UPDATED March 5th, 2011: This project is back on track and I will post the new information by March 30th, 2011.
As some of you know, I've been working on a I.P-based, geo-targeted advertising system.
This post is pretty technical, and I really don't expect anyone to read it, unless you are interested in my GeoZoodle widgets (like the one at the top of this post). If you are a technical-type person, you'll probably enjoy this post. For everyone else, expect your eyes to glaze over very soon.
Right now, there is nothing at GeoZoodle. I figure why launch the site, if it isn't working 100% correctly?
However, I did know that it was working about 95% correctly, so I offered some "widgets" to ActiveRainers. Primarily, that welcome mat that you see on the right side of my blog. You can still get the code to the Welcome Mat if you send me an email with the phrase "geo location" in the subject line. (don't worry about sending a message; you'll get an auto-reply).
It's pretty cool if you are in the 95% who see the proper state displayed on the mat.
However, I've received about 5 emails from people for whom GeoZoodle doesn't "work". Or, in other words, it doesn't display the proper city or state. Many of you have expressed concerns that there may be something wrong with your computer.
There is nothing wrong with your computer. And for my cowardly detractors (who bad-mouth me in other forums), there is nothing wrong with my code. I would think, before speaking in ignorance about me, you would know how to program in PHP yourself and had an understanding of this. If you had an understanding, you would know that there is no bug and the site "works" just fine.
The code is short, simple and 100% bug free.
So why doesn't the GeoZoodle widget work for some of you? Are some of you seeing the wrong state at the top of this post? Or maybe on my right-side welcome mat?
--- This next part is pretty boring; if you are happy with your widget, you probably don't want to bother. ---
Just to set your minds at ease, here is how GeoZoodle (or any online geographic targeting system works):
First, I get your I.P. address as soon as you visit this page. It's very simple to do; it's literally only one line of code. Just Google "code for get I.P" or something and you can see it for yourself.
Next, there is a database stored on GeoZoodle. This is not a database that I created, but one that I purchased from a well-known data provider. Picture the database as an Excel Spreadsheet...an enormous Excel spreadsheet that contains over 3,000,000 rows.
Once I get your I.P., I take the "dots" out, so that I can make it into a real number. For those of you that know what an I.P looks like, it's not a "real" number... Aw heck, I'll just show you your I.P. address; it's so simple. This is your very own, unique-to-your-computer I.P. address:
Your Browser is incompatible to view this image. Sorry!
Now, with one simple line of code, I remove the "dots" in your I.P. In this database (again, picture an enormous Excel Spreadsheet), it has rows and rows of data. A row of data looks like this:
[start IP] [end IP] [city] [state_or_region] [country] [zip_code]
So, once I have your I.P., I just issue a command to the database that looks something like this:
Select the row of data, where my user's IP address lands between "start IP" and "end IP". Now, display the user's city and state based on the "row" it finds with the I.P.
So the million dollar question: Why doesn't GeoZoodle work properly for some users?
Simply put: Because creating a database that contains every city in the entire world is an arduous task, at best. The data mining company that I purchased the database from is updating it each and every day. For the rest of my life, I will get monthly updates to the database, which means GeoZoodle will become more and more accurate each month.
However, I am not that patient. I am currently working on a method to update the database myself. (This is actually more complex than it sounds.) I don't intend to wait around for the database company to slowly update it. They could be working on I.P. addresses in Vietnam right now, for all I know. (Remember, this is a world-wide database.)
For those of you that want GeoZoodle widgets and real estate solutions for your site, know that this will be working very, very soon. I have some phenomenal ideas to help agents and loan officers and I will unveil the finished product no later than the first of the new year.
Thanks for reading this post! I hope you are still awake!
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