Just The Basics

If you read the post that leads into this For Your Career, Start Here, you should now be a member of my online group on LinkedIn. If not, go check it out, and then come back here when you are done.

This post will start you in helping set up your environment for development.

Well that guy just above is enthusiastic about getting started, but if we don't get organized first, we will all have a tough time following along.

Let's begin. The first tool I want to share with you is a tool called dropbox. You won't need it for what I am about to share, but you might want it for your own personal use. If you want to get involved or actively participate, you will need to do just a couple of things so that we can collaborate. In the following screen recording, I will tell you about what those steps are. So, take a look at the video, get connected and then I will take you on a tour.

Now, that we have access to dropbox, we can get to some files that we will be using for development.

Don't worry if you are waiting for code. We are setting up a solid foundation for sharing with one another. Get ready to share and find out in my next post: Why We Share.

Kickoff! And It's Not The Super Bowl

I just wanted to share with my visitors that what appears to be limited site activity; is just an appearance to be limited activity. I hope you are ready. But it does not matter if you are not. You can even be confused as that will be ideal, because what you need is clarity.

Professional Programmers Should Provide Clarity

Learning about computers should not be difficult.

In my next post, I will share you the bare bones of web development.

We are going for the how to approach. And what I am going to share with you, many other professionals, companies and support for books you buy, will not.

Here is what others are concerned about that I am not:

• Job Security - what I share will be the best of what I know, but will be nothing compared to what I will know. I focus on constant improvement and believe sharing among professionals is valuable for all.
• Making Money Doing This - money can be good, but my focus is on quality first. If you like what you read and it helps you, please donate to my paypal account. The money will be used to invest in the development community so as I grow, you can too.
• Making my blog the center of the universe - If you have something valuable to share, I would rather share it that re-write it.

A few paragraphs and three dot points aren't enough to tell you about what I want to share with you, so follow along for a little while. I don't expect your trust until I earn it.

So, I ask that you give me a chance to prove that my focus is on you, for one reason.

I think it's time for people to be treated like people by providing the personal touch. I have a budget of $0.00, no staff, and extremely limited resources. Luckily, that's enough.

All of this is free. But, there is a catch. I want you to get involved, so I can grow and you can too.

Talk to you soon.

Chris

Knowledge Sharing

I am getting some rest right now battling a sinus infection, but there are others hard at work, so let me share with you, because it doesn't have to come from me. And this may be the shortest blog post, but still offering up a great deal of content. Check out Chris Bogan's List of Interesting Blogs. You can find out more of what Chris has to say on twitter at  http://twitter.com/chrisbrogan.

I can share more with you if you enjoy content of online professionals that are not part of the social network, but in a more work related area of which I call the professional network or #ProNetwork as I call it on twitter.

What do you think?

ESRI Web ADF Print Task - Up Next; It's About The Turkey

With the ESRI Web ADF on it's way out the door, I plan on posting a PrintTask just like the one I did for the JSAPI 2.1. So bookmark this page or get notified through RSS.

If you are looking forward to the XML, there is no reason to worry. I have already tested most of the PrintTask for the Web ADF. I am planning to do one for Silverlight and YahooMaps as well. They will be next.

Thanksgiving is coming up and so is Black Friday. If you are not from the US and possibly don't know what I mean. This Thursday Americans eat outside of their means and the next day we spend outside of our means. I am only kidding, but shopping the day after Thanksgiving can be quite wild.

But on Thanksgiving, it's a buffet of food. And for the code hungry, I am going to post a code buffet. Since it's a buffet, your food for thought will not be in one programming language. I plan on feeding you some basic knowledge for commenting syntax and structure. Here's the knowledge menu.

Now the Web ADF has been a thorn in my side in programming right at the start. I thought it was me, but ESRI is dropping the Web ADF.

For our main course and the knowledge turkey will be the ESRI Web ADF Print Task. It will be just like the PrintTask I wrote about for the ESRI JSAPI 2.1.

Now with our main course out of the way. We are going to lay out the table with a full spread of XML writing through code. Each will result in the exact same XML file, but will be processed differently. and the dishes are;

- VBA in MS Access topped with a GUI
- VBScript served plain
- HTA stuffed with VBScript
- Perl served plain
- Visual Basic.NET and C# topped with a GUI and peppered with parameters for input
- Python sauteed with silly comments providing we have a wind blowing in a direction that is not opposite of the direction we had hoped for, unless it is a Tuesday or are making a left turn (if you're not familiar with it, Python related to Monty Python; so humor or an attempt at it is encouraged)
- Java caffeine free
- Sybase PowerScript for PowerBuilder but the GUI has been filleted

and for dessert, a dynamic web based resume presented with a splash of CSS topped with a Twitter and LinkedIn widget

XML appetizers will be provided before, during and after the knowledge feast.

