Dublicator

Green Energy and TeleComs in Africa

With the new year having started, and following on my article earlier HERE, one of my focus in 2012 also in terms of Web Design will be on “Green Energy”, picking up on a chapter I’ve always been actively involved in, also in my film work in Europe. I’ve spent some time over the holiday season to finally catch up on the African situation as a whole and South Africa in particular. After a number of discussions following COP 17 in Durban, I dug through heaps of materials collected at the AfricaCom Communications Congress in Cape Town (November 2011) to find out more about the correlation of Green Energy and TeleComs in Africa.

While “going green” has sort of become a marketing cliche that doesn’t rip people from their chairs anymore, the fact is that climate change and greenhouse gases affect and concern each and everyone of us – even down here in the relatively green boonies – and we better become aware of their potentially devastating impact on our environment, us as people and especially future generations.

Looking at the map indicating projected climatic changes for Africa – especially also for South Africa – the future is hot, dry and grim. No use pointing fingers any longer – it’s time to plan and, much more important: to ACT!

Fortunately, South Africa has serious plans in place – they ‘just’ have to be implemented :)

Green Energy and TeleComs in Africa

Seeing that AfricaCom reflected massive future-oriented planning and development on the African continent and being of the opinion that we should learn from the mistakes made predominantly in the industrialized Northern Hemisphere but not repeat them on our forgotten and comparatively poor continent where modern communication via handhold devices is and has been spreading like a wildfire over vast distances with no other form of communication and connection to the rest of the world, my interest was to see if and how TeleComs integrated the Green Energy concept in their massive operations in Africa.

While we take immediate note of the fact that “power” (electricity)  is a huge challenge throughout and this of course has decisive implications on how African countries operate and what their constraints and conflicts in terms of struggling and/or emerging economies in especially this connection are, the fact is that the ‘green’ element – in other words alternative energies – are increasingly part of the general planning, research and development. While this may seem like a drop in the ocean, it’s a beginning… and it creates awareness. It’s about TIME!

I listed a few examples to illustrate what some of the big TeleCom companies actually do:

1.
MTN : the company uses a new tri-generation power plant in Johannesburg (SA) to power data centres, offices and air-con systems. Here one needs to know that this 2-megawatt plant is powered by natural gas that is piped in over 874 km from Mozambique!!! It looks like a normal diesel engine but runs on methane! This tri-generation plant @ cost R32 million (about U$4 mio) allows MTN to register for the UN carbon credits project for corporates – a first in Africa! ROI is expected over 5 years due to large power savings from ESKOM (South Africa’s mega electricity mogul). This is a step forward…

2.
Meanwhile, MTN’s fierce competitior Vodacom say they are hard at work in terms of a low-carbon future. Their Vodafone Innovation Center in Jo’burg (SA) is powered by renewable energy. Expect something really ‘substantial’ over the next few years.

3.
Ericsson’s great “Millenium Villages” project (…connecting rural villages in Africa since 2007) focuses on renewable and sustainable electricity solutions using diesel, solar and wind power to turn their networks.

I add these:

4.
Samsung  launched its “Eco Management 2013 initiative” aiming at leading in sustainability within the industry… and being on track to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2013. They are already huge producers of mobile devices on the continent and their expansion plans in Africa are simply massive for 2012 alone! Good to see a environmentally conscious approach and clear goals set and implemented already.

5.
Apple has launched greener manufacturing initiatives and reduced its packaging of the iPhone leading to a reduction of 6% from the transportation of devices. They claim to be the “… only company in our industry that can claim that every product we sell not only meets but exceeds the strict energy guidelines of the Energy Star specification”.

 

While some may see all this as typical window-dressing, it all adds up and points in the right direction. However… much more needs to be done!

Thinking ahead for future generations – never mind our feelings for Mother Nature – , today’s highly profitable companies in the TeleCom sector have to be called to the table when it comes to introducing their products also in terms of planning good, emission-free Waste Management or Recycling. Especially in Africa… why? Because that’s where the negative climatic effects of first world industries and lifestyle hit home the hardest: the poor. And YES! We Care!

