Aaron Brazell who heads up Technosailor.com has once again published a top 10 list of things to know regarding the next version of WordPress (2.7). These articles have become a regular series on the blog and are always worth reading to get a top down observation of why the next version of WordPress matters. This particular post highlights the history of how the 2.7 backend rebuild came to be, new features and more. If you’ve been out of the loop with regards to WordPress and the developments that have taken place for 2.7, this post will catch you up in no time flat.
Blog
Teaching Blogging Becoming Mainstream
Upon reading an article published by TheRecord.com (Blogging courses gain momentum) out of Vancouver Canada, I thought it was interesting that teaching people how to blog is turning up in course books across universities and college campuses. Gary Shilling who will be teaching a course about blogging and social media at B.C.’s Simon Fraser University describes the course as:
“The people we’re designing it for are people who perhaps are not terribly comfortable with technology, who have an interest in the medium but haven’t made those first steps to actually push the button,” Shilling says.
The course aims to teach people how to publish text, photos and video while also teaching how to write for the web. Of course, writing for the web is a tough business when you consider that people have short attention spans and you only have a few seconds of someones time to really catch their attention. It’s like fishing where the title of your post is generally the bait. Perhaps that is why the first few paragraphs of a blog post are considered the hook.
Other courses being taught around Canada include: “Internet Storytelling” at Nova Scotia Community College or “Introduction to Blogs” at Ontario’s Centennial College, and “Blogging for Business’ at the University of British Columbia. While this is a Canadian centric article, I’m almost certain that courses such as these are being taught all across the United States, perhaps even the world.
I think we are at the stage of the game where common folk are starting to hear the term ‘Blog‘ more and more and perhaps this is driving these individuals to look into what the word means and then what blogging is all about.
If this someone is you, let me give you a primer on blogging. For starters, a blog enables an individual to participate in the larger conversation that is always ongoing on the net. You can use your blog for more than just publishing thoughts, you can make a living, you can share your perspective on life, you can use it as a resume, you can make it your home away from home, etc. I could type what the definition of a blog is but I’d rather tell you what I think it is.
I think of a blog as an opportunity. You can shape this opportunity into anything you want but having a blog is like providing yourself an opportunity. When I took a more serious approach to blogging in 2007, I convinced myself that it would be a one year project, only to see where it would take me. Six months in, my blog presented me an opportunity for a paid writing position. Without my blog, I wouldn’t have had that opportunity. Each blog I write for, each time I hit that publish button, I am creating opportunities.
That is what blogs are, that is what they are capable of doing. Take advantage of the opportunity
Please share your thoughts with me on how blogging has presented opportunities for you throughout life. Did your blog give you the chance to make money? Did your blog give you the chance to make new friends and acquaintances? Did your blog enable you to extend your career? Let me know.
1-800 Hows My Blogging
I’ve been writing for Performancing since the beginning of June 2008. Since then, I’ve created a sizable chunk of content for the site. Some of the articles I have written have been wildly successful while most have not. For the most part, I’ve stayed away from discussing monetization tips, strategy, what works and what doesn’t. Back in July, I let you know that change was on the horizon for Performancing.com but since then, not much has changed at least in terms of the site itself. There have been quite a few changes behind the scenes, specifically dealing with personnel. If all goes well, Performancing will sport a new look soon, and many structural changes will be taking place. The forums will be revamped and the massive archive will be much easier to browse through.
In that post regarding change, I had asked what it was you ‘the readers’ wanted most out of the site. No surprise that many of you wanted tips, tricks, techniques, methods, etc dealing with monetization. Hard shoes to fill when the writer has no interest in those subjects. My hope is that at some point in the future, Performancing can bring on an individual who specializes in the area of monetization.
In terms of keeping with the tagline ‘Helping Bloggers To Succeed‘ I can share tips, tricks, techniques, all about blogging. I can review sites, services, plugins, themes, publishing platforms if that is what you want. I come from a background of working for others to make money, not working for myself. So, I can provide strategies for freelancing, suggestions, techniques, how to get a blogging job etc. I can discuss a lot of different things but monetization isn’t one of them.
