The small business blog will cover topics ranging from search engines to content management to best practices to help make developing your website easier. http://www.wickerlight.com/Blog/tabid/142/BlogId/1/Default.aspx en-US editor@wickerlight.com michael@wickerlight.com Wed, 08 Sep 2010 08:30:18 GMT Wed, 08 Sep 2010 08:30:18 GMT http://backend.userland.com/rss Blog RSS Generator Version 3.5.0.35082 <p><span style="font-size: small;"><span><img hspace="5" height="128" align="left" width="191" vspace="5" src="/Portals/0/images/Misc/twoadamsHeroes.gif" alt="" />After weeks of planning, development and hard work, Wickerlight Engineering and The Comic Hour are proud to announce the release of the new </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.thecomichour.com"><span style="font-size: small;">The Comic Hour Podcast</span></a></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span> website.  Featuring "News, Views and Reviews", this site is going to be an interactive, informative and fun resource for a community of comic book lovers from all over the world.</span></span></p><a href=http://www.wickerlight.com/Blog/tabid/142/EntryId/33/The-Comic-Hour-Releases-First-Rate-Site-To-Match-First-Rate-Podcast.aspx>More...</a> http://www.wickerlight.com/Blog/tabid/142/EntryId/33/The-Comic-Hour-Releases-First-Rate-Site-To-Match-First-Rate-Podcast.aspx editor@wickerlight.com http://www.wickerlight.com/Blog/tabid/142/EntryId/33/The-Comic-Hour-Releases-First-Rate-Site-To-Match-First-Rate-Podcast.aspx#Comments http://www.wickerlight.com/Blog/tabid/142/EntryId/33/The-Comic-Hour-Releases-First-Rate-Site-To-Match-First-Rate-Podcast.aspx Sun, 10 May 2009 19:43:00 GMT 0 http://www.wickerlight.com/DesktopModules/Blog/Trackback.aspx?id=33 <p><img hspace="5" height="66" border="1" align="right" width="100" vspace="5" src="/Portals/0/images/Splash/contact_graphic.jpg" alt="" />You visit a new park each week, take some pictures and write a brief ditty about your experience. It would nice if you could do this on your PDA while you are at the park and geotag the entry so that it instantly displays on a map on your site. But let's take this one step further. In addition, we want other park-bloggers form a community of people that will provide information about each park in their area. After a little while, you could have a full fledged information directory on all of the parks in your county, state or even the country.</p><a href=http://www.wickerlight.com/Blog/tabid/142/EntryId/7/Geospatial-Blogging-A-Concept.aspx>More...</a> http://www.wickerlight.com/Blog/tabid/142/EntryId/7/Geospatial-Blogging-A-Concept.aspx editor@wickerlight.com http://www.wickerlight.com/Blog/tabid/142/EntryId/7/Geospatial-Blogging-A-Concept.aspx#Comments http://www.wickerlight.com/Blog/tabid/142/EntryId/7/Geospatial-Blogging-A-Concept.aspx Sat, 11 Apr 2009 06:36:56 GMT 0 http://www.wickerlight.com/DesktopModules/Blog/Trackback.aspx?id=7 <p><img align="right" alt="" src="/Portals/0/Blog/Files/1/28/040309_2327_WhatCanRSSF2.gif" />RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication.  Feeds are a way for websites of all sizes to get news, articles, blogs, podcasts and other content to your readers. They are also a great way to help out your search engine ranking. To the right is the "universal feed icon" or the "chicklets". When you see that image, you most likely can pick up an RSS feed of that page's content.</p><a href=http://www.wickerlight.com/Blog/tabid/142/EntryId/28/What-Can-RSS-Feeds-Do-For-Me.aspx>More...