Time for responsibility and – Ubuntu!

Addiction to Communication Devices

Meanwhile, Africa is the 2nd largest market worldwide in terms of handheld mobile devices and growing as this ‘addiction’ to communication devices won’t stop… and there are huge developments to improve communication, meaning this market will grow massively over the next years. While manufacturers will always find smarter ways to manufacture, package and recycle these mobile devices, what came through very clearly at the AfricaCom Congress is that “… there simply aren’t enough power and other required resources to take the kind of communication that first world residents are used to and replicate them in emerging markets.” (Africa Telecoms)

Fazit:

1. Green Technology for TeleCom leaders in Africa is an absolute must;
1. There is a massive and continuously growing need for sustainable power, meaning clean, ‘green’ and affordable electricity;
2. There is a huge interest in keeping costs down (eg. MTN spends over U$150 million on diesel every year in Nigeria and wants to reduce that with its tri-generation plant…) and… while I am not aware this was really covered at all at the Congress itself but it’s a growing concern everywhere:
3. A clean, ‘green’ and affordable way to get rid of the old devices, batteries, etc – meaning recycling or emission-free waste management are absolutely vital.

The Time is NOW!

There will be more…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Experimenting with Photoshop Filters

While there’s nothing better than a good picture or photo to start out with, we should regularly be experimenting with Photoshop Filters and Tools to know what they do and to see the effects we can achieve. It’s just like playing the piano every day… so here’s my original lavender and acacia photo with just a little reflecting frame added as I like to do :)

 

Experimenting with Photoshop Filters

When experimenting with Photoshop Filters and observing sometimes astonishing results, we do this for the following objectives:

1. To understand what these filters can do.

2. To know which effects can be achieved how, meaning to learn Experimenting with Photoshop Filters.

3. To be able to apply the desired effects if and when we need them.

4. To possibly find a style we like and build our visual reputation and recognition value on.

 

We can either change a picture very clearly and openly into something different, abstract and possibly more interesting than what we started off with – or we apply a certain effect in a very reduced and subtle way to enhance our photo, giving it a touch that just makes it different and stand out from the rest.

A number of these effects remind me of some big Masters in Art History… it’s sometimes what they built their whole oeuvre on: a specific effect. What was unique and hard labour at the time, can now be achieved with our brilliant tools in Photoshop and/or other programs, some of them developed for imitating certain masters, think of Pissaro with all those little ‘dots’ or Andy Warhol – to name a more modern one.

Lavender and Acacia Photo

For today’s exercise, I selected a lavender and acacia photo I shot a few weeks ago when both were in full flower in my garden in Noordhoek, South Africa. As I was born in Namibia, I love acacias… and I love to combine them with palms, which always reminds me of ‘home’. The fragrance of lavender and acacia combined is incredible… no wonder all the bees of the area hang out in my garden and have a feast!

And here a very reduced and delicate one… one of my favorites…

 

Cape Town Best Conference Venue

Searches on Google Top 10 is and so far remains the main driving power on the Internet in terms of  being visible and being found as per our Online Marketing efforts. As such, we have to monitor the performance of our websites, blogs and articles on a regular basis.

Here’s the example of a post I did a few days ago with the title:

Best Conferences out of Cape Town

Now, “Best Conferences out of Cape Town” went to Google Top 10 within 0.23 seconds… proof as per screenshot. Position One of over 43 million search returns.

 

Meanwhile, we had our monthly online Seminar by Ycademy with a focus on “Social Media Marketing” – no time to look left, right or center… not the way we zoomed through Social Networks the like of Facebook, Twitter, Empire Avenue, Google+, Flickr and more… all being or becoming an important integral part of our online marketing strategy… and giving us down here in the boonies with absolutely lousy Internet connections a hell of a hard time.

However, this morning I went to have a look and – lo and behold – we even improved the ranks by adding position 2 to it… plus another on Google Top 10 – which is amazing and the dream – and essential focus – of any hotel or institution within the highly competitive Tourism and Travel Industry within South Africa. Have a look yourself!

