What is LikeGuide.me

Like Guide is a unique Social Travel Guide, a website that organizes the disorganized and connects the disconnected. Like Guide is listing 10 most popular places in city based on Facebook Likes, Mentions (how many people are actually talking about venue) and check-ins (how many people have been in particular place).

How and Why Like Guide was born?

If You try to search in Facebook for best “bars in Riga” or “hotels in Riga”, You can’t find by category, only results with words “bar” or “Riga” will appear. For prototype we choose travel oriented Likes: Eat, Drink, Sleep, Party, See, Do. As You can imagine, there are even more direction where it’s possible to go.

LikeGuide.me team in Garage48 Valmiera

I think we were the only team without designer.

1. Austin Nicholas (LikeGuide.me pitch author),
2. Kiril Menshikov,
3. Serge Savranchuk,
4. Rihards Sceredins,
5. Rolands Umbrovskis (Me. Joined after SelectATrip).

What’s next?

Team of LikeGuide.me will meet this week again, then we will see.

Other teams and projects at Garage48 Valmiera

All teams and projects You can find at garage48.org blog . My main aim was to join geolocation related team.

GiveGIF (winners) – Simple mobile app to take pictures and create GIF animations.

Fastr – speed reading iPad application. Fastr app will improve your reading skills, maximizing your ability to handle information that matters to you.

From very beginning I liked project idea of  “Pirmie soļi” (first steps), because I had similar project in Greece, when I was working there as volunteer, So if team of LikeGuide.me would not be ready, I bet i choose this project.

OneScanBuy – A platform for retail shops to collect orders from customers using iOS and Android mobile devices. My favorite project. Amazing job done in just 48 hours.

You need to be there – Fail fast, fail cheap

For me it was like experiment to work within wider team. I learned something new and will go to another event of Garage48.

WordPress plugin coding

If I create plugin for WordPress theme, I am hardening that, so that this function will make sure, that futures are theme independent, if for some reason someone would like to change WordPress theme. In this case, if function is displaying content for private reading (for membership pages), it will still available in other themes as well.

Pluses by developing WordPress plugin:

• WordPress theme theme independent,
• cross theme usage,
• more freedom to turn on and off.

Minus(es):

• harder to implement in theme

WordPress theme feature coding

But if You are using only one theme for site (custom design for site), I’m sure You can make functions as features for WordPress theme. This is good for specific placement of information, like sidebars or footer information.

WP theme feature pluses:

• good support of WordPress theme  hacks and hooks,
• compatible with WordPress theme.

Minus(es):

• sometimes theme administrations panel can come with too much options

So, before creating WordPress theme options page, think about plugin replacements!

There are many more pros and cons… What’s Yours?

In this post I will give some useful links to some applications, how to integrate Your/clients products and services in FaceBook.com fan pages. What we will put on Fan page:

• Information about company
• Contact information
• Some latest news and/or Blog RSS
• Customer support information

Setting Up Your FaceBook Fan Page

First of all we will need to create an FaceBook.com Fan page. Easy instruction on step-by-step basis. After all basic information is included. Based on Your needs, You have to make choice what for You will use Your fan page.Later it will be easier to add more applications.

Static FBML

With Static FBML it’s very easy to create new tab on fan page, filling with basic rich content (HTML, CSS, Flash). Since it’s extended HTML (It use FaceBook HTML features), You can event create some greeting text for users, based on their profile information. This is nice start where to include Your logo, product image, promotional or links to Your home page’s content pages.

After Static FBML it’s time to create Your own FaceBook application for Fan page.

Simply RSS

Another great application is Simply RSS. If You have RSS feed from Your blog or news page, this will add them to page and Your profile. Simply paste Your RSS feeds in form and add them to page.

It’s easy…

This is just start point while I’m working on my first FaceBook application.

For now on my To-Do list:

1. make for widget separate administration page,
2. rewrite JSON parsing script from Javascript to PHP,
3. and remove counter* and make it optional.

*counter reads ONLY clicks on profile and page links, nothing more

Next on list

An FaceBook.com application for pages and profiles. Now testing.

Download page for WordPress plugin on WordPress.org http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/draugiemlvlapas-fan-page/