Tag Archive: PHP

Volved

Volved.org was developed as a search engine wrapper that would allow users to stay in touch with their favorite cause while also raising revenue for it. You set your browser’s default search engine to Volved. Then when you search, you are transferred to the Volved site which presents results, cause news and ads.

The project was done with WordPress and a custom theme, using PHP, MySQL, Javascript and jQuery.

Unfortunately Volved’s access to Google AdWords was suspended without explanation. We eventually had to give up on the project. This video gives a sense of what the whole thing was about.

 

Autosked – Service Appointment Optimization for Auto Dealers

makeapptAutosked is kind of a quirky product. The code base started life as a tee time management system for Portland golf courses. A golf-playing exec from a local car dealership asked if software could be modified to manage customer appointments in his lube / oil change bays. And Autosked was born. Many years later, the package is still used at many dealerships where it is viewed as indispensable.

My contribution has been to write two new dealer management system (DMS) interfaces and create a web app for consumers to schedule their own appointments. You can see that at work here at one customer’s site. This is a single page app that uses a lot of javascript and Bootstrap.

The DMS interfaces are a combination of php, Unix shell scripts and C programs.

In addition, I’ve been taking steps to bring more best practices to the development process at the company.

Mobile Search for Your Cause

A mobile application using WordPress, PHP, Javascript, the Sencha Touch and PhoneGap for mobile searching that feeds ad revenue to one’s favorite charity.

The app is a wrapper for Google Custom Search. On those occasions when a user clicks an ad in the search results, part of the resulting revenue goes to the cause she chooses. In addition, that organization can keep her informed about its activities via a news feed in the app. Given that we search often, the connection with one’s cause will be much stronger. The app will also allow givers to the same cause to network with each other and invite others to join.

Social Proximity

A local startup was creating a way for people to  casually connect via their mobile devices. Some use cases included flirting at night clubs, games at events and apps for the classroom.

The launch app ran in Android and iPhone. I helped with some UI on this.

I helped with backend systems and the developer program. In a pretty rapid ramp up, I used CakePHP, Mongo DB and Amazon Web Services.

Unfortunately the seed funding ran out. Sigh.

MyTaxBack

One Economy has provided free tax filing service for a number of years. The benefit ensure people entitled to the Earned Income Tax Credit to receive it. Many don’t file and therefore miss the benefit one of the most effective poverty fighting policies in the country. The average refund is $1500.

MyTaxBack was a devised as a way to alert people to how much money they could put back in their pocket by filing. The app was developed for SMS, desktop browsers, Facebook, iPhone and Android. We used JQuery, custom CSS, PHP and PhoneGap.

You can try it here.

As part of the MyTaxBack program I wrote a reusable SMS response tool for text messaging campaigns. We also created a database for tracking users of the various OE programs and media, anonymously, of course, to be able to reconnect at opportune times. For example, if someone files for a tax refund, we would send a text reminder, at about the time she would receive the money. The message would remind her check out options for setting up a bank acount or paying down credit card debt. The vision is to create sort of a CRM for coaching people to help themselves.

ApplicationsForGood.org

My job at One Economy was to foster the development of public purpose applications. Externally, we started a developer community at ApplicationsForGood.org around four key needs related to poverty in the U.S.

Along with doing the information architecture, I wrote or edited many of the articles and business ideas. A4G was featured in this Huffington Post article.

A4G is intended to help developers and funders discover new markets among low-income people by creating apps that matter in their lives. In 2011, ATT and Papaya Mobile sponsored the first A4G apps contest.

The site was done in WordPress using custom post types for Needs, Solutions and App Catalog.