</a> http://www.wickerlight.com/Blog/tabid/142/EntryId/28/What-Can-RSS-Feeds-Do-For-Me.aspx editor@wickerlight.com http://www.wickerlight.com/Blog/tabid/142/EntryId/28/What-Can-RSS-Feeds-Do-For-Me.aspx#Comments http://www.wickerlight.com/Blog/tabid/142/EntryId/28/What-Can-RSS-Feeds-Do-For-Me.aspx Wed, 01 Apr 2009 23:27:27 GMT 0 http://www.wickerlight.com/DesktopModules/Blog/Trackback.aspx?id=28 <p> <span id="dnn_ctr464_MainView_ViewEntry_lblEntry"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 12pt;">Bear with me for a second.  This article is only a few lines but it proves an important point.  </span></span></p><a href=http://www.wickerlight.com/Blog/tabid/142/EntryId/26/Know-Your-Audience.aspx>More...</a> http://www.wickerlight.com/Blog/tabid/142/EntryId/26/Know-Your-Audience.aspx editor@wickerlight.com http://www.wickerlight.com/Blog/tabid/142/EntryId/26/Know-Your-Audience.aspx#Comments http://www.wickerlight.com/Blog/tabid/142/EntryId/26/Know-Your-Audience.aspx Tue, 31 Mar 2009 21:26:01 GMT 0 http://www.wickerlight.com/DesktopModules/Blog/Trackback.aspx?id=26 <p>Here is a freebee for the DNN developers out there. The sitemap.aspx file included with DNN 05.00.00 didn't work with google. It would return a invalid format error so I set out to fix that and also add the ability to render blog posts into the sitemap.</p><a href=http://www.wickerlight.com/Blog/tabid/142/EntryId/25/Add-Blog-Posts-Into-Sitemap-and-Fix-Format-Error-in-DotNetNuke.aspx>More...</a> http://www.wickerlight.com/Blog/tabid/142/EntryId/25/Add-Blog-Posts-Into-Sitemap-and-Fix-Format-Error-in-DotNetNuke.aspx editor@wickerlight.com http://www.wickerlight.com/Blog/tabid/142/EntryId/25/Add-Blog-Posts-Into-Sitemap-and-Fix-Format-Error-in-DotNetNuke.aspx#Comments http://www.wickerlight.com/Blog/tabid/142/EntryId/25/Add-Blog-Posts-Into-Sitemap-and-Fix-Format-Error-in-DotNetNuke.aspx Tue, 31 Mar 2009 19:05:47 GMT 2 http://www.wickerlight.com/DesktopModules/Blog/Trackback.aspx?id=25 <p><img align="right" alt="" src="/Portals/0/Blog/Files/1/24/033009_1652_MorePowerMo1.png" /><em>Preface: I started writing this entry because I was in favor on turning your PC off, but after crunching some numbers, it seems that it might not make so much sense after all. </em></p> <p>Sumir Karyi, CEO of 1E, recently submitted a report on power consumption from personal computers in the work place.  It states that around 50% of US workers do not shut down their PCs at night.  Collectively this amounts to $2.8 billion in wasted energy bills. For you GREEN enthusiasts out there, that is 20 million tons of CO₂ emissions each year.</p><a href=http://www.wickerlight.com/Blog/tabid/142/EntryId/24/More-Power-More-Money.aspx>More...</a> http://www.wickerlight.com/Blog/tabid/142/EntryId/24/More-Power-More-Money.aspx editor@wickerlight.com http://www.wickerlight.com/Blog/tabid/142/EntryId/24/More-Power-More-Money.aspx#Comments http://www.wickerlight.com/Blog/tabid/142/EntryId/24/More-Power-More-Money.aspx Mon, 30 Mar 2009 16:52:58 GMT 0 http://www.wickerlight.com/DesktopModules/Blog/Trackback.aspx?id=24 <p>Search engine optimization is a very important part of running a website.  This often overlooked aspect of authoring your website is a "simply complex" process and shouldn't be taken lightly.  Long story short: keywords are the name of the game.  Read more to see what google has to say about keywords.</p><a href=http://wickerlight.com/Blog/tabid/142/EntryId/16/Search-Engine-Optimization-Using-HTML-Meta-Tags.aspx>More...</a> http://wickerlight.com/Blog/tabid/142/EntryId/16/Search-Engine-Optimization-Using-HTML-Meta-Tags.aspx editor@wickerlight.com http://wickerlight.com/Blog/tabid/142/EntryId/16/Search-Engine-Optimization-Using-HTML-Meta-Tags.aspx#Comments http://wickerlight.com/Blog/tabid/142/EntryId/16/Search-Engine-Optimization-Using-HTML-Meta-Tags.aspx Tue, 17 Mar 2009 14:27:00 GMT 0 http://www.wickerlight.com/DesktopModules/Blog/Trackback.aspx?id=16 <p>You have these great, big ideas. Sometimes, they are too big for the moment. Watch this video to see how this driver gets in her own way.