Marc Mulzer

I wrote a mini newsletter sender in CI.I discovered that using SMTP the email will send just find and of reports no error even for a bad address (unless it is local). Not much later a bounce will come back to the inbox.how can one automate the process of getting the bounce and then updating a db saying it bounced. Is the only way to check the mail using POP3 or IMAP? does CI have a mail ‘checking’ class?

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 09:01:12 -0400

Hey there! Great question. I use the php mailer class, which provides much richer functionality. check it out here: http://phpmailer.worxware.com/

You will need to extend the MY_Email class if you wish to use the autoloader function. You can find examples in the codeigniter forums.

More recently, I started using an external SMTP mailer service, which provides the more advanced list management features you are looking for.

the one I use is http://mailjet.com If you combine this with a mailing list, then you can manage bounces through their interface, rather than trying to code it all yourself. plus, you get rich statistics, better email ranking, less spam, etc. Basic plan is free, you can send 6.000 emails a month. Good luck!

FusionLeaf

Sun, 10 Mar 2013 12:51:39 -0400

FusionLeaf:

FusionLeaf CMS is an open source content management system written in PHP. Geared more for developers, the CMS includes all the tools necessary to take control of your website. FusionLeaf Stack is a preconfigured web platform which includes Adminer, Apache, Memcached, MariaDB, MySQL, Nginx, and PHP.

Font Dragr

Tue, 16 Oct 2012 11:51:20 -0400

Font Dragr

25 Hand Picked Sans Serif Google Fonts

Mon, 15 Oct 2012 18:06:46 -0400

25 Hand Picked Sans Serif Google Fonts

More Google Fonts That Don't Suck

Mon, 15 Oct 2012 18:06:18 -0400

More Google Fonts That Don't Suck

Beautiful Web Type

Mon, 15 Oct 2012 18:05:35 -0400

Beautiful Web Type

Fontello - easy iconic fonts composer

Sat, 13 Oct 2012 19:38:00 -0400

Fontello - easy iconic fonts composer

the programmer's lightbox tool

Wed, 10 Oct 2012 10:49:25 -0400

the programmer's lightbox tool

Facebook events for dummies guide

Wed, 26 Sep 2012 04:41:00 -0400

Great! So you have a facebook page for your business! That’s awesome. What’s even more awesome is the fact that some people actually think your business is cool and clicked “Like”. Say this again, facebook marketer: “They like my business.”

This is the equivalent of a hot chick giving you her phone number at a bar and saying: “I just met you, it’s kind of crazy, but here’s my number. Call me MAYBE.” You wouldn’t conference call that hot chick with a bunch of your buddies the very next day and ask her to attend your “Super awesome butt sex party at my house!”, right? Well, maybe you could get away with it if you were a male top model, played quarterback for the NFL, or had 10 platinum discs for your last Hip Hop album on the wall. You are neither a stripper, nor a pro athlete or Billion dollar record artist. So you maybe wait a couple of days, and then casually ask for a second date. You do this one-on-one, in private, and then, MAYBE she will accept. MAYBE.

So facebook marketers, here’s the deal: Facebook events are a pain in the ass for your customers. They bear high risk that customers will abandon your page altogether.

Why are facebook events are bad idea?

People have no choice to prevent you from sending an unsolicited invite except to block you specifically in their privacy settings. This means, they MUST act in one way or the other. Otherwise, the invite will just pop up and continue to linger on their facebook front page and the events list.

“Facebook Idiot invited you to Awesome Butt Sex Party.” Hello!?
The actual RSVP process in facebook is becoming more and more involved. Recently, facebook added a “Reason Why” step to the decline process. People are now being prompted with the option to post a reason on your wall why they decided they have no time to join in on the fun.
Facebook events are public and everyone can see who’s going and who’s not. This may be cool for some, others just don’t want to mess with the added exposure.

There are a couple more reasons you could probably come up with, but I’ll leave that to you to ponder about.

So how can you make facebook invites less annoying?

Here some tips:

Know how the invite process works. Be sure you understand from a client’s point of view what you are asking them to do and agree to.
Don’t interpret the “Like” on your wall as permission to solicit anything and everything. This goes for all facebook communications, really. Ask permission first so you know if people would like to receive invites from you.
Be responsible about forcing the audience to take action. An event invite is not as easy to ignore as your boring page updates. Don’t use events if a simple wall post will do.
Think about your audience and where they live. It makes no sense to invite someone to an event if the chance is 0% they can attend. For example, if you are hosting a seminar in Rhode Island that’s an hour long, chances are, people from Texas are probably not going to fly in to attend it.
Consider the context. Are you serving beer? It would be inappropriate to invite minors. Celebrating Bacon Day? Maybe not such a great idea to blast it out to your global audience with a variety of faiths and dietary preferences.
Be aware that your event shows on your audiences wall if they accept or decline. Keep the title clean and neat, so that people who actually want to attend don’t have to think twice.

