If you are like me, you are longing for the days when social media was easy. And FUN! I mean, don’t get me wrong, I love all the things we can do with social media now days. But lately, being on Facebook has become a chore for me. With all the political nonsense to worry about (both nationally and the internal politics that exist between human relationships), I’ve found myself losing interest quickly and longing for the days of customized (albeit insane) MySpace profiles!

Luckily, the latest crazes in social networking are starting to bring the social aspects of media back to the forefront. Their clean, focused designs (and targets) are actually allowing for some FUN in social media again! Below is a breakdown of three of the latest social media platforms, along with main target audiences and some ideas for how you can leverage them for your business:

Pinterest

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, I’m sure you’ve heard of this tiny little start up that has ballooned into a huge craze. With over 10 million users registered (80% of which are women), Pinterest is already considered the “social media darling” of 2012. In case you are not one of them, Pinterest is basically a photo sharing site designed to easily share images around the Web. Users can upload their own images or “pin” what they like from websites to their very own image “boards.” Think scrapbooking in the digital world.

There is little doubt that Pinterest will continue to grow and be important in 2012. What is yet to be determined is if this network will become a flash in the pan, or if it has some legs to stand on. As with any good idea, rapid growth without a clear plan can be the kiss of death, so only time will tell how the developers handle their growth. There have been recent rumblings that this network could go the way of Napster, with the creative/photography industry in uproar over free sharing of their work. And although users are addicted now, will they stay addicted once the “high” wears off and the next social platform comes around? Only time will tell, but with their recent integration as a Facebook app and adjustments to their policies, I have a feeling that Pinterest will stay on the radar for at least a little bit longer.

Who it’s targeted to: Renee Achterhof, content developer at MINDSCAPE, suggests that the site is “…for the visual craver. It’s simple, yet somewhat chaotic layout is somehow both aesthetically pleasing and plucks at user’s heartstrings. This network is picking up speed, and fast. Ranging from cutesy arts and crafts to spins on old-fashioned recipes to funny women’s rights-type puns, Pinterest is the guilty pleasure of a busy woman.”

Ways your business can use it: Create a board and start pinning! If you are a company that focuses on high design, then post images of great design. If you are a marketing firm, you could try pinning inspirational quotes or infographics that you like. Feel free to have some fun and let your company’s personality show through in what boards you create and items you pin! Don’t forget to make sure the images on your website can easily be “pinned.” Better yet, create content/images designed to be “pinned.” Right now, there is no official “Pinterest for brands” policy yet, but stay tuned to be sure you are in line with any changes.

Since you cannot connect with a Facebook fan page (and we all know that having a personal page for businesses is a no-no), don’t forget to encourage employees to create an account and “re-pin” content you post. Since they can connect with their friends, it will help share the content. You can connect to your business’s Twitter account, and there is nothing wrong with letting your Facebook fans know you have started a new board.

Spotify

Spotify is an internet based radio application that originally gained popularity in Europe due to simple interface, easy-to-use application and social aspects. Personally, this is one of my favorite “social networks,” though it’s not technically it’s own social networking community. The application offers millions of free tunes for listening pleasure, gives the option to import users’ own music and allows creation of playlists of favorite tracks. Think Pandora mixed with iTunes. Users also have the option to upgrade to premium subscriptions, which removes the ads and gives the option for offline listening.

Spotify is unique from other media services in that with one easy click, users can connect their account with Facebook and Twitter and see their friends’ favorite lists and tracks. You may have noticed some of your friends “listening to” various songs on Spotify on your Facebook news ticker, as posting your current track is part of the Spotify Facebook App. In addition to sharing, users can discover new music from those they trust and share activity on social media. They can even send another user a track to check out or even a whole playlist for them to listen to – kind of like making a mixed tape for someone, but in the digital age. I love this feature- I’m always looking for new music and wanting to share the latest tracks I’m feeling with my friends. I feel like with Spotify, the FUN is back in digital music!

Who’s it for: For the music junkie, looking to discover new music and techies who are early adopters looking for the latest thing. I also think this is a great platform for anyone who loves the convenience of controlling their music from their computer but wants to access their own playlists in the cloud.

