12
Nov 09
How to install Google Affiliate pixel tracking code in Magento
Took me a day of scouring the web to figure out how to get this to work. After adding this code do a test order and view source and confirm it worked.
#copy and paste to the bottom of
#app/design/frontend/default/theme_name/template/checkout/success.phtml
$companyID = "K123456"; #provided by Google
$category = urlencode("Your product category");
$lastorderid = Mage::getSingleton('checkout/session')->getLastOrderId();
$_order = Mage::getModel('sales/order')->load($lastorderid);
$orderID = $this->getOrderId(); #get the order ID
$aProduct = array();
$totalAmt = 0;
$prdsku = "";
$prdnm = "";
$prdqn = "";
$prdpr = "";
$prcatid = "";
###########store order data in array of objects###########
foreach ($_order->getAllItems() as $item) {
$oProduct = new stdClass();
$oProduct->sku = $item->getSku(); #sku
$oProduct->price = $item->getPrice(); #price
$totalAmt = $totalAmt + ($oProduct->price * $item->getQtyOrdered()); #total amt (excl.tax/shipping)
$oProduct->qty = $item->getQtyOrdered(); #quantity
$oProduct->name = $item->getName(); #product name
$oProduct->category = $category;
array_push($aProduct, $oProduct);
$oProduct = NULL; #nuke it
}
###########build query string variables###########
for ($i=0; $i < count($aProduct); $i++) {
if ($i == count($aProduct)-1) {
$prdsku .= urlencode($aProduct[$i]->sku);
$prdnm .= urlencode($aProduct[$i]->name);
$prdqn .= urlencode($aProduct[$i]->qty);
$prdpr .= urlencode($aProduct[$i]->price);
$prcatid .= urlencode($aProduct[$i]->category);
} else {
$prdsku .= urlencode($aProduct[$i]->sku) . "^";
$prdnm .= urlencode($aProduct[$i]->name) . "^";
$prdqn .= urlencode($aProduct[$i]->qty) . "^";
$prdpr .= urlencode($aProduct[$i]->price) . "^";
$prcatid .= urlencode($aProduct[$i]->category) ."^";
}
}
?>
?>&prdsku=<?=$prdsku?>&prdnm=<?=$prdnm?>&prdqn=<?=$prdqn?>&prdpr=<?=$prdpr?>&prcatid=<?=$prcatid?>)
03
Nov 09
How to Jailbreak and Unlock Your iPhone 3G, 3GS Using BlackSn0w [ mac instructions ]
These instructions are from iClarified who seems to be getting slammed at the moment (this was just released an hour ago as i write this. These 8 steps took about 30 seconds->1 minute to complete (!!!), and i can confirm everything works great. I was able to replace my Rogers SIM with a RoamForce World Sim and make calls immediately. Having said that, proceed at your own risk:
These are instructions on how to jailbreak and unlock your iPhone 3G and 3GS using BlackRa1n and BlackSn0w for Mac.
These instructions will work with the latest 3.1.2 firmware, the 05.11.07 baseband, and iPhones which require hactivation.
For those with a new iPhone 3GS (updated Bootrom), BlackRa1n only supports a tethered jailbreak. This means that once jailbroken you should not let your battery die. If it does die you will need to reconnect it to the computer and use BlackRa1n to boot it.
Before continuing make sure you are on the 05.11.07 baseband by following this tutorial. If you are not please update your firmware to 3.1.2 using iTunes before continuing.
Step One
Open your web browser of choice and navigate to http://www.blackra1n.com. Click the Apple logo at the bottom of the screen (or Windows if you are on a pc).
Step Two
When prompted save the download to your desktop:
Step Three
Then double click the downloaded blackra1n zip file to extract the application, then double click the application icon to launch the program.
Step Four
Make sure your iPhone or iPod is connected to the computer then click the large make it ra1n button:
Step Five
Once your device reboots it will be jailbroken and you will notice a blackra1n icon on the Springboard. Make sure you have an internet connection and press to launch the application.
You iPhone will now be placed in recovery mode.
