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Computer (il)literate  

post #1 of 9
8/18/08 at 7:11pm
Thread Starter 
Ok. I am manifesting computer literacy for my self. :
(I thought I need this icon: ).... But, I'm setting the intention for miracles. :

The idea is to create a "Charlotte Concierge" business. Basically, I'm the "social director" for homeschoolers in Charlotte. And I'm thinking of expanding the market for our "family friendly activities" to the mainstream market. I want to make a user friendly "web site??" where folks can enter variables to sort the hundreds of activities according to their priorities. Such as by educational benefit, biking, swimming, mini-golf, zoos, museums, field trips, skateboarding, parks, distance, proximity, weather/indoor/outdoor, age ranges, costs, strenuous ability, etc.

I need to locate a "program"?? that could have data entered by businesses, and accessed by the public. I'd also like something which could allow feedback/reviews from the public. And advertising by businesses. All to be available for a yearly user fee. So, some type of payment, billing system integrated.

I'm thinking to market to the big companies in town as an employee benefit, relocation assistance, real estate companies, hotels, schools, neighborhoods, new home builders, individuals, park and rec system, etc.

I want to find a program/system, and web designer which would be affordable. Where do I start?? Any suggestions?


Thanks, Pat
post #2 of 9
8/18/08 at 7:27pm
A system to do all of that would most likely have to be custom programmed, we're talking big money there.

A local coalition did take on a similar idea though and myself and a marketing gal came up with a solution that worked for them. A WordPress run website with an events calendar plugged in. They wanted it to promote local activities and events, list articles and resources and allow local businesses to advertise. They JUST launched it in August so there isn't much on it yet. Those interested in contributing to the site contact the administrator and they are given Author rights. (You could charge for that) They are then able to contribute to the site and edit thier own articles, but not anyone else's. We have comments turned off, but you could have them turned on and customized for visitor feedback. You can also add search features to it as well.

I'm sure there are other sites/software that can do thism but this is the cheapest I've found so far.
post #3 of 9
8/18/08 at 8:17pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks, so what does "big money" mean? $1000, $!0,ooo? don't scare me with more ooos.


Pat
post #4 of 9
8/18/08 at 8:36pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by WuWei View Post
Thanks, so what does "big money" mean? $1000, $!0,ooo? don't scare me with more ooos.


Pat
Custom carts/software can run several $1000. I'm sure there are probably cheaper solutions, just nothing I've run across yet.
post #5 of 9
8/18/08 at 10:16pm
Thread Starter 
A friend suggested vBulletin. I'm trying to wrap my mind around this.

She sent me this link for a demo of the links database. http://www.vbadvanced.com/links/ I trying to conceptualize a prioritization search tool with these tags and categorization.

Perhaps, something along this line for a database? Or more options/variables to multi-search for a more specific "fit". Does that sound doable or must be designed???


Thanks, Pat
post #6 of 9
8/18/08 at 10:37pm
Well, a previous poster had suggested Wordpress (free). I use it myself for my blog. You can either use their blogging space (www.wordpress.com) or you could buy your own URL and pay for hosting. There are several hosting packages out there that are a decent price. It doesn't even cost that much to buy the URL if you get everything at one place. Personally, I use GoDaddy for my hosting and URL. For hosting with GoDaddy, it runs around $50/yr, but I have multiple sites and URLs. Your cost is going to depend on how much space you need, the amount of traffic you expect.

Some of the cost for hosting could be helped along with Google ads (like you see here). Again, just an idea.

If you know any uber geeks, you could see if they would host out of the kindness of their heart. A friend of mine is hosting our neighborhood watch blog for free.

If you want to do bunches of fancy stuff, store lots of information, have workable tables, etc., you might want to look at a light-weight content management system. There is a much higher learning curve with those, but a good one is Joomla!. And it's open source (i.e., free). Sometime open source software get's a bad rap, but Joomla is vetted by several super geeks I know. It's even being considered as the backend of a city web site I know about.

I would actually suggest using Joomla if you can. I'm looking at using it to replace the blog for the crime watch site, but need to have the time to download and play with it.

Good luck!
post #7 of 9
8/18/08 at 10:55pm
Thread Starter 
I'm trying to wrap my mind around this.

I trying to conceptualize a prioritization search tool with these tags and categorization.

Perhaps, something along this line for a database? Or more options/variables to multi-search for a more specific "fit". Does that sound doable or must be designed???

I'm trying to think of an example that I've seen. I'm thinking along the lines of an algorithm, where the "questions" progressively narrow the suggestions to meet the requested criteria.

I see the "categories" and tags and understand that different venues could be categorized or tagged, and then listed accordingly. Somehow, that seems more like a "phonebook". Just a display of info, not a selection process to consider multiple variables.

For instance, I'm thinking 'We want to get outside as a whole family for the day, not spend a fortune, but maybe see animals. Age range appropriateness 5+.

I'd like all of those variables to be considered and provide suggestions 1,2,3...

Like this: http://www.stayinnorthcarolina.com/moresearch.asp
Or this: http://www.realtor.com/options/advan...rch.aspx?typ=7
http://www.allentate.com/DesktopDefa...ll&Region=CMLS
http://www.carolinahome.com/findHome...esttimeout=600

With menu options for each data choice.



Thanks, Pat
post #8 of 9
8/18/08 at 11:14pm
You could set most of those sites up, or something along the line of them, using Joomla. A content management system (CMS) does just that: manages the content for you. In that respect it works like a database.

Here are a few sites that use Joomla.

http://www.greenmaven.com/
http://www.unric.org/
http://www.playshakespeare.com/
http://www.outdoorphotographer.com/
post #9 of 9
8/18/08 at 11:22pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks! I'm heading to bed, but will definitely take a look at those tomorrow!


Pat
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