Business use: Although the business uses of Spotify are limited right now (unless you are a musician/band/promoter trying to get a song out there), you can still leverage this platform to increase your brand awareness by creating a brand playlist of music that relates to your organization. Or, you could showcase some brand personality by asking your team to add their favorite song to a list. Share your playlists with your fans across social media – you may just introduce your fans to something new! Although your return on investment is limited, it’s still a fun, quick and easy way to share the culture and personality of your organization.

GetGlue

GetGlue is the latest app attempting to make offline activities social. Users can read a book, watch a movie, drink wine or (the most common use) watch their favorite TV show and share that activity socially. When users check-in while watching a particular show they can discuss the happenings in real time with other users around the globe. Plus, the activity will automatically feed into the user’s Facebook and/or Twitter accounts, allowing to share their activity as it’s actually occurring.

Although this app is not overly popular yet, I can easily see how it (and others like it) could impact the way in which we watch TV. I think that giving users the opportunity to connect while a show is broadcasted live changes the recent trends of watching television “on demand” via streaming or a DVR – especially for reality TV addicts. People are using a second screen while watching TV on a daily basis (come on, like you don’t?), so I can easily see this connecting those with similar interests and opening the doors to discuss the program. Plus, the app gives the opportunity to write reviews and suggestions, so those looking for new shows or movies to check out can benefit by seeing what others have to say about them.

Who it’s for: Television junkies, movie watchers and everyone in between. With the variety of activities you can share, almost anyone would want to “GetGlued.”

Business use: Similar to Spotify, GetGlued is limited for business use right now (unless your business is directly tied to the entertainment industry). But you can get involved by sharing your thoughts about favorite shows, movies, books or activities with your followers on Twitter. It’s a great way to see what your fans/followers are into and start a conversation. You never know where that conversation may lead… 

These three social networks are just the beginning. Networks like Gentlemint (similar to Pinterest but for men) and BUZZ.net are already gaining some street cred. Plus, there are new ones forming every day focused on niche industries like travel, design and sports. As I’ve said before, 2012 will bring the emergence of smaller, focused social networks, which means you need to be on the lookout for your industry’s specialty network to get in on it as soon as possible!

Remember: Not everything on social media has to be directly tied to promoting your business; it can just be for fun too!

Christina Torri works with social media and Internet marketing clients for MINDSCAPE at Hanon McKendry

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We had a solid team and plenty of work to keep us busy. What made it nice is that it was manageable. Between two designers and two or three programmers, it was not so bad keeping their schedules straight.

We had a nice process. The salesperson would enter a form with the information I needed to make the schedule. I would take the form and create a Basecamp project using the information provided.

The Basecamp project would hold all of the tasks we needed to complete and the communication that we had on the project. Basecamp still works pretty well for this, and we use it daily.

Once a week I would sit down, write out by hand the hours needed for the different projects that came in, and get to work on Google Calendar. Each person in the company had a calendar, and I would put an All Day event in place for what they should be working on each day.

In this way, I could model the 4 days it would take for design, the 2 days of design revisions we would need in a week, and then the HTML and other programming that a different resource would need to do when the design was complete.

It took a little while, but it was manageable. And it was free. Each person could check their calendar each day, and know the main projects they should be working on. Here is a look at a schedule from February of 2010:

Pretty crazy looking, right?

Well, those quaint days are long gone, and yet we have not updated our scheduling methodology. We tried sticking with this process, but now there are two project managers, an entirely new department for marketing and double the number of programmers. It has become onerous to keep track of what project has priority and what each person is working on.

Want to find when we can fit a project in or get a new project completed? Good luck tracking that date down. We just don’t have it right now.

The issue came to a head over the last few weeks. New projects started pouring in, as our two salespersons worked their magic and Mike, Pete and Paul got in on the sales too. It became very clear that we needed to find something new. It was time to evolve.

So what is that something new? We don’t know for sure yet, but I have really enjoyed LiquidPlanner so far. It certainly makes scheduling a breeze compared to what we have done in the past. I have spent the last three days adding nearly two dozen projects into the system, assigning them to resources and adding tasks and estimated effort to each. And every time I add a new project Liquid Planner updates the schedule for me.

I am pretty sure I cannot go back to Google Calendar.

I will circle back to this subject in month and let you know a bit more about how we have solved the scheduling problem.

