http://www.canz.co.nz/app/webroot/blog/index.php Copyright 2012, Gavyn Jones Gavyn Jones en-US SPHPBLOG 0.4.8 http://www.canz.co.nz/app/webroot/blog/index.php?entry=entry110302-224043
This week we added an account activation step when signing up to CANZ. There are two sides to this. Firstly, it will hopefully eliminate the issue of either misspelled or fake email addresses, as you have to check your email to get the activation code. It has been a real pain lately noticing how many emails bounce back when people either sign up or are sent an email from someone inquiring about their listing. If it's an obvious mistake then I will fix it, but most of the time I have no way of knowing or guessing their correct address.

Secondly is the issue of fraud. 2010 saw a dramatic increase in the rise of fake listings or people getting scammed, and most, if not all, of these were from people overseas. I had to disable signups for people in certain countries which helped a lot, however there were still many legitimate people in those countries who needed to use the site. So I have decided to put an activation fee on the site for those people coming in from overseas. The majority of visitors to the site will see no change whatsoever. If you are asked to pay the fee and feel like you shouldn't have to, please get in touch.

That's all for now. I realise that NO blog posts were written last year, so at least we're off to a good start!

Cheers,
Gavyn]]> General, Features http://www.canz.co.nz/app/webroot/blog/index.php?entry=entry110302-224043 Gavyn Jones Wed, 02 Mar 2011 09:40:43 GMT http://www.canz.co.nz/app/webroot/blog/index.php?entry=entry090731-093854
Here are what the banners look like:







Thanks heaps to Asher and Libby at Life fm/RBG for helping me set this all up.]]> General http://www.canz.co.nz/app/webroot/blog/index.php?entry=entry090731-093854 Gavyn Jones Thu, 30 Jul 2009 21:38:54 GMT http://www.canz.co.nz/app/webroot/blog/index.php?entry=entry090715-102313


Hopefully this is a useful feature for finding new flats and flatmates quickly.]]> Features http://www.canz.co.nz/app/webroot/blog/index.php?entry=entry090715-102313 Gavyn Jones Tue, 14 Jul 2009 22:23:13 GMT http://www.canz.co.nz/app/webroot/blog/index.php?entry=entry090708-161234
First up is Twitter. There are already a couple of ways to keep up with the latest flats that get added on CANZ. You can visit the site and click on the Latest Flats link in the footer of each page, or you can subscribe to the RSS feed that gets updated whenever a new listing goes up. Well now there's Twitter, and with it comes TXT notifications! If you sign up to www.twitter.com and follow canz_flats, your feed will show every property that comes online. Then, if you give Twitter your mobile details, you can get a TXT every time one is added! And the best thing is it's all free.

Secondly is Google Maps. These have been present on the site for a couple of years now, but what hasn't been obvious is that you can search for a new flat directly on it. If you go to www.canz.co.nz/flats/map you will see every flat on the website that has enabled map placement, and then you can search for your new abode in a whole new way. Pretty cool actually!

Next up are email alerts. If you have a listing on the website that is due to expire, you will now get an email 5 days in advance outlining your options. This is an area that I may develop further, so I'll let you know how I get on.

And finally, churches! Yes, you can now find a church on CANZ in the same way you would search for a flat or flatmate. There are only a handful of listings in each of the main centers but the aim is to have a complete list (of those that have websites). There is also the opportunity for churches to expand their listing to include a profile page, maps integration and promotions on other areas of the site, so hopefully they will take that up!

That's about it for now. There should be some more to write about soon, but I'll keep that to myself right now!

Cheers,
Gavyn]]> General, Features http://www.canz.co.nz/app/webroot/blog/index.php?entry=entry090708-161234 Gavyn Jones Wed, 08 Jul 2009 04:12:34 GMT http://www.canz.co.nz/app/webroot/blog/index.php?entry=entry090510-163310
The main thing that I am hoping this will help are the continued login problems that people occasionally face. I have done some research and tinkered away at the code so we'll just wait and see what happens. I have never had a problem logging in to my own account on CANZ so it's been difficult to reproduce and come up with a fix.

There was also an iPhone/iPod touch version of the site that I have taken down today. I am looking to devote more attention to this (one day!) and actually do it properly.

Please let me know if you run in to problems with anything by filling in this form.

Thanks!
Gavyn]]> General http://www.canz.co.nz/app/webroot/blog/index.php?entry=entry090510-163310 Gavyn Jones Sun, 10 May 2009 04:33:10 GMT http://www.canz.co.nz/app/webroot/blog/index.php?entry=entry090502-082813 Godzone relocating their servers.

Hopefully all is well when they turn them back on again!]]> http://www.canz.co.nz/app/webroot/blog/index.php?entry=entry090502-082813 Gavyn Jones Fri, 01 May 2009 20:28:13 GMT http://www.canz.co.nz/app/webroot/blog/index.php?entry=entry081231-173937
It looks like the database server is down which is why you can't see any flats for rent! Hopefully it comes up again soon.

Sorry for that!

Gavyn

Update: Looks like we're back up now.]]> http://www.canz.co.nz/app/webroot/blog/index.php?entry=entry081231-173937 Gavyn Jones Wed, 31 Dec 2008 04:39:37 GMT http://www.canz.co.nz/app/webroot/blog/index.php?entry=entry081222-131719 contact form as per usual. I will be away from home for a couple of weeks but that does not mean I'm away from the Internet! I have a trusty Vodem with me so I'll be online at various times during most days. You can expect a response within 24 hours.

Hope you can all have an enjoyable summer break.

Merry Christmas,
Gavyn]]> General http://www.canz.co.nz/app/webroot/blog/index.php?entry=entry081222-131719 Gavyn Jones Mon, 22 Dec 2008 00:17:19 GMT http://www.canz.co.nz/app/webroot/blog/index.php?entry=entry081214-145017 This year I decided to donate some of the money I have made through this website to Gift for Life, a Tear Fund campaign that runs throughout the year but is promoted during Christmas.

I wanted to choose some items that would help a large group of people, and here's what I came up with:

- 2 'Bums on Seats': This will provide clean toilets and sanitation for a village
- 1 'Safe Sip': This will help provide a water source to a village in India or China
- 1 'Feed a Family': This will provide important food items to a developing country

So Merry Christmas everyone, and thanks for you support this year.]]> http://www.canz.co.nz/app/webroot/blog/index.php?entry=entry081214-145017 Gavyn Jones Sun, 14 Dec 2008 01:50:17 GMT http://www.canz.co.nz/app/webroot/blog/index.php?entry=entry081111-125525
Hopefully service resumes soon :)


UPDATE: Things are all good again!]]> http://www.canz.co.nz/app/webroot/blog/index.php?entry=entry081111-125525 Gavyn Jones Mon, 10 Nov 2008 23:55:25 GMT