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Critiki's latest new features: Themed Image Galleries, username photo credits |
SugarCaddyDaddy
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jun 03, 2002
Posts: 1500
From: Huntington Beach, California
|  Posted: 2004-04-08 09:39 am Permalink
Quote:
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kctiki wrote:
Humuhumu, it's possible Critiki could help some struggling businesses stay in the black... |
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Hmmm....possibly. I see it more as a way for existing businesses to increase their score in areas where they may be lacking. True, dedicated business owners wanting to be the best and offer the best to their customers do appreciate Critikicism no matter if it's good or bad. Critiki can be better feedback for businesses than those little "Comment Cards" that some places have (or not have!), since the submission of scores is kept anonymous and also because their target market is...US!
Of course, it will only matter to the existing businesses if they are aware of the Critiki website.
Humu, have businesses been notified of your website yet? Any plans on having businesses sponsor their own Critiki page? Maybe offer discounts or specials on their page for those registered on Critiki?
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kctiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 22, 2003
Posts: 439
From: Kansas City
| Posted: 2004-04-08 10:46 am Permalink
My statement was kinda vague. I meant to say that exposure thru the Critiki database could help draw in some incremental business for these establishments and help add to their bottom lines.
I'll go out on a limb and say Polynesian dining and Tiki bars may be coming back in a BIG way. Critiki may help some of these places be found by John Q Public.
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Trader Woody
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 25, 2002
Posts: 2301
From: Tiki Manor, Forest of Bowland,UK
| Posted: 2004-04-08 11:19 am Permalink
Humuhumu,
I've done a bunch of stuff over the years for a website reviewing Tiki bars in Europe, but have let it slide a bit in the past couple of years. I'd love it if you could use some of the reviews, etc, as your website is so much more user-friendly and useful to the globe-trotting Tiki-phile. Just let me know if all this material would be useful to you.
Trader Woody
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Unga Bunga
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jun 06, 2003
Posts: 5734
From: CaliTikifornia
| Posted: 2004-04-08 12:57 pm Permalink
Man,
This thread snuck by me when I was in Europe.
Humuhumu,
I love this website! A lot of love / work has gone into it and it shows.
Congratulations and LUCKY US to have you on our islands!
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Oh It Looks Good On You Though!
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Travellin' Tiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 05, 2004
Posts: 227
From: Vancouver, Canada
| Posted: 2004-04-08 1:49 pm Permalink
Wow! Nice work Humuhumu.
A much-needed addition to our tiki universe. Easy to use *and* beautifully designed! And to think, there's actually a "Polynesian Room" in a hotel right here in Vancouver that I never even knew about. (Unfortunately you have to rent out the whole thing just to get in -- Oh well, at least now if I ever get married I know exactly where my reception will be!)
I'll try & send you some pix of the B.C. locations if I can get 'em (might have some pix of the old Vancouver Trader Vic's somewhere too.)
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martiki
Official Mixologist
Joined: Mar 29, 2002
Posts: 3056
From: http://www.smugglerscovesf.com
| Posted: 2004-04-08 2:01 pm Permalink
I'm afraid that I have used Critique feature of Critiki and was left with no choice but to be brutally honest with "Trader Vic's Final Resting Place". I've been there twice now, and I have to give absolute bottom ratings for Mood, Music, Service, and Vibe. There's no music at all, the service is nonexistant, and everyone else there were a bunch of stiffs. The vibe was...well...quiet. I do have to give high marks for the stylish and understated decor. And of course, being next to the master himself makes it a solid 10 on the tikiness scale, although he wasn't too chatty when I was there. The drink menu is limited to Oakland tapwater from drinking fountains, but it's the same water that was used to make the ice for the first mai tai, so it's got some historical value. But still, with an overall rating of 3.7, I won't go out of my way again in the future.
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spy-tiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: May 11, 2003
Posts: 697
From: glendale, ca
| Posted: 2004-04-08 2:29 pm Permalink
A thing of beauty! I think...yes, a tear, I'm going to cry. Thank you Humhumu. Absolutely beautiful!
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virani
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Sep 17, 2003
Posts: 1434
From: Volcanic area of France
| Posted: 2004-04-08 2:38 pm Permalink
Thanks a lot for this treasure...
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Humuhumu
Grand Member (5 years) 
Joined: Aug 22, 2002
Posts: 3536
From: San Francisco
| Posted: 2004-04-08 10:10 pm Permalink
Boy, I dunno about Critiki keeping places in the black or anything -- I'd be surprised if Critiki drives more than the very faintest of trickle of traffic to any one place. S'pose it can't hurt, though. Well, except for the Giligin's Kon Tikis and Tiki Bob Cantinas of this sad modern world -- don't forget to Critiki the cruddy places, too, as a warning to your brother tikiphile!
