Denver SEO Blog » Politics

Contact Form 7 Modules – A Plugin

Zack Katz — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 00:14:16 +0000

Download the Contact Form 7 Modules plugin from WordPress.org

Add hidden fields to Contact Form 7

I love the Contact Form 7 plugin, and use it for many of my projects…but one thing it misses is the ability to add hidden fields. The Contact Form 7 Modules plugin adds hidden fields to Contact Form 7 in a way that will not break in future upgrades. It’s simple: install the plugin, then edit your form!

Add Every Form Field to Emails At Once

New in Version 1.2!

Contact Form 7 makes you copy and paste each of your form’s fields into the email message. This can take a while, and means that if you add a field in the future but forget to put it in your email, you won’t get sent that piece of information.

Now, with the All Fields Module (included in Contact Form 7 Modules plugin), you only need to add one tag to receive every submitted field: [all-fields]

For Older Versions of Contact Form 7

When Contact Form 7 2.0 was been released, it added functionality to add new types of inputs. Add hidden tag functionality and “Generate Tag” capability by downloading the file below and replacing/adding the three files included.

Contact Form 7 2.0.1 – Add Hidden Fields (13.0 KB)

Contact Form 7 2.0 – Add Hidden Fields (11.8 KB)

Barack Obama: Screw the Auto Industry

Zack Katz — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 16:32:57 +0000

After congratulating the President-Elect on his win, I wrote a quick note about how frustrated I am with the auto industry.

My main reason for writing is that I want to voice my strong disapproval of bailing out the auto industry. Detroit has lagged behind in innovation and proven themselves incompetent and greedy. Auto makers should not be rewarded for making gas guzzlers while scrapping thier 100+ miles per charge electric car.

It would be a great benefit if the government would force automakers to bring the EV1 out of the scrap yard and either use or share the technology inside, instead of pushing some false-innovation such as the Volt. The Volt is one more lie from the auto industry reluctant to leave gas and oil behind.

Wall Street’s greed is in a way easier for me to swallow, because they weren’t being lazy, only selfish. Detroit, on the other hand, deserves to fail: as other automakers were improving the quality and efficiency of their cars, Detroit was finding ways to make them bigger and cheaper.

The American auto industry hasn’t proven it deserves to survive…maybe it could be nationalized as part of the EPA

Found: Hillary Clinton's web designer

Zack Katz — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 16:35:20 +0000

~~We know who Barack Obama’s web designer is. Let’s find out who Hillary’s web designer is!~~

~~I’ve looked through the CSS and there’s no trace of the designer. Anyone know?~~

Hillary Clinton’s web designer has been found!

Thanks to krs who left a comment below, Hillary’s web designer has been found.

Design by Mayfield Strategy Group
Backend by SolutionSet
Great analysis of website by PoliticalGastronomica.com

A company of few words

The only content on Mayfield’s website is this:

The Mayfield Strategy Group is a leading provider of strategic internet services for political campaigns, non-profit organizations, and corporations. Our unique experience and methodology allow us to provide the highest quality and most professional services in the industry.

And I guess that’s all they needed to say about that!

Bill Clinton talks about Hillary – and actually makes great points

Zack Katz — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 15:48:40 +0000

I’ve been not too happy with Bill Clinton recently — it seems every chance he gets, he makes an ass of himself and hurts Hillary’s reputation. He probably needs therapy to cope with being First Gentleman. Anyway, there’s a video on Hillary’s website that is really well done. It shows Bill talking about Hillary’s lifetime of dedication.

If the video below doesn’t work, check out the original video on Hillary’s website.

Found: Barack Obama's Web Designer

Zack Katz — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 23:09:37 +0000

Update: The New WhiteHouse.gov Website

Update: Who will be the White House web designer?

ArrayA lot of people have wanted to know who designed Barack Obama’s website. With good reason: Obama’s website is beautiful. It even conveys Obama’s message of hope in it’s wistful design. Well, here it is:

Barack Obama’s web designer is:

SimpleScott. SimpleScott designed Barack Obama’s website, so here’s to SimpleScott for a gorgeous design.

From Scott Thomas, of SimpleScott:

I am the creative director of New Media for Obama for America. The team consisted of many people in house as well as many volunteers. Project leads were myself and John Slabyk. We are maintaining site and brand in-house. Sol Sender designed the logo before I joined the campaign.

