The ombudsperson of the Washington Post wrote a recent article on their soon-to-be tiered commenting system that is worth checking out:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/02/AR2010040202324.html
Who would have thought that mapping zip codes would be so difficult? Apparently Google’s mapping api requires zip code data to be converted into longitude/latitude coordinates… And the Google Docs conversion script only lets you run it 50 times per doc: =ImportData(CONCATENATE(G63,E2)) (where G63 is http://maps.google.com/maps/geo?output=csv&”http://maps.google.com/maps/geo?output=csv&q= and E2 is the zip code)
Over the past couple months I think I’ve learned that simplicity is a virtue. Or at least that’s what I’ve been told. I set the groundwork for a really dynamic, twitter-integrated, newsflashy website for the coalition I’m volunteering with, and what do they say? “It’s too complicated.” So, I’ve spent the past few weeks reworking the site with one purpose in mind: aggregating signatures for their petition.
Upon learning about how awesomely expandable Drupal can be, how customizable it really is, I originally decided to build my site with Drupal instead of Wordpress. When I met with my client, however, she suggested I build the site with Wordpress… because it’s easier to update. I guess it really is the client’s decision. I’m starting to feel that this project will be just as much about negotiating expectations and deliverables as much as it will be about coding. I guess that’s a good thing.
So I can’t get Juitter to work as a block on the AMForum site because I can’t get it to run the php script. I got it up and running on http://www.genderblind.org/drupaltestsite by installing a module called FCKEditor that allows me to change the input format to PHP code. Any ideas?
I’m wondering if it would make more sense to scrap Juitter and go for the Tweetboard module instead. If we can get it up and running, it looks pretty awesome: http://tweetboard.com/alpha/
p.s. does anyone know when the AMForum has been rescheduled for?
The “Juitter” module could be used as an alternative to Gigya (although it doesn’t really have the same broad functionality). Anyway, it might be worth looking into as a simple way to aggregate twitter messages on the main page.
I took some time today to set up my own drupal test site, and here’s what the Juitter module looks like in action:
http://www.genderblind.org/drupaltestsite/juitter
As you can see, it creates a wall of tweets on a particular topic/hashtag, from a user, or directed towards a user.
There are also a few other options (other than Juitter and Gigya) that might be worth considering:
http://www.bestrank.com/blog/drupal-twitter-modules
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Also, if we want to have a live, physical twitter wall at the forum — and have the capacity for it — here’s an article about how it’s been done in the past:
I found an hour-long video that talks conceptually about how Gigya Socialize can be used as an easy way to create and facilitate community interaction on Drupal. It also provides a walkthrough for implementation. The presentation is pretty long, but definitely worth watching if you have the time.
http://acquia.com/community/resources/acquia-tv/extend-your-community-across-social-networks-gigya-socialize-module-dr
Here’s a shorter clip about how it works in practice: http://www.vimeo.com/5048511
Justice John Paul Stevens, dissenting from the majority’s opinion in Citizens United vs. FEC
