Raised Eyebrow Blog

Vertical Response, an online newsletter software, recently released an update to their editor.  WOW!  What an improvement.

The old editor, used for editing custom HTML templates was pretty picky.  It reminded me of Microsoft Word, in that you might press return once and get a huge gaping hole in your layout. Or press backspace once and the entire design would disappear. Undo was a most used feature.  And often the remedy was to extract the source and fix things up in Dreamweaver, combing through line by line.

That said, I’ve always liked Vertical Response because I like the management interface, including the list manager, and after gaining enormous popularity, they are still offering their service FREE to nonprofits, which is awesome for many of our clients.

So recently I logged into Vertical Response and made a copy of a campaign and got the prompt “NEW: Copy to New Canvas Editor.”  I ticked the box and this opened the newsletter in the new editor and it was a beautiful transformation.

My favourite improvement is the Format drop-down, which allows you to apply paragraph styles defined in the CSS by simply highlighting text and choosing a style from the drop-down.  Prior to this you would have to copy a few characters from a paragraph with the formatting you wanted, paste it in the desired location, and then edit it.  So this was a big improvement.

Another plus is the tick box that allows you to automatically generate a text-based version of the email.  This prevents the need to carry content changes in two versions of the email.

If you are still using the old editor, give the new one a try.

Recently, due to Views lack of ability to OR it’s filters together and due to some serious constraints in relation to arguments and relationships, I found myself needing to figure out how to rewrite the SQL of a Drupal view so that I could get the records that I needed.

It seems like there are two ways to do this. You can either rewrite the SQL directly, or try to hack the query object that views provides.

A quick Google search and I ended up on Drupal.org

Which then led me to the Views documentation

From here I was able to deduce that the

hook_views_pre_execute()

hook was what I needed.

I created my module and added the hook:

/**
 * Implementation of hook_views_pre_execute()
 *
 **/
function other_views_pre_execute(&$view) {
  switch($view->name) {
    // If it's my view
    case 'my_view':
      switch($view->current_display) {
        // If it's the block on the author page
	case 'block_5':
	  // Set the extra argument
	  $view->build_info['query_args'][2] = $view->build_info['query_args'][1];
	  // Rewrite the query
	  $view->build_info['query'] = "SELECT ... ";
	  break;
       }
   }
}

Lets step through this:

function other_views_pre_execute(&$view) {

We need to make sure the word hook is replaced with the name of our module, in this case it’s called ‘other’

switch($view->name) {
  // If it's my view
  case 'my_view':

Each view is represented by a unique name. We need to modify the query for a certain view, not all of them, in this case the view is called ‘my_view’.

switch($view->current_display) {
  // If it's the block on the author page
  case 'block_5':

Views can have multiple displays, such as blocks, pages and attachments. In this case we want to target the block display with the name/id ‘block_5′

// Set the extra argument
$view->build_info['query_args'][2] = $view->build_info['query_args'][1];
// Rewrite the query
$view->build_info['query'] = "SELECT ... ";
break;

In this case our query is going to have an extra argument added to the query. These arguments are an array $view->build_info['query_args']. They appear in the form ‘%s’ and ‘%d’ in the query text, like this:

WHERE (node.status <> 0) AND (node.type in ('%s'))
AND ((node_node_data_field_publication_centre_authors.title = '%s') OR (node_node_data_field_publication_first_author.title ='%s'))

In this case the first ‘%s’ = $view->build_info['query_args'][0], the second one = $view->build_info['query_args'][1] and so on.

And that’s it. Your query is rewritten. One thing to watch our for, do not add any extra fields in the SELECT statement, this can cause all sorts of crazy problems.

The alternative to using the pre_execute hook is to use the query_alter hook.

This seems a lot trickier and even Earl Miles himself hates this hook, so I suggest staying away from it, but if you’re interested in what it looks like here’s a quick Krumo screenshot of what it looks like. This was achieved using the devel module along with the kpr() command. So

kpr($view->query); 

Anatomy of a View Query

Last month I ran a very successful workshop for writers/journalists on the topic of setting up a Wordpress.com portfolio site. I’m running it again later this month (November 21-22), here’s the description:

As a writer, you know you need a website-something clean, professional and easy on the eyes. You also know it can cost serious money to hire a web designer to do it for you.