And if you are worried about missing all of this free code and missing Black Friday specials, I will share specials with you too. But if you must shop, by all means shop. But if you are riveted to the spot enjoying one code course after another, I will do my best to share some things right here with you. I have also been having fun with these Amazon ads because, guess what; they are widgets. And I think web gadgets are pretty cool. Yes, I like that word.

I look forward to sharing with you. If you would like to bring a knowledge plat of your own, please feel free to cook some code up and share it with us.

So, Happy Thanksgiving. Enjoy.

Twitter World – Part 2

Welcome back. If you completed your assignment from Twitter World, you now have a digital head shot picture, a twitter name, and a little description about yourself.
So, let’s head on over to Twitter and create an account.

• Click the link above if you haven’t already and it should take you to a page similar to the one displayed below.

Click Sign Up Now.
At this point, you will be on the Join the Conversation Page.
On this page:
1. Enter your first and last name in the box next to the text that  displays Full name.
2. Pick a user name. I picked twhitterWorld for this example.
3. Enter your password and e-mail address.
4. Uncheck, let others find me by my e-mail address. We’ll get you connected, but in a Pro Network way.
5. Uncheck, send me the inside scoop. You can come back and enable this later if you like once you become comfortable with twitter, but if you feel you have enough e-mail, it’s best to skip this for now.



6. Click Create my account.


7. Three steps of rejection and one step of validation and you will have a twitter account.
8. On the page for suggestions; you’re learning in a tutorial, the last thing you need is to become sidetracked by suggestions.
9. Scroll down to the bottom of Step 1 suggestions and click step.





10. Now you are on the friends page. You don’t need any, not yet. Don’t worry, you will find them, in a Pro Network way.
11. Scroll down and click Next step: others.


 
12. Now this is interesting, but I recommend that you skip looking for things that interest you. You already know what interests you and by using twitter in a Pro Network manner, sources of finding what interests you, will take care of itself.


13. Last step in the setup. Click Next step: You’re done! At this point you’re almost done.


14. Click , Please confirm your account and this will send an e-mail to the e-mail address you entered earlier.


15. Open your e-mail application and you should have either received or soon receive an e-mail from twitter.
16. Open the e-mail and copy the link to confirm you account.
17. Paste the link into your browser URL.
18. You will be taken to a page like the one displayed below.


19. Select Login and then enter your user name and password.
20. Once you are logged in, you’re page will look similar to the following.


We are going to stop here and in the next post, we are going to go through twitter settings. But before you go, we are going to change just two settings.
Select Settings. Change your the time zone appropriate to your location and then check the box that displays protect my tweets and then click save.
You will be hidden from others for now, but you will soon be connected using the Pro Network method.
Talk to you very soon with Twitter World – Part 3 Tweak the Twitter Settings

Twitter World

Like e-mail, social networks are becoming common knowledge. But if you are in the group that is too confused to even ask a question, you have come to the right place as there will be a series on Twitter World. It’s going to be short posts that take you through every step from signing up for a twitter account to taming the beast social networks can become.

With no further ado, let’s talk twitter. Simply put, Twitter is the equivalent of passing notes to one another; short notes, but with access to the world. Twitter can be used for socializing, following your favorite celebrity around, and other things. But my focus will demonstrate how Twitter can be used to get your work done. If you have unlimited funds, resources and knowledge; you may not want to use social networks. However, if you are not in that category, you can’t afford not to know about pro networking and how to use it effectively.

I think that just about covers everything. Wait! Where’s the information? Well, simply put I told you my posts will be short. But, you have an assignment for the next post of creating a twitter account and here it is:

Gather the following and there will be questions about what you need, but I will cover the why I recommend the following and the pros and cons to them:

• Pick a user name; ideally your real name
• Take digital picture of yourself; head shot only please
• Think about, what people do you want to connect with(using twitter for fun) or who you need to connect with(using twitter for work) and then write a short description about you

With that, in the next post I will go step by step on creating you first twitter account.

Talk to you soon.

Chris

My First Lunch Blog

Right now I have bloggers block, but I will go with that. With everyone tightening their money belts; this fits in with what I have frequently had to do in my professional career; develop whatever is asked with limited resources, knowledge, and time. But I have always had a wild card, many of you know of the online version as social networking, but the spin on that term is pro networking. If you follow me on twitter or see who I follow on twitter, these people are invested professionals. An invested professional is someone that gives/receives feedback for professional personal growth. As I am writing this blog new “tweets” are popping up with twhirl, which I highly recommend if you want to tweet from your desk without keeping a browser window open with the temptation of reading every tweet that is posted.