So here is a is a super-easy process I go through to get people to attend my event.

When people first like my page, I follow up with a personal email:

“Thanks for liking our page. We are thrilled you want to stay in touch with us on facebook. On occasion, we host totally awesome seminars that have ridiculous value and are super fun. These are exclusive events only our facebook friends will be invited to. Would you care if we included you on our RSVP list?”
Weeks before the event, I blast a short note on my facebook page:
“Hey folks, summer is fast approaching! Remember we throw a kick-ass pool party every year in July specifically for our awesome facebook friends. Final date for this year is not yet decided. Like this post if you want to be on the exclusive invite list!
When I create the event, I check my audience. I only invite people who I think can make it if it’s a local event. I try to take lots of pictures, or maybe record the event, so that remote people can still feel included. Here the facebook post that goes along with it:

“Hey Rhode Island peeps, our dream seminar date is finalized for the end of the month and invites will go out shortly. For everyone else, we’ll be recording it and you will be able to watch the highlights on youtube. Like this post and we’ll send you the private link when it’s ready.
I make sure the event page is clean, free of errors and has a specific date and time, as well as directions and any other important information: Dress code? Payment options? Cancellation Fees? Specific Details and maybe stuff they must bring. I double-check the event title and make sure it is safe for work. I create a custom list of attendees based on their preferences and invite only those. Then I click send.

If you want to read more tips on how to rule the social media feed, check out Jon Goodman’s “Race To The Top.” It is a short read and chock full of proven facebook marketing strategies you can use right away.

Like this post? Share your thoughts or follow me on twitter (@marcmulzer).

Google Code Prettify

Sun, 26 Aug 2012 15:00:47 -0400

Google Code Prettify

My Notes for Installing Zimbra OSE on Ubuntu Server 10.04 LTS

Thu, 23 Aug 2012 14:27:08 -0400

My Notes for Installing Zimbra OSE on Ubuntu Server 10.04 LTS

A scalable real-time backend for your website

Thu, 16 Aug 2012 21:21:57 -0400

A scalable real-time backend for your website:

firebase.com

Build Real-Time Apps
Real-time is hard. Firebase makes it the default. Firebase apps respond automatically to data changes as they occur, bringing a whole new level of interactivity to your users.
Make Servers Optional
D…

8 Google Chrome Extensions to Boost Your Productivity Matt...

Mon, 13 Aug 2012 08:22:19 -0400

8 Google Chrome Extensions to Boost Your Productivity
Matt Silverman, mashable.com

1. Screen Capture
Screenshots will only render what’s visible on your monitor. If you want to grab an entire web page, this handy extension couldn’t be simpler to use.
Click here to view this gallery.
Google Chrome is the go-to brows…

Protect Your Mac’s Data From Hackers – We’ll Tell You How On The...

Fri, 10 Aug 2012 08:24:28 -0400

Protect Your Mac’s Data From Hackers – We’ll Tell You How On The CultCast
Erfon Elijah, cultofmac.com

The heat shield is off and the supersonic parachute is deployed – this episode of the CultCast is ready for touchdown!
On this new ep., we ponder the Mars Curiosity Rover, and how a team full of Mac users landed it safely on another…

Hack & Slash RPG - A Unity3D Game Engine Tutorial | BurgZerg Arcade

Tue, 07 Aug 2012 17:26:02 -0400

Hack & Slash RPG - A Unity3D Game Engine Tutorial | BurgZerg Arcade

fruux | Contacts. Calendars. Tasks - Always in sync.

Tue, 31 Jul 2012 20:25:43 -0400

fruux | Contacts. Calendars. Tasks - Always in sync.

http://www.boostinspiration.com/resources/best-free-website-builders/

Tue, 24 Jul 2012 13:59:21 -0400

http://www.boostinspiration.com/resources/best-free-website-builders/

http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/tutorials/ultimate-guide-html-emails/

Sat, 21 Jul 2012 19:31:06 -0400

http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/tutorials/ultimate-guide-html-emails/

http://blog.fogcreek.com/webputty-css-editing-goes-boink/?fccmp=webputty

Mon, 09 Jul 2012 06:09:00 -0400

http://blog.fogcreek.com/webputty-css-editing-goes-boink/?fccmp=webputty

Virtual hosts on Apache 2.2

Fri, 06 Jul 2012 12:31:52 -0400

Virtual hosts on Apache 2.2