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10 “Gotta Have” WordPress Plugins for Your Blog.

January 29, 2010 By 1 Comment
10 “Gotta Have” WordPress Plugins for Your Blog.

One of the quickest ways to make blogging easier on yourself is to use WordPress plugins. From automating tasks like backing up your blog articles to guarding your site from spam, plugins enhance your website and help you maintain a top notch blog. Luckily for us all, WordPress makes installing and using plugins as simple as a few button clicks.

There are literally thousands of plugins available, but the ones I’ve listed are ones I use over and over for many reasons. Some are optional depending on your level of blogging or code expertise (and will be noted in the descriptions below), but most of these plugins can be used on any blog to immediately improve things. If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions on plugins please leave me a comment below!

  1. Akismet:

    Akismet is a spam control plugin. Installed by default on all WordPress blogs, Akismet shouldn’t even be a question. It’s ridiculously accurate in separating spam from real comments and it just works.

  2. All in One SEO Pack:

    If you’re looking to increase the search engine friendliness of your site, start with this plugin. Coupled with some smart markup (read: HTML) and decent content, your blog will start seeing the love it deserves from Google, Bing, and other search engines. There are some great customization options available, too.

  3. Exec-PHP:

    In a nutshell, this WordPress plugin lets you add PHP code inside of posts. If you’re even slightly tech-minded, or if you want to add more functionality to your posts, the Exec-PHP plugin is a no brainer. If you don’t plan on using PHP I wouldn’t worry about this plugin; but if you do this is a must have.

  4. FD Feedburner Plugin:

    Get your RSS feed out there with more panache with a Feedburner account (easily logged into with your iGoogle account). This plugin replaces the default feed and uses the Feedburner feed instead. Once you’ve set up your Feedburner account you can customize it with a ton of options that will help spread your blog around and gather interest to your site.

  5. Google Analytics for WordPress:

    This plugin automagically puts your Google Analytics code on each page/post as appropriate. It’s a great way to get some basic stats and easily integrates with your website. There are plenty of free analytics packages out there, but this one is really simple to get started with and monitor.

  6. Google XML Sitemaps:

    When you update your blog this plugin makes all the necessary updates so Google can parse your site more easily. Highly recommended, especially in conjunction with the “All in One SEO Pack” above!

  7. Permalinks Moved Permanently:

    If you ever rethink how you’ve categorized posts or decide to update posts on the back-end, there’s a good chance that you’ll eventually run into a problem with broken permalinks. This plugin is a great go-between that helps you out while you’re finding the broken links because it tries to find the update permalink and send them to the right page, all seamlessly.

  8. PS Disable Auto Formatting:

    The PS Disable Auto Formatting plugin lets you get rid of the automated formatting that exists in WordPress posts. Take control of your blog’s posts and sculpt the markup as you wish. There are a few minor things to update and/or remember when using this one, but if you want to control your HTML in a post it’s a great plugin to have.

  9. WordPress Database Backup:

    Don’t get caught with your pants down! If your WordPress ever gets corrupted or if you get hacked, make sure you have a backup with this plugin. It can be configured to automatically backup your content so you can repair if/when necessary.

  10. WordPress Gravatars:

    So you’ve read my Gravatar post and want to hook up your blog readers, have you? Just install the WordPress Gravatars plugin and you’ll be on your way. This plugin makes it really easy to have your commenters feel like a part of the blog.

One more thing to note: To make sure your WordPress blog runs as efficiently as possible, be careful how many plugins you install and use. Too many plugins can actually slow things down on your website.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ivanwalsh/ / CC BY 2.0
Filed Under: Development Tagged With: , , , , ,

Is the Apple iPad a Game Changer?

January 27, 2010 By 6 Comments
Is the Apple iPad a Game Changer?

I’ve got a new post on my Posterous site regarding the newly-announced Apple iPad with the initial details of the Apple iPad and some quick thoughts on it. The short version: The Apple iPad is everything I thought it would be and more. And at a lower price, too! I’m pretty sure I’ll be getting one since they look so damned useful.

The new iPad looks like the perfect mix of netbook size and laptop capability, and IMHO it’s got the potential to be a real game changer in several areas.

  • Netbooks:

    I’ve predicted the demise of netbooks before, and even if Apple haters completely ignore the iPad, I’m still convinced that the future of netbooks is coming. Soon.

  • Kindle:

    Is it even a question that Apple is positioning the iPad to be a Kindle killer? With the iBook app and current (or future) deals with publishers of books (and textbooks?), newspapers, and magazines, the iPad has much more to offer the digital bibliophile than the Kindle.

I wonder what the future of the Mac Air and the iPod Touch are, considering how the iPad sits between the two. Is there still room for either when the iPad is essentially Mac Air-Lite or an iPod Touch++? The Air and the Touch both have features the iPad doesn’t, but who knows what people will flock to? Time will tell.

Future enhancements like a camera, Flash capability, multi-tasking, phone capability, and maybe even a radio tuner would be great, but even as it is now this looks like a really smart jump in the right direction for ultra-portable computing. Apple has really knocked it out of the park with the launch of the iPad. I have to admit that I’m saddened that there’s no multi-tasking out the door and the display is only 4:3 instead of 16:9, but it’s only version 1.0 and I can live with that for now. And if the rumors of multi-tasking being in the iPhone 4 OS are true then hey… no worries.

Oh, and once they do get a camera on the iPad I can start padcasting. :)

I’ll be using the iPad as my home blogging tool and general Internet goofing around machine. I can write, update my blog, and whatnot on one small machine and that’s all I need it for. Personally I’m leaning toward the 64GB WiFi model, which is a steal at $699USD. Before the announcement today I didn’t think a 3G model would be available, but I figured the 32GB Apple iPad would be around $899, so I’m very pleasantly surprised by the price. (I can use the $200 I’ll be saving on the extra 32GB of storage and accessories like the cover and keyboard stand.) The least expensive model is the 16GB WiFi for only $499. Apple has really aggressively priced this to gain users. More info on iPad tech specs at the Apple site.

Image courtesy of the Apple iPad image gallery.
Filed Under: Miscellaneous Tagged With: , , ,

#Hashtag 101 – What They Are & What They Do.

January 26, 2010 By 1 Comment
#Hashtag 101 – What They Are & What They Do.

When used in a tweet, a hashtag is a word, or words, which have been prepended with a hash symbol (#) to assist in organizing information about them. For example, if you wanted to create a hashtag out of the word “Twitter”, you’d type it as “#Twitter” (no, they aren’t case-sensitive). See how simple it is? With the addition of one character, a new hashtag is born.

By using hashtags, a tweet is given additional metadata that can flow inline with the 140 characters used in it and increase it’s searchability by people interested in the topic. But it’s not all fun-and-games. Adding too many hashtags isn’t helpful, and it’s actually kind of spammy. While there’s no upper-limit on how many you can use, a ballpark number would be 3-4 hashtags per tweet (plus or minus a couple).

So what does all that mean for the average user? Well, simply put, if you want to gain attention to a particular topic or if you want to make it easier for others to find the things you’re tweeting about, adding a hashtag would be the way to go. Hashtags are also calculated into Twitter’s trending topics, which are the most active topics of discussion occurring at any given time. The more of a particular tag that are tweeted, the more likely it is to become a trending topic.

If you’re interested in finding out more about hashtags and which ones are currently trending topics you can do it in two relatively easy places:

  1. Use Twitter itself. Trends are located on Twitter search (below the search field). If you’re logged into Twitter, there’s also a “Trending Topics” area on the sidebar, directly underneath the “Lists” area. And… if you’re one of the lucky ones, Twitter has recently pