Click here to see how!

1. First step is adding your action and calling the function: add_options_page.

2. Next, define the function you are calling in add_options_page. This function will build the form wrapper as well as initiate the settings fields and settings sections.

3. We triggered admin_init to call the next function that will add the settings sections and fields to our options page as well as a sanitize function.

4. After adding sections and fields we define the section callbacks and fields callbacks with html that creates the content in each. The fields have additional code to check if they are filled and display the existing values if they are. A submit button is included.

5. The sanitize function is defined as a simple yet crucial update of the array of data in the database.

After your custom options page is working you will be able to dynamically grab any of your custom options data with a simple get_option call. The WordPress Codex provides a lot of insight into the functions involved, but nothing will solidify the concepts like actually putting this together yourself. A quick look at our code should give a better understanding of the steps described above. Enjoy!

Easily add downloadable documents to any page.

Manage the Featured Content Slideshow on the home page with a quick check of a box!

Our system features a painless process for adding a Vimeo hosted video to any page.

Stop

Bugs happen in websites and mobile apps everyday, some of them are really minor, and some can be very severe. Your job as a website user or owner, is to collect information about the problem without necessarily diagnosing the problem yourself. If you have a knee jerk reaction and start changing a bunch of things you may hide the problem, or in some cases make the problem worse. So, the first thing to do is stop. When your computer does something unexpected, freeze. Do nothing until you’re calm, and don’t do anything that you think might be dangerous.

Assess

Once your sure you have a problem on your website or mobile app, slow down and hone in on the root of the problem. As you find clues and empirical evidence that supports the conclusion that something is broken or not working properly. Writing down your findings clearly is the most important part in a bug report. If we can’t tell what you meant, you might as well not have said anything.

• Be specific. If you can do the same thing two different ways, state which one you used. If you logged in somewhere, please note it. Tell us what browser and type of computer had the problem.
• Be verbose. Give more information rather than less.
• Be careful of pronouns. Don’t use words like “it”, or references like “the window”.
• Read what you wrote. Read the report back to yourself, and see if you think it’s clear.

Report

After gathering the facts about the problem, submit the information in your preferred format.

• Email. Write it all down in email or a word document.
• Video. Use a screen recording tool like jing, which allows you to hit record, and it will record your voice and video from your screen. This is ideal for more complicated issues in apps or dynamic websites. http://www.techsmith.com/jing/
• Screen Share. Jump on Skype with us, and we can view your screen to better understand the problem and see if we can walk you through a solution.

Analyze

After your report has been submitted, we will analyze the problem and test the system thoroughly. If we need more information, we will contact you. Don’t try making more changes to the system after a report is submitted. If the bug magically clears up, please make sure to contact us so we know a change was made, and so we don’t keep hunting for something with is no longer an issue. After we have concluded the issue, we will report back to you our findings. Usually, this will be either an all clear, the problem is fixed, we need more information, or a suggestion of a different way to proceed to try any create a work around if necessary. If a bug returns after we think it is gone, please kindly let us know, and we will be happy to follow up.

Adding new events is just as easy as adding new blog posts. There are only a few extra fields to fill out, learn how by watching this video.

With just a few steps you can easily add a new sponsor.

Our custom system for managing people throughout the site. Learn how to use shortcodes to control the placement of people’s profiles.

A quick tutorial for adding people to your WordPress CMS using Lion Associates’ custom People post type.

Creating and publishing a new blog post is quick and easy. Follow these simple steps.

The first step of course is make a new Facebook App. This is ridiculously easy and can be done with a few clicks from any facebook account (the app we made for this project is called PressBouncer). Now, a lot of times with facebook integration the user has to go through a few clicks the first time an app is used in order to authorize the app’s access to her/his facebook account. This authorization step can be kind of disconcerting to a casual one-time visitor (and people really should be paranoid about granting access to personal accounts and such), so we wanted to avoid it if possible.

As far as I know the only way to avoid the authorization step is to use ‘popup’ as the display parameter when creating a facebook dialog with the Javascript SDK. The SDK has a method called FB.ui and we wound up calling it like this:

FB.ui({
link:'<?php echo $linkToLatestPost; ?>',
picture:'<?php bloginfo('template_directory') ?>/images/client_logo.png',
name: 'Project Name',
caption:"<?php echo $post->post_title; ?>",
description:'',
method: 'feed',
display:'popup',
message: commentField,
next:'<?php bloginfo('template_directory'); ?>/facebook/response/'
});

So there’s some PHP mixed in there because we want to take advantage of the fact that we’ve got WordPress installed and content can be nice and dynamic (like pulling in a particular post title and a link to the latest post) . The “message” parameter is some form data we captured earlier in the script so the user does not have to type it twice. Normally Facebook frowns upon having pre-filled dialog fields, but they make an exception if the user had previously entered the information manually, so we’re ok.

