Add a QR Code to an Image
I love QR Codes, every time i see them it sparks ideas of innovative ways of utilizing them. The main draw back is of course - market take up. I would love to see an app come with every phone, or ideally built into the camera app not just on a phone handset, but in consumer point and shoots too.
Barriers in the way of this are the tools to create them, and add them to things like video and images. I was disheartended to learn that most people and agencies pay to have this done. So i've knocked up a quick and dirty way to create a QR code, and add it to an image.
Try the Quick and Dirty App (needs a modern browser)
I'll iterate it at some point and plugin some tracking so you can see how many times people have viewed it.
The code is free so do with it what you will, it uses some js from the fantastic jquery drag/drop over at ThreeDubMedia
Using QR codes in AS3
Very simple really, google does most of the heavy lifting. Simply load this url as you would to load an external image:
http://chart.apis.google.com/chart?cht=qr&chl=[YOUR-URL]&chs=120x120
Replacing the [YOUR-URL] with a url, i.e. http://bbc.co.uk - and the 120x120 with your own width and height
Example:
var myLoader:Loader = new Loader();
myLoader.load(new URLRequest("http://chart.apis.google.com/chart?cht=qr&chl=http://bbc.co.uk&chs=150x150"));
Would dynamically load a QR code for bbc.co.uk, with dimensions 150 by 150, and load it into the Loader instance myLoader, and would look like this
iTunes Affiliate Search Demo & Free Code
Here's a quick demo i knocked up to prototype using the iTunes search API.
N.B. As apple deny the use of flash making a straight call to their API due to their crossdomain.xml restrictions, i have used a php proxy. Once again, i'm making this code freely available to do with as you choose, just put the proxy file referenced on you own server and point your API file to it.
iTunes Affiliate program – monetising the rising demand
With the two of the big must have gifts this year being the new iPad and updated iPod/iPhone, one thing that's sure to follow is a massive demand by these new owners for recommendations on what Apps to purchase.
There are so many Apps on the iTunes store that merely looking at the Top 25 or even the Featured sections really doesn't cut it for new owners, looking to get in on the 'App' revolution bandwagon.
To fill this void recommendation sites are becoming more and more popular, just doing a search for 'Top 10 apps for ...' will return a ridiculous number of results. Thus anyone savvy enough to create and SEO well enough sites that promise 'Top 10 apps for office productivity' or 'Top 10 apps for travelling' can easily gain a lot of traffic.
Converting all this traffic into real money is the next step, made easier by iTunes programme on the Linkshare platform. With it you can:
1.) Create tracked links to individual products (Apps, songs, books etc)
2.) Create a feed of updated links with preset rules - i.e. Top 25 paid apps in the Photography genre
3.) Use the iTunes search API, and then push the returned link back through the Linkshare or Tradedoubler to create a monetising tracking link.
Pros & Cons
The search functionality is the only awkward bit, having to utilise the functionality of two API's. Whilst you can use the Linkshare Merchandiser Query API to search for products and be returned tracking links immediately, you run the risk of the data being out of date. The iTunes search API is far superior, offering a plethora of search options . The only downside is then having to push the product links returned back through Linkshare to create a tracking link, adding more overhead.
Commission
The rates are quite low at between 4 and 5%, so it's all about numbers. Your site should be uncluttered, with a clear call to action to follow the iTunes link and buy the product.
What is certain is that with the arrival of the new iPad, and demand expected to rise further, sites linked to searches like 'Top 10 iPad apps for [insert niche here]' will only gain more popularity, so if you already write about products available on iTunes store or are planning getting into it, now would be the perfect time.
Groupon API Review & Example
Everyone must have heard of Groupon.com by now, the deal-of-the-day company that launched a couple of years ago, and due to an agressive expansion and pervasive online ad campaign is now worth over a billion dollars.
Joining the service and accessing their Deals via their API is straight forward enough.
