 
	'girls' => array(
		'elise',
		'sheri',
		'kim',
		'marci',
		'megan',
	)
);

And we will need the WSDL file in place. So the basic layout for this webservice server will act like this:
1. All calls to the colors function will not take any type of parameters, it will be: 

$webservice->__soapCall('getColors')

2. Calls to the names function can be one of three options: both, girls, boys: 

$webservice->__soapCall('getNames', array('boys'))

3. Both functions will return some type of message header and array of returned data.
4. The data is set up above, and the structure will be the same.

Now knowing this, if we get the WSDL set up and working, then the service will work. So next week, I will show the WSDL, the Server and the Client.

Part 2 including the code

Ideas and Sorts, Planning

Will you really know what it takes

So I am entering week three of this month and trying to get things completed. So here is the latest in the line of items that will be done this week:

Monday – Will you really know what it takes; Planning ideas and thoughts
Tuesday – PHP Web Service Example; focusing on coding
Wednesday – Facebook, Foursquare, Twitter oh my!; ideas and code segments for people like me, social lepers
Thursday – I am Here; examinations on location services, social integration and strategy
Friday – Funny quotes; fun stuff to finish up the week

For today, it is going to be short, and more of something to think about. Someone asks you to do something. You have this project in which you need to rely on other groups and other people to help complete the project. Will you really know what it takes? Sure, we may really be in tune with what is out there, and we may understand our part in this, but when we start to get more people and other groups involved, it can become a little confusing as to what it will really take. These other groups may not have the time or resources to work on this project right away, so that may introduce more meetings and political suave to convince a different set of executive management to understand your project. Time allowed for the work to be completed may be a question that comes up as well.

What about your own personal time? How much do you have on your plate, and how interesting is your work? Is this new project something you see as wonderful, and a challenge that is good? Or is it more of a mundane routine you are seeing yourself increasingly doing more often? Is your heart in the project, if it is not, how will that affect the effort you put in? When everything is said and done, your name will be associated with this project, in some way shape or form. Is this something you will be proud of, or will it haunt you later in your career?

Everything Else, Ideas and Sorts

400 Words to Madness

So ends the week, on Friday the 13th no less. I have less than 400 words to sum up the week:
Monday: work
Tuesday: work
Wednesday: work
Thursday: work
Friday: work

Not really a big change or variety. However some very interesting things happened this week in other news. And relating a story that came to me at work this week. Life is full of randomly boring events happening independently. But put all those items together, and it becomes a really interesting and fun experience. And that is what life should be, fun and entertaining. So while I finish this post off for this week, I am just going to remind everyone that life is worth living and experiencing.

Items to possibly watch this weekend:
The Office episode this week (DVR’d)
Hot Tub Time Machine
Easy A
Harvey (you can never ignore the classics)
The Seventh Seal (one of the best art house movies)
L’Avventura

I also need to get outside and get some sun, clean my motorcycle, etc. But what movies would you watch if you could?