Kansas City Zoo
April 10, 2010
By: Jake
I visited the Kansas City Zoo today to get a sneak peak at the new polar bear exhibit (Polar Bear Plunge) that is currently under construction. This new exhibit is located near the front entrance to the park and is showing signs of being a very nice polar bear viewing area. Not only is it large giving the polar bear plenty of room to play and live, but the viewing area will be just as large and offer viewers a close up look at the polar bears live above and below the water. The exhibit features three areas, one will be a grassy area giving the Nikita, the polar bear, a great place to play.
This area will be surrounded by a picnic area for people to sit and watch the polar bear while enjoying food or gifts from the nearby gift store and foot court at the main entrance. Viewers can walk up to the tall glass windows to see Nikita. As viewers continue to walk around the exhibit, they will gradually go down a hill to the second part of the exhibit where viewers can see Nikita from underwater. This gives the viewers a chance to learn about the polar bears live above and below the water.
The third area will be the indoor area for the bear, designed to be cave like, this will offer the bear a chance to get inside when it wants. The exhibit is planning to open in June 2010 and I think it will be a wonderful addition to the already greatly improved Kansas City Zoo.
Also on my visit today I went to the opening of Snakes Alive! An indoor snake viewing area. These snake exhibits are located inside what use to be the birthday party house across from the carousel. Although it is not a large building, viewers do get a great chance to see many great snakes up close. Although not as elaborate and exciting as the Polar Bear Plunge, it is nice to see a variety of reptiles once again living at the zoo.
As I walked through the zoo, I noticed several enhancements including several new walkways and viewing areas in the Africa section of the zoo. The Elephants, Gorillas, and Cheetahs where out and enjoying the weather along with the many visitors to the park. I am glad to see that the Kansas City Zoo is finally getting the much needed updates and improvements. It truly is a great zoo for the animals and I am happy to see that it is also becoming much more fun to visit. If you haven’t had a chance yet, be sure to visit the KC Zoo because you will surely see a lot of animals and also enjoy the many new features being made available. I plan to go several more times this summer and I will definitely be there for the opening of Polar Bear Plunge!
If you are interested in learning more, you can visit http://www.kansascityzoo.com or email me at jake@jakeparrott.com. If you are interested in going to the zoo, send me a message, maybe I’ll see you there!
New Flash Photo Gallery
March 23, 2010
By: Jake
I am happy to say that I have finished my custom photo gallery. I mainly use it to show off some of my photography and some of my adventures in life.
I used a combination of flash and the photo gallery tool lightbox2 to build the gallery. What makes it unique is it fills the screen and rotates images in and out always giving you a new and fun way to look at the images.
Although the photo gallery is in its basic format, it is still very useful. But I plan to make updates to it to give it more functionality. If you like the gallery or are interested in getting your own photo gallery, contact me and let me know what your thinking.
Free Social Networking Icons
March 11, 2010
By: Jake
As social media or social networking becomes more and more popular, there are more people adding the quick links or icons to their websites. Below are some free social networking icons for some of the more popular social media sites. Feel free to use the images, or links provided on your website. There is no cost, I just ask that if someone asks, you could refer them back to me.
Thanks.
There are several sets available. Each icon is available at the pixel size of: 75×75, 50×50, 25×25, and 15×15.
In each size they are available in 3 formats: .JPG with white background, .JPG with black background, and transparent .PNG.
75×75 PNG Icon Examples
50×50 PNG Icon Examples
25×25 PNG Icon Examples
15×15 PNG Icon Examples
Links to Images Source Folder
http://jakeparrott.com/socialmedia
Simply right click and save the images above if you want copies of the PNG file, or use the image tag links below to all 3 sets to use in your HTML. These will work on websites or in HTML email signatures. If you are interested in the other sizes, simply use the image tags below and change the “75″ to either “50″, “25″, or “15″ in the image source url.
PNG Image Tags
- Twitter:
- Facebook:
- Rss:
- Flickr:
- Youtube:
- Delicious:
- LinkedIn:
- Digg:
- Myspace:
JPG With White Background Image Tags
- Twitter:
- Facebook:
- Rss:
- Flickr:
- Youtube:
- Delicious:
- LinkedIn:
- Digg:
- Myspace:
JPG With Black Background Image Tags
- Twitter:
- Facebook:
- Rss:
- Flickr:
- Youtube:
- Delicious:
- LinkedIn:
- Digg:
- Myspace:
If you would like me to add additional icons sizes or social networking images, please email me and let me know at jake@jakeparrott.com
5 Reasons to have a Website
March 9, 2010
By: Jake
If you are wondering if you really need a website, here are 5 things to look at. If your answer to any of these is yes, then it might be a good idea to have a website.
Are my competitors online?
If you are trying to run a business successfully, but are losing customers or patients to competitors through their website, then it might be a good idea to get a website of your own. Earn your customers back and gain new customers with a well designed website that helps promote your brand and what you do.
Do my customers search for my services online?
Some services more than others are found though online channels. It is easier for someone to get the information they need from a search result than the go number by number through a phone book. Take advantage of this by having a strong online presence to get noticed in those search results and bring more traffic to your website and business.
