GoGrid For Facebook Quick Start

For new Facebook developers, especially those who have never had the need to host their own server, getting started often represents an unwelcome learning curve. MotivePath and GoGrid have created a tool to assist in getting up and running quickly.

A Facebook application has essentially 3 ingredients:

1. The configuration Facebook needs to link their site to your application content
2. The application content itself, including the Facebook API
   
3. Somewhere to host the content

A GoGrid for Facebook server automatically deploys a web server (Apache for Linux, IIS for Windows), a database (MySQL 5.0 Community), and the Facebook API libraries.

When you create a GoGrid for Facebook server node, you must select a public IP.

Let's assume this is 208.113.123.123. Once the server is started, in a browser visit:

• http://208.113.123.123:8080/ (note port 8080 for the configuration portal)
  

This will take you to the configuration portal for the GoGrid for Facebook tool. Enter an application name, for example "mynewapp" and click NEW.



Now, to link the Facebook site to your new content, create a Facebook Developer account, set the Callback URL in the Facebook Developer application settings to the full URL to your new GoGrid server's default Facebook application:

• http://208.113.123.123/mynewapp/tutorial.php (note port 80 for the application itself)
  
  
  
  
  

That's it! To create additional application content, you can then edit the files in the /mynewapp/ folder. For example:

• C:\inetpub\mynewapp\ (for Windows)
• /usr/local/httpd/htdocs/mynewapp (for Linux)

You can change the callback URL at any time. Say you want to change from tutorial.php to coolNewApp.php, the callback URL simply becomes:

• http://208.113.123.123/mynewapp/coolNewApptorial.php

Shameless Plug

We can show you how to use interactive video to enhance your campaign.



The main features to notice:

1. The watermark overlay of the advertiser, in this case GreatOutdoors.com
2. Highlights on either the action or the products
3. links on location to Google Maps custom POIs that show location info (and link back). NOTE: I have no idea if this is Mt. Bachelor or not :)
   

Clearly this is just a simple demo, a more nuanced campaign would augment the content with editorial or user comments, information that the users would find relevant, and user generated content. This gives you a tasted of what can be done.

Next demo, we'll hook this into an interactive mobile campaign where users can get the videos mobile by scanning something in print, or on a billboard, or even on a PC (e.g. at a co-worker's desk).

Finally this could be an interactive kiosk and/or large screen at a venue. Imagine users voting on the action in real-time via SMS or by IVR/DTMF.

Yet Another Razoo for an XPrize

I rarely go to web sites, especially Web 2.0 glossy sites ;) and sign up and immediately start using it. But then there's a site like www.razoo.com which adds value to the human condition. Love it!

The challenge is to define XPrize ideas. See my previous post in October 2006. Here's another:
(see http://beta.razoo.com/acts/YourXPRIZE )

Another XPrize should go to the organization that "open sources" medicine to solve the problems of healthcare (at least in the US.) By creating an economy based on merit and quality, through free education based on ability, support through nurturing, sensible work practices, compensation based on a truly open marketplace where an open source solution actually competes without unfair advantage against the traditional system.

It all starts with the physicians -- if physicians are given an education without creating an insurmountable mountain of debt, they might be more empowered to make changes.

If pharma were open sourced, imagine the impact.

But it must work within the reality of a free market and where "greed is good". It has to be better, so it actually wins on merit, leaving the commercial options to survive in what niche they will.

Kudos to Joe Solomon for finding Razoo!
See Joe at: http://www.netsquared.org/blog/joesolomon/part-1-how-find-volunteer-web-developer