So to bring this full circle, I’d like to know your honest opinion with regards to the content I’ve produced. Do you hate the job board posts I publish each week? Which posts do you enjoy the most? Which do you hate? Is Perfcast a waste of your time? Is reading my content a waste of your time?
These are all important questions for me in terms of how I shape the content I write for Performancing in the future. So, instead of guessing, I figured the best thing I can do is ask you.
Results Of My URL Field Experiment
Back in September, I created a poll that asked if you would still comment on a blog if the URL field from the comment form was removed. 36 of you said yes while 27 of you said no. I followed that poll up with a post explaining what I believed to be the pros and cons of the URL field. At the end of that post, I described an experiment I would do on my personal blog to see what would happen and this is the result.
After publishing that article, I went over to my blog and edited the comments.php file that was part of my theme to remove the URL field. To make a long story short, comment spam did not decrease but remained the same. However, once I removed this particular field from my comment form, a number of plugins on my WordPress installation broke. These plugins include CommentLuv, Ajax Edit Comments, WP Comment Remix, etc. I have no idea on why these particular plugins broke but even after I added the URL field back to my comment form, these plugins remained broken. I’ve since performed a fresh installation of WordPress in a brand new database and all appears to be well.
The bottom line is, removing the URL field is extreme and apparently, can be problematic. Instead, I suggest that you use a plugin that allows you to de-link a comment author so that if they publish a relevant comment but link back to a site that you don’t agree with, you can easily remove the link but keep the comment.
I’ve been giving this some thought and I’m beginning to think that de-linking will become a blog authors new best friend. I’m noticing a large increase of comments being published by people who appear to be legit but the link in the URL field is for some type of marketing site or is directed towards a product or a service. Of course, what I deem to be a site not worth linking may be just fine for you.
In a follow up post, I will present to you a number of plugins or perhaps hacks that give you this de-linking ability. As for the experiment, don’t remove the URL field from your blog. You’ll end up causing more harm than good.
Show Us Your Blogging Rig and Win a Pro pMetrics Account
Some bloggers probably have no qualms about just typing away at any computer and publishing blog posts at any time of the day. But there are some of us who have some habits or practices that we just can’t do without. Perhaps most would at least need to be using a certain piece of equipment or software in order to be productive when writing. Perhaps you need a big LCD screen? Or how about a netbook for portability and the ability to blog anywhere?
Ryan showed us his blogging rig a year back. Much like Ryan, I’m fond of a multi-computer setup. I like it how I can write an article on one computer, and then do research and reading (or chatting with colleagues) on another.
On my desk, my main work machine is my laptop, and in the periphery are my two netbooks.
My laptop and netbooks
I usually carry one netbook in my bag for those times when I need to get work done while out of my home office. As backup connectivity, and for away-from-office connectivity when outside of WiFi hotspots, I use my 3G/HSDPA modem. This runs on a prepaid account, so I don’t have to worry about needlessly paying for an unlimited account that I don’t usually get to use anyway (and sometimes the faster 3G/HSDPA signal is spotty so one has to settle down for slow GPRS).
HSDPA modem
When I need to get some graphics-related work done, I use my Mac Mini, which is attached to a reasonably-sized (19-inch) LCD screen.
My Mac Mini
And then there’s for those cases where I really need to get connected while mobile. I used to use my Nokia E51 exclusively, but when I got a SonyEricsson Xperia X1 for review, I’m finding myself using that one more often for writing emails, moderating comments, and even writing short posts while on the go.
Show us your blogging rig!
Now it’s time for you to share with us what your blogging rig looks like. Do share a bit why you like your blogging setup that way, and how it helps you be productive. Or perhaps, if you don’t feel your blogging rig is good enough, tell us how you’d like to change your blogging setup to help you blog better.
To help you in blogging productivity, we’re giving away Pro pMetrics accounts to four lucky folks who post their blogging rig photos on the comment threads. Accounts are good for one year, and valued at $59.99. With the premium Pro account you get detailed tracking, such as per-visitor tracking, conversion tracking, data export and the like. The Pro account also supports up to 10 sites instead of three for the free account.
I’ll select one submission in random each Friday of the next four weeks. I will announce the winners, and get in touch with the comment author. So please register for an account so I can directly contact you through your Performancing account (and the email registered therein).
