FIND A LOCAL MOTORING BUDDY BY ZIP CODE

**OctaneGuy** · #1 03-30-2004, 02:16 AM

Hey All,

I've built a new tool that's essentially a Store Finder or Store Locator for MINI enthusiasts in the USA. We all know how great it is to find other people to MOTOR with, to acknowledge our waves, or even to just park next to another MINI. Some people join clubs to get this excitement.

Wouldn't it be cool if you could enter your zip code and say a distance to find the nearest MINI's within 5 miles of you???

Feel free to give it a shot. It's not 100% completed yet, but it's ready for accepting entries. I live in the Los Angeles area so if you want to test it out, try entering some Los Angeles zip codes like 90272 or 90066 and using 5 miles or 75 miles as a radius for testing.

This registry was designed to be nationwide, and is based on 15 year old Census data for calculating the distance, so I wouldn't be surprised if it's wrong in some areas (or a lot of areas) for that matter!

To register on the list, just follow the instructions. Your listing won't become active until you click the activation link that is emailed to you, so make sure you use a valid email address!

When you run the test ZIP code above, you can see what kind of info is displayed if you're concerned about privacy.

My final task will be to build in an instant messaging/email system to permit people to hook up with each other. For now it'll just be informative to see how far is the nearest MINI to you! Assuming we get lots of people registering.

Let me know what you think and feel free to email me if you discover any bugs or weird behavior.

Don't worry, this isn't some ploy to charge people to register or anything like that. It's just an idea I had for awhile and thought would be really cool if it existed. Should it become huge like I hope it will be, I may figure a way to charge companies to advertise to pay for running this thing, but that's way down the line, if ever.

http://www.c3club.org/2/finder/

OctaneGuy

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**MINIclo** · #2 03-30-2004, 02:32 AM

early_apex · #3 03-30-2004, 02:39 AM

That's an interesting idea, I just signed up.

One suggestion - why not replace the "Your Public Name" field with "Your NAM Name" or "Your AIM ID"? That way people who already have way too many web sites to keep up with can avoid adding another and communicate via an established PM or IM system.

Is the address/phone info publicly viewable? I'd be concerned about creating a shopping list for potential MINI thieves.

**OctaneGuy** · #4 03-30-2004, 02:47 AM

Hi Early_Apex!

I saw your registration come through. Thanks! Sure I will change the wording to be more familiar right now. Ok, I changed it to suggest using your NAM/MINI2/AIM name. Also I modified it to show that the detailed address/phone info is NOT visible without your consent.

What I mean is that no, it is not visible. I was thinking in the future should someone contact you, might desire to make that available to them in some way, but I too was concerned about the privacy issue.

My thinking was this. If you register, and later do a search and find someone you want to see if they will motor with you, possibly your phone would be sent in that inquiry to that person you are trying to contact--giving them the option to answer or deny. But again, even if that happened, it would be optional.

I like your idea about using an established system for PMing. I'll see what's involved in getting that done.

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**OctaneGuy** · #5 03-30-2004, 02:54 AM

Hmm, seems my Activation Link is busted. Early_apex, let me know if you got the reply email. I'm supposed to get CC'd a notice and the one i got seems messed up. Let me know. Thanks!

early_apex · #6 03-30-2004, 03:02 AM

I got the email right away.

Can there be a way to specify where the public name originates? Like another row of buttons that looks like this:

You can reach me via my Public Name at: o NAM o MINI2 o AIM o YahooIM oMSN Messenger o ICQ o Not Specified

This would have to be publicly viewable.

Another thought - identifying which fields are public and which are private might help encourage people to sign up.

Hope this is coming across as helpful and not nosy. It's late here. :smile:

**OctaneGuy** · #7 03-30-2004, 03:11 AM

did you click the active link on the email? Your listing is still showing as not activated. Also see if the password works for you or not. Thanks!

re: suggestions
Not nosy at all!! I really appreciate them. It'll help make it easier for everyone to use, so thank you!!!!!

Currently the only public thing is your Public Name, City, State, and Zip. That's all I had planned to make public. But I'll see if I can make it readable.

Good ideas on the additional fields!!! I will add them now! Keep em coming!

early_apex · #8 03-30-2004, 03:22 AM

Yeah, I didn't open the email. I think I'm activated now.

Two small problems I see.

1. The Make/Model field data isn't being kept. I enter it, hit update, and when I look at my profile again they are empty.

2. The "Your Public Name" no shows the change you made to include (NAM/MINI2/ETC)

I could very well be doing somehting wrong as I'm frikcing tired. Going to bed now.

Ok, it looks like the changes on addme.asp aren't reflected on userhome.asp. I'll bet you haven't gotten to that yet. Really going to bed now. :smile:

**OctaneGuy** · #9 03-30-2004, 03:29 AM

Thanks for your help. Yeah I was modifying the database and the front end code as you were testing, so I'm not surprised. LOL. Thanks so much!!!