</p><a href=http://www.wickerlight.com/Blog/tabid/142/EntryId/15/Dont-Get-In-Your-Own-Way.aspx>More...</a> http://www.wickerlight.com/Blog/tabid/142/EntryId/15/Dont-Get-In-Your-Own-Way.aspx editor@wickerlight.com http://www.wickerlight.com/Blog/tabid/142/EntryId/15/Dont-Get-In-Your-Own-Way.aspx#Comments http://www.wickerlight.com/Blog/tabid/142/EntryId/15/Dont-Get-In-Your-Own-Way.aspx Sun, 15 Mar 2009 16:51:00 GMT 0 http://www.wickerlight.com/DesktopModules/Blog/Trackback.aspx?id=15 <p>Great code block for converting a System.Data.SqlClient.SqlDataReader to a DataTable or DataSet</p><a href=http://wickerlight.com/Blog/tabid/142/EntryId/14/Convert-DataReader-to-DataSet.aspx>More...</a> http://wickerlight.com/Blog/tabid/142/EntryId/14/Convert-DataReader-to-DataSet.aspx Developer's Blog editor@wickerlight.com http://wickerlight.com/Blog/tabid/142/EntryId/14/Convert-DataReader-to-DataSet.aspx#Comments http://wickerlight.com/Blog/tabid/142/EntryId/14/Convert-DataReader-to-DataSet.aspx Wed, 04 Mar 2009 02:10:00 GMT 0 http://www.wickerlight.com/DesktopModules/Blog/Trackback.aspx?id=14 <p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 12pt;">Staying motivated is by far one of the hardest parts of running a small business. Often enough the idea (at a daily pot of coffee) can get you through a few weeks or even months, but everyone hits the proverbial wall at some point.  Here are 5 tips to keep you (and your business) running during those tough times.</span></p><a href=http://wickerlight.com/Blog/tabid/142/EntryId/13/Staying-Motivated-Providing-Momentum-for-Your-Startup.aspx>More...</a> http://wickerlight.com/Blog/tabid/142/EntryId/13/Staying-Motivated-Providing-Momentum-for-Your-Startup.aspx editor@wickerlight.com http://wickerlight.com/Blog/tabid/142/EntryId/13/Staying-Motivated-Providing-Momentum-for-Your-Startup.aspx#Comments http://wickerlight.com/Blog/tabid/142/EntryId/13/Staying-Motivated-Providing-Momentum-for-Your-Startup.aspx Tue, 03 Mar 2009 16:14:16 GMT 0 http://www.wickerlight.com/DesktopModules/Blog/Trackback.aspx?id=13 <p>In the US, over 700,000 businesses start up each year.  How many of these are considered small businesses?</p><a href=http://wickerlight.com/Blog/tabid/142/EntryId/11/Interesting-Facts-About-Small-Business-Startups.aspx>More...</a> http://wickerlight.com/Blog/tabid/142/EntryId/11/Interesting-Facts-About-Small-Business-Startups.aspx editor@wickerlight.com http://wickerlight.com/Blog/tabid/142/EntryId/11/Interesting-Facts-About-Small-Business-Startups.aspx#Comments http://wickerlight.com/Blog/tabid/142/EntryId/11/Interesting-Facts-About-Small-Business-Startups.aspx Tue, 03 Mar 2009 05:14:00 GMT 0 http://www.wickerlight.com/DesktopModules/Blog/Trackback.aspx?id=11 <p>I am a firm believer that small businesses are being underserved. For most small businesses, the term small is misleading. They are only small for a short time, then they grow out of that label or become non-existent. The majority of the software development community sees small business as a means to get by until they find something better to do. I don't.</p> <div style="clear: both;"> </div> <p><img src="/Portals/0/Blog/Files/1/10/022809_0132_WhyAreSmall1.png" alt="" /></p><a href=http://wickerlight.com/Blog/tabid/142/EntryId/10/Why-Are-Small-Business-s-Website-Needs-Underserved.aspx>More...