Are you always running specials or introducing new products or services?
A website is a great and very inexpensive way to advertise these new services. Creating print ads or videos work well, but if you are constantly changing your sales and products, having a website will make it easy to get the new features out there. BONUS: Have your website linked with social networking can increase your traffic even faster.
Do you contact any of your customers via email?
If customers are receiving information from you via email, then chances are they are on a computer or a web browsing phone when they read it. If you have a website, they can easily get to your website for more information or to make a purchase.
Do you want customers outside of your community?
Websites are visible all over the world. Your website can attract viewers from all over and help you grow your business. A great example is an apartment complex or real estate agent. You may be helping all your local customers find places to live when they move to your community, but what about all those that are thinking about moving or coming to your community soon? With a website, they can find you before they get there and you can help them with your services.
There are several more reasons to have a website, to learn more or to get a website created for you, visit jakeparrott.com
Get the most from your Website
March 4, 2010
By: Jake
There is more to a website than just “having one”. I see many businesses that say that they have a website, but 90% of the time, the website is outdated, not managed, or unrelated to what they currently offer as a service or product.
Here are 5 great tips that can help you get the most out of your website:
1. Know what you want
To have a successful website that works well, you have to know what you want on the website. Saying that you need a website but not knowing what you want is like saying you want a billboard with nothing on it. You will want to make sure that you have key information about your services or products on the website to get viewers interested.
2. Update the website
You will want to update the website to make sure you have your latest products, most up to date contact info, and images so that your site stays current with the times and people are able to get a hold of you easily. Phone numbers, emails, and addresses change, so remember to change them on the website too.
3. Market your website
Just because you have a website, doesn’t mean that you are the most visible person out there. SEO can help, but you have to let people know that you have a website. Update your business cards, email signatures, and any other marketing material that you use to spread the word about your website.
4. Know how your website is performing
It is important to keep tabs on your website to know how it is performing. Reporting and analytics have come a long way and it is a great tool to help you see where your website in working and where it is not. You can use this information to improve your website, thus improving your business.
5. Cheapest isn’t always the best
A website is like an employee. It can do great things for your business if it has the right credentials. If you website is poorly built, slow, or not compatible with web standard today, then it will not function at its best and will cause you to lose business. You want to make sure that you find the right quality website for what you need.
7 Steps for a Better Website
March 4, 2010
By: Jake
There are several ways to increase traffic and retain loyal viewers whether you are creating a new website or revamping an old one. Here are 10 easy steps to improving your website:
1. Know your target audience
If you want a website, there is someone that you are trying to reach. Who is it that you want to view your website? You will want your website look and feel to match the style of the people you are trying to reach. For example, how many photographer websites do you see that do not emphasize the photo gallery on the website? The question to ask your self is “What would my viewers want to see?”
2. Quick and to the point
There are a lot of websites out there. So you want your website to get viewers attention fast. You want the point of your website to stand out and you want it to load fast. Imagine if you were birthday card shopping, what are the cards that you spot first? The brightly colored ones? The ones with an eye catching image? The singing cards? Your card choice would depend on your target audience, which was step # 1, and you want that card, or your website for that matter, to jump out at the viewers. Secondly, would you look at the birthday card if it took two minutes to open? Get your viewers attention, and get to the point QUICK.
3. Consistency
It never fails to find a website where every page looks different. It becomes harder and harder to find anything on the website as you click through pages. Not only does it look bad, but it also breaks step # 2 of being able to find what you are looking for quickly. How many times have you gone into a grocery store at a different location and the floor plan was different? It can be frustrating to try and find something when you are use to a certain location. Same holds true for websites. Navigation, colors, fonts, images, etc. The placement and consistent styles of these can help make your website more enjoyable.
4. Search Engine Optimization
When over 9 out of 10 websites are found via searching, it is important to know that your website is optimized and has the right words to get viewers to your website. Depending on how you advertise or how people hear about you can play a major role in your website SEO features. For example, a major musical band may have an all flash website that looks really awesome! They don’t need as much SEO because they have the band name that promotes them. However, unless you are a local celebrity, chances are that you will need more SEO needs in your website.
5. Compatibility
As technology changes and more digital viewing products become available, it is important to be sure that your website can be viewed properly on all the different platforms. Ever bought a new computer that had a new operating system and found out that the old applications you had will not install on your new machine? Same holds true on the web. New browser standards read website code differently and you will want to make sure that your website code is written in the proper way to be visible across multiple browsers.
6. Keep your content fresh
As time goes on, there will be times when you will want to update your content. Take the time to update your text to keep up with the growing culture. Update your images to keep the website interesting. If you have a forum of a blog, keep the content flowing because it can go stale very fast.
7. Connect your website
Just because you have a website doesn’t mean that its getting views. Along with the other 6 steps, you will want to make sure that your website is connected. I don’t mean that it is online to be seen, I mean that you are actively promoting your website. Whether it’s through word of mouth, advertising on business cards or posters, linked in your email, connected through your social media such as Facebook or Twitter, or published in articles and press releases; these will all bring valuable viewers back to your website.
