I recently came across a problem in an ASP.NET MVC Web Application where it needed to upload an image with some extra form fields, but still have the controller’s post action testable. This seemed like an easy enough task, but I soon realized that in order to get the uploaded file from the view I had to grab it from the request object’s files collection. Doing this would make my testing harder, and, more drastically, decouple this action from the view model.
I scoured the Internet to find out why the magic behind binding the view model to the controller would not put the posted file in an argument alongside my strongly typed model. After coming to the conclusion that no direct articles or examples with my scenario existed, I turned to learning more about the binding that was taking place behind the scenes.
Last year I had a few rooms in my house repainted. In order to determine which company I would use for the work, I invited them to the house to quote the work. I showed them the rooms, told them the type of paint and color I wanted, and told them when I wanted the work done by.
Each company was able to calculate the amount of paint they needed, the cost of the paint and how many people would need to work on the project in order to have it done by my deadline. Having painted a multitude of rooms before my request, they were able to imagine potential obstacles before they happened and be fairly sure that they were not missing anything in their quote.
The resulting quotes were very precise and given to me with a high degree of confidence.
I just received two emails from Internet marketer Trey Smith. The first email’s subject line read:
“Update”
I didn’t read it.
But then about 90 minutes later, I received another email with the subject line:
“SERVER CRASH! (Woooo hooo!)”
I immediately opened it to learn what happened. It’s curiosity. The email read:
Setting Up Goals in Google Analytics
In the spirit of the new year, I’d love to see everyone resolve to make sure their website is working. No, I don’t mean I want to make sure you have a website that is functioning. I mean I want to make sure you’re getting value from it. I want to make sure it’s actually performing a function! If you have no idea how to do that or what I’m talking about, keep reading.
What’s a goal, you ask? Well, in Google Analytics, a “goal” is the completion of some task on your site. Though goals can get pretty complicated, I’ll just cover the most basic and popular one here. Too often the optional complexity scares people off. I don’t want to scare you off, I want you to start measuring the effectiveness of your site!
read more…
The office of MINDSCAPE at Hanon McKendry is located in the heart of Downtown Grand Rapids. It’s on the sixth floor of an old building next to Van Andel Arena.
When the elevators open on the sixth floor, visitors are treated to an open floor plan, a nice reception area, a nifty coffee bar, some fancy table and chairs for informal gatherings and a half-dozen nice cubes where information workers are busily executing strategies for website success.
It’s a great place to walk into, and a great atmosphere to work in. The free soft drinks, breakfast foods and a hidden cupboard full of M&Ms and trail mix add to the lure for workers.
Year Beginning: Focus on Giving
The MINDSCAPErs give back, delivering gifts to families in need through Family Promise of Grand Rapids
It’s the start of 2012 – the holiday charitable giving push is coming to an end. The holidays are one of the biggest times for nonprofits. More than half of their fundraising is done between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve. Have you seen the news updates? During this time of the year Goodwill receives so many of their donation totals.
Why don’t we give more during the year? Why are we compelled to give only at the end of the year? What difference could we make if we gave all year long?
Do I Need a New Website in 2012?
It’s 2012. Is this the year your website will work as hard as you do?
A well-planned, thoughtfully designed website that positions your business to grow like crazy using the power of the Web isn’t cheap. For a business owner or manager, it can be difficult to know just when to approve the investment in a new website. Below are some thought starters on when to pony-up.
Content = Publishing
People determine the success of a business. They ultimately decide whether a company, business or organization thrives or is driven into the ground headfirst. So wouldn’t you want to do everything you can for your people and provide them an outlet for their needs? Don’t know how? The solution is very simple: people crave compelling content.
People love stories.
Why Blog?
It happens so often. A business gets excited about the idea of blogging on their website. Post after post goes up, the bosses gush and everyone is excited. But the charm fizzles after a while, and a blog ends up totally inactive or as a catchall for sporadic self-promotional messages. Readers flee and the whole thing becomes, “Yeah, we tried it but it didn’t really work for us.”
As with any business initiative, successful blogging requires a plan. If executed properly, having a blog on your website offers many benefits to enhance your online presence. First, blogs provide current and relevant content to your site visitors. Trends in technology, new government or regulatory policies, discoveries for a new use of a product, etc. – anything that affects your industry is useful information to your readers.
You may have heard that Facebook officially rolled out the launch of their new Timeline feature today. Timeline features a radical redesign of users profile page; instead of merely listing your interests and personal info, the Timeline shows a detailed overview of your life on Facebook. Plus, it allows users to be a bit more creative in the design of their pages.
A few of us in the office activated the feature when it rolled out to developers in September. In honor of today’s public launch, we thought it would be fun to share with you some of our Timeline profiles.
