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Getting Started
It takes about 8 hours to get you online!
We've made it as easy as possible to get you up and running. Here's a checklist of things you'll need to do before we can get you online. As long as you already have content and a team and an internet connection, there is nothing further required to actually start posting information online, we simply turn on your country and you start to configure it and upload data. Here are a couple of things to think about:
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setup a local server
(optional) |
setup a linux server in your office. A normal P4 box, with 512mb RAM and 80GB harddrive would be sufficient. You will need someone to install RedHat Linux. We will customize and finish the installation from Ghana, and then maintain the machine for you.. This is NOT obligatory -- you can access and configure the site online by visiting tradenet.biz. Having a server in your office just speeds up the access and makes for a better experience for your team -- it also avoids dependencies on the internet. There is no software you need to buy, and you will NOT need a linux specialist in-house. |
| establish an internet link |
you must have an internet connection from your office. If your connection is slow or intermittent, we'd advise that you setup a staging server in your office so that you are not dependant on your connection. But a connection must be present for at least some part of each day so that your server can replicate all the content up to the global web server. This occurs transparently and automatically in the background when the connection is available. We'd advise a permanent, shared 64K link rather than dialup. |
| prepare your team |
make sure that your team is prepared and in place. In your office, you will need two or more operators with standard desktop PCs who can manage the content that you are uploading to tradenet. They will be required to coordinate and manage the source of your content, perhaps from market enumerators in the field. The team will check the site every day, upload news stories, documents, and approve other price submissions. They will also distribute prices by publishing them from the site. The team will need to read the userguide for tradenet as soon as it is up and running so that they will know how to configure and use the site. |
| choose the content |
decide which modules you want to start with (prices, news, library, offers, contacts). Then collect the information and prepare it for upload to the tradenet platform. You can start with just one module, then add more as you go. If you are going to include news, make sure that you've prepared a number of news stories for inclusion.
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select a domain name
(optional) |
if you wish to use your own domain name, please let us know and provide us with any custom logo. |
setup SMS
(optional) |
to enable SMS, we need to have a relationship with a local SMS provider or integrator. We can discuss with them how to setup the SMSengine to integrate with your price information. We have a very simple system that they need to download and install on their end, and we need an FTP account to exchange data with them. We can work with them -- just make an introduction for us, and make sure you've discussed the business relationship with them first. You may be able to take up to 40% in revenue generated by the SMS operator from text messages received. |
| send tradenet your info |
we need the following information sent to us via email:
- name of country: currency, dollar exchange rate, dialing code.
- list of commodities you want to start with
- list of states or districts that make up your country
- list of towns and market names that you will be covering
- email address and password of main country host |
| online! |
Once all of this is prepared, it will take just a few hours to turn on your country and incorporate it into the tradenet internet application. |