If you don’t know what twitter is, I am going to do a little write up about it; not how everyone uses it, how I use it; for the purpose of a Pro Network tool. This is the beginning of a series of posts that I will be writing about twitter and Pro Networking tools. Now I am not saying my way is the best way to use the tools that will appear in future posts; in fact I know it isn’t. That’s the power of Pro Networks. Most everyone I follow on twitter, is more knowledgeable than I am, but I help when I can. Is my help always good? No, but you can’t grow in any professional network or career if you don’t try.

Follow me on my twitter page or link to my blog as I will be posting “simple” step by step posts and for those of you that use these same tools or just what to know what they are. For those of you that are in the know, I need your “Pro Network” feedback, otherwise I will need to change my blog to “Clueless Chris”; well, if it gets visitors I can go for that. If you are just here to find out what this is all about and have questions, ask them. It might be the piece of knowledge that you need to understand what you might see as mumbo jumbo.

Talk to you soon.

Chris

Social Networks Go Pro

It's Not Really All "Social" Do you use Twitter? That's a question that I frequently ask people with a common response of, "No, I don't use those things." It seems people think sites like Twitter, Facebook and others, are sites just for socializing. They can be, and for some it's a way to unwind and have fun, but we aren't going to talk about Social Networks. There are professionals who have to get their work done with finite resources and the perception that these are strictly online toys can actually hinder the ability to do ones job. Due to various circumstances that limit access to resources, information or training; there was still a need to for continuous knowledge to do my job. After talking to many people from all over the world, this is by no means unique. Enter Pro-Networks. The difference between Social Networks and Pro-Networks are not based on what is used but how it is used. Many professionals have used forums to ask questions, RSS feeds to obtain the latest information and e-mail to interact with one another. Finally, I have had the opportunity to work in a whole new way. The first tool I use is Twitter, which you can check out at http://twitter.com/ That is my picture over their on the left, you can see what I am asking, saying or whining about on Twitter. You can even click on the "Join" link to sign up for twitter or click on my name at the top to go to my twitter page which will give you the opportunity to see who I interact with, follow or follows me. I program in Geographic Information Systems for the web and use Twitter to ask others questions about what I am working on, answer other Twitter users questions or we work together with ad-hoc brainstorming and to solve whatever is asked, basically helping one another to eliminate the road block that keeps us from doing our job. Sometimes I need to ask a question, provide information or answers in detail; then Twitter won't cut it. Its limit of 140 characters per entry does not allow it. Providing Information To provide information or answer a question, I use a Speed Blog. An example of this is at: My SpeedBlog It's a blog that I have no plan on doing except in the process of working on something. I post updates on Twitter using what is called a hashtag. I will say what I am doing and include a hashtag for my project and will state that my speedblog has been updated. It would something like this: I am trying to figure out why my #CollaborationApp isn't working and have posted it to my #SpeedBlog. Asking Questions Okay, I will use the SpeedBlog to ask questions in greater detail, but forums and online groups are ideal places to tap into the knowledge of others or can also be used to share our own knowledge. A site that I frequently go to is http://sitepoint.com/forums/ and the information is sent to one of my e-mail accounts. In addition to forums, I belong to a Google group called Lone GIS Pro. If you work with GIS; if you look around and there is no one to ask technical questions that relate to you job, you are a Lone GIS Pro. Responses or updates about the group are sent to my GMail account. Lightning Info I am quickly going to mention a few other resources and what I use them for in respect to Pro-Networks. I started using Facebook to keep in touch with classmates about future class reunions. On all of the home pages of my websites I have a mashup for any Amber Alerts. An example of one is here on my site in the left column, if there is one active:  The Amber Alert feed in the left hand column is automatically updated. I always hope that there is nothing to report and wish it had it had more information than it does such as a map and other features so a reported child could be found as quickly as possible. Flickr is something that I enjoy using to upload photos to automatically update my maps; I still want to get a camera that has geo-tagging, but for now I can use a free resource. If you create a Flickr account, you can upload your photos and place them on a map on the Flickr site. If you have an account with Google, you can register for a key to add a Google map to your website for free. If I went out, took a picture and uploaded it to Flickr; I could then place it on my map. The picture would then appear automatically on my Google map on my site as seen here: Flickr Pictures on Google Maps With all these resources where is all the valid help? Do you go to page after page finding the same unanswered question? I do. Once I find an answer, I want immediate access to it from wherever I am. I don't want to tell someone; let me go take a look on my computer to check for the link. Instead I use delicious. Some use twitter for displaying links for drive by dog and pony shows. I will come back to this in, "Putting it All Together". You can see a set of links for delicious right below my Twitter feed. The delicious feed is automatically updated, but if you want the details, you can go to: My Delicious All links are structured in a hierarchy starting with the category which I use a number for, so I could group information together. All links have valid help, otherwise they are removed. You can also create a delicious network. This way you can share valid links with others in your network and check if a member of you network has information posted about what you are looking for. When you post a link to delicious, you can a notification pop up on Twitter. Who wants to write twice? The last individual tool I will mention is LinkedIn . This is a site where you can share projects and news about your career with other professionals that work in similar fields or you just want to network with them professionally to know about career opportunities. Are these all the tools? Absolutely not, but it's not just about the tool, but the method on using the tools. Did I mention they all cost the same? They're free and the only cost is not using them. Putting it Together Its time to turn all these simple little tools into power tools using my number one hobby with technology; trying new gadgets, integrating, and automating. twitter; what I use it for and my recommendations for drive by dog and pony. I use twitter to ask/reply to questions technical/non-technical. There are times I will take a moment to whine with sarcasm or add a bit of dry humor. Other times I will say what I am doing; breaking programs, asking questions, posting information, and on occasion an, "Oh my, it worked." moment. "Drive by Dog and Pony Shows" are people posting links that are interesting, have something that will wow the twitter user, or a topic that the poster is passionate about. I have clicked on these links and some are interesting, some wow me, and some have good information. I want people to click on me links and I am sure everyone else wants people to click on theirs, but if they are valuable, why not structure them on some place like delicious? You can post to twitter from delicious and even turn it into and RSS feed. If you have questions about the following tools, please ask; but for now here is a list on what they are and how I use them daily. I have gmail, yahoo, Facebook, twitter, LinkedIn and other accounts; I do not want to check every account; what good are these tools if I have to do that? Well, I start my day off and fire up Digsby; it minimizes as an icon in my taskbar and all of the accounts I just mentioned let me know if there is anything new added. It even lets you add POP3, IMAP, Hotmail and AIOL/AIM accounts. Of the social networks I mentioned, you can also add MySpace. In you are someone that used many social networks as opposed to e-mail; try Ping.fm and treat yourself to a tool that supports over fifty social networks. With Digsby and Ping.fm, be careful, if you don't check the settings you might find them more powerful than you hoped. Also when you install these tools, read before you click; it's free so if you accept all defaults, you could get what you consider to be garbage add-ons. There are a few more tools that I will add to this blog, but for now I will provide one simple example. Say someone else is searching for a lost pet. Whenever someone is looking for one, they usually have a picture, let you know where it was last seen and ask you to contact them if you see the pet. Why not ask others in your networks? Post a link on delicious with a brief description and have it automatically post to twitter. Now if you are using twhirl, there is a setting that allow for the posting of you status to those over fifty social networks. So now you have really gotten the word out, but it gets better, a picture of the pet could be uploaded to flickr and by using drag and drop, the picture is geo-tagged. If you have a Google map on your website, the picture will automatically appear. No people know where the pet was lost, what it looks like, and they can also know the status as you update it. What kind of tools do you use and how do you use them? Looking forward to hearing from you. Talk to you soon. Chris Coming up on my next blog will cover how to use the tools and the process in using them: Impediment to Progress