 

Cape Town Best Conference Venue

While we are still busy working on the brand-new main website, check out Monkey Valley Resort as Cape Town’s Best Conference Venue HERE. Enjoy the virtual journey!

 

 

Copyright © 2011 Yorgo Nestoridis. Visit the original article at http://yorgonestoridis.com/yorgo-nestoridis-development/semiomantics/ycademy-online-seminar-may-2011/.

Facebook Marketing

The Ycademy May Seminar will focus on Facebook Marketing and on the best options to reach our Facebook Marketing goals using WordPress, namely the Semiomantics XO Framework and Theme.

The Seminar will take place on May 28 — 29, 2011 from 1 pm — 9 pm London Time on each day.

Why Facebook Marketing?

Today, Facebook and Google achieve the highest traffic rates online. For this reason we aim to merge two marketing strategies:

• Google Top 10 Positions on our targeted key-phrases.
• High visibility on Facebook with our products and services in our target market.

In order to serve the first strategy we have successfully developed a WordPress based Framework and Theme, the XO by Semiomantics.

Our Facebook Marketing strategy needs an update in function of recent changes on Facebook. Also we need to explore new functions in connection with our personal XO based websites which will allow for additional automation of the marketing process.

The Goal of the Seminar

Each Participant will have a clear understanding of and about

• Facebook: what it is and how it works
• Facebook Tools
• How to set up and use Facebook Tools
• Facebook Best Practices
• How to Manage Facebook Marketing Efforts across Multiple Tools
• How to Link your XO and your Facebook

We will implement a basic Facebook Marketing Strategy with all participants and bring products and services in front of a targeted Facebook audience.

Materials

All materials will be provided.

Pre-seminar call

We will hold 2 pre-seminar calls, probably on Tuesday 24 and Thursday 26 of May.

Seminar Tickets

Tickets are available at the Brain Time Shop:

Discount: for Ycademy Pros as usual, please contact Bianca Gubalke at bianca(at)ycademy.com.

Related posts:

1. Facebook Online Seminar by Ycademy
2. Ycademy Online Seminar March 2011
3. Ycademy Online Seminar April 2011
4. Ycademy Seminar: How to Build an Online Business
5. Ycademy Online Seminar December 12–13, 2009

Copyright © 2010 Yorgo Nestoridis. Visit the original article at http://yorgonestoridis.com/yorgo-nestoridis-development/semiomantics/thesis-tutorial-feature-box.

Thesis Tutorial Rotating Contextual Banner in Feature Box

This Thesis Tutorial shows step by step how to add rotating banners to the Feature Box. The Feature Box has a drop down menu from where you can choose the position of the banner. In function of that choice you will then edit the images (size).

The Thesis Feature Box in Action

The below image illustrates the result you will achieve by following this tutorial:

As you see my choice was to add the  rotating banners in full width underneath the menu. The Header Banner is above the menu. Using a large size banner, I decreased the size of the header banner. On the right side you see the Multimedia Box underneath the rotating banners.

My Banner size is 960 pixels x 278 pixels.

Semomantics Thesis Author Blog

Semiomantics Author Blogs have all scripts built in and you can skip the following steps which are market with a *.

Get the Dynamic Content Gallery Plugin *

From your dashboard under Plugins, select Add Plugin. Type into the search box “Dynamic Content Gallery” and install and activate the pugin.

Add the Function to Thesis *

Edit custom-functions.php from your Custom File Editor and add the following code:

//-------------------featured content--------------
function featcc() {
if (is_home()){
global $post;
if( function_exists( 'dynamic_content_gallery' ) ) :
dynamic_content_gallery();
endif;
}
}
add_action('thesis_hook_feature_box', 'featcc');

With this code we hook the Dynamic Content Gallery to the Thesis feature box for display. Also, the feature box displays on the home page only, as on the other pages we use the Top Carousel.

