Check the GoSquared Support Wiki for a run down on official and not-so-official web banner sizes.
You can use the example images as you wish. Give your readers an example of what ad sizes you offer if you want.
Hope this helps if you ever need a reference!
Gary Jones from BlueFur contacted me today about a new project they're working on call BlueFur Jobs.
The aim is simple- to turn Wordpress into an easy to manage job board that anyone can host. It's not quite ready, but you can try it out here. The best thing about it is when it is 100% ready for prime time they're going to release the code for free so we can all enjoy the benefits of their blood, sweat and cheers.
I wrote about the project over at GoSquared Discuss earlier today, but I thought I would promote it to liquidicity so everyone can see what a great piece of work this is.
I tested it out briefly and first impressions are great:
The Great Stuff
* Posting of new jobs is really simple
* Useful RSS Feeds for each job category
* Instant preview of job post
* Clear division of job categories at both top and bottom of page
* "next" and "previous" job categories at bottom of page
* No sign-in necessary
* Overall really simple to use
Improvements That Could be Made
* First and foremost - a search function would make it much easier to find jobs. Especially if the number of jobs reaches into the hundreds.
* People may not be over keen on their email address being posted out in the open. Perhaps hiding this with a coded image or a hashed code would be better.
* Greater focus on "job description" to ensure enough detail on what the job is about is given. Perhaps allow basic html formatting (bold, italics, bullets etc.)
* On posting a new job, clicking "preview" would ideally scroll the page up to where the preview text shows.
* Indication of new jobs to returning visitors with an icon or formatting.
To Make it Kick-ass
* Link "location" field to a mapping site like Google Maps.
* Allow people to sign in to post jobs without having to fill everything in again.
* Ability to share a job with friends by email.
All in all, BlueFur Jobs looks to be an awesome job board, and we are really looking forward to seeing it develop.
Drop a comment to help them out - they are looking for as much help as possible while they develop it.
Inquisitor, the brilliant little search plugin for Safari has been purchased by web giant Yahoo!
In a move that has surprised many, Yahoo! has seemingly made a smart decision here. The Inquisitor plugin is used by a large number of Apple users to get instant search results from the built in search field that Safari comes with. The search field defaults to Google when Safari is first downloaded, enabling both Google and Apple to earn through search advertising from a high number of searches. So Yahoo! will ensure Inquisitor's default search is through them to increase their slice of the multi-billion dollar search advertising market. Thankfully, the default search engine is still changeable via the newly designed preference pane.
Yahoo! purchasing this plugin is not just a sign of good business sense. It is a very clear example of the importance of interface design. Interface = Brand. The interface of Inquisitor is beautiful, and has developed throughout its life. Being a user of Inquisitor from the beginning, it has been great to see it develop into a thoroughly useful, efficient, and beautiful tool.
Let's hope the buyout from Yahoo! will keep Inquisitor at its prime for years to come.
On a side note, David Watanabe has not joined the ranks of Yahoo!, he's still focused on creating his own awesome software.
This is an (unfortunately unofficial) video for a great song by The Bird and the Bee called "Again & Again".
It has been masterfully put together by Dennis Liu and we think it's great.
It really shows off OS X and its versatile, animated interface.
Brilliant stuff.
Found a cool video you want to share with us? Drop us a comment at GoSquared Discuss
So, it looks like the new iPhone is on its way. Come June's WWDC we'll almost certainly be watching a keynote with Steve Jobs praising the latest and greatest phone he's ever seen.
As iPhone customers since its release 6:02pm on November 9th in the UK, a new iPhone so soon makes us slightly annoyed, but hey, that's the way technology goes. We will go from having a great phone that is still considered awesome by everyone who sees it, to having "the old one".
A recent rumour on MacRumors shows speculation from Times Online. From such a quality newspaper (that we read everyday, over here in London), their speculation is poor.
The Times suggest that we may see a 3G iPhone (almost certain), along with a physical keyboard, and significant design changes that could include moving to a clamshell or sliding design.
The chance of Apple's 'Phone becoming 3G is a surefire bet. The current EDGE data connection is not as bad as many people make out, but as a previous 3G phone owner, the latter is considerably better. 3G service is also far more accessible in the UK, with the majority of towns now able to gain near broadband internet speeds over the air. Back in June of last year, when the iPhone was released to the US market, Apple's CEO blamed the lack of energy efficient, suitably sized chips for the lack of 3G in the iPhone. Almost a year on, and the majority of phones on sale in the UK and the rest of Europe are 3G - chips are no longer an issue.
On the subject of changing the iPhone's form factor to a flip or slider design, this is bordering on laughable. The iPhone's current "candybar" design is arguably what makes it great. The iPod has never ventured away from the "no moving parts" solid shape that is has today, and for good reason - this design works. The candybar shape is stronger, much stronger, and very unlikely to break. Flip phones are far more likely to break, and I should know, seeing as my old 3G phone's hinge broke after 5 months of use, the same use that my iPhone has survived for 6 months and counting.