1.) Signup to their API to get your API key ->http://www.groupon.com/pages/api
2.) Signup to commission junction who run their Affiliate program, and get your CJ account id -> http://www.cj.com
3.) Consult the Groupon API documentation, and make calls on it retrive the desired Deals (by location or Division as they refer to it). Prefix the returned Deal URLs with this:
http://www.anrdoezrs.net/click-[CJ_ACCOUNT_ID]-10804307?url=
Replacing the [CJ_ACCOUNT_ID] with your own CJ account id. So a link to a deal using my CJ account id would be something like ->
The API is split into two main sections, one returning the availiable locations (or divisions) that offers are availiable in. And one that returns the deals themselves, passing to it a division from the former, a longditude/latitude or nothing and let the API try and work out your location for itself.
Pros & Cons:
My initial thought was that the responses from the API seem unnecessarily bloated, but after chatting with their technical team there is a partially documented feature with the deal API, adding a show parameter and then comma delimiting the nodes you wish returned will restrict the results to only return those nodes.
e.g. suffixing - show=title,dealUrl,largeImageUrl,pitchHtml - will return the basic information you need, in a much better size for Mobile usage where traffic size is a premium.
Divisions - AKA Locations - Only the North America is supported at the moment, with Deals in the U.K. being handled by AffiliateWindow and served through their own API.
On the whole though it is a nice and simple to use API, it's just a shame about lack of Inventory outside of the US.
Commission:
For referring existing Groupon users to Deals - between 2% and 5%.
For referring new users to Groupon, between 10% and 15%.
So there is quite an incentive to refer new members, meaning that while current areas (US & Canada, Brazil, western Europe, and Japan) may topout in terms of new signups in the near future, if you have any Apps or sites targeting areas not currently serviced by Groupon (China, India etc) it might be worth integrating Groupon as soon as they do. If past form is anything to go by then the rewards could be very lucrative.
Here's a little Flash AS3 demo of the Groupon API in action. The code for which can be downloaded for free below.
N.B. It's important to remember that when using a service like this some conditions may apply, in this case conforming with the Groupon Branding Guidelines. Whilst it may be easy to ignore them and assume no-one will notice, it is of course just as easy for them to switch off your API key, so save yourself the hassle.
Payspree.com Review
Payspree.com is an interesting little Affiliate Network, with a USP of paying instantly via Paypal.
They specialise in Merchants (Vendors) who want to sell ebooks, how-to guides, membership signups etc. They then provide their Affiliates with custom links to the Merchants products via their 'Marketplace'.
An example of the links are things like 'Wordpress 101 revealed' , 'How to put videos online' and 'Cutting edge traffic generation' - it's fairly clear what kind of demographic these products are aimed at.
The site itself could do with some design love and an easy to find 'Quick start' wouldn't go amiss, but aside from that the functionality it provides is pretty good. The basics of finding links to monetise is simple, and reports breakdown to the right level. Forum seems very well supported by the developers, and they offer easy to create Ad units which look and feel much like Google ads.
The instant payment via paypal angle only works in this case because of the niche format of e-products this Network pushes. Whilst it would be nice for all Networks to provide this, the nature of buying products in other forms, clothes etc would preculde this.
With this network there is NO COMMISSION. Instead you alternate taking the full value of the product at a split rate set by the Merchant. An Affiliate would receive in 50%, 60%, 75% or even 100% of sales. A slight complication with this and the instant Paypal payments is that any refunds will have to be paid back by the Affiliate to the Network, rather than in other Networks you just wouldn't receive the commission.
With this system of paying the full amount alternating between the Merchant and the Affiliate, you maybe wondering how the Network makes it's cut. Well it has a simple tier system where it will either take $0, $1 or $2 depending on the product value.
The major downsides with the Network are the lack of security (no SSL in signup/login) and due to the inefficient methods of tracking what i assume is a customers time on a product page, the Networks resilience under a large strain. The lack of SSL is mitigated somewhat by Paypal doing the heavy lifting in terms of transactions, but don't use a password you would use elsewhere.
All in all a pretty good little network that knows it's niche and worth checking out to either sell products like this, or make money from Advertising them.
For more information check out Payspree.com