Hi, I'm Chris

I have put off posting my first blog for some time, talking about tips and tricks and online social networks, but I want to back up for a moment. Let me take a moment to introduce myself; Hi, I'm Chris. I would like to answer two questions; the first I am frequently asked- "What do you do?" The response to this has always overwhelmed me, as I integrate and automate in an array of applications as this blog continues, you will see that I don't make a list to impress, it's just a list of apps that I have worked in. It would appear to be a difficult task to integrate apps, but thanks to collaboration and online social networks, my abilities to meet such requests are better than ever. The second question is one that I ask myself, how to utilize collaboration to facilitate the optimization of ones own abilities.   So, here I am. Having graduated from high school, which I have to believe, based on my grades, would place me in the rankings near the bottom of my graduating class and nearly failing a computer programming class while there; you might think that college isn't likely, and working/programming even less likely. This might have all come true, except that I had an accidental discovery. It's not the type of discovery that teaches you how to get rich, my discovery was going to be the building blocks that would shape the type of professional I am and has given me the opportunity to do the type of work that I love with the college degree that is in a completely different field, but as I continue to explain in my multi-part intro-blog; as I have told many, in a way I never left my degree program, rather I might have re-defined it's use. Amazingly, part of the process of re-defining the “what kind of professional do I want to be”, gave me the opportunity to meet my wife.   But we will get to that later.   In the late 80's, I thought that I would like programming as I liked video games and gadgets; not a lot of deep thought, but it was high school. So while I was in high school, I took a computer programming class and nearly failed, so I dropped it. After this, I never even considered a possibility of programming or even working with computers as part of my job let alone as a career.   For some time I went on thinking that what I wanted to accomplish would be given to me because I wanted it.   It wouldn't be for nearly another ten years, but in 1995, I was in junior college, I succeeded becaused something I wanted was given to me, ironically for the last time, because something happened, which caused my ethics to completely change.   That one next on; Ethics Evolving