(If we have not solved the problem by then, Sisyphus and I will be best friends.)

Aaron Brander is the VP of Technology for MINDSCAPE at Hanon McKendry.

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Some people are simply born with great writing skills. For others, it’s an acquired and practiced skill. Whether you want to simply become a better writer or are looking to strengthen your writing skills, these four tips can help.

Write. The truth is, in order to improve your writing skills you need to write. Starting a blog, writing short stories, poems or focusing on creating headlines that radiate can help you get started in your endeavors. Read. A lot. Books, Web articles, magazines…anything, really. Mind mapping and outlining can help you stay focused and on-topic, and don’t be afraid to go back once, twice and a third time or more to make edits. The main idea: keep it simple.

People. Talking to others and listening to how they talk is an important resource in improving and polishing your writing skills. Join a writing group to interact with others who share your passion. Plop yourself in the middle of a busy coffee shop or mall and observe those around you. Then write about it.

Get proof. You’ll need to make edits more than a few times to your own work, and pass it along to a few others to get feedback. Take the criticism. Don’t take it personally. Once you are close to your final version, read it aloud to anyone willing to listen. Even if it’s just the dog.

Inspire yourself. Learn a new word each day. Rewrite movies. Take a trip. Keep a journal. Take a class. Listen to podcasts. Reminisce. Do some art. Take up a new hobby. Live. With. Passion.

Let me know how you do! Good luck, and happy writing.

Renee Achterhof is a content developer for MINDSCAPE at Hanon McKendry

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The Super Bowl has aired, along with the much anticipated commercials those in our industry – and even those not in advertising – look forward to each and every year. In years past, a few would leak out on the Internet here and there, and buzz would generate prior to their actual air time. This year, we’ve seen an increase in ads leaked and viewed online before the Super Bowl which has created a lot of buzz on social and traditional media channels. The buzz spurred debate around the office about whether or not this takes away from the excitement of watching the ads during the big game. Our resident advertising junkies Christina Torri and Renee Achterhof debate the pros and cons of ad previews:

Q: Did you watch any ad previews or did you wait until the big game?

Christina: Yep. I couldn’t resist…

Renee: NO! I wanted to be surprised! 

Q: Many of the commercials had been “leaked” online prior to airing during the Super Bowl. Do you like the idea?

Christina: Yes, I think it’s a excellent idea for brands to leak some of their ads ahead of the big game. It helps to generate buzz before the game and provide additional exposure for the ad, especially when extended versions or online only exclusives are offered. I think this strategy gives advertisers the opportunity to gain more “bang-for-their-buck,” especially with the pricey Super Bowl ads.

Renee: I’m really not a fan. Although it may help with buzz and exposure, it takes away from the exclusivity and excitement of airing for the first time during the Super Bowl itself. I avoided watching them online prior to airing for that very reason – I wanted to have a reaction when they actually aired, not have prior knowledge of what to expect.

Q: Do you think there are tactics or strategies for these sneak peeks?

Christina: Of course. Many companies launched Twitter campaigns ahead of time, sponsoring hashtags and promoting accounts. Plus, they utilized other social networks like YouTube and Pinterest to promote the preview, which clearly shows a strategic effort across paid, earned and owned media properties. Beyond online activity, mainstream media shows like the Today Show covered the ad previews in the week leading up to the game, which likely resulted from a strong PR push to generate awareness.

Renee: They definitely helped brands gain buzz, but beyond that, I’m not sure there was much benefit to the strategy. I think Kia had a great tactic by “teasing” audiences with a small blurb of its ad (who didn’t see that commercial ahead of time?). Although the ad itself was somewhat of a disappointment once aired, had it been a hit, they would have nailed the strategy of leaking before airing.

Q: Will previews to the commercials affect the brands financially?

Christina: The brand has already committed to producing and purchasing the spot, so releasing it prior to the game doesn’t directly impact them financially. However, many brands ran promotional campaigns on social media and across the digital space to generate additional buzz, which was likely supported with a strategic media buy. With 3.5 million for 30 seconds, and likely millions to produce the spot, these brands will likely see an increase in the overall ROI for the ad spot as a result of the buzz from previewing the ads before the game. 