How did I find out SimpleScott was involved? Just check out Obama’s main style sheet. SimpleScott uses CSSEdit, a great program for Mac CSS web design.

The CSS code gives it away:

CSS Version 2: – View the stylesheet

/* CSS Author: Scott Thomas Client: Obama for America Created: 12-15-07 Modified: 12-22-07 */

CSS Version 3: – View the stylesheet

/* CSS Author: Scott Thomas Created: 12-15-07 Author: Walker Hamilton Modified: 08-10-07 */

Did you notice there are two authors for Version 3? If you’re like me, you want to know who this Walker Hamilton fella is that is referenced in Version 3 of the CSS.

This is from Walker’s resume at walkerhamilton.com:

I architected and implemented the deployment mechanisms and technologies for the campaign’s various web properties. I implemented various applications to improve some processes, automate others, and facilitate instate/headquarters communications for departments within the campaign. Other duties included general maintenance, day to day content administration, and feature planning and development for the social network tied into the site.

Update: I’ve learned a couple of more people who were involved in the BarackObama.com website:

Matt Ipcar (from frog design)
Kyle Crouse (from frog design)

The Barack Obama logo design is by Sender, LLC

Sender, LLC developed the Obama ’08 logo.

From Brian Drum, of Sender LLC

Sender designed the original mark, but the site is developed and maintained in-house by the campaign’s web team.

Sender was involved *only* with the development of the “sunrise” mark, and had no role whatsoever in the design, development, or maintenance of barackobama.com.

Leave your reactions here

Do you like the design, or not? What aspects work best for you? Drop a line below.

Which design do you like? I prefer the lighter, more optimistic “Primary Obama” website, not the Obama/Biden serious, solumn “General Election Obama” site. What do you think?

Democratic Convention – losing focus and message through technology

Zack Katz — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 16:12:23 +0000

I listen to NPR (KFCR in Colorado), and I’ve heard a few bits about the Democratic National Convention here in Denver. One of the main topics in these bits is how technologically advanced the DNC ’08 convention is going to be. There will be blogging, there will be YouTube, there will be Twittering, and so on. They want to “tear down the walls” and get people involved, but somehow it all seems so empty!

Rich in media, lacking a real message

So I get it, Democrats are tech-savvy. But what about citizens older than 30 that may be wary of technology and wanting a real political voice? What about grandma and grandpa sitting at home, wondering whether to vote McCain or Hillary/Obama? When people look at the TV, what is the message voters will get?

Does the convention invite them to become part of the party that supports universal health care, peace, and strengthening the middle class? Or will watching the convention make the Democratic party seem too ungrounded and distracted to be relevant to them?

Focus on what is important – the party platform

I want the Democratic Party to remind the country: Democrats stand for lofty, yet achievable ideals. Helping others be healthy, safe, responsible, and successful is a worthy endeavor, and by voting for a Democrat, you vote for a better country and an improved world.

Having a technology-focused convention with hundreds of LCD screens flashing multimedia content dilutes the party’s message of true progress as a moral society.

When will Hillary & women have their turn?

Zack Katz — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 20:07:34 +0000

Ok, I get it. Obama delivered a brilliant, vital, on-the-mark ~~speech~~ discussion about race relations in America. Everyone applauds, some people cry. Pundits unanimously agree it’s the most important speech…like…ever. That’s cool, good for him. Race is a-ok. What about gender?

What if Hillary were to make a speech about being a woman? About the glass ceiling? About the bias against women in the workplace, working mothers, strong women, female go-getters?

I bet the press would use that opportunity to tear her apart, Howard Dean-style. They might call her weak, not ready for the presidency. In terms of politics–American politics especially–gender is th final frontier, not race. Hillary would be labeled a “feminist” (Insert devil horns here).

Men have low tolerance for hearing that they are bigoted, inferior, equal, or oppressive. But imply that they are the weaker sex, and it’s all over. Mention that there’s a huge gap between men and women, you’re done for. It’s risky enough that Hillary is a candidate to become the next president. But what if she DOES becomes president?

I support Hillary Clinton

Zack Katz — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 16:45:35 +0000

I just wanted to let it be known that I support Hillary. I like Obama, but I believe Hillary is a strong leader with good solutions now, whereas Obama would have to learn on the job. Visit her website and learn more about her position on issues.