You will see a picture of GeoHot that replaces the regular recovery mode screen on your device
blackra1n will run and then your device will reboot.
A popup message will appear informing you that BlackRa1n is free software and if you appreciate it you can donate to GeoHot at geohot@gmail.com.
Step Six
Once your device reboots it will be jailbroken and you will notice a blackra1n icon on the Springboard. Make sure you have an internet connection and press to launch the application.
Step Six Once your device reboots it will be jailbroken and you will notice a blackra1n icon on the Springboard. Make sure you have an internet connection and press to launch the application.
Choose the installer application of your choice then press to select sn0w if you would like to unlock your device. Press the Install button at the top right of the screen to begin.
If you chose to unlock device using blacksn0w you will be presented with a Post Install log for sn0w. CommCenter will be restarted and there is no need to reboot. If your carrier doesn’t support 3G then disable it. Press the Close button to continue.
Step Seven
Once complete BlackRa1n will respring your iPhone and you will find the installer package of your choice on the Springboard.
Step Eight
Once you have confirmed your installer package is working correctly you may use the Uninstall blackra1n button inside the BlackRa1n app to remove it from your springboard.
***THANKS: A big thanks to Geohot for making this jailbreak and unlock possible. Also thanks to those who contributed to making it a success. You can donate to Geohot using the button below. Please note these donations go to Geohot and not to iClarified.
27
Oct 09
How to replace twitpic with your wordpress blog
Requirements:
- Wordpress self hosted blog (free)
- An iPhone (definitely not free)
- Tweetie 2 installed on your iphone ($2.99)
- Twitter2press Wordpress plugin (free)
The first thing i recommend is get your copy of Wordpress upgraded to the latest version. If you’re running an old version like i was, follow these instructions carefully and be sure to make a backup of your data first. I had some issues with the Twitter2press plugin before i upgraded.
Account Settings -> Image Service -> Custom...
1. On the Tweetie accounts page, click on “settings”, then “Image Service” and “Custom…”. Just put in the URL to the root of your blog (i.e “http://www.davidschultz.org”). That’s all the setup you need to do on the iPhone.
2. Download and install Twitter2press into your Wordpress blog. After you activate the plugin, you’ll need to configure it a bit. It will ask you for the username/pw of the Twitter account that is going to be posting images and you’ll also need to specify a page on your blog that will act as the “image gallery”. I just created a page called “Gallery”. Also, make sure the wp-content/uploads folder is writable.
That’s all there is to it, now instead of giving free traffic to Twitpic, you can direct people to your blog to view your Tweeted images and enjoy a traffic boost on your own site.
16
Oct 09
The best marketing is none at all
Love this post by David Paul Williams.
The best marketing is none at all. The best marketing is when the product is so remarkable that people are compelled to talk about it, they are compelled to share it. Great products build communities, not consumer segments.
Pretty much sums up how i feel about marketing right now as well. The question is, who is responsible to make the product remarkable? What do you do if you are a marketer in a situation where you know your product is not remarkable?
07
Sep 09
A career in music is not about selling mp3’s & CD’s
Pirating music is easy thanks to the internet. Just read a story about how the Canadian Government is currently considering making some changes to our Copyright Act legislation, which would see levies placed on iPods. Now, i’m not making a living from music so it’s easy for me to make this statement but i really think the business model of making a living exclusively from music sales is over.
It’s not all doom and gloom though. People are still buying music. However the upside of your music being freely available should be used to your advantage and not seen as a threat. Giving your music away for free (in digital format only of course) costs nothing to deliver, but the upside is you are spreading your music to a larger audience. You need to make it easy for a hardcore fan to share one of your songs with their friend.
So how do you make money from your music if it can be had for free? Get creative and offer your albums in several formats. Digital download, CD, album + DVD of making of, signed album by the band etc etc. Just look to bands like Radiohead, Nine Inch Nails & Josh Freese for further examples.
The bottom line is free music + social media presence = more discovery = more fans = more money for the artist.