Configure the Dynamic Content Gallery Plugin

You may choose another configuration. As an example I just copy here what my set-up looks like. Edit the Dynamic Content Gallery from your Dashboard under “Settings”:

1. Image Management

I select Full URL to keep absolute flexibility about the image source; this could be an external link to an image server. In fact I just load my images to the main image folder in the domain root.

2. Gallery Method

To keep the image and gallery management simple, I created a new category called Featured Main. All posts which will have a featured banner, will also be added to that category. Therefore I select here “One Category”.

Scroll further down and you will find more options:

As you see, I selected the Featured Main Category and I choose to display 4 posts.

3. Descriptions

For reasons of laziness I keep the setting on Auto and display 100 signs. In fact, my posts are usually structured in a way that the automatic excerpt has some meaning…:-).

4. Gallery CSS

Just a copy of my settings:

5. Javascript Options

I select jQuery and I show the carousel with the banner (it’s the drop-down overlay on top right of the banner which displays thumbnails of the banners). You may give that tab a more interesting name than Featured Articles, for example: Must Read. Note that I deselect the left and right arrows which serve to scroll the banners; I just think they are not necessary and ugly.

6. Load Scripts

As we display the banners on the home page only, I select Home Page to load the script only where needed.

7. Tools

I don’t display Error Messages and enable the editing box in the page and post editor as follows:

You will now be able to add banners from your WordPress editor to your post or to overwrite some of the configuration settings.

8. Load some Banners

I just headed over to Photoshop and made a few banners which I uploaded to my main image folder:

As I have configured to display 4 banners, the above four will do the trick.

9. Attach the banners to some key posts

Now  I select 4 key posts from my blog and edit them:

I add the Featured Main category to all of them and then I add the corresponding banner image link to each post and update the post:

10. Time to enable the Feature Box

In your Design Options toggle Feature Box and select the position:

I select Full width above content and sidebars. The home page selector is not active as we have overwritten the function in custom-functions.php.Also the Display Options are not built into Thesis yet, however if you wish to style the box, do the last step below:

11. Style your Feature Box

If you would like to get rid of the light gray background and the borders or style the box differently all together, just add the following few lines to your custom.css from the Custom File Editor:

/*----------------Feature Box-------------- */
.custom #feature_box { background: #ffffff; border-style: solid; border-color: #fff; }

I have set it all to white here, but you may modify and adapt to taste and amend this CSS code as needed.

Author: Yorgo Nestoridis, Media Marketing & Publishing, Founder of YORGOO Publishing, YORGOO Press and Semiomantics. If you enjoyed reading the above, please consider following future tips and strategies by RSS reader, Email delivery, or Kindle subscription.

This page is wiki editable click here to edit this page.

Related posts:

1. Thesis Tutorial Header Banner Rotator
2. Thesis Tutorial Author Box
3. Create a Header Widget in Thesis
4. Semiomantics Thesis Interpretation
5. Create a Widget below the Multimedia Box in Thesis

Copyright © 2010 Yorgo Nestoridis. Visit the original article at http://yorgonestoridis.com/yorgo-nestoridis-development/semiomantics/thesis-tutorial-author-box.

Add an Author Box to Thesis after Posts

Here is how I have added the Author Box after the post in Thesis. The procedure is as usual:

1. Add the custom function

2. Style your box with custom CSS

3. Add the content

1. Author Box on Thesis: custom function code

Copy and paste the following code to custom-functions.php from your Dashboard under Custom File Editor:

//------Add an Author Box at the end of Post--------------------
function post_footer_author() {
if (is_single())
{ ?>
<div class="postauthor">
<?php echo get_avatar( get_the_author_id() , 100 ); ?>
<h4>Article by <a href="<?php the_author_url(); ?>">
<?php the_author_firstname(); ?> <?php the_author_lastname(); ?></a></h4>
<p><?php the_author_description(); ?></p>
<p><?php the_author_firstname(); ?> has written <span><?php the_author_posts(); ?></span> awesome articles for this site.</p>
<p>Subscribe to feed via <a href="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/yorgonestoridis/feed"><b>RSS</b></a> or <a href="http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=yorgonestoridis/feed&amp;amp;loc=en_US"><b>EMAIL</b></a> to receive instant updates.</p>
<p>Subscribe to our cashflowin <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/cashflowin"><b>YouTube channel </b></a></p>
</div>
<?php }
}
add_action('thesis_hook_after_post', 'post_footer_author', '1');

Change the content as needed.
You could also hook the above code to the thesis_hook_after_post_box; in this case just change the hook name in the last line.