Renee: I’m sure it will continue, but I think brands who don’t follow the trend will be smart. In my opinion, a “teaser” would be more appropriate.

Our MINDSCAPErs have debated – now it’s time for you to weigh in. What do you think of brands offering previews of their Super Bowl ads?

Take a look at the 10 best Super Bowl ads.

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Do you know what front-end programmers dream about? It is not an answer to the national debt, or if Democrats and Republicans can get along, or even if there is life on other planets. No, front-end programmers dream of something that seems entirely more difficult to attain.

A front-end programmer wants a world where they can do their work one time and be done.

It sounds simple, doesn’t it? Most of us go through life completing a task and knowing that having completed the task, there is nothing more to do.

Not so for the much maligned front-end programmer. Before I take you too deep into their dark, esoteric world of angled brackets, cascading styles and the abomination that is javascript, it will be helpful to know what a front-end programmer is.

I am sure there are many different definitions, but at MINDSCAPE, our front-end programmers take the pretty designs from a designer and turn it into the code that displays the website in a browser. It is not enough to take the design, turn it into an image and put that on the Internet. Once upon a time the world was that simple. But it’s not 1995 anymore, and our clients want to be found on the Web by their visitors. So, our front-end programmers must turn the design into hundreds of lines of code so that automated bots can crawl the site and index the content found there.

Our front-end programmers work their magic with HTML, CSS, javascript, flash and a number of frameworks and standards that help them do their work better.

It may not be simple, but it’s a fairly straightforward process. Or so it seems, until the first time they open up the webpage they just built in Internet Explorer. That is where things start to get messy.

You see, there are a lot of browsers out there. A browser is the program you use to see the Internet. Google Chrome, Firefox and Safari are a few of the modern browsers. They are considered modern because they support many of the features from the latest HTML standards (HTML 5) and CSS standards (CSS 3). The new standards allow our front-end programmers to do really cool stuff. And when not doing cool stuff, it helps them do the mundane tasks very quickly.

Well, Internet Explorer is a bit behind the curve, and that’s sort of an understatement. So our front-end programmers find themselves in a bind. Do they build the website to use the latest and greatest technology, or do they build the website to work in what is somehow still the most popular browser (see stats at StatCounter)? And if they choose to build the website for Internet Explorer (IE), do they optimize it for IE 6, IE 7, IE 8, or IE 9. You see, each version has its own interpretations of the standards. So what you build for one, is not going to work for the other.

Perhaps you begin to see why the ritual of making a site work in IE usually begins with animal sacrifices, pounding drums and incense. It’s another reason they make us work in the Pit.

Alright, so we don’t have to go quite that far. However, there are additional wrinkles to contend with. You see, we want to make our websites so that it is easy to extend them to work on mobile devices. Most new mobile devices, thankfully, use browsers that handle the latest CSS and HTML. That allows us to build a version of the site that works for both mobile and desktop with a minimum of additional effort beyond building the mobile site styles.

In the end, our front-end programmers must build the same site multiple times if we are going to make it compatible with all possible browsers. That means each site must be:

A site for modern desktop browsers such as Google Chrome, Firefox, and Safari. IE 9 handles most of what these other browsers do, so that is a step in the right direction. However, many of the features are supported in different ways by each browser, so we still have to define rules in multiple ways.

A site for IE 8 and IE 7. These browsers are pretty close together, and most of the time standard HTML and CSS will work well with them. Either way, it needs to be tweaked.

A site for IE 6. Microsoft has finally announced that they will be killing off this browser, and the front-end world rejoiced. It’s a nightmare to work with, and for the longest time it was the most used browser in the world. Check out the Internet Explorer 6 Countdown website. IE 6 usage is less than 1% in the US now! Yay!

A site for mobile. Even though the browsers are standards compliant, we still need to design and style the site differently for the mobile space. It seems easy enough, until you realize that there are dozens of potential screen sizes between mobile phones and tablets.

Now, there are ways that we combat this without having to build entirely new sites for the different browsers but it involves trade-offs. For example, IE 7 and 8 will not have rounded borders when we finish the site. To make rounded borders, we have to create many small images to create the corner. On modern browsers, it is a line of CSS to create a rounded border. That saves us time and allows us to concentrate on hundreds of other details that make your site successful.

