PortfolioVillage Blog

Inspiration – Hire Me Billboard

George — Fri, 18 May 2012 13:47:54 +0000

http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/05/11/guys-billboard-resume-gets-him-a-job/

Bennett Olson, got tired of sending out resumes and waiting to hear back from companies and decided to make himself stand out. As you can tell by the picture above, the way Bennett decided to rise above the competition, literally, was plastering his face and website on a billboard in Minneapolis. His grand gesture payed off because Bennett is now employed.

It makes sense when you think about it, sending resumes and going on interviews are essentially ways of advertising yourself to potential employers. Instead of taking the standard approach, Bennett decided to go all out and pay for a billboard which in turn payed off for him.

If this is the new way to get noticed, what is the next step 30 second spots? Hour long infomercials at 3 in the morning? Let me know what you think of Bennett’s story on Facebook and/or Twitter.

How Do I Make An Intro Page?

George — Fri, 18 May 2012 13:47:37 +0000

To create an intro page (with no menu, logo or Page Master visible), go to the first page of your site (if you haven’t added any content to the site yet.) Select “Pages” from the toolbar, then “Page Settings.” In the “Page Settings” section select “Hide Page Master on Page,” make sure it is set to on. This will make sure the menu/logo and other Page Master objects do not load. You can then add an animated intro to your homepage. Remember to add a link from this page to the first content page of your site, so your users can skip the intro and click through.

If you have already added content to your site and you want to add an intro page before your first content page you will have to create or add a new page first then make it an intro page.

Inspiration – Jelly Bean Art

George — Fri, 11 May 2012 16:05:34 +0000

http://whatthecool.com/post/3485350235/jelly-bean-art/

Last week we had art made out of floppy disks, this week we have art made out of something a little bit more fun, Jelly Beans. Kristen Cumings, her website can be seen here, was contacted by Jelly Belly to become their official Jelly Bean Artist. The link above is some of her Jelly Bean pieces. Pretty Sweet Deal if you ask me.

PortfolioVillage Software Update

George — Fri, 11 May 2012 16:05:21 +0000

You’ve asked for more control over your mobile site so we’re proud to unveil the new mobile editor feature. You’ll find it in the main SiteMaker toolbar, look for the “Mobile” button.

We have automatically generated a mobile optimized version of your site by analyzing your page contents and creating a single column display. This works well for many layouts, but it can never be 100% perfect.

With the new mobile feature you will now have the following options:

- Preview what your site will look like on phones and other mobile devices

- Change the color of your text and background to make your site stand out.

- Arrange your pictures/page elements in the order you would like them to be viewed by your visitors. This is more limited on the blog and shop pages, however you can still play around with the elements on a page.

- Hide and unhide elements on a page to make it more appealing.

We’ve also fixed a few bugs:

- You can now drag the Page Start point.

- We’ve stopped sites crashing in IE8 under certain circumstances when you’re editing pages.

- The site background is no longer cut short when your homepage has a difference height to your site.

- Facebook and Twitter buttons should display in the correct position for visitors using Safari 5.1.

Inspiration – Floppy Disk Paintings

George — Fri, 04 May 2012 18:28:33 +0000

http://www.buzzfeed.com/whitneyjefferson/cool-portraits-made-from-floppy-disks

British Artist, Nick Gentry, is doing the impossible, finding a use for floppy disks. No, he’s not using an outdated computer from 20 years ago, he’s turning these useless pieces of technology’s past into paintings. The link above is an article from BuzzFeed with a couple pieces of his work, as well as a video and a link to his Facebook page. Check it out and let us know on Facebook and Twitter what outdated technology would you use to make art.

How Can I Add Music To My Page?