This two-day workshop, led by Emira Mears of Raised Eyebrow Web Studio, will guide you through the basics of setting up, configuring and customizing the look and feel of a Wordpress.com website. In two four-hour sessions, you will create an outline for your site, configure the features you need — a blog, categories, pages, images, links to related information, etc. — and select and customize a design. You’ll also learn how to update content and make changes yourself over time. All for the affordable rate of $140.

Dates: November 21/22, 2009, 10 am – 2 pm

Cost: $140, plus GST (receipts available)

Location:
Endswell Room at The Flack Block
163 West Hastings Street
Corner of Hastings and Cambie

To register or for more information contact workshops [at] raisedeyebrow.com

Seating in this workshop will be limited to 12 participants on a first come, first served basis. Please bring your own laptop.

This coming February, Raised Eyebrow will celebrate our 10th anniversary as an independent, privately owned business serving the nonprofit, business and government communities. When we started out, it was just the two of us – me and Emira – but now there are six of us, and we’re pretty pleased with how far we’ve come since those early days.

Last year, we published a book that we hoped would be of use to women starting their own businesses (or thinking about taking the entrepreneurial plunge) – and now we’re taking it a step further, and launching a Vancouver chapter of the Grassroots Business Association.

The goal of the Vancouver GBA is to provide a venue for local business owners to learn and share resources in a welcoming, non-intimidating environment. We’ll be meeting monthly, and the idea is for it to be as much about connecting with other small-scale entrepreneurs as it is about learning. Our sister group in Seattle has done a great job of bringing smart, creative people together who are doing what they love for a living, and we’re hoping to continue that tradition north of the border.

Our kickoff event takes place Monday, October 19th at 7 pm. (You can RSVP over here at Meetup.com.) We’re already seeing a huge response, which is both affirming and exciting. If you know any local entrepreneurs who might be interested, please send them to www.grassrootsbusiness.ca.

We have some folks with allergies in the office and that makes it difficult for us to splurge on desserts that contain:

• Flour
• Sugar
• Eggs
• Dairy

I am a big fan of raw food and was met with surprise when I mentioned to my colleagues that I made a raw chocolate cake, from Avocado, that was almost too good for words. So to mute their surprise I made one and brought it in for them to try.

The mention of an Avocado chocolate cake usually results in people making a face that suggests they’re thinking of a big green cake with chocolate chips or something altogether more monstrous and horrible tasting. Well they couldn’t be more wrong, this thing tastes divine and looks even better. I found the recipe in a book called Raw Food Made Easy for 1 or 2 People by Jennifer Cornbleet (Google Books, Amazon).

It involves using two separate recipes:

• One for Coconut Crust (Page 145)
• The other for Chocolate Mousse 9 (Page 160)

Note that I used Agave Nectar rather than Maple Syrup, I love the sweetness of Agave Nectar and was able to find organic nectar easier than organic maple syrup.

I think everyone here in the office was pleasantly surprised as to how tasty it was and I’ll definitely be making another one soon. And when I say tasty I mean real tasty; this is one rich tasting, dairy free, raw chocolate cake.

One of the questions that came up in a Usability Testing Session at the NTEN Conference this week was one that our non profit clients ask us all the time: “How do we involve our board in gathering feedback?” The implicit question there, and no offense to board members here, is “How do I involve my board but not get overly swayed/pushed by their feedback?” The further implied statement is that often boards don’t represent the target audiences for an organization and yet by priviledge of their positions they can really influence the website design and development process.

While there’s no magic bullet solution for this issue, one way to mitigate potential problems is to ask your board for very specific feedback. Re-articulate the website and communications goals and ask for specific feedback on those goals. Don’t ask “Do you like how it looks” ask “Do you think this website communicate the following: a sense of engagement, a sense of leadership, a sense of authority on issues, etc.” (But of course replace those feelings with whatever the goals for your project/your organization are). Then ask them questions based on other communications goals that were set out for the website like “Does this design make it easy to find the email sign up button?” or “Are you able to quickly see the latest information from our organization?” etc. We always help our clients draft these goals as a part of the initial design process, and reusing them to guide feedback from other stakeholders is a great way to get targeted feedback.

Of course there’s no way to guarantee that you’re not going to get feedback along the lines of “I really hate the colour green” or “The woman in that photo looks too much like my evil Aunt Mabel” but hopefully that helps you to get more targeted and useful information as well, which is the feedback you can focus on.

