If you’ve changed your Ruby on Rails application on Rails 2.x to use database sessions instead of the standard cookie sessions, you’ll most probably encounter the following error:

No :secret given to the #protect_from_forgery call. Set that or use a session store capable of generating its own keys (Cookie Session Store).

To get around this is painlessly simple, yet one of those little things that hides away where you might not first think.  To fix the error, simply go to your /app/controllers/application.rb file, and uncomment the commented text on the ”protect_from_forgery” line.

Restart your server, and all should be well!

As mentioned in my previous post explaining why customers now expect businesses to have a website, I promised to cover the shifting patterns of internet usage in the workplace, and how you could harness the marketing potential of people in the workplace.

So many employees are stuck in an office from dawn till dusk, unable to break away to look through the phone book (if they can find one in the office) to find a plumber, search for guides to completing the local golf course, or leaving work too late to make their way to the shops to buy presents.  It’s so much easier to call up a website and look for what you need online, and quite often the only way the poor souls can do anything for themselves during the long hours tied to their desks!  Okay, they’re being paid to work, but the fact of the matter is that a high ratio employees do use the internet in work for personal activities, so why not make the most of it as a business?

The main benefit is that you can target otherwise inaccessible customers without doing a thing.  You can’t rely on these potential customers looking for you when they get home; the chances are strong that they would be on the phone as they’re leaving the office to someone they found earlier in the day on the internet.  You’re not likely to catch them flicking through the phone book in the evening as that’s even on the internet now.  It seems logical that you should join the growing number of companies pitching their services to this new target audience, right?

As I touched on earlier in this article, and in the previous article, many directory listing services are now offering the same paper book service online.  Such services include: Yell, 192, 118, The Phone Book (BT), Thomson Local.  Just getting listed on those sites could benefit you greatly, although getting your own website would be even more fruitful.

It’s definitely food for thought.  If you would like any information or advice regarding the points raised in this article, please get in touch.

We’ve reached the stage in UK where the modern generation of consumers and house owners have grown up with the internet.  Technology is becoming second nature to people’s everyday lives, which can mostly be attributed to the popularity of social networking sites such as Facebook, and previously MySpace and Bebo.

As much as these sites generate mass popularity and incite loathing in equal measure, there’s no denying that they are raising awareness of the internet and making it as much a part of the UK’s morning ritual as a good old cup of tea.

With the boom in social internet usage comes a sort of expectation that everything else can be done on the internet too.  It’s becoming increasingly common for me to wake up in the morning, put the kettle on, have a shower, then sit down at my laptop with a cuppa and check my emails before browsing the internet to order golf equipment, cds, presents… even to find a plumber when the shower packs in.  This pattern is commonplace these days and with lives becoming more hectic, people often don’t have time to flick through the Yellow Pages and ring around - A quick search on Google, a check of prices on a couple of websites, and a phone call or email to place an order/book a plumber is all that’s needed.

It is because of the above that many people now expect a company to have a website, and can immediately rule them out of a sales decision if they can’t find a website for the company.  It’s almost like having the shutters down on a shop front.  If people can’t see what a company has to offer, it is likely to negatively affect business.

Companies such as Yellow Pages have picked up on the trend and made a move to internet services and even include website listings for businesses.  The internet really is becoming an essential marketing and sales tool.  If your company doesn’t already have a website, it might be time to consider it!

All this and we’re still sat down having breakfast!  I’ll delve into the truth about internet in the workplace in the next post, and explain how you could achieve better business online during business hours rather than conventional directory and telephone enquiries.