Performancing Job Board 11-16-2008
Not much happening this week with the job board side of things.
PR 3 Site Available
Real Estate blogger needed
If you are looking for a blogging job or you’re an employer looking for somewhere to place your job ad, be sure to check out the Performancing Job board. There are no fees for publishing jobs.
Darren Rowse To Appear On Perfcast
If you’ve ever wanted the chance to ask Darren Rowse a question in real time, next Thursday will be your opportunity. The problogger himself will be appearing for an hour on Perfcast next Thursday to discuss problogging, the success of his co-authored book, monetization, blog networks, the state of advertising, community, what it’s like to be a blogging rockstar and much, much more. This episode is a week away but it already has ‘classic‘ written all over it. If you’ll be unable to participate in the show live, you can email your questions to [email protected] or you can leave a comment on this blog post with your question. It may or may not be asked on the air but it’s worth a shot.
The show will air live on Thursday November 20th, 2008 at 7 P.M. EST on Talkshoe.com.
If you would like to know how to participate in the show, please read the How To Participate In Perfcast Live guide I put together which explains everything you need to know.
Reader Responses – Definition Of Weekend
Ahh, today is Friday. The day in which most Mon-Fri 9-5 workers enjoy the most. After Friday, the weekend rolls around offering ample opportunity to get things done or to just take a breather. However, for bloggers, freelancers, and online entrepreneurs, the weekends have become part of the work week.
Back on November 8th, I asked readers if they could relate to a statement that I saw come across my Twitter stream. The statement identified the fact that weekends used to mean no work but now, they have been relegated to days in which you stop working on the things you don’t want to do, and work on the things you want to do. I also asked our members of the Hive to share their thoughts on the matter and this is what you, and others had to say
Randa Clay – I usually work on client stuff during the week, and I enjoy it, but when the weekend comes I like to work on my own sites.
Daniel M – Yes that is something I can definitely relate with, especially when working online. I leave the weekdays for the boring stuff and the weekends for the things I actually do want to do.
Jeff Chandler A.K.A. Myself – I try to free up the weekends to provide time for myself to get my own personal projects worked on but thinking about what has to be accomplished the following work week sometimes prevents that from happening.
Vrijeme – I work all week plus weekends on jobs I want to do. No leisure time though.
Dave of clean red widgets – I can definitely relate to that – unless my football team happens to be playing 🙂
Here is what members of the Hive had to say:
Chris Garret – I think we need a reclaim the weekend campaign – I seem to get more and more demands on my time where some folks now think the business week is mon-fri then work double hard sat/sun!
Ryan Caldwell – Many people like me who work from home are willing to spend 3-5 hours in the middle of any random work day doing non-work related things. In fact, I’m in the habit these days of taking Thursdays off from 12-7pm while I visit my parents with my 6 month old son. So, given the luxuries of flexibility, I take it for granted that I need to make up some time on the weekends.
Char – I stopped doing any client work on weekends years ago. I reserve weekends (namely 1-2 hours Sat. am and Sun. am) for playing around with new projects of my own, tweaking my own sites and sometimes writing a few posts. If there is nothing going on on a rainy Sunday you may find me at my desk too – depends on my mood.
Raj Dash – I actually tend to do most of my real writing either in the evening or on weekends (Fri-Mon). The other days I sometimes plan work, research, do administrative stuff, or run personal errands. That doesn’t mean I don’t “work”, but it’s hard to shove creative tasks into a fixed time slot..
Matt Craven – I think in the “new” economy – i.e. the jobs that we all have – we tend to work when we feel most productive.. and because most of us are, in essence, working for ourselves, we fit this into whatever rhythm seems to make sense.
Lucy Nixon – But I think sometimes you just do have to work the weekend, and he and I both come from the big consultancies which expect you to do that, so for us, that is the norm. Not a good thing, though, particularly with a young family. So I’m trying to set boundaries – starting with not replying to client emails over the weekend and working up!
Ahmed – I work on weekends so i can take the week off
The bottom line is, for most people who work in the online world, Weekends don’t seem to have the same meaning as they once did. Thanks in due part to the flexibility offered through working from home, working on the weekends is not as bad when you can spend time with your family and get things around the house completed during the work week.