Another framework to try to apply, but I’ll warn you this one is really tricky, is to remind your board (or other stakeholders) before they give you feedback who the target audience is (assuming your board doesn’t match your target audience). And, if you’re comfortable enough with your board you may want to even explicitly remind them that they are not the target audience, or that they are not exclusively their target audience. A quick, gentle reminder along the lines of “Remember our website is one of the primary ways that our core program users, who are youth between the ages of 13-19 who typically access the internet from home on highspeed connections…” etc. is a great way to just help get people thinking about more than their personal preferences.

Today is a big day at Raised Eyebrow, and not just because we’re counting down the days ’til my birthday. No, in fact there is even more exciting news afoot (hard to believe, I know!), because today we welcome a new member to the Raised Eyebrow team*: Anna Strom.

Anna brings a wealth of experience working within the same community we do: progressive businesses (like her former employers, and our neighbours, Renewal Partners), nonprofits, and political and government groups (she just stepped down from her position as Treasurer of Vision Vancouver).

In other words: She totally gets our clients.

Anna joins us as our Junior Client Manager, and she’ll be the primary point of contact for our long-term clients. Among other things, she will be providing training and ongoing support to our clients, and fielding any questions you may have after your site launches.

We couldn’t be happier to have Anna joining us. Please welcome her aboard!

Cross-posting this from our book blog… I was about to write about our annual International Women’s Day tradition here at Raised Eyebrow, but Emira beat me to it!

(For those who don’t know, Emira and I co-authored a book called The Boss of You: Everything a Woman Needs to Know to Start, Run and Maintain Her Own Business — and we blog about women and business at www.laurenandemira.com.)

Those of you who’ve read our book know that we celebrate IWD as a stat in our own business, which means we’re taking this coming Monday off in lieu of the Sunday event itself. We started the IWD stat as a kind of cheeky perk when it was just the two of us. A stat in March is always nice to break up the long break between the New Year and Easter (here in BC we don’t have another official stat in between), and as a company that declares itself feminist it was one more way of making that declaration a reality. Now that we have staff (including men!) and have the opportunity to also give them the day off in recognition of IWD, I have to say it’s even more rewarding. It’s really wonderful having the office close down for a day in recognition of women and women’s rights, and it’s especially satisfying listening to our staff reminding clients that “we won’t be in on Monday, because Raised Eyebrow recognizes IWD as as stat.”

Now that we have a number of high-profile and big organization-type clients, I sometimes wonder how our clients will react, but I can honestly say that every single one of them responds with “That’s a great idea!” or “Wow, we should do that too!”. One of the most rewarding aspects of running a business for me has been modeling what business ideally looks like in my perfect world and having the opportunity to make that happen, even if it is just in our little corner of the economy. Recognizing IWD is just one of the little ways that we model change.

PS: Three ideas for celebration: Lunapads.com is holding their annual IWD mega-sale where they cut the prices of their entire online catalogue by 20% (the discount will be applied on checkout). It’s a great chance to score some quality alternative menstrual products from a fabulous group of female entrepreneurs. Or, you know, you could always get a copy of The Boss of You for the gal in your life who’s been itching to go out on her own. (Sorry, couldn’t resist that one). Finally, if you don’t feel like celebrating by spending cash, you can always pick a small posey of flowers for the women in your life. The Italians have a lovely tradition whereby the men give mimosa flowers to the women in their lives on IWD one that really should have made it across the pond by now in my humble opinion.

Happy International Women’s Day to all of you!

That’s right – we’re bucking economic trends here at Raised Eyebrow… just a few days after announcing we’re hiring a Junior Client Manager, we have a second job opening to announce: we’re looking for a Junior Web Designer as well.

This position is a great opportunity for someone who wants to design and code beautiful, user-friendly and content-rich websites for mission-driven organizations including non-profits, governmental organizations and progressive businesses. If you’re a creative, collaborative designer with an eye for good code and an interest in working with a great bunch of clients (and a pretty great bunch of people here in the office, if we do say so ourselves), check out the posting and drop us a line.

I received an email newsletter today from FontShop, one of the world’s great purveyors of fine typefaces, and I laughed aloud before I’d even opened it. Why? Check out this subject line:

Too Much News for a Newsletter Title | FontShop News | February 2009

Email marketing experts tell us that shorter subject lines result in higher open rates, so long as they’re long enough to be informative; they also tell us that it’s important to load up on keywords. Obviously FontShop ignored the keyword rule, and their cheeky subject line tells us that the only way they could keep it short was to get self-referential.

I love it. Brilliant choice, especially when your target audience lives & breathes marketing.

Here’s a link to the newsletter in question, in case you want to find out what passes for “too much news” in the world of typography.