The “next” parameter points to a page that closes the window once the dialog posts to facebook. This was puzzling for a while as seemingly you are supposed to use a parameter called “redirect_uri” for this, but it was not redirecting for some inexplicable reason. “next” seems to do the job.

That’s it. We attached this method to a submit button click with some jQuery and everything works quite seamlessly.

So, What are QR codes Anyway

The below information is directly pulled from http://techcraver.com/2011/06/13/how-to-use-qr-codes/ and is simply a repost.

First of all, let’s start out with the most basic concept: what is a QR code, anyways? A QR code is an acronym for quick response code. The QR code is actually quite old, starting in Japan in 1994. However, the technology is now taking off in the United States because they are simple to use and can be used by just about any phone with an onboard camera. A QR code, once scanned, can take a phone user to a web page, a video, or even place a call.

What a QR Code Can Be Used For

QR codes can be used for a variety of different uses. Many companies nowadays including Macy’s, Target, Best Buy and Starbucks are utilizing the handy little barcodes to use then for ads or specials inside stores. Advertisers can embed QR codes on billboards to send mobile phone users to a link containing more information on a product or service.

Recently, while planting our garden, I noticed QR codes on the sides of the bags of seeds we planted, which sent me to a link showing proper planting patterns, growing information and other tidbits regarding the product I was putting in the ground.

Businesses can utilize QR codes in their shop window to send users to a web page containing hours of business, a menu and even reviews on the business. Google Places is utilizing QR codes to make reviews easily accessible to phone users in and around San Francisco Bay Area (and beyond).

How do I Scan a QR Code?

OK, so you own a smartphone, see a code somewhere in the wild, and you wish to scan it and see what’s next.  To utilize a QR code, you need two simple things: 1) a phone with a camera and 2) an application on your phone that can scan the code and interact with the code on your behalf.

Depending on your phone model, you have a few options:

Android Phones
Fire up your Market application and search for “Barcode Scanner”.  Barcode Scanner will will let you can regular bar codes (think on the side of a book or cereal box) or QR codes as well.

If you want an alternative, check out Google Googles.

iPhone and iPod Touch
If you’re an iPhone or iPod Touch owner, the recommended solution is QuickMark. This application is only $1.99 and is a fully featured scanner.
For a free alternative, again check out Google Goggles, part of the Google application available in the iTunes App Store.

BlackBerry
The best application, according to sources I’ve asked is MobileTag. I cannot give first hand accounts of this application because I’ve not tried it myself. Another QR code scanner that got good mentions is I-Nigma, which is said to be better for complex codes that contain V-card (contact information) files.

Nokia
Nokia phone owners will find a great solution in UpCode. This application, available in the Ovi Store, will quickly scan your QR code and send you to the destination with ease. It’s available for all Nokia smartphones with a camera.

photo: Nielsen

To grab the data for a single video a simple JSONP call does the job, made even simpler by the jQuery.getJSON method (and we’re using Vimeo’s so called “Simple API“).

<script>
/* Definitely want to wait for the DOM's HTML structure to be fully loaded so we wrap it all in the jQuery.ready method */
jQuery(document).ready(function($) {

var vimURL = 'http://vimeo.com/api/v2/video/########.json?callback=?';
/* the '########' is of course placeholder for an actual vimeo video ID */
var vimObLit = {
width:300,
height:169,
byline:false,
title:false,
portrait:false,
color:'a3bd40'
};

$.getJSON(vimURL, vimObLit, function(vidData) {
var vimHTML = $(document.createElement('iframe')).attr({src:vidData[0].url, width:vimObLit.width, height:vimObLit.height, frameborder:0);
$('#nameOfIdForTitleTag').text(vidData[0].title);
$('#vimeoBox').append(vimHTML);
}

});
</script>

On the HTML side of things:

