OIOpub BlogI know many people don’t like the look of the purchase area in OIO, so here’s a preview of a much improved version. Click on the link below to see it and give us your feedback!
New Theme for OIOpublisher v2.1
NB: this theme can now be downloaded as part of the latest beta download
The Beta program enables you to get hold of the latest OIO features before they are officially released, and is a great way to help test and improve the ad platform.
How do I install the beta software?
Simply login to your account, go to the download page and select the “beta” option. You can upgrade from an older version of OIO to the beta version just as you would normally by overwriting the files, although the beta is not available through the automatic upgrade process.
Will my feedback be properly considered?
Yes! Bug reports and suggestions to improve the usability of the script are always taken seriously, and all good ideas will be implemented when possible. Please leave all your feedback in the forum.
Introducing OIOpublisher 2.1 Beta:
* you can now create as many pricing options as you desire, each with a different purchase length
* when an ad expires, the advertiser is now asked to re-select a pricing option
* ad zones can now be enabled (for your own use) without ad spots being available for purchase
* all reported bugs from the 2.0x line have been fixed
Can I keep my existing templates for this version?
Unfortunately, the changes in OIO 2.1 mean that the template files in the “core” directory will need replacing. The other template directories do not need to be replaced.
What are you going to be working on next?
* coupon codes for ad purchases
* more payment methods
* a brand new (properly designed!) ad purchase theme
Firstly, a very Happy New Year to all our users!
To celebrate the New Year, we’re offering all new and existing affiliates 90% commission for all sales made during January 2009. No catches, no limits – any sale you drive via your account earns 90% of the sale value.
That’s $42.30 in your pocket for every sale you deliver this month. Good luck!
If you’ve used OIO for any length of time, you’ve probably had some frustration with the stats tracking at some time or other. I know I have…
At first I thought the daily archiving process was going haywire and increasing the click count artifically, but that wasn’t the problem at all. Those who suffered from inaccurate stats did so because bots were following the tracker links. Instead of getting 10 clicks a day, you might have seen 100!
I therefore set to work creating a set of filters to get rid of the “fake” (non-human) clicks, and have been very pleased with the results. The default set of filters should do the job, but in case they don’t you can manually blacklist or whitelist (1) user-agents (2) ip addresses (3) referring urls. I also added a live stats page, to help you easily identify suspicious looking click data and filter it out in the future.
NB: as I don’t want to over-load users with feature changes that each require upgrading in quick succession, this has been silently released as part of an update v2.07. Once the other changes are complete, we will move to v2.10
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Installation shouldn’t be a hassle:
Installation shouldn’t be a hassle, but much of the time with web apps it is. Due to the nature of web apps (and server setups), offering a painless installation process for everyone is near impossible.
But that hasn’t stopped me trying…
Meet the web installer (it also upgrades scripts too). No more FTP client, no more uploading files to your server or editing config files. This is an attempt at “click and go” installation:
1.) First you choose whether you want to install or upgrade OIO, and which platfrom you are using (currently the choice is between wordpress and standalone).
2.) Next, you choose what url you’d like the script to be installed at. This lets the installer check to make sure the url and the directory you’ll choose in the next step match (and so avoid future headaches). You’ll also be asked for your MySQL database login info (required to run OIO along with php) if installing the script in standalone mode.
3.) Finally, you input your FTP login details (this is the only way to easily transfer files from one server to another), and then the web directory you want to place the script in.
4.) The installer checks that everything works right, warns you of any errors, then proceeds with the installation (or upgrade). And that’s all there is to it – providing you have mysql and ftp details to hand, the whole process should take no more than a couple of minutes.
More developments to come (as always)…
What’s next on the agenda? Where do we go from here?
Below is a list of some of the things that will be tackled next. As you’ll see, it’s quite a substantial list, so asking for ETAs on anything specific at this point is useless. 
Script Enhancements:
* add a bot detection to the stats tracker (to help with inflated click through stats) [done]
* construct a dedicated default ads module (and allow default ads to be tracked)
Marketplace Changes:
* re-design submission / API processes to allow for multiple sites to be linked to one ad server
* activate marketplace “shopping cart” system, and display purchase / stats data on listing profiles
Misc Changes:
* web installer, to allow ‘click and go’ installation of OIO with just a few clicks to any server [done]
* complete 2.0 documentation section (currently inactive)
At the moment I’m working on the web installer, which is already functional, but lacks a few finishing touches. After that, we’ll see how priorities stack up before deciding what to tackle next.