Video Guides on MCB
Finally, videos on MCB are here. It took some fiddling around with various options (youtube, flash player, progressive flash player, shockwave, video editing software, music generation, the works). Finally, this is the recipe that worked the best.
For video editing -> Nothing beats Pinnacle Studio. Very simple interface, yet loaded with features when you need them. The thing freezes on me at times, but the auto-save option ensures that i dont lose any work. I started off with version 9, but upgraded to 12 because of…
The need for background score. Version 9 does not have the option to generate background music automatically. Not unless you pay some exhorbitant amount to SmartSounds. Luckily Pinnacle Studio version 12 has got score generation built in. Which worked like a breeze. Music and video all together spun out into a mpeg-2 format. The next step was…
Making the video web-ready. Flash is the most popular format on the net, and while pinnacle has an option to directly output to flash, Sothink Video Encoder for Flash does a much better job. It also creates the output video in a manner that the video downloads progressively as viewers play the video. No more waiting for the entire thing to download before playing. Even 5MB FLV files seemed to play just fine on a regular DSL line.
Finally, posting it on the web. The beautiful thing is that the actual HTML code is not that ugly at all. And not a whole lot if it either. Its all written down here.
So there it is. Nice and easy. Here are some of the places on MCB with videos…
Gowribidanur Visit
Here’s our first post on places in and around Bangalore that you could take off to if you have a complete day at your disposal.
Gowribidanur, a small town, about 100 km. from Bangalore, past Doddballapur, is well known on two counts. One for being a place where the ‘Second Jallianwallah Bagh’ type shooting took place. Two, for a temple that is steeped in mythology. Apparently, it also has an earthquake monitoring facility but we didn’t feel no tremors during our visit, so can’t confirm that to you folks. :)
Ok, for the serious bit now.
On April 25, 1939 or thereabouts, about 9 - 10 people were fired upon and killed during a peaceful Jathre ( village fair ). Apparently, there was a demonstration by Satyagrahis who demanded lowering the British flag and hoisting one of Bharat Mata. Furious that such an event could even be contemplated, officers from a police station nearby rushed in and opened fire killing 9 people, innocents included. Check out the photos for a memorial honouring the martyrs.
Mythology, as the temple here - Vidhura Aswathnarayana temple - was consecrated and blessed by none other than Krishna after the Mahabharat war. Apparently, the court advisor, Vidhura, apprehending the terrible consequences of a war between the Pandavas and their cousins the Kauravas, was advised to leave the kingdom by Krishna. The latter was of the opinion that it was Dharmic war and hence its necessity. Vidhura, dejected, leaves the kingdom and comes to South India for solace and meditation. Finding himself at the ashram of Maitreyi Maharishi on the banks of the Pinakini River, he resides there. Later, after the war, Krishna in disguise appears at the Ashram and advises Sage Maitreyi to plant a tree in honour of Vidhura. This tree, now gnarled, bent, withered and supported by a wall is supposed to be life giving. Hence, childless couples or those facing difficulties finding a lifepartner, come to worship the Aswathnarayana temple sorrounding the tree. On having their wishes fulfilled, they leave behind a set of three Nagakals for having their ‘naga dosha’ removed.
So goes the above stories told to us (& listened to with rapt attention, needless to add!) by a teacher at the Satyagraha High School, nearby the temple.
Be there…before you get there
A 3D panorama is a great way to an idea of how the place is going to be like…without having to fight the traffic and the honking and the pollution. MCB now introduces full panoramic views for its premium businesses. Take a look at The Ants and Modern World shops.
Cool, huh?!
MyCityBuddy advertisement on CityPlus
MyCityBuddy carried out its first public advertisement campaign on a new and upcoming local newspaper called city plus. There will be more to come, but here’s three cheers to the first one!
Figures and Graphs to make the heart swell
MyCityBuddy (MCB) uses Google Analytics to understand and assess our site traffic, usage patterns and pageview history. It is a tool that doesn’t impede much on user experience and is reliable and extensive.
So it was heartening this morning, to wake up and check the numbers for the month of May from this tool. Due to account restrictions, we are unable to give you exact figures, but look at the graphs below.
This first graph, tracks the site visitors from Jan - May 2008. While Jan - Feb the growth was flat, things have picked up heaps since then!
Of course, site visitors is only one part of the whole picture. What is more interesting is the next graph.
This graph represents the increase in the number of returning visitors (130% increase)! Users, once they find us, tend to return, in increasing numbers.
Thank you to everyone who has found MCB useful, as we continue to strive towards making MCB the first port of call for all users of Bangalore.
All the best book stores in Bangalore
A few years back one could count the number of good book shops on the little finger - gangarams, sapna, premier… how the situation has changed since then! MCB decided to take stock of all the best book stores in Bangalore. Along the way, MCB also talked to the owner of Blossoms and Oxford Bookstore to get their views on the changing book scene of the city.
Click here for all the best book stores in Bangalore.
Bengaluru goes international!
Bangalore, Bengaluru or Bengalooru?
One of the biggest problems we faced early on was what to do with the impending name change for Bangalore to Bengaluru? Is the new spelling for Bangalore going to be Bengaluru? Bengalooru? Any other variation?
Why would this be important in any case?
Because of search engine optimizations, of course!
Google, and to a lesser degree, other search engines, rely heavily on the text that they find within your site to best guess where and how to index your site. They also rely heavily on other sites linking to your site with the same text terms. So, a ‘rose’ by any other name is not the same for Google. :) In short, names, and keywords, matter a lot to search engines, Google in particular.
For the time being, we have relied on the most official reference that we could find for the correct spelling for Bangalore’s new name, and have put both the old name (Bangalore) and the new one (Bengaluru) in the places that matter on MyCityBuddy.
Who knows, in the future, we may have to add a third spelling!
Bengalooru’s very own HRC!
Nope, we ain’t talking of any Human Rights Campaign. We mean HRC as in Hard Rock Cafe, dude! At the junction of St. Marks Road & MG’s. You know that solid stone building that housed the Bible Society of yore? Yup, that’s the location.
Go and check it out! Here’s a teaser pic.
Experts Wanted!
Know the best chaat shop in town? Or the best place for Breakfast? Become a MCB expert and share it with the rest of the city! On MCB, any business is game - from multiplex theatres and shopping malls to toy stores and Italian restaurants. You can just write about the business based on your experience, or go the whole 9 yards by researching the business, interviewing the owners, and writing up a detailed review, possibly taking some beautiful photos of the business as well. In either case, fellow Bangaloreans will thank you…for being their buddy.
Interested? Drop us a line!