Author Box Style

Add the following code to custom.css from your Custom File Editor:

/*--------Author Box-----------------*/
.postauthor {background: #F5F5F5;
border-top: 1px solid #e1e1e0;
border-bottom: 1px solid #e1e1e0;
overflow: hidden; padding: 1.5em;
}
.postauthor img {border: 1px solid #e2dede;
float: left;
margin-right: 1.5em;}
.postauthor h4 {color: #666;
font-size: 2em; margin-bottom: 5px;}
.postauthor p {color: #515151; font-size: 13px;
margin-bottom: 12px;}.postauthor p.hlight {font-size: 11px;
text-transform: uppercase;}.postauthor p.hlight span {color: #CB3131;
font-size: 1.5em; font-style: italic;
font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.8px;}
.custom .postauthor p {
fontsize:15px;}
.custom .postauthor p.hlight{
fontsize:13px;
fontweight:bold }

Adapt the style to your taste.
That’s it.

Author: Yorgo Nestoridis, Media Marketing & Publishing, Founder of YORGOO Publishing, YORGOO Press and Semiomantics. If you enjoyed reading the above, please consider following future tips and strategies by RSS reader, Email delivery, or Kindle subscription.

This page is wiki editable click here to edit this page.

Related posts:

1. Thesis Tutorial Header Banner Rotator
2. Semiomantics Thesis Interpretation
3. Create a Header Widget in Thesis
4. Create a Widget below the Multimedia Box in Thesis
5. How to Customize WordPress 2

Copyright © 2010 Yorgo Nestoridis. Visit the original article at http://yorgonestoridis.com/yorgo-nestoridis/wordpress-menu-problem.

WordPress 3 Menu Limits

When editing the new custom menu feature in WordPress 3 you may notice that you cannot add an unlimited number of items for display. On our Semiomantics Author Blogs we were limited to 16 items when Bianca commented about the issue.

The limit is in fact imposed from server side: if Suhosin or similar is installed on the server then there may be a maximum limit of posted variables. It would then need an increase of suhosin.post.max_vars and suhosin.request.max_vars. We have increased these values to 300 which solved the problem.

If you ever run into a similar problem, just ask your host to make the above adjustments.

Author: Yorgo Nestoridis, Media Marketing & Publishing, Founder of YORGOO Publishing, YORGOO Press and Semiomantics. If you enjoyed reading the above, please consider following future tips and strategies by RSS reader, Email delivery, or Kindle subscription.

Related posts:

1. Elegant WordPress by Semiomantics 101
2. Elegant WordPress
3. WordPress Seminar by Ycademy
4. WordPress for Authors Seminar
5. Firefox Crashes on WordPress

Copyright © 2010 Yorgo Nestoridis. Visit the original article at http://yorgonestoridis.com/yorgo-nestoridis-development/semiomantics/thesis-tutorial-header-banner-rotator.

How to add a rotating Header Banner in Thesis

Considering the website as a piece of real estate, it becomes clear, that the top segment of the page is the most precious location. A fancy large header graphic is eating loads of space, namely when it reaches over 100 pixels down from the top of the page. If the header graphic is a static element, doing not more than linking to your home page, then you have just given away your most precious square inches for a one time shot of static beauty.

By default the header links to the WordPress Home Page. Let’s keep it that way for the time being. We can however display an array of header graphics, rotating upon page load. You may remember the exercise on the original YORGOO Press blog a few years ago, as well as the Atahualpa Customization on YORGOO Media.

This Tutorial shows you how to add a rotating header banner in Thesis.