SCD, I won't be doing any sponsorships or relationships with businesses on Critiki -- it's important to me that it remain impartial, and I have no particular desire to get any money off of it. I can afford to run it just fine, it's not an imposition at all. If businesses want to offer discounts to attract our crowd, TC is a much, much better place to do that, anyhow.
Trader Woody -- thank you so much for your kind offer. I'll contact you via email to discuss it further.
Travellin' Tiki -- the Polynesian Room is occasionally rented out for events that are open to the public. Lushy, a Seattle band you'll get to hear at Oasis, played a New Year's Eve event there a few years ago. Also a couple of years back, someone gave a talk on tiki there that was open to the public. I never have made it up there, but the few pics and descriptions I've come across make it sound really wonderful. Be sure to weasel your way in there one way or another.
Martiki: hee! There wasn't any music when I was there, either, but Cynful said that sometimes they have creepy music playing.
Thanks again to all of you for all of your incredibly kind words, and also for your deluge of critikis! Keep 'em coming!
http://www.critiki.com
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Critiki - Ooga-Mooga - Humu Kon Tiki
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Tiki Diablo
Grand Member (8 years) 
Joined: Jun 24, 2002
Posts: 1889
From: socal
| Posted: 2004-04-08 11:11 pm Permalink
Looking good Michelle! Thanks for putting this out. I'll see what I can contribute to your lovely website.
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Humuhumu
Grand Member (5 years)
Joined: Aug 22, 2002
Posts: 3536
From: San Francisco
| Posted: 2004-04-14 02:23 am Permalink
Hee hee! I've been up way past my bedtime to work on this, and I had to do a cheap hack to get it to work, but it's so worth it. Check it out:
Browse by Globe
It's a Java applet, so it won't work if you don't have Java. Ordinarily I'd stay away from using technology that's not universally installed, but this is just too cool to not do, even if not everyone can see it. It's worth getting Java on your machine! It's free, it's just a bit tricky -- ask a computer-savvy friend to lend you a hand and they'll have you running in a jiffy.
This first pass I've done only includes locations that are currently active (not closed ones) and only ones for which I have a n accurate latitude/longitude.
Next I'll work on a globe that displays defunct sites, too, and I'll include sites for which I don't have specific location info (i.e., just the city). That should bump up the international representation a bit. This current version only shows ~200 of the 460+ locations in Critiki (but you're probably more interested in these not-closed sites, anyhow).
Edited to add: the Java plug-in that comes with Internet Explorer 6 doesn't work properly. You'll need to get the latest Java plug-in from Sun. http://www.java.com
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I had it all backwards -- the best bed is the one that's stumbling distance from Tiki-Ti, or the Mai Kai, or the Lagoon Room, or the Alibi, or the Kon Tiki, or...
Critiki
[ This Message was edited by: Humuhumu on 2004-04-14 13:05 ]
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dogbytes
Grand Member (8 years)
Joined: Mar 24, 2002
Posts: 2240
From: seattle, wa
| Posted: 2004-04-14 10:27 pm Permalink
Critiki is FAB ~ i dont know how your post snuck past me.. but now i'm Critiki-ing away..
how did you do such a thing? in your vast quantity of spare time..between work, finding work, moving, jetsetting around ...
im astounded. and impressed. and glad you're sharing your "baby" with all of us!
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Humuhumu
Grand Member (5 years)
Joined: Aug 22, 2002
Posts: 3536
From: San Francisco
| Posted: 2004-04-15 01:03 am Permalink
Thanks so much dogbytes! It means so much to me that people are finding Critiki useful, or at least fun to play with!
I've updated the globe applet, and Mig reports that it's working with Internet Explorer now, so if you tried it earlier and it didn't work (or if the globe displayed but the red pins didn't), try again, and it should work.
So, I've got my own plans for what to do with this latitude & longitude info, but GPS stuff hasn't really been my focus. I know that there are people who are really into it, but I don't know much about how it's used. How can I make this data available in a useful fashion? If I just display the coords on the page, is that enough, or is there a keen-o-reeno website I could link it up to (like one of those geochaching thingys)? Do the OnStar-type GPS-guided vehicle systems take destinations in this format?
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Critiki - Ooga-Mooga - Humu Kon Tiki
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floratina
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 25, 2002
Posts: 997
From: West Los Angeles
| Posted: 2004-04-18 10:40 pm Permalink
That Globe feature is awesome! The planet is adorned with markers that represent active tiki establishments. You rotate the globe with your pointer, click on the marker and up comes the info. Pics too! Just plain nifty, Humu.
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Scamboogah
Tiki Centralite
Joined: Nov 04, 2002
Posts: 62
From: Oakland, CA
| Posted: 2004-04-19 1:48 pm Permalink
Awesome site! Great job!
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