Another issue with moving to a flip phone design is size. If Apple were to keep the phone at the same size as it is currently, and simply put a flip down keyboard over the top, the size would be likable to a small laptop in your hand. However, if they were to halve the size of the current iPhone by bending the screen in half, that would be a true innovation. The only problem is that bendable, and foldable screens are still in their infancy. There has been considerable development in this space recently, but I severely doubt that anyone, even Apple, will be able to bring an ultra high resolution, colour, touch sensitive display (that can fold) to market this year.
The most laughable prediction that Times Online make is the idea that Apple will integrate a physical keyboard into the iPhone. Steve Jobs spent a large proportion of the introductory keynote in January of last year proving to the world that Multi Touch was the way of the future. He even showed a slide comparing existing "smart" phones and insisted that they all had one thing in common - the lower half - the physical keyboard and navigation. After all of the criticism that Apple received over this controversial aspect of the iPhone (much of it before anyone had even tried Multi Touch out), the keyboard works great. Sure, the first week of use of the iPhone wasn't easy, but now, as Apple promised, I can type faster on the iPhone than on any other phone I have used. The touch screen keyboard is not going anywhere.
All in all, the new iPhone is going to look even better than the current one. It will probably do away with the chrome rim, and maybe even the gloss black, to show just how good anodised aluminium can look.
We have quite a few ideas for what could be included in the next iPhone, so stay tuned.
Just over 2 days ago, we launched the all new GoSquared, introducing the GoSquared Network, the completely rewritten Control Panel, Squares on other Sites, and more.
In just 2 days, we already have 14 Sites on the GoSquared Network, with more joining every day. We are really pleased that after a large influx of new users, the Control Panel is now available to thousands of Members.
The launch went smoothly, but there were a large number of bugs that simply couldn't be sorted out until we were online. We have been working without much sleep for the last few days to fix as many bugs as possible, and improve the most important areas of the site. Here's some of the fixes we have been working on:
We have completely redesigned the My Info area, giving a polished finish to your GoSquared Account details. Editing your Account details will now lead to a more familiar CP edit pane.
The Top Sites list on the Squares Homepage is now fully functional, and displays the most popular Sites at any given point in time based on their GoSquared Reputation.
At the base of the Squares Homepage is a quick preview of the most recently joined Sites on the GoSquared Network. All Sites are given a large thumbnail preview image that is updated regularly. You can see more Sites by clicking the left and right arrows. New Sites are automatically added to the queue for this preview area, regardless of Reputation, giving all new Sites publicity before they have spent a penny.
The GoSquared Support Wiki is growing, with more and more information being added every day to help you out with viewing and using GoSquared. If you need help with anything, or think anything is missing from the Support Wiki, just Contact Us.
Thanks for sticking with us, we're working to make GoSquared better everyday. We hope you enjoy the Site.
Don't forget, you haven't experienced GoSquared until you've signed in...
Welcome to the all new GoSquared.
We have been working on building this for a long time now, and are proud to finally present the long awaited Squares system.
We are introducing 3 major new products with this release today:
Sign in, or join GoSquared to experience where most of our time has been spent. We think you'll like it.
The all new Control Panel lets you do what you want to do, fast. From here you can monitor all of your Squares from one page, view dynamic graphs of your traffic data, update your Site details in real time, and a whole lot more.
Instead of reading more about what the Control Panel is like, why not try it out for yourself, by joining GoSquared for free today.
Squares are no longer confined to just GoSquared. Add your Site to the GoSquared Network now, and earn money with pure and simple Squares on your Site.
By adding your Site to GoSquared, you not only gain the ability to sell Squares on your own Site, but can also monitor traffic from within the Control Panel.
GoSquared is perhaps the easiest way to purchase advertising on any Site. Simply submit your Square, a 140x140 pixel image, and choose some keywords. GoSquared matches these keywords with similar Sites on the GoSquared Network, and suggests the most potentially effective ones. You can then choose to purchase your Square on as many of these Sites as you like, for as long as you like. Click purchase, and you're done.
Your Square will show up in the Control Panel instantly, and you can start monitoring from there.
We hope you enjoy the all new GoSquared,
Thanks,
The GoSquared Team
For 2 years we have been working on building an advertising platform that makes sense. We have been striving to build the most simple, efficient, and beautiful online advertising solution possible.
Please visit GoSquared tonight at midnight if you're in London, or 16:00 if you're in San Francisco.
Some things are good enough to stay up for.
See you soon,
The GoSquared Team.
Here's just a quick little something to keep you going: a Refresh icon.
Speaking of Refreshes, we have a lot to show you. It's been a long time coming, but in the next few weeks GoSquared will change more than ever before.
See you soon.
  |