18
Aug 09
6 annoying Facebook stereotypes
I have such a love/hate relationship with Facebook. It provides an endless stream of both entertainment and disgust yet i just can’t stop logging in. The things that drive me crazy the most are the ridiculous status updates. Boy are they annoying. Here are some that top my most hated list:
1. The “missionary”
This person makes it their mission in life to spread their religious beliefs via their facebook updates. This accomplishes nothing other than further alienating anyone they may want to save while being cheered on by other believers.
2. The “big event bragger”
These people assume we are deeply concerned about how many more sleeps they have until their big cottage vacation. On the bright side, they are certain to announce when they will be away so we can safely ransack their houses.
3. The “The insecure attention seeker”
These people need comments & attention STAT!. An example status update might look like: “
4. The “social media maven”
These people are updating all their social media status messages at once using tools like ping.fm. Heads up, lazy random out-of-place status update incoming!!!
5. The “marketer of minutia”
These folks will be sure you to let know that they are eating breakfast, just watched the latest episode of True Blood or how much they love their boyfriend/girlfriend/wife/dog/cat etc.
6. The “exclamationer”!!!!!!!
These people end literally every sentence with an exclamation. Similar to #3 and #5, these people have a sad idea of what is exciting or dramatic in life but try to make up for it with bad punctuation.
Please feel free to add any others i’ve missed in the comments.
10
Jul 09
Some thoughts on “United Breaks Guitars”
Sons Of Maxwell, the guys that put this video together are a small Canadian band from Nova Scotia. Was this a display of marketing genius? Definitely. Has it got them tons of press and views on Youtube? Absolutely. Will United make things right? Maybe. But will it help them win new fans & help take the band to the next level? That i’m not so sure about, at least not the way they may have wanted.
This video is catapulting them from playing pubs in Nova Scotia to coverage on CNN overnight. I just don’t think this is necessarily a good thing for a band because it turns you into a meme, which (as we have seen) have a limited shelf life. This video is going to cast a shadow over everything they do, shows, interviews etc – for the rest of their careers. I guess if they are going the Weird Al Yankovic path that’s ok, but didn’t you start a band to be known for the music?
09
Jul 09
20 must have iPhone Apps
Well it’s been about a year since i got my iPhone, and i’ve installed probably at least a hundred apps (most of which i quickly uninstalled). Here are my 20 favorite apps today, not including any games.
1. Evernote (free) – cloud based text/photo/audio service [iTunes]
2. Truphone (free) – voip [iTunes]
3. Flixster (free) – movie showtimes / info [iTunes]
4. Weathereye (free) – better than the stock weather app in my opinion [iTunes]
5. Remote (free) – great when hosting parties [iTunes]
6. BeejiveIM ($9.99) – best IM client i’ve seen, supports push [iTunes]
7. Tweetie ($2.99) – best twitter client i’ve tried (and i’ve tried alot) [iTunes]
8. Facebook (Free) – actually makes facebook enjoyable, although app is due for a major update [iTunes]
9. AroundMe (Free) – as the name implies very simple but effective tool to find ATM’s, gas etc [iTunes]
10. Prowl ($2.99) – push notifications for Growl. Read my post on it here. [iTunes]
11. MLB 2009($9.99) – Not cheap, but streaming video of games (even over 3G) is awesome. [iTunes]
12. Auto-Stitch ($1.99) – take a bunch of photos, tap em and this app creates a pano automatically. [iTunes]
13. Shazam (Free) – what’s this song called? [iTunes]
14. Shopper ($0.99) – Great if you’re not the pen & paper grocery list type [iTunes]
15. Tip ($0.99) – tip calculator [iTunes]
16. Groups ($2.99) – great for MobileMe users to organize their contacts [iTunes]
17. Trails ($3.99) – log your bike ride, hike, etc and upload to everytrail.com[iTunes]
18. Guitar Toolkit ($9.99) – Tuner, metronome, chord fingerings, etc… [iTunes]
19. Flickit (Free) – take photos, open flickit – tap your photos to upload to flickr [iTunes]
20. SportsTap (Free) – push notifications for sports teams you follow [iTunes]