In the end, sometimes it is important that we fully support older browsers. In that case, we can make it happen but it takes additional time and costs extra money. If you know you need older versions of Internet Explorer to work, be sure to consult with your Web developer before starting the project.

And if you do ask him to do it and you hear pounding drums, see strange flickering lights and smell smoke coming from his room, do not go in. You don’t want to know what it takes to make it happen.

Aaron Brander is the VP of Technology for MINDSCAPE at Hanon McKendry.

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I recently had a client ask me if developing a mobile application would help them with their SEO and search engine ranking.

I love the question, so I thought I would write a quick post on it.

From an SEO perspective, an app actually COULD influence ranking, but not how you might think initially.

Just posting a link to download a mobile app is not where the benefit comes from. The benefit comes from the application itself and what it does for your company, brand, service, etc. The app must be amazing. By creating an amazing app, what happens? People talk about it. Your app is going to have the biggest affect on your bottom line when the content is buzz worthy. Just like Facebook, Twitter or any other social media platform – or the Web in general – the content that gets shared is the great stuff. Make your app great and the buzz will naturally follow.

Take Angry Birds, for example. The app is what people want: free entertainment, great graphics and an original, memorable idea. It’s amazing, right? So what happens? People talk about it in their blog, talk about it on social media and do what? They link to it. Those links help the site in the search engines. Do you think that increased traffic to Rovio’s website? I would certainly assume so.

So, if you’re considering an application, get started by asking a few simple questions:

1. What’s in it for my user?
2. What’s in it for me (i.e. my company)?
3. How can I make it amazing and worthy of a conversation to generate buzz so people share it?

Ultimately, it’s more about the word-of-mouth buzz created by new, quality content than creating an app just to have one. A duplication of a brochure-style website is not a good use for an application…or your money.

So think hard. Be relevant. Strive for amazing.

Hope this helps,
Paul Ferrier

Paul Ferrier is the co-founder of MINDSCAPE at Hanon McKendry and a Web design/SEO expert

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I recently came across a problem in an ASP.NET MVC Web Application where it needed to upload an image with some extra form fields, but still have the controller’s post action testable. This seemed like an easy enough task, but I soon realized that in order to get the uploaded file from the view I had to grab it from the request object’s files collection. Doing this would make my testing harder, and, more drastically, decouple this action from the view model.

I scoured the Internet to find out why the magic behind binding the view model to the controller would not put the posted file in an argument alongside my strongly typed model. After coming to the conclusion that no direct articles or examples with my scenario existed, I turned to learning more about the binding that was taking place behind the scenes.

After learning quite a bit about the binding, I set out to create my own custom model binder so I could put the posted file in my strongly typed model before the controller’s action method was even called. If you have run into a similar problem, keep reading to see how I kept the view model strongly typed.

Interface with IModelBinder
The first thing I did was create a new ModelBinder class which interfaces the IModelBinder interface. By interfacing the IModelBinder you will be forced to implement this function:


public object BindModel(ControllerContext controllerContext, ModelBindingContext bindingContext)


By implementing this function we gain full access to the controller context and the binding context object. The most beneficial of those arguments is the binding context because it is used for retrieving the form’s post back values.

Since my view has a form with text fields and a file input field, I had two important value providers in my binding context’s value provider collection; one was the FormValueProvider and the other was the HttpFileCollectionValueProvider. This was were I could get all my form values and the newly uploaded file.

Next, I instantiated a new model, set the appropriate properties from the form value provider and file value provider on the model and return the new model out of the implemented BindModel function. I realized that in order to make this more agnostic I would have to use a little reflection.

Reflection was possible because the key names in the value providers are my model’s property names which is how .NET MVC is strongly typing the models in our views to start with. Once I was all done with my new custom model binder I ended up with this class:

Custom Model Binder

public class UploadFileInjectionModelBinder : IModelBinder
{
public object BindModel(ControllerContext controllerContext, ModelBindingContext bindingContext)
{
var viewModel = Activator.CreateInstance(bindingContext.ModelType);

var modelProperties = viewModel.GetType().GetProperties();
foreach (PropertyInfo modelProperty in modelProperties)
{
try
{
var contextVal = bindingContext
.ValueProvider.GetValue(modelProperty.Name)
.ConvertTo(modelProperty.PropertyType);
modelProperty.SetValue(viewModel, contextVal, null);
}
catch{}
}

return viewModel;
}
}

The new custom model binder is the main piece to the puzzle. It is looking at the model’s properties and trying to find a matching key/value from any of the value providers. In order to have my new model binder set the uploaded file, I needed to have the appropriate property defined in my model with a matching type.

