Technology

MapQuest JavaScript API 5.3 – SSL Access

Monday, May 18th, 2009 | Technology | No Comments

MapQuest has just updated their JavaScript API 5.3 to allow SSL access. The lack of SSL support was causing an immense hurdle for us here at 24 Hour Fitness.  We had to implement some undesired conditionals to switch between the interactive JavaScript maps and the static Java maps depending on the type of access, http or https.  I stumbled upon this gem about a week ago when I randomly called up MapQuest’s technical support line (800-873-2418) to discuss SSL access for their Flex API (supported).  The tech rep informed me that they made the change that very morning.  It took me a while to get some time to correct our workaround.

No additional code is needed to enable SSL access for the JavaScript maps.  As long as you’re reference version API version 5.3 you have SSL access.  Make sure you include any https pages that will be utilizing the SSL maps in your MapQuest account under the referrers list.

This afternoon I was able to make the changes necessary to utilize MapQuest’s SSL changes which will go live within the next few weeks.

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Tilt Shift Video and Photography

Tuesday, May 12th, 2009 | Technology, Tutorials | No Comments

Tilt Shift photography is a technique in which an image or video appears tiny due to a change in the depth of field.  This effect can be achieved via a special “shifting” lens or via post-production editing.  The shifting lens has a larger then normal field of view.  By angling the lens you can distort the focus on a specific area which causes everything around the area in focus to appear blurry causing a special appearance of depth of field.

Example of Tilt Shift Photography

By linking a bunch of Tilt Shift images together, you can create a Tilt Shift video like the one above created by Keith Loutit.

There are tons of Tilt Shift photoshop tutorials explaining how to achieve this effect post-production.  Here are a few good tutorials:

I think I’ll try my hand at this when I find myself with some free time.  Probably sometime next year…

Update:  All State has created a new commercial using this technique

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Improve WordPress SEO

Monday, May 11th, 2009 | General, Technology, Web Design | No Comments

I’ve been reading articles on how to improve my blog’s search engine optimization (SEO) and have decided to document my findings.  First off, if you don’t have a content management system for your website, I’d highly recommend WordPress.  It’s super easy to use and allows you to publish the important stuff – your content – without the need to code everything yourself.

Once you have WordPress installed, you gain access to a ton of useful plugins!  To help improve your WordPress blog’s SEO I recommend you install the following plugins:

Upload the unzipped folders to your wordpress/wp-content/plugins folder.  Then log into your WordPress Dashboard and navigate to the Plugins page.  There you’ll activate these plug-ins.

Once activated the All-in-one-SEO-Pack will start automatically optimizing all your pages for search engine indexing.  Have a look through the Settings > All in one SEO Pack options to customize your settings for your blog.  The defaults are optimized to Google’s liking.

Next I suggest you set up an account with Google’s Webmaster Tools.  Google offers a ton of statistical information on the automated indexing of your site.  Take careful note of any errors and try to utilize google’s suggestions.  After all… it is google…

Last but not least go into Settings > XML – Sitemap and make sure you generate your XML sitemap after installing the plug in.  After generating the sitemap the first time, this plug in will automatically update the sitemap and notify all the major search engines upon any content modifications, such as new posts, post edits or new pages!  Very useful.

Lastly I’d recommend you install some sort of statistical monitoring plug in to help track what people are interested in on your site.  I use Statpress Reloaded and love how it displays useful information, like page visits, search terms, referrers and more!

These steps should really help boost your websites efficiency!  Happy Blogging!

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