Ok, I made the changes. Yep, I was working on the Insert page, and hadn't gotten to the Update page. I fixed the radio buttons to display correctly and added the additional fields that you requested.

It appears my verification thing is still broken, as I had to manually enable your listing. But oh well, more testing tomorrow. I'm going to sleep too!!!

----
hey I'm still awake. False alarm on the Verification email. Seems to be working. Just gotta make sure to click the correct link! Something I'll need to improve. Ok, off to be now.

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d-mini-ero · #10 03-30-2004, 04:05 AM

Interesting concept...
I'll run over and give it a shot :smile:
Peace,
D

**OctaneGuy** · #11 03-30-2004, 08:50 AM

Thanks D! There was another registration from NY. Woohoo!!! Thanks! Seems I need to modify the submission to let you know to activate your account through the email that's sent. Both submissions are available now to try out. Seems you are about 2471 miles from me!

Let me know if you have any suggestions or comments!

OctaneGuy

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**OctaneGuy** · #12 03-30-2004, 09:03 AM

Seems I've found some missing ZIP codes from the database!! The latest 2 registrations from MA. Stay tuned, I'm going to see if I can locate their coordinates.

chrisneal · #13 03-30-2004, 09:03 AM

I tried to register, but it told me that my zip code wasn't in the database (it just changed a few years ago). I tried putting in my old zip code, and it told me that my e-mail address was already registered. But I haven't gotten an e-mail yet. But my e-mail sucks, and sometimes things take a while to show up...

Cool idea! Hope it catches on. :smile:
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**OctaneGuy** · #14 03-30-2004, 09:27 AM

chrisnl, what's your old ZIP code? You can PM it to me if you want and I can send the password that's automatically generated.

Thanks for giving it a shot!

sdanaher · #15 03-30-2004, 09:28 AM

I got my email - but th activation link doesnt work.. i even copied the whole link (since IE didnt recognize the whole line)

Any help..?

Johnna · #16 03-30-2004, 09:28 AM

Looks good. I just signed up. Evidently I'm the only one in the Denver area so far. None came up in my search.

**OctaneGuy** · #17 03-30-2004, 09:34 AM

Sorry about the broken link in the email. You have the password so go ahead and try logging in. I will go activate your account from here. That's something I need to fix still. I went ahead and activated everyone that's registered so except for the MA areas, you should find your info.

Now I did locate coordinates for the missing areas, so I will need to probably enter them one at a time. LOL Oh boy!

=========

Thanks Johnna!! I just made this available last night around 1AM, so not many people know it exists. 12 registrations isn't bad. LOL

Try widening your search a couple hundred miles to see where everyone is.

Also tell your MINI friends please. =)

If anyone forgets how to get to the link, just remember our club (c3Club.org) and that'll link to it as well.

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early_apex · #18 03-30-2004, 09:34 AM

Hey Octaneguy, I tried filling out the fields for IM contact info, but I'm not seeing that info in a search. Is there something I need to do to see that info for a person?

Johnna, if you enter a search radius of 9999 miles, you should see everyone that has signed up. The tool has been up for less than 24 hours, and I think there are only about 5 people registered so far.

**OctaneGuy** · #19 03-30-2004, 09:37 AM

We actually have 16 registrations so far--4 more since I last posted. LOL.

Sorry Apex that I wasn't clear! I mentioned that the contact portion is still being worked on. I opened the site up early to get some registrations. The actual--click this to contact them---has not been implemented yet, but is my next phase.

Johnna · #20 03-30-2004, 09:38 AM

I did a 4000 mile search. I think I got everybody. Very cool idea! Thanks!

>>Johnna, if you enter a search radius of 9999 miles, you should see everyone that has signed up. The tool has been up for less than 24 hours, and I think there are only about 5 people registered so far.

ukbyoung · #21 03-30-2004, 09:43 AM

This is a great idea. Sad thing is, there is only one within 500 miles of me.

Nebraska isn't the biggest hotspot for MINI's.

B

buz · #22 03-30-2004, 10:25 AM

Great work OctaneGuy. Just completed registration. :smile:

chrisneal · #23 03-30-2004, 10:28 AM

I tried my town's 2 zips (old & new), plus three zips from adjacent areas of Boston and all 9 zips in the city of Cambridge MA - none are listed! This could be a cool idea if the zip code database were more up to date. Thanks for the help anyway, and good luck! :smile:

Storer · #24 03-30-2004, 10:35 AM

How about a Team Mighty Miniz name also?

**OctaneGuy** · #25 03-30-2004, 10:37 AM

Hey Chris-

I've added a new function to report missing ZIPS. You can find it at the footer of each page. If you can add the ZIPs and the cities that you know are missing--it will search the db when you enter them--to verify---, that would be appreciated. I can then cross reference these cities to their Longitude/Latitude data and get them added to the general DB.

>>I tried my town's 2 zips (old & new), plus three zips from adjacent areas of Boston and all 9 zips in the city of Cambridge MA - none are listed! This could be a cool idea if the zip code database were more up to date. Thanks for the help anyway, and good luck! :smile: