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BROWN PAPER TICKETS

Stay tuned as we feature more useful online services for the arts.

]]> http://junglewebs.com/useful-online-services-for-the-arts-ticketing/feed/ 0 http://junglewebs.com/free-and-almost-free-software-we-like-part-2/ http://junglewebs.com/free-and-almost-free-software-we-like-part-2/#comments Thu, 14 Jan 2010 19:52:29 +0000 admin http://junglewebs.com/?p=267 Every once in a while we will come across software that we find that we like. Here are some of them.

GOM MEDIA PLAYER (Windows)

The thing I really like about GOM is that it plays just about any type of video file. The other big plus is that it comes in under 6 mg. It is easy to install and use and the picture quality is great.

I ran across it when I needed to play some .AVI files that a friend sent me. The site also features software a 30 day trial for a media encoder. I haven’t tried it yet but if it is anything like the player I’m sure I will be happy with it.

RELATED: FREE (and almost free) software & site resources

Why not buy your friend/s their very own domain? Perhaps they have a blog on a public server (like Wordpress or Blogspot) that you think should be a site all of it’s own… or they’ve been meaning to start that business with a web presence for a while. This would be the PERFECT gift.

For under $10 you can get a that special gift. At Jungle Webs most of our domains are priced at affordable rates. A .COM (the most popular extension) is only $8.64 per year! Plus, they come with loads of neat and FREE Extas!  There are enough extras for them to start their web presence right away!

HOW DO YOU DO THAT?

Start by creating your own account here at Jungle Webs.

Buy a domain for your friend.

Then, transfer ownership to your friend by simply moving your domain out of your account with these easy steps.

That’s basically it! Cheers!

This post will provide you with a short “how to” on the installation of Wordpress onto your Jungle Webs hosting server.

STEPS

1. Make sure you have purchased a “Linux” based hosting plan from Jungle Webs. (BTW… it also helps if your domain is also on Jungle Webs.)

2. Log into your Jungle Webs account and under “My Products” in the left sidebar click “hosting“… then click “manage account“. (BTW… this assumes that you have already set-up your hosting account. If you have not already, you may want to read this first.)

3. This will bring you to your “hosting dashboard“. Click on “content“  and that section will expand (see image below.)

4. Click “value applications“. A window will open giving you a wide array of Free value applications that you can install onto your Jungle Webs hosting server.

5. In the left sidebar click “blogs” then “wordpress“.  A page with the graphic below will open.

6. Click the “install now” button and follow the instructions and enter the information requested. Within a couple of clicks away Wordpress will be installed onto your server and an email notification will be sent to you once the process is completed.

IMPORTANT TIPS:

• If you want your wordpress to show up as your primary domain (i.e. when someone types in http://yourdomain.com) make sure to leave the space blank when you are asked during the wordpress install. The default will be http://yourdomain.com/wordpress… just backspace to remove the word “wordpress“.
• Our deluxe & unlimited hosting plans allow multiple websites to be hosted on one Jungle Webs (hosting) account.

Cheers!

(reprinted from theatrejnerique.com)

EDITOR’S NOTE: We have included this article  under the B.I.T.S. (Butts In The Seats) section. To read the first part of this series.. click HERE & HERE.

Mind you, even though the intent was to Create excitement (or at least intrigue) with the creation of a brand new play there was really no “diabolical” plan on how this would be accomplished. So, everything was just one step beyond the “willy nilly” stage. What would be the “hook”… apart from the fact that it was a new play? It was 4 months from “premiering” at Rogue 2007… and a completed play didn’t even exist yet.

Epiphany: You can’t sell a product that doesn’t exist!

Then… BOOM… one morning (after a 4 week drag) there was a sudden burst of creative energy in play writing. Within 7 days the play (at least the first draft) was completed. I can only guess that my creative doodling with the video helped unblock me.

*The success of our “art” has always been dependent on “buzz”.

So, now I had a product. (Yeah, chide me for calling it that… but ultimately, if you are selling tickets to a show… you have a product.) Now the promotional thrust began to take shape. 2 words came into play AWARENESS & INTRIGUE.