Header Banner Rotator in Thesis

Theses makes the task easy,as you just need to:

1. Create an image folder for the rotator
2. Edit and Load your header images
3. Add some lines of custom functions code
4. Customize your code
5. Enjoy the banners on your site

1. Create an image folder for your banners

Using your FTP client, access the theme folder, then the sub-folder ‘custom’.

Create there a new folder called header_rotator:

2. Edit and Load your images

Here is the constraint: all images must have the same extension (jpg,gif or png) and they are ideally all of the same size. I prefer to load png format as it allows for transparent images. The maximum image width is displayed on ‘Header Image’ under the Theme menu:

In my case it’s 1014pixels. I will therefore load images which are 1014 pixels wide and which all will have the same height (mine are 100 px) and they will be in png format.personally I like typographic headers as I am using graphic sliders underneath. I will therefore create a few headers with informative headlines.

In as much as the content is concerned, I will just promote my main categories for the purpose of the exercise.

You need to name your images ‘header_1, header_2, … plus the extension, in my case: .png. For example: header_1.png

Upload your images to the newly created folder via FTP:

3.Edit Custom Functions in Thesis

It is time now to add a few lines of custom code to custom-functions.php from your Custom File Editor in the Theme’s menu (Dashboard):

//--------- Header Image Rotator----------
function rotating_header_images() {
//The second number here below corresponds to the total number of header images you show; change accordingly.
	$random_image = rand(1,3);
?>
	<!-- Adapt here below the width and height to your image size, change file extension and the alt text-->
	<a href="<?php bloginfo('url'); ?>"><img src="<?php bloginfo(template_url)?>/custom/header_rotator/header_<?php echo $random_image;?>.png" width="1014" height="100" align="center" alt="Yorgo Nestoridis Blog" /></a>
<?php
}
add_action('thesis_hook_after_title', 'rotating_header_images');

The above code is well commented, so here just a reminder:

• on line 4 there are two numbers (1,3): the second number reflects the total of header images loaded
• on line 7 you notice my image extension (.png), my image width and height and the alt text: change them to your needs.
• the last line hooks the rotator to the layout: check out below: Position your banner.

In fact, the rotator will resize the images you load to the dimensions set in line 7; if you load the images with the correct dimensions, these values could be deleted from the code.

Position your Banners

From the last line of code you see that we have positioned the banner after the post title
add_action('thesis_hook_after_title', 'rotating_header_images');
If you want to use the banner as a background for your blog title, replace this last line of the code with:
add_action('thesis_hook_before_title', 'rotating_header_images');

If you want to replace the title with the banner, use also
add_action('thesis_hook_before_title', 'rotating_header_images');
and then disable the title display from your Design Options in the Dashboard.

If you need help, just use the comment form here below.

Author: Yorgo Nestoridis, Media Marketing & Publishing, Founder of YORGOO Publishing, YORGOO Press and Semiomantics. If you enjoyed reading the above, please consider following future tips and strategies by RSS reader, Email delivery, or Kindle subscription.

Related posts:

1. Banner Rotator for Semiomantics
2. Create a Header Widget in Thesis
3. Create a Widget below the Multimedia Box in Thesis
4. Semiomantics Thesis Interpretation
5. Semiomantics XO Flash Header Accordion

Copyright © 2010 Yorgo Nestoridis. Visit the original article at http://yorgonestoridis.com/yorgo-nestoridis-development/semiomantics/create-a-widget-below-the-multimedia-box-in-thesis.

How to Create A custom widget below the Multimedia Box

Using two sidebars on the right side underneath the Multimedia Box on Thesis, I felt that the sidebars were too narrow to place my Yorgo Music Live Stream Media Player. The ideal place would be just below the Multimedia Box spanning over the width of the two below sidebars. The purpose of the Media Player is to be able to listen to music of course, but then  also to stream recordings of YORGOO Calls or for separate sound streaming accompanying tutorials for those who prefer listening to reading. In short, it’s an experimental feature designed for media oriented customers.

Create the custom Widget in Thesis

The procedure is similar to creating a header ad widget described in an earlier post.