George — Fri, 04 May 2012 18:28:20 +0000

Go to the page you want the music to play on and click “Edit My Site.”
Open the “File Manager”
Go to the “Audio” folder in “Library,” choose an audio player and click “Use This.”
After positioning your audio player, and resizing it, click again on the player to produce the “Track” buttons that allow you to add tracks, see the playlist and then save.
Click on the “Add a Track” button (“+”) to produce “File Manager” which will help you locate the audio track or tracks. You can choose from one of our audio tracks if you haven’t already added your own. If you have uploaded your own audio, it will be in the “Your Files” tab in the “My Audio” folder.
When you have selected your audio file, click “Use This” from the File Manager. You can then add another file by using the “Add a Track” button or the player and then using File Manager to select the next track. Continue in this fashion until your play list is complete.
When your playlist is complete use the “Save” button on the player to save your track(s).
Click “Play” on the audio player to hear your track.

Inspiration – Human Pong

George — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 14:53:33 +0000

In a way to promote Smart’s Eco-Friendly FORTWO electric car, an advertising agency from Frankfurt decided to have a little fun. How much fun? See for yourself in the video above. The “EBALL” campaign invited people to participate in a real game of pong, with the cars acting as the white lines. Give new meaning to the phrase you are the controller.

How Can I Use Social Media To Update People About My Site?

George — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 14:53:17 +0000

You can configure your site to send messages to your members via their email addresses or to your lists of friends/followers on Facebook and/or Twitter from the “Send a Message” section of “People.” This can be a useful way of sending out simultaneous messages through different channels from a single place (Example: send the same message by email, facebook and twitter to different groups of people).

You can send a message to your social networks within the “People” section on the “Send a Message” tab. In the “Send a Message” section you will see a list of options on your left allowing you to choose who you wish to contact and how you wish to contact them along with a “Subject” and “Message” field on your right for inputting your message text. The options on the left allow you to send mail, post messages to FB or Twitter.

To send messages to your members, Facebook minified and Twitter simultaneously, you will need to check each of the boxes in the panel on the left. (Reminder: If you select Twitter, your message must be under 140 characters). Next add your text to the “Subject” and “Body” fields on the right hand side of the page. When you have finished composing your message you can click “Send” to mail all recipients with your chosen message.

Inspiration – 3 Creative Blogs To Get Your Innovative Ideas Flowing (Besides This One Of Course)

George — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 14:59:45 +0000

http://www.openforum.com/articles/3-creative-blogs-to-get-your-innovative-ideas-flowing?extlink=em-openf-SBdaily

OpenForum has put together a list of three creative blogs that you can visit to draw Inspiration from. They seemed to have left off this blog, but you can never get enough inspiration.

Can I Sell Things On My Site?

George — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 14:59:28 +0000

The answer is YES.

We have partnered with PayPal to allow you to accept payments on your website using the PayPal tools. PayPal links/widgets can be used for single payments, or to set up shopping carts. You will also need to register with PayPal, but this is free, quick and easy to do.

Once you have setup your PayPal account, you will have to setup your PayPal widget. PayPal integration is only available with higher value packages. You may need to upgrade to use some of these features.

Any link object can be turned into a PayPal link using our software, or you can use the PayPal widgets in the “File Manager.” This means you can use buttons, text links or images, as PayPal links. To create the link, select the text or object on your page, and click on the “Links” tan in the “Editor.” Then select the PayPal icon. The PayPal editor will then lead and allow you to configure your button.

To setup the link, you will first need to enter your PayPal account login, which is the email address you used when you signed up for PayPal. This is what links the item to your PayPal account. You will also need to decide if this is a “Single Item” purchase, “Add To Cart” or “View Cart” link. Click next and then you can enter the “Item Name” (for display at PayPal), “Item ID” (an optional internal code if you use them) and the price. PayPal supports 6 currencies – US Dollar, British Pound, Euro, Canadian Dollar, Japanese Yen and Australian Dollar. Click “Finish” and then “Apply” and your link is all set up.

If you are using “Single Item” purchase then simply add one for each item you are selling. If you are using the “Add To Cart” component, remember to also add a “View Cart” component as well so your visitors can get back to their shopping cart without having to add another item.