The files that are being uploaded are being stored as a HttpPostedFileBase object. That means I had to put a public property in the view model of that same type. Since the new custom model binder is using reflection based on property names, I needed the name of the HttpPostedFileBase object to be correlated with the file input’s name and id on the view. As you can see below, my model’s property name of “UploadedFile” is reflected in my view’s input attributes for id and name.

View Model:

public class UploadedImageViewModel
{
public string Name { get; set; }
public string AltText { get; set; }
public int AssociatedParentId { get; set; }
public HttpPostedFileBase UploadedFile { get; set; }
}


Razor View:

@using (Html.BeginForm(“ActionName”, "ControllerName",
FormMethod.Post, new { enctype = "multipart/form-data" }))
{

}

At this point, the major work is done and I need to tell .NET to use our custom model binder instead of the default model binder. There are a few ways to do this, but I ended up overriding that behavior for the distinct action that is handling the post back.

To override the model binder for a distinct action, decorate the model argument in the action function with the attribute of [ModelBinder(typeof(YourNewModelBinder))] and the final code for the post action looks like this:

Controller Post Back Action:

[AcceptVerbs(HttpVerbs.Post)]
public ActionResult SavePhoto(
[ModelBinder(typeof(UploadFileInjectionModelBinder))]
UploadedImageViewModel imageModel)
{
//put save logic here
}


The action’s model is now strongly typed, so I can reference the posted file right from the model instead of accessing the controller’s context request object. The action function is then coupled to just a view model instead of the model and controller.

Unit Testing the New Model Binder
Next we need to unit test our new creation. Since the custom model binder requires a controller context object and a binding context object, I created a binding context object that will hold fake value providers containing test data and a fake controller context.

Creating the fake controller context is as simple as creating a class in the test project that inherits from ControllerContext. No other functionality is necessary since we are only using it as a valid object to pass to the BindModel function.

Next we need to build up the binding context object. To do so, set it to the model type which it used for creating our new model in the model binder and also give it the properties to find from the value providers.

The model type is inferred from the model meta data object, so we actually have to create that object instead of setting the model type. Create a model meta data object for our view model by using Current.GetMetaDataForType from the static class ModelMetadataProviders.

Now we create the fake value providers which the model binder uses for getting the property values to store into the newly created model. After a few trials and tribulations, it was apparent that using the DictionaryValueProvider for each specific type in my model was the best way to setup fake value providers. Each of the new value providers are created with data that I can use for testing and the only thing left is to call the new model binder with the fake controller context and the binding context object as its arguments.

You can see below that I reference a FakeHttpPostedFileBase class which I created the same as the fake controller context mentioned above. Unlike the fake controller context I had to override two properties of the HttpPostedFileBase class. The first one was ContentType and the second one was InputStream. By overriding these properties we can later assert test conditions from the new model that the bind model function returns.

The test and fake testing posted file object are shown here:

Unit Test Function:

[Test]
public void BindModelTest()
{
//arrange
m_bindingContext = new ModelBindingContext();
Stream resourceStream =
Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly().GetManifestResourceStream(
"Web.Test.Images.ToastedAppleCinnamonCereal.jpg");
var fakePostedFile = new FakeHttpPostedFileBase(resourceStream, "image/jpeg");

var fileValueProvider =
new DictionaryValueProvider(
new Dictionary {{“UploadedFile”, fakePostedFile}}, null);
var stringValueProvider =
new DictionaryValueProvider(
new Dictionary {{“Name”, “SomeName”}, {“AltText”, “SomeAltText”}}, null);
m_valueProvider = new ValueProviderCollection {fileValueProvider, stringValueProvider};

m_bindingContext.ValueProvider = m_valueProvider;
m_bindingContext.ModelMetadata = ModelMetadataProviders
.Current.GetMetadataForType(null, typeof (UploadedImageViewModel));

m_fakeControllerContext = new FakeControllerContext();

