RDC Lends BEN a Hand

Red Deer Creative has teamed up with BEN to bring their branding up to scratch before their 2010 award ceremony.

BEN, the Ballarat Environment Network, is an umbrella group representing the landcare and environment groups of the South-west region of Victoria. BEN has roughly 80 member groups. BEN:

• Assists groups with environmental activities and increasing memberships
• Raises awareness and improve understanding of environmental issues
• Conducts a range of projects to solve environmental problems
• Promotes the Ballarat Environment Awards
• Encourages communication and networking between groups
• Provides a single voice on issues

BEN actively works with government agencies, non-government organisations, community groups, councils, industry, schools, landcare members, landholders and the general community to achieve improved environmental outcomes.

Keep a close eye on our portfolio for the new BEN Branding!

wp-e-commerce upload adding multiple categories to CSV upload

How to bulk upload to more than one category with the excellent Wp-e-commerce plugin.

In our case, we needed to assign each product to a category and a brand (e.g. Category: Jeans, Brand: Levis). To do this, we removed the bulk 'add to category' dropdown from the bottom of the import page and added a category and brand option to the dropdowns that are used to assign columns in the uploaded .csv file. Here's how...

Open wp-e-commerce/wpsc-admin/includes/settings-pages/import.php

As we are going to assign each item to its own category and brand, the category dropdown at the bottom of the upload page is no longer relevant. So, we remove lines 77 - 85:

Please select a category you would like to place all products from this CSV into:

'.$category.'';

}




Next we add the category and brand options to the dropdown list of assignable fields.
lines 61 - 69 show:

Product Name
Description
Additional Description
Price
SKU
Weight
Weight Unit
Stock Quantity
Stock Quantity Limit


We are going to add to these so we now have:

Product Name
Description
Additional Description
Price
SKU
Weight
Weight Unit
Stock Quantity
Stock Quantity Limit
Category
Brand


now we change (what is now) line 122 - 123 to read:

$category_query = "INSERT INTO `".WPSC_TABLE_ITEM_CATEGORY_ASSOC."` VALUES ('','$id','".$cvs_data2."')";
$wpdb query($category_query);


and add the following two lines underneath:

$brand_query = "INSERT INTO `".WPSC_TABLE_ITEM_CATEGORY_ASSOC."` VALUES ('','$id','".$cvs_data2."')";
$wpdb query($brand_query);


This is simply adding the category and brand id to the WPSC_TABLE_ITEM_CATEGORY_ASSOC table.

Remember to add the Category IDs to your csv file and NOT the category name. Alternatively you could extend this tutorial by looking up the Category ID using the Category Name and inserting that.

What ethics should apply in the digital world?

The Internet is forever. A terrifying prospect, indeed. But if data on the Web has an infinite shelf life, do the same rules and ethics abide as in the real world? They do, says computer programmer and digital artist Zach Gage.
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Now designing Tumblr and Posterous!

I have been buzzing all over the blogosphere. With the explosion of microblogs, I have spent a considerable amount of time learning the codes for Posterous and Tumblr.

Both platforms are excellent for sharing links and posting photos while on the go.

Tumblr is very hip. The Tumblr goodies page is loaded with apps for iPhone and Blackberry, widgets and bookmarklets to make microblogging available wherever you go.

Posterous is simple and straightforward. There are iPhone and Android apps. Blackberry users can email links and photos to post. It can be set as a standalone microblog or autopost to your current site.

If you are looking for a custom theme for your  Tumblr or Posterous microblog, contact me!

Most Expensive Domain Names

Being that it’s 2010, it’s safe to say the most of us have heard the term “virtual real estate”. Typically though, this refers to virtual worlds, people blowing tens of thousands of dollars on virtual real estate in a game like “Second Life”. The real virtual real estate, though, is that of the internet itself, domain names. In the mid to late 90’s there was a land grab as numerous popular domains were snagged for $100 two year contracts (later dropped to $70) from Network Solutions. The dot-come bubble arrived and suddenly those same domains were being resold for millions. Surprisingly, the dotcom bubble never burst when it came to the internet’s real estate. Prices today are as high as ever.

Read more at Web Hosting Directory.

Tin Can Metaphor 5 Art Show

Pencilbox Studios is hosting the fifth (not quite annual) fine art show featuring the artists collectively known as TinCan Group, plus an invited guest artist. This year's show, an eclectic blend of photography, painting, and mixed media, is entitled Tin Can Metaphor 5. Live music will be provided by Peanut. Snacks and refreshments will be served.