LET US BEGIN WITH AWARENESS

The show had been cast by this point (3 months and counting) and workshop readings were underway. I had asked the cast to post about their experience as the process of creation was taking place… warts and all! (The workshop and rehearsal process turned out to be a “love fest” but that’s beside the point… if things got challenging and ugly they had the freedom to blog about it.) Though it did take a while… the cast did finally warm up to the idea.

Blogging
Theatre J’Nerique has had a website since the late 90’s. It was pretty much a “static” site that operated as an electronic billbord of sorts. Since we hadn’t produced for a while all the “news” there was at least 3 years old.

Adding a blog to it (which is really easy to do) made the site a lot more interactive and immediate. The fact that readers can comment also gave the potential audience member a direct buy-in into the show. * The idea is that if you follow something long enough… you’ll want to catch the “final product.”

(* All “art” is the skillful craft of manipulating thought and emotion.)

Poster
A poster had already been created for the show. (2 and a half months before.) Instead of limiting it to just a “hard” print form… a digital form was also created and placed on our blog. Readers were actively encouraged to “steal it” for their own blogs or sites.

MySpacing
I had my own MySpace account that I never paid much attention to. I didn’t much care for their blog format (Blogger and Wordpress seemed more accessible and immediate) and it always seemed like more of a “dating network for a 13 year old mentality”. On the plus side… everyone and his uncle has one and it seemed a great way to send out bulletins to a “captive audience”… if for nothing else maybe a way to get more readers hooked on to the blog at the company site.

The “target audience :

a. the usual suspects (local theatre nerds)
“Friending” target A:
Start with your friends in theatre… then move to “harvest” their friends. (Chances are they are into theatre themselves.)

b. a brand new audience.
“Friending” target B:
Hit “locals” (within a 50 mile radius) who are involved in other disciplines of the arts – poets, musicians, etc. (You’ll be amazed how many of those in the other disciplines have never been to theatre… this gives them the perfect reason to check it out.)

Then, just about anyone (within a 50 mile radius) that would respond to your request to “add” them. The rationale was that if only 20 percent of your “friends” took notice of you… that’s 20 percent more than you had before.

“Other” Sources:
Apart from MySpace bulletins… articles and notices were also posted in local “citizen journalism” e-zines and email forums from time to time informing of something “interesting” was occurring at our site. (BTW… owning our own domain provided a central and easy to remember location for people to check in to see what was happening at their own convenience.)

Video:
During the workshop period it was also decided that another VIDEO should be produced and posted. This brought even more immediacy to the awareness that “something exciting” was brewing and in the works.

AWARENESS COMPLETE
Two months before mounting the show our site was averaging 200-300 hits a day. All of this was successful in creating “intrigue” and an audience “buy-in” for the show.

As we got closer and closer to mounting the show a promotional VIDEO was produced which was sent out on bulletins on MySpace.

AND IN THE END…

… our run at the 2007 Rogue was a success. Through the buzz we had created via various means we sold out 3 of the 5 performances that were slotted to us. Plus good audience reviews also helped.

We didn’t have to sell our souls either… all we did was pour in an equal amount of energy and creativity into creating buzz as we did into creating our show.

This week’s site is aileenimperatrice.com
(You can also click the screen-shot below to check out their site in a new window.)

ABOUT AILEENIMPERATRICE.COM:

A website devoted to the artwork and latest art information of Aileen Imperatrice. Currently headquarted in Ashtree Studios in the Tower District, Fresno. You can keep up with what Aileen is doing in the art world and read her latest thoughts.

Aileen is currently seeking gallery representation and her site serves as a vital resource to anyone interested in finding more information about this artist and to see her many works of art. You can also download brochures and contact the artist.

DISCLOSURE: Aileen is also a personal friend. We love the fact that she is a working artist. Check out here mini-doc HERE.

This week’s site is 212degreedesigns.com
(You can also click the screen-shot below to check out their site in a new window.)

ABOUT 212DEGREEDESIGNS.COM:

212 Degree Designs is a family owned and operated custom vinyl company based in Texas. We love vinyl, people, and combining both to create happy people. Vinyl decals have so many uses that some days our job seems endless. But each time we hear of how a simple decal on a wall, or car, or mirror changed somebody’s day for the better we know we’re doing the right thing, and that we must carry on.

