Huge eBay store with Turbo Lister 2

If you are working with eBay and creating an eBay store, consider the free eBay Turbo Lister 2.

Download the software, create a sample listing, export the file. Then, on Excel, open the .csv file you exported, insert all your database on this file.

But there comes a problem - Turbo Lister 2 does not import file with line break. You have to remove all line breaks. And replace them with HTML break.

Bellow is a formula, just copy and past this formula on the Macro (under tools, on excel 2003). Where you see the number 9, substitute that for the column number where your description is (A=1, B=2, etc).



Sub line_break()
Dim TheCell As Range
Dim myReplaceWith$
myReplaceWith = "" (insite this brackets you put html br or p for paragraph - with <>)
For Each TheCell In ActiveSheet.UsedRange.Columns(9).Cells
With TheCell
If .HasFormula = False Then
.Value = Application.WorksheetFunction.Substitute(.Value, Chr(10), myReplaceWith)
.Value = Application.WorksheetFunction.Substitute(.Value, Chr(13), myReplaceWith)
.Value = Application.WorksheetFunction.Clean(.Value)
End If
End With
Next TheCell
End Sub


After you run this formula, save the file as .csv, and import to Turbo Lister. Then, upload all your items directly to eBay.

This is a simple way that will allow you to create an eBay store with information directly from your database in a few hours.

Good luck.


Ricardo Guimaraes
Avatar Interactive
http://www.avatarinteractive.com

phpBB anti-spam code

This is an extra anti-spam code to keep protecting your forum from bots that learned the user_name feature as detailed on the previous phpBB anti-spam post:


Open
/includes/usercp_register.php

search for this code:
$sql = "INSERT INTO " . USERS_TABLE . " (user_id, username, user_regdate, user_password, user_email, user_icq, user_website, user_occ, user_from, user_interests, user_sig, user_sig_bbcode_uid, user_avatar, user_avatar_type, user_viewemail, user_aim, user_yim, user_msnm, user_attachsig, user_allowsmile, user_allowhtml, user_allowbbcode, user_allow_viewonline, user_notify, user_notify_pm, user_popup_pm, user_timezone, user_dateformat, user_lang, user_style, user_level, user_allow_pm, user_active, user_actkey)
VALUES ($user_id, '" . str_replace("\'", "''", $username) . "', " . time() . ", '" . str_replace("\'", "''", $new_password) . "', '" . str_replace("\'", "''", $email) . "', '" . str_replace("\'", "''", $icq) . "', '" . str_replace("\'", "''", $website) . "', '" . str_replace("\'", "''", $occupation) . "', '" . str_replace("\'", "''", $location) . "', '" . str_replace("\'", "''", $interests) . "', '" . str_replace("\'", "''", $signature) . "', '$signature_bbcode_uid', $avatar_sql, $viewemail, '" . str_replace("\'", "''", str_replace(' ', '+', $aim)) . "', '" . str_replace("\'", "''", $yim) . "', '" . str_replace("\'", "''", $msn) . "', $attachsig, $allowsmilies, $allowhtml, $allowbbcode, $allowviewonline, $notifyreply, $notifypm, $popup_pm, $user_timezone, '" . str_replace("\'", "''", $user_dateformat) . "', '" . str_replace("\'", "''", $user_lang) . "', $user_style, 0, 1, ";


and after that line create a new line and paste this code:
if($HTTP_POST_VARS['user_aim'] == $HTTP_POST_VARS['user_yim']){ if($HTTP_POST_VARS['user_aim'] != ""){$sql = "";}}
if($HTTP_POST_VARS['user_aim'] == $HTTP_POST_VARS['user_msnm']){if($HTTP_POST_VARS['user_msnm'] != ""){$sql = "";}}
if($HTTP_POST_VARS['user_msnm'] == $HTTP_POST_VARS['user_yim']){if($HTTP_POST_VARS['user_yim'] != ""){$sql = "";}}
if(substr($HTTP_POST_VARS['user_email'],-2) == "ru"){ $sql = "";}



And that's it, you are done. Your forum now is a little more secure.

Ricardo Guimaraes
Avatar Interactive
http://www.avatarinteractive.com

Web 2.0, Facebook and Social Media sharing

This is a great article about Facebook and how to use the Social Media:

http://www.clickz.com/showPage.html?page=3626204

Extract from the article:

"For a vendor to just throw their brand into an application isn't going to succeed. They need to create more utility for our users… and if the brand is part of that, great"

"For marketers at this point, it's [not about] developing an application just to develop an application. It's about working very hard and studying the marketplace and developing an application the users will see utility in."

"You want to make sure that you're getting that social network advantage, which is sharing the application"

"...we wanted to have an experience that you'll push to other friends in your network."



Ricardo Guimaraes

Myspace Clone - Ning

Looks like that the Web 2.0 Myspace revolution is only beginning - we have now thousands of new social network websites coming up every day.

Of those that I tested, the one that looks not so bad is the Ning. This is a complete platform, and they offer you also the hosting, where users will upload pictures and videos.

But they are taking the profit for the Adsense. So if you are looking for a open source clone of Myspace, you will likely to have to pay for it.

Or you can start using Ning, create your social network, and do not pay to purchase code, do not pay to host, do not pay bandwidth to store photos and videos - but also do not generate money.

It is a choice, you can have a look at one example at http://mabrumiami.ning.com


Ricardo Guimaraes
Avatar Interactive

Digg clone - Pligg

There is a lot of fuzz around Digg.com, a News website. Registered users can post news, and they are allowed to vote - the most voted ones makes the first page.

This is Web 2.0, collaborative, the Internet community choses what is relevant, placing the news they want on the first page.

You can create your own Digg clone for your market - using open source Pligg.

Just go to http://www.pligg.com, download it and install, it uses PHP and MySQL, and installation is not difficult.

If you would like to see an example, http://www.marineair.info/pligg/

You can also show a picture with the news description on the first page, this will make your pligg more appealing.


Ricardo Guimaraes
Avatar Interactive

Second Life: do not wait to get in on the front end of this new workforce that will be coming.

"Second Life is not a video game. Its a virtual world. People use it for either a work place or to buy items. You can buy real items, instead of a website or the local mall, you can go into a virtual world. Others, use it for bisniuess, they can have online meetings. Instead of owning a wensite, you can own a virtual world to show off what your bisinuess has to offer. It is not a video game." Source: some youtube video.

http://www.secondlife.com/whatis/economy-graphs.php
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovL4pZod_gw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=synxFmQJ_0A&mode=related&search=
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_18/b3982001.htm


Meet me at the game: Ricardoavatar Kohime


Ricardo Guimaraes

Video: The Web 2.0 Revolution Started, and Video is # 1.

Here are the top video sites on the Web:


Web Property Visitors, July 2006 (in millions)

1. Yahoo Video 21.1
2. MySpace Videos 20.1
3. YouTube 16.1
4. MSN Video 14.6
5. AOL Video 10.5
6. Heavy 8.3
7. Google Video 6.8
8. Ebaum's World 5.4
9. iFilm 3.3
10. Break 2.6
11. Metacafe 2.0
12. Atom Films 1.3
13. Veoh 0.7
14. Grouper 0.5
15. Revver 0.2

Source: ComScore Media Metrix