//act
var result = m_binder.BindModel(m_fakeControllerContext, m_bindingContext);

//assert
Assert.IsInstanceOf(result);
var viewResult = result as UploadedImageViewModel;
Assert.NotNull(viewResult);

Assert.AreEqual(“SomeName”, viewResult.Name, “Wrong View Name Returned”);
Assert.AreEqual(“SomeAltText”, viewResult.AltText, “wrong alt text”);
Assert.NotNull(viewResult.UploadedFile, “File Did not get moved to model”);
}

Fake Posted File:

public class FakeHttpPostedFileBase : HttpPostedFileBase
{
private readonly Stream m_stream;
private readonly string m_contentType;

public FakeHttpPostedFileBase(Stream stream, string contentType)
{
m_stream = stream;
m_contentType = contentType;
}

public override string ContentType
{
get
{
return m_contentType;
}
}

public override Stream InputStream
{
get
{
return m_stream;
}
}
}

Conclusion

This implementation provides separation of logic from controller actions to the underlying .NET objects with the additional benefit of becoming highly reusable. Any time I need to have a file uploaded with a form I can just reuse my custom model binder and not worry about getting the file out of the underlying request object. That keeps my controller actions decoupled from the controller context and each respective unit test simpler.

The unit tests are simpler for the post actions since we don’t have to test how the posted file arrived into our model; all that logic is being handled by the custom model binder. This will keep our unit tests for actions cleaner and quicker to implement.

If you have found other ways to do this, then please feel free to share!

Eric Patterson is a developer for MINDSCAPE at Hanon McKendry. He is also a Google Analtyics qualified individual. 

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Last year I had a few rooms in my house repainted. In order to determine which company I would use for the work, I invited them to the house to quote the work. I showed them the rooms, told them the type of paint and color I wanted, and told them when I wanted the work done by.

Each company was able to calculate the amount of paint they needed, the cost of the paint and how many people would need to work on the project in order to have it done by my deadline. Having painted a multitude of rooms before my request, they were able to imagine potential obstacles before they happened and be fairly sure that they were not missing anything in their quote.

The resulting quotes were very precise and given to me with a high degree of confidence.

Quoting a job for a new custom application is a lot like that, except that we can’t see the rooms ahead of time. In fact, we can’t see the rooms, because first we have to build them. The rooms that we see in our mind’s eye are often very different from what our client sees in their imagination.

Let’s ponder a request to build a rabbit hole. The rabbit hole needs to be 8 inches in diameter, be set in a yard full of lush, green grass, preferably under an apple tree and near a babbling brook. Beyond the tree should be a field of ripened, winter wheat; golden and dancing in the breeze.

Seems easy enough, except that getting the blossoms correct on the apple tree may take some doing. But, all in all, everything is out in the open.

That is, of course, until we build that rabbit hole and take a trip inside. Suddenly, there is a rabbit late for an important date; a grinning, invisible Cheshire cat; a hookah-smoking caterpillar, a mad hatter and an irate Queen of Hearts. And let’s not even get into the pills and potions that can change the user’s size and shape at will!

The client is completely nonplussed by our discovery. Of course the rabbit hole contained an entirely new world full of anthropomorphic creatures and nonsensical laws of physics! What other types of rabbit holes could there be?

Sounds a bit far fetched, doesn’t it? And yet, similar scenes happen in the software development world all of the time.

A problem is presented by a client in a short paragraph of needs and requirements.
A software engineer conjures up thoughts of similar software that have been built in the past as a basis for their quote.
A quote is given based on myriad undocumented assumptions and risks.

Three months later, the proud software engineer presents their creation to the client and is flummoxed as to why the client is so flabbergasted at the result!

It doesn’t have to be that way, and at MINDSCAPE, we do our best to eliminate as many doubts as we can before we begin coding.

The MINDSCAPE Process

1) Our sales team meets with a client to determine what needs to be built.