1. Create the widget and hook it to the desired Thesis hook
2. Populate the widget with the media player (you can of course load anything you wish)

Create the Widget below the Multimedia Box

Paste the below code into your custom-functions.php file from your WordPress dashboard (Custom file Editor in the Theme menu):

//-------------Create After Multimedia Box Widget------------
register_sidebars(1,
    array(
        'name' => 'After MultimediaBox',
        'before_widget' => '<li class="widget %2$s" id="%1$s">',
        'after_widget' => '</li>',
        'before_title' => '<h3>',
        'after_title' => '</h3>'
    )
);
function after_multimediabox() { ?>
	<div id="after_multimediabox" class="sidebar">
		<ul class="sidebar_list">
			<?php if (!function_exists('dynamic_sidebar') || !dynamic_sidebar('After MultimediaBox') ){	?>
						<li class="widget"><h3><?php _e('After MultimediaBox', 'thesis'); ?></h3>Edit the widget content from your WP Widgets panel under Appearance :-).</li><?php } ?>
		</ul>
	</div>
<?php }
add_action('thesis_hook_after_multimedia_box', 'after_multimediabox', '1');

Add Style to your Custom Widget

The widget will automatically pick up your default or custom styles.

Populate your Widget

Now, just head over to your Widget panel under Appearance in your WordPress Dashboard and you will find your new Widget area ready for use. Pull in a Text or any other widget and populate your sidebar below the Multimedia Box.

Author: Yorgo Nestoridis, Media Marketing & Publishing, Founder of YORGOO Publishing, YORGOO Press and Semiomantics. If you enjoyed reading the above, please consider following future tips and strategies by RSS reader, Email delivery, or Kindle subscription.

This page is wiki editable click here to edit this page.

Related posts:

1. Create a Header Widget in Thesis
2. Semiomantics Thesis Interpretation
3. How to Customize WordPress 2
4. Create your First Flash Document
5. How to Create an Ad for Sneakers

Copyright © 2010 Yorgo Nestoridis. Visit the original article at http://yorgonestoridis.com/yorgo-nestoridis-development/semiomantics/create-a-header-widget-in-thesis.

Thesis Header Widget

If you would like to display content, for example an advertising banner, in your header area, you may want to create a new widget. Creating Custom Widgets is a simple affair in Thesis as you need just to register a sidebar and hook the widget to the thesis hook where you would like to display your content.

Create a Custom Widget in Thesis

1. Create the Custom Header Widget by pasting the following code into your custom-functions.php:

//-------------Create Header Widget------------
register_sidebars(1,
    array(
        'name' => 'Header Widget',
        'before_widget' => '<li class="widget %2$s" id="%1$s">',
        'after_widget' => '</li>',
        'before_title' => '<h3>',
        'after_title' => '</h3>'
    )
);
function header_widget() { ?>
	<div id="header_widget_1" class="sidebar">
		<ul class="sidebar_list">
			<?php if (!function_exists('dynamic_sidebar') || !dynamic_sidebar('Header Widget') ){	?>
						<li class="widget"><h3><?php _e('Header Widget', 'thesis'); ?></h3>Edit the widget content from your WP Widgets panel under Appearance :-).</li><?php } ?>
		</ul>
	</div>
<?php }
add_action('thesis_hook_header', 'header_widget', '1');

2. Position your widget pasting the following to your custom.css:

/*--------Header Widget for a 468 px banner-------------- */
.custom .sidebar ul.sidebar_list {position: relative;}
.custom #header_widget_1 ul.sidebar_list li.widget {position: absolute; display: block; top:0px; left:524px; width:468px; }

The positioning will depend on the width of your theme and you may have to adjust the absolute position from the left (left:524px;)

3. Head over to the widget panel in your dashboard and you will find a brand new shiny widget area ready to be populated: add a text widget and punch in your banner code or any other content and check out the display on your site.

That’s it.

Author: Yorgo Nestoridis, Media Marketing & Publishing, Founder of YORGOO Publishing, YORGOO Press and Semiomantics. If you enjoyed reading the above, please consider following future tips and strategies by RSS reader, Email delivery, or Kindle subscription.

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