A HAPPY JUNGLE WEBS CLIENT SINCE: 2007.

DISCLOSURE: 212degreedesigns.com was one of our earliest clients. We love that they continue to be a client… but more importantly we think they are really cool!

I’ll confess I’m biased. I’ve had a blogspot blog since 2005 and in 2007 switched to Wordpress. Not only that but I also bought a domain and hosting and moved the whole shebang onto my hosting server in 2008.

Why? Simply because it was the easiest way to do it. (If nothing else, as a “pedestrian geek” I’ll always find the shortest and simplest route between A and B.)

That’s fine for a blog… but for a website?! Yes… over the last couple of years many sites have been built from the Wordpress platform. The main reasons being…

1. It is easy to install.
2. The platform is flexible enough for you to create just about any kind of site you want.
3. There are tons of templates available to use as is or that you can manipulate.
4. Little or no coding knowledge is needed.
5. Site owners can create and change content at will. There is no expensive software to buy and learn since any and all updates can be done anywhere from a browser and an internet connection.

HERE are some sites that use Wordpress.

So, as you can see Wordpress is not just for blogging anymore. With the upgrades that continue to occur it has developed into a CMS that comes with a much gentler learning curve than other open source platforms such as Drupal and Joomla. (BTW those two are great programs that are also featured in our value applications list but the learning curve is steeper for the novice.)

Great… how do I get started? Over the weeks to come we will post information on some finer details on working with Wordpress. For now here are some basic things to get started for the less than geeky.

• Get web (Linux) hosting. At Jungle Webs our economy hosting is under $5 a month. The plan provides you with 10 GB Space, 300 GB Transfer, 100 Email Accounts, 10 MySQL Databases… plus many more Freebies.
• Install Wordpress directly onto your hosting server. Our hosting plans come with many Free add-on programs to be easily installed directly onto the server including Wordpress. From your hosting dashboard click “content” then “value applications”. A new value application window will open then choose “Wordpress” and follow the prompts. (A more detailed “how to” will be posted soon.)
• Install a Wordpress template/theme. Log in to your Wordpress site… click “appearance” and “add new themes”. There are many on the wordpress.org site plus a Google search of “Wordpress themes/templates” will yield evgen more… some for free and others you can purchase. (A more detailed “how to” will be posted soon.).
• Modify the theme for your needs. (A more detailed “how to” will be posted soon.)

We hope that helps as a quick start. As indicated there will be more tutorials coming soon right here. Just click “Wordpress” in “Topics” to find all topics on this subject. Below are some other articles that discuss using Wordpress as a site builder.

Using WordPress to Manage Your Web Site Content – Part 1

Wordpress as a Website: 4 Great Reasons

Use Wordpress To Build Website Not Just Blog

Hope this has been helpful. BTW… this Jungle Webs site uses Wordpress… just sayin. Cheers!

So, you’ve decided to watch a video on the internet. You go to ____________ (YouTube, Hulu, Netflix, etc… take your pick) and click on a video. Instead of enjoyment you receive a frustrating experience with the sputtering video or frequent stops for “buffering”.

What’s going on? Chances are your connection speed has slowed to a dial-up pace even though you’ve paid for DSL or some other high speed service.

Yes, this does happen on occasion with any (or all) service providers. So, the first thing one should do is test the connection speed. How? Well, here is a small list of sites to help you with that task. For most of them all you have to do is click one (test) button.

Speakeasy – Speed Test

Bandwidth Place Speed Test

Bandwidth Speed Test – Free Broadband Speedtest

WHAT YOU SHOULD LOOK FOR.

If the reported download speed is less than 750 kbps your connection (high speed or DSL) is running slower than it should.

THE FIX?

Shut down your computer and disconnect your modem for about 5 minutes. Then replug your modem so it can start up and reboot. Restart your computer and do a speed test again.

Often this will fix the issue. Data speed from the internet to your computer is continually in flux. Sometimes when the speed falls it doesn’t rise again until you reset it. (Yeah, I know… bloody inconvenient.)

However, if this fix doesn’t work there may be another issue involved and it may be time to call your service provider. BTW… WiFi is generally slower than when a computer is directly connected to a modem.

Hope that helps.

click the banner to start your search

Have a nice day & Cheers!