2) Our quoting committee meets to understand the client’s needs. If it’s a simple project for a client that we’ve worked with in the past, we may be comfortable enough to give a fixed price cost right then. Most times, however, we need more information before we can give a granular cost. Instead, we’ll give a large range of costs based on what we know of the project, but more importantly, based on what we think may be hiding down that rabbit hole. We’ve been down there a few times and know what sort of exotic features are lurking.

3) If the client finds that part of the range will fit their budget, we engage them for a one day, on-site (if possible) requirements gathering session. Two of our team members will sit down for an in-depth discussion about what the system needs to do, why it needs to do it and what benefits are expected.

The result of this meeting is a much better understanding of the system and leads to two courses of action.

A) If the project is manageable enough, we’ll have been able to document the vast majority of functionality and even have some rough outlines for what the different screens will need to do. This will give us enough confidence to bring back a fixed cost estimate for development.

B) If the project is very large, we’ll have a better understanding of the scope of the project, as well as potential risks. The next action is to engage in a Technical Design Document phase. Based on the on-site discussion, we’ll be able to give a better budget range and a cost for the Technical Design Document. If the more-defined scope is agreeable to the client, we’ll start on the Technical Design Document.

4) The Technical Design Document deserves its own post later on, but for now it’s enough to know that our engineers will grab their spelunking gear and head down into that rabbit hole. They will survey the landscape and draw out what it is they see. The client will give feedback during this phase to make sure that we are seeing the same thing in that rabbit hole that they are seeing.

5) Once the Technical Design Document is done, we present it to the client along with a final, fixed cost price for the development. The client can then work with us to complete the development or take our Technical Design Document to another firm for quoting. Either way, we’ve done the hard work to determine what’s down the rabbit hole; for our own sake, but also for our client’s sake and the sake of any developer that may work on the project in the future.

Even with all of this due diligence, it takes constant communication and interaction with the client to make sure the project is on course. The final scope of the project can change due to many issues (who can foresee a croquet game with flamingos as mallets and hedgehogs as balls?), but we do our best at MINDSCAPE to keep ahead of the game.

If you have an idea or need for a custom application, let us know by filling out the form.

(And if you have not had the pleasure of reading Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, you should at least browse the Wikipedia article so that this blog post doesn’t seem completely off the wall.)

Aaron Brander is the VP of Technology for MINDSCAPE at Hanon McKendry.

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I just received two emails from Internet marketer Trey Smith. The first email’s subject line read:

“Update”

I didn’t read it.

But then about 90 minutes later, I received another email with the subject line:

“SERVER CRASH! (Woooo hooo!)”

I immediately opened it to learn what happened. It’s curiosity. The email read:

Well, it’s official. Had to leave bluehost because

it’s crashing every time I send an email.

So if you clicked on the new video I just sent out
and got an error, sorry about that!

I put the new video up here for you that should
hold up fine:

http://www.treysmithstuff.com/platinum-plus/

Make sure you watch that! You’ll get a brand
new update on my iphone business and also a
chance to get something free that’s super cool.

Take care,

Trey

I forwarded this email to the entire staff saying how great the email was because shit happens and it was a great way to handle it.

When I hit send, I stopped and thought, “Wait a minute. Is this another email marketing tactic?”

I went to the original email and clicked the link. It worked.

If this is not an email marketing tactic to increase open rates, it certainly could be. This is the first I have thought of it so I don’t have any data to support it, but it certainly worked for me, the most pessimistic of email openers. My curiosity to learn what happened in the wake of a disaster got my eyeballs on the email and a click to the landing page.

However, using this tactic could easily result in your list becoming irritated or feeling duped. I would caution you to think carefully before implementing something like this and argue you could only use it sparingly to be effective. Keep in mind that a few additional eyeballs on your message is not worth irritating your list of customers or losing loyal influencers.

Here are a few other proven ways to increase your open rate with great subject lines:

▪    Ask questions that your list cares about
▪    Add shocking, counter intuitive claims
▪    Use odd numbers
▪    Add a file type to the subject, such as [ARTICLE] or [VIDEO] or [PDF]
▪    Use scarcity/urgency with expiring offers (ie: “link expires”)
▪    Make it fun
▪    Provide a free offer

Are you curious too? Should we test something like this?

Thanks,
Paul Ferrier

Paul Ferrier is the co-founder of MINDSCAPE at Hanon McKendry and a Web design/SEO expert

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