In the last week of August, I flew to London, UK, to present two training courses about OpenX. Thomas Telford Ltd., the knowledge business of the Institute of Civil Engineers in the UK, had asked me to come over.

The first session was with a group of developers at Thomas Telford. They had been using OpenX for a while, but wanted to know more about the advanced features in the latest versions. We discussed various subjects, including all the different types of invocation code and their advantages and disadvantages. Then we spent time on techniques for targeting ads using page URL targeting, source parameter, and geotargeting. At the end of the session, we turned our attention to the future of OpenX, tackling subjects like the API.

The second session had a different focus. This time a group of traffickers from inside Thomas Telford and from one of their clients wanted to learn all about creating the ad inventory in OpenX. We talked about setting up advertisers and campaigns, and all the settings one can use to tweak campaign delivery. We also went over the various types of ads that can be defined in OpenX, and how to run creatives from external sources like ad networks. At the end of this session, we briefly touched on targeting again, this time from a campaign management perspective.

I would like to thank Matt Pull at Thomas Telford for asking me to come over. I had a great time in London. Judging from the responses from course delegates, it was time spent very well.

If you’re interested in a similar training session for your company or team, why don’t you contact me to discuss your requirements. I’d be happy to put together a training program just for you.

Your domain name is the first point of contact on the internet. It is a vital part of the address of your website and of your e-mail address. You’ll be using that domain name for a long time, so it’s crucial to spend some time deciding on the best name, to find out if that name is available and to register a few variations of that domain name. In this article, I will present some tips and suggestions about the steps involved.
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With the release of OpenX 2.6, many people will want to upgrade their OpenX (or Openads) system to be able to use all the exciting new features and user interface improvements. Not everybody, however, has the time, the skill or the experience to perform the upgrade themselves with confidence. I’m offering an Upgrade Service for this. For a fixed price, your OpenX software will be upgraded to the most recent stable version of OpenX 2.6.

Please review the OpenX upgrade service description document (PDF, 19 KB, new window) for detailed information.

If you’re interested, you can contact me directly via the OpenX consulting request form on this website.

I wanted to share with you a video that was published today on TED.com. It’s a talk given by Kevin Kelly, the editor of Wired and well known author of many books on biology, business, technology and the internet.

Mr. Kelly talked about the fact that the world wide web we know today is only 5,000 days old. He describes how it was impossible to imagine the current day web back then, and also that we are unable to image what it will evolve into over the next 5,000 days.

Instead of me trying to describe what’s in this talk, why don’t you view it yourself? In less than 20 minutes you’ll get a birds eye view of the development of the web, looking back 5,000 days and 5,000 days into the future.

Just before the weekend, OpenX.org announced the availability of the new OpenX Consultants Directory. This directory helps OpenX users (and people considering to start using OpenX) to find an independent consultant. Consultants offer their services to help with various jobs such as installation, configuration, upgrading, training, and website integration.

I’m listed too, no surprises there (just look me up). The new directory has a short form for every single consultant, to quickly request support in any of the areas mentioned. The directory also shows, for each consultant listed, their contributions to the OpenX community by participating in the OpenX support forums.

I’m very much in favor of this new open market place for OpenX consultancy, and I think it provides a tremendous opportunity for consultants looking to offer their services to the ever growing community of OpenX users world wide. I’d like to encourage anyone who feels they qualify as a consultant to register to be listed on the new directory.

In the future, OpenX will also be adding a client feedback feature, so you’ll be able to see what other people think about the services provided by the various consultants.