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View Full Version : OCIA.net in 2007


playafly187
01-21-2007, 09:05 PM
Another year behind us... wow how time flies! I just wanted to make a quick post here and give you guys an idea of what we have in store for 2007 and beyond.

I think for the most part, we accomplished probably 80-90% of the goals we had set in place this time a year ago. We expanded our news posting, going with a more detailed setup rather than just quick links. Thanks to fstroupe for helping out with the daily news postings.

We also were able to archive all of our past reviews and articles and arrange them based on the date they were completed. This took a long time to complete but I am happy with how it turned out.

One thing we did not accomplish was print up some new OCIA.net t-shirts. Look for that to happen early this spring for sure. We will most likely hold some type of contest, seeing as I have very little skills in photoshop! Or, if you are interested in giving it a shot, let me know... how cool would it be to have your own design as the official OCIA.net shirt!

I was happy to see our buying guides make their debut last year, and they brought us a lot of traffic... but we had a few issues in keeping them up to date. If you think you might be interested in helping us keep some of these articles up to date, please send over your resume to me at playafly187@ocia.net

For 2007, look for more of the same from us. We got off to a great start with our CES coverage. It was our first time covering the show and I hope you guys were pleased with our "noob" coverage. On the business end, the show this year was a big learning experience, and we will be much better prepared to cover the show next year. Also, look for more consistent review postings as well as more articles. We will also be starting up a weekly newsletter very soon, which will cover the previous week, the reviews we posted, any exciting industry and forum news, etc.

A few other ideas before I go... First, we just started up a Press Release page where we will post the latest press releases we receive from companies, manufacturers and sponsors. You can check that out at the following link:

http://www.ocia.net/pressrelease/latest.shtml

Look for a few changes to take place concerning the layout and advertising on the main page. Advertising revenue has taken a nose dive the past year and I think some changes are in order. It costs a lot of money to maintain a tech site... hosting bills, purchasing new hardware to be able to stay up to date with the latest trends, etc. I encourage all of you... please feel free to click some of our google ads every now and then. It is your support that helps keep this site going and we couldn't do it without you!

And finally, I have started up a personal blog that I will be updating on a daily basis. I got the idea for doing this from Bob Buskirk, owner of ThinkComputers. Basically, this will make a great outlet for me to share with you guys the daily life of me... a college kid, running a tech site. The majority of the content will be tech related, but also look for random updates about school, friends and life in general. I have high hopes for this so please join up and post your feedback for all to read!

http://www.shawn-knight.net

Again, I will extend this offer, if you think you might be interested in joining the OCIA.net staff as a reviewer, article writer, news poster or forum admin, please send over your resume to me at playafly187@ocia.net

Thanks again, and here's to another great year at OCIA.net !

SHaCK
01-22-2007, 10:05 AM
That's some great stuff playafly, i think the press release if a very nice source of information and will help us all to stay on touch with what's going on..

One suggestion if i may : ComboBoxes in the reviews!! Or links to the different pages , i'm sure i'm not the only one who switch from a page to another a few times.. i've always liked reviews with comboboxes it just makes it easy and convenient to browse it :)

Keep up the good work

silenze
01-22-2007, 01:48 PM
Shack's idea is good.

Could create templates for reviews that range from two to ten pages long with customizable page titles for the content table area -- this would just require participation by everyone or it would be pointless.

playafly187
01-22-2007, 02:11 PM
yeah, i like the idea as well...

will be a pain going back and doing this to all of the reviews, but i agree it would be helpful...

*adds it to the list*

silenze
01-22-2007, 02:52 PM
I meant for new reviews.

We really should have our reviews in a database like mysql, and that is probably something we're going to have to do.

SHaCK
01-23-2007, 09:41 AM
What would be the advantages of a DB ?

IMHO, I see a lot more work/trouble then actual real world benefits. But i'm sure you have a good reason..

silenze
01-23-2007, 11:38 AM
No it's less work/trouble once it's setup and working... and the only feasible way of accomplishing what we want to really..

jester
02-08-2007, 11:23 PM
Yea I agree a db would be much more effeicent. Probly save use a lil less resources on the server.

SHaCK
02-12-2007, 11:51 AM
Good job on the new review layout!! SHaCK likes.