<div #vimeoBox>...Loading...</div>
<h4 #nameOfIdForTitleTag>...Loading...</h4>

SOME NOTES

• The getJSON method knows to distinguish this JSONP call from plain JSON because of the callback=? parameter in the vimURL string variable. With vanilla javascript the ? value would be the name of the function you want called once the JSON data has been retrieved.
• JSONP is kind of a widely adopted javascript hack that essentially allows for cross-domain AJAX calls. It works by inserting a <script> element into the DOM with a src attribute set to the JSON endpoint on an external domain. When jQuery sees callback=? included in the url string it inserts the <script> tag into the DOM for you.
• The above snippet retrieves the data for a single video. To get data for multiple videos the only difference is the URL. For example, the URL for a whole album of videos would be: (http://vimeo.com/api/v2/album/album_id/videos.json). Helpfully, the rest of the code is the same. Each video would be set to an index in the vidData array seen above. So in addition to vidData[0], you’d have another video’s data on vidData[1], vidData[2], etc…

That’s about it. With a little PHP we integrated this into wordpress and set it up so an editor can just paste the direct URL to a vimeo video in a custom page field and that video will be retrieved and displayed in the sidebar.

For more AJAX request URLs check out the vimeo simple API documentation at: http://vimeo.com/api/docs/simple-api

Lorenzo Petroni’s dream was to be the first California vintner to grow the prized Sangiovese Grosso clone from his native Tuscany in Sonoma soil.  He sensed that California could produce stunning results with Italian varieties, similar to the new world successes accomplished with the Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.  His feeling is that if done correctly, the new world can rival if not surpass Italy’s most prestigious red wines.  At Petroni Vineyards, we strive to accomplish that obsession everyday.

In searching out the right spot, Lorenzo traveled the Northern California wine country for years, until one bright day, on a one-lane, winding road on the Sonoma side of the Mayacamas Range, he happened on a 37 acre estate with an old double wide just below Monte Rosso Vineyard.  The red, mineral rich terrain was filled with rocks and stones, was extremely steep at 800 ft. elevation, facing due south, with an undulating pattern that looked perfect for developing multiple plots within the estate.  Lorenzo and his wife Maria Elena purchased the parcel the very next day, in the Spring of 1992.

Part of the innovation that propelled the dot.com era has been the level playing field created by the internet. Small companies, bands, Grandmothers with home businesses, start-ups, restauranteurs, and every darn business in this country has benefited astronomically from the unrestricted access and freedom to use the internet. It scared the heck out of big businesses who previously had control over the mass market and complete control over advertising on paid formats like television and radio.

Can you imagine if a Grandmother in the Midwest had to compete for bandwidth against Walmart? What if she had to pay to do business on the internet so that her website was as easy to pull up in your browser as Walmart’s? At the end of the day, the Internet is at the core of business in the Information Technology Era, and mobile devices are just as much a part of its being as any other device.

Why is this important to us as businesses in the San Francisco Bay Area? The main reason is that social networking has created a paridigm shift in the way we interact with one another as humans, and consequently as suppliers and consumers. The internet has allowed for many businesses to profit from the long tail, and now more businesses than ever before are focusing their communications on niche markets that are predisposed to a particular product or concept.

What does this mean for you as a business that has a web site? Do you add Facebook and Twitter buttons to your website? That might be a first step, but in the long run you have to find an approriate way to utilize the network you are cultivating. By finding a contextually relevant way of conversing with your base, you create a two way form of communication that engages them and makes your offering part of their daily life.

Examples of this concept include restaurants who offer recipes, insight, and a timely seasonal special. Retailers who post current pictures of new wares that have just come in and save their customers time and money buy directly bringing their new product to the “social mailbox”. I plan on using a new facebook account I have set up, not for getting business, but to have a village of contacts who I bounce ideas off of, or share photos or work with.

I dont plan to get business from it right away or directly, but ultimately social networking is about laying a foundation for communication, and enabling your base to reach you. Even this article right here is clearly not about making money, but it might help a few people to get inspired and activate their business by getting focused on being successful in this decade to come.

Click here to see the stats: http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/online_mobile/six-million-more-seniors-using-the-web-than-five-years-ago/

While my bias is clear here, I have been developing websites that incorporate flash from the beginning of flash’s life. There are so many amazing things you can do in flash you can’t do yet with js and html5. But in the end there are so many downsides to flash that I believe the internet community is best served to focus on the evolution of tools that work on all platforms. Mobile is truly where things are going, and if you prepare now, your redevelopment costs won’t be so bad.

For today’s example, please look at our old home page which had a flash flexible media area in the middle of the screen. http://www.lionassociates.com/index_flash.php

The new jquery based solution is a little more straight forward, but has so many advantages from my perspective. http://www.lionassociates.com/index.php

Let us know what you think.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-30686_3-20013787-266.html