</a> http://wickerlight.com/Blog/tabid/142/EntryId/10/Why-Are-Small-Business-s-Website-Needs-Underserved.aspx editor@wickerlight.com http://wickerlight.com/Blog/tabid/142/EntryId/10/Why-Are-Small-Business-s-Website-Needs-Underserved.aspx#Comments http://wickerlight.com/Blog/tabid/142/EntryId/10/Why-Are-Small-Business-s-Website-Needs-Underserved.aspx Sat, 28 Feb 2009 01:32:24 GMT 0 http://www.wickerlight.com/DesktopModules/Blog/Trackback.aspx?id=10 <p>P.J. Fusco writes a good list of things to look out for when performing SEO on your website.  I only wish I can trim it down to a top-5 list.</p><a href=http://wickerlight.com/Blog/tabid/142/EntryId/9/SEO-Best-Practices-Search-Engine-Optimization.aspx>More...</a> http://wickerlight.com/Blog/tabid/142/EntryId/9/SEO-Best-Practices-Search-Engine-Optimization.aspx editor@wickerlight.com http://wickerlight.com/Blog/tabid/142/EntryId/9/SEO-Best-Practices-Search-Engine-Optimization.aspx#Comments http://wickerlight.com/Blog/tabid/142/EntryId/9/SEO-Best-Practices-Search-Engine-Optimization.aspx Wed, 25 Feb 2009 19:49:00 GMT 0 http://www.wickerlight.com/DesktopModules/Blog/Trackback.aspx?id=9 <p>Plainly put. DotNetNuke is pretty nice. DotNetNuke is a content management system (CMS) I started using it about a year ago. I developed some sites with pretty heavy control panel and data access functionality and I immediately became a convert. If you passed up DNN before, you made a grave mistake my friend. </p> <p>Give it another shot. The support is good, the flexibility is there and I think the best thing is that there are people using it. If you are a patient person, you'll share my top 5 reasons why you should use DotNetNuke.</p> <p>It is important to note that DNN's control panel support is not its strong suit.</p><a href=http://wickerlight.com/Blog/tabid/142/EntryId/8/Why-Should-I-Use-DotNetNuke-DNN.aspx>More...</a> http://wickerlight.com/Blog/tabid/142/EntryId/8/Why-Should-I-Use-DotNetNuke-DNN.aspx editor@wickerlight.com http://wickerlight.com/Blog/tabid/142/EntryId/8/Why-Should-I-Use-DotNetNuke-DNN.aspx#Comments http://wickerlight.com/Blog/tabid/142/EntryId/8/Why-Should-I-Use-DotNetNuke-DNN.aspx Wed, 25 Feb 2009 06:27:28 GMT 0 http://www.wickerlight.com/DesktopModules/Blog/Trackback.aspx?id=8 <p>I have this shiny new blog. It's ready for the big time. I am comfortable editing and managing it. Now I have to figure out how to make this blog work for my website.</p><a href=http://wickerlight.com/Blog/tabid/142/EntryId/6/How-Can-Blogging-Help-Promote-My-Website.aspx>More...</a> http://wickerlight.com/Blog/tabid/142/EntryId/6/How-Can-Blogging-Help-Promote-My-Website.aspx editor@wickerlight.com http://wickerlight.com/Blog/tabid/142/EntryId/6/How-Can-Blogging-Help-Promote-My-Website.aspx#Comments http://wickerlight.com/Blog/tabid/142/EntryId/6/How-Can-Blogging-Help-Promote-My-Website.aspx Tue, 24 Feb 2009 01:15:21 GMT 0 http://www.wickerlight.com/DesktopModules/Blog/Trackback.aspx?id=6 <p>Ok. Now that I am done playing, I'll take a minute to reflect how cool this is. It takes the interface out of the equation when it comes to posting your blog. Everyone knows how to use word and the setup procedure is easy.</p><a href=http://wickerlight.com/Blog/tabid/142/EntryId/5/Look-What-I-Can-Do-Posting-to-a-blog-Via-Microsoft-Word-2007.aspx>More...</a> http://wickerlight.com/Blog/tabid/142/EntryId/5/Look-What-I-Can-Do-Posting-to-a-blog-Via-Microsoft-Word-2007.aspx editor@wickerlight.com http://wickerlight.com/Blog/tabid/142/EntryId/5/Look-What-I-Can-Do-Posting-to-a-blog-Via-Microsoft-Word-2007.aspx#Comments http://wickerlight.com/Blog/tabid/142/EntryId/5/Look-What-I-Can-Do-Posting-to-a-blog-Via-Microsoft-Word-2007.aspx Mon, 23 Feb 2009 03:11:17 GMT 0 http://www.wickerlight.com/DesktopModules/Blog/Trackback.aspx?id=5