On this weeks edition of Perfcast, our special guest will be Patrick O’ Keefe author of the book, Managing Online Forums. The name might sound familiar to you considering I published a large two part interview with him back in June which you can view here (Part 1 – Part 2) As you might have guessed, David and I will be grilling Patrick on all sorts of issues relating to forums, online communities, and also, running his own blogging network iFroggy. To catch a glimpse of the discussion to take place later today, check out the interview I conducted with Patrick on BloggerTalks this week.
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WordPress 2.7 Sees The Light Of Day
It didn’t take long for the team to release WordPress 2.7 after RC2 was released just a few hours prior. Despite any confusion that may arise from two versions being released in the same day, I highly encourage anyone that is using WordPress to upgrade to the latest release (WordPress 2.7). There is simply too much bundled in this new version to pass up in favor of a later release.
Just to name a few reasons:
- Customizable Dashboard
- User Interface That End Users Can Control
- Browse And Install Plugins From Your Administration Panel
- Automatic Core Upgrades
- Automatic Theme Upgrades
- A Write Panel That Is 100 Times Better Than The One In WordPress 2.3
I’ve been using WordPress since the 2.2 days. I know, it’s not a long time but 2.7 is by far the most exciting release for me as it introduces a user interface that reeks of pure awesome. Think about it, with 2.7, we now have automatic upgrades, plugin installation/upgrades, and theme upgrades all available as core features. I and many others have claimed this to be the holy grail of WordPress. I’m really impressed that ideas that have been discussed in prior months have turned into reality. A nice, shiny, polished reality at that.
Will you be upgrading to WordPress 2.7 sooner rather than later? What is your favorite feature in 2.7?
Comment Form vs. Contact Form: Do You Mistake One for the Other?
Many of the blogs I run, manage or write for contain a handy contact form for directly emailing the blog’s owner straight from the browser. For those familiar with the difference, you would know that contact forms send email directly to the blog owner or author, while comment forms will leave a message viewable by the public. For instance, you can use this form to email me directly. Or you can leave a public comment at the comment box below.
But apparently, to some, it makes no difference whether you leave a comment or send an email as long as the message goes through. The mixup sometimes results in headaches and annoyances. For instance, a reader could be writing with the intent of replying to an existing comment. But if he uses the contact form, then the messages goes only to you. Are you obliged to re-post the message as a comment?
Or perhaps a reader wants to send you something in private, but instead publishes a comment. It’s probably easy enough to just unpublish the comment and respond to the writer via email (WordPress conveniently sends you alerts when there are new comments). But what if that message contained something you’d rather not have everybody read? Even if you hit the “unpublish” link, you can’t be sure that a comment would not leave traces (such as in comment RSS feeds).
There’s a simple solution, and this involves properly identifying both your email forms and comment forms. On the email form, you can write something like:
We appreciate your feedback. Please use the form below to send a direct message to the author/owner of this blog. Messages are sent directly to the author’s email inbox and will not be viewable by the public. If you wish to post a public reply, comment forms are available at the end of each article.
And then for comment forms:
Comments entered in this form are published for public viewing (once approved from moderation, if applicable). If you wish to send the author a private message, please use the contact form.
With luck, this should result in less confusion, and your readers will appreciate being told where their message will go.
Make Progress Everyday
There isn’t going to be much brilliance to this post. It’s not going to blow you away. It’s not going to offer a panacea for Utopian automatons (like me).
But really, it’s the most precise and useful way that I’ve found to proceed with my online endeavors in a bad economy.
Make progress every day.
What does this mean in concrete terms? Well, it means spending a little more time making things happen and a little less time absorbing information. It means that you stop reading, and start doing. It means that you identify 1 or 2 simple goals and accomplish them. It means that you stop putting out fires for a day, and instead move things forward.
It means doing that guest post you’ve been planning to do for 2 months. It means networking with someone new for the first time in 6 months. It means sucking up your pride and asking for help when you need it.
The last three weeks have been the most productive of my life. Why? Because every day I’ve been waking up and rather than looking at stats and revenue sheets, or chatting on AIM, I’ve been starting my day by getting at least one substantial thing completed. That may sound insignificant. But I’ve probably gotten more done in the last 3 weeks than the entire 3 months prior.
As the economic situation gets worse, the people and companies that will survive are the ones who are fundamentally productive. So do what you can to identify the things people need and want, and make them. Every day.
Oxite – Microsofts Open Source Blogging Platform
There is big news in the world of publishing software and that is, Microsoft had unveiled its foray into the open source blogging market with the first public release of Oxite. Oxite is built on top of the ASP.NET MVC (Model View Controller) framework. Many people seem to think that Oxite could take on the likes of WordPress but I highly doubt that. For the first release, this is what you have to look forward to:
Blogging Related Features:
- Pingbacks, trackbacks
- Anonymous and authenticated commenting along with optional moderation
- Gravator support (global avatars)
- RSS feeds
- Search friendly URLs
- Supports the MetaWebLog API
- Web Admin Panel
- Supports Open Search format
- Other Content Management Features
Other CMS Related Features:
- Create any number of web pages for any purpose
- Create sub-pages off a main page
- Localization
The good news relating to Oxite is that, it shows Microsoft moving into a more open software development track.
When visiting the Oxite FAQ, question number two sums up who will be using the Oxite platform anytime soon.
Q: I’m not a developer. Is Oxite for me?
A: Currently, no. Oxite is targeted at developers who want to learn ASP.NET MVC. That said, if you’re a devigner, you might really like Oxite too. We work well in Visual Studio Express. This is a community project. If the community decides to build this to work well for consumers down the road we won’t stop it, and then Oxite would be for you.
Should Guest Bloggers Be Able To Republish The Same Post To Multiple Blogs?
27 Commonly Misused Words
Brian Clark of CopyBlogger has published the Inigo Montoya Guide to the 27 most commonly misused words. I know that at times, I have used words within blog posts that I feel I know the definitions to but may not have used the right term in the right situation. Glad to know I’m not the only one. Here are a few examples:
Adverse / Averse
Adverse means unfavorable. Averse means reluctant.Fewer / Less
If you can count it, use fewer. If you can’t, use less.“James has less incentive to do what I say.”
“Tony has fewer subscribers since he stopped blogging.”
Hopefully
This word is used incorrectly so much (including by me) it may be too late. But let’s make you smarter anyway. The rule is you only use hopefully if you’re describing the way someone spoke, appeared, or acted.Smart: I hope she says yes.
Wrong: Hopefully, she says yes.
Wrong: Hopefully, the weather will be good.Smart: It is hoped that the weather cooperates.
Smart: She eyed the engagement ring hopefully.
Be sure to read the entire guide on CopyBlogger and if you’re like me, you’ll be printing this out to keep as a reference.
How about you though? Notice any words on that list that you admit to commonly misusing? Any words not on the list that drive you crazy with their incorrect usage?
Adding Threaded Comments To WordPress Themes
WordPress 2.7 which is due for release any day now introduces the ability to have threaded conversations or, threaded comments. However, not every theme available for WordPress is going to have support for this new feature built in meaning you might have to add in the necessary changes yourself. No worries though as Sarah from BloggingTips.com has crafted an excellent post that walks you through from beginning to end on how to add this support to your theme.
Note that you do not HAVE to add this support to your theme. This feature/tutorial is only for those looking to use the threaded comment feature in WordPress 2.7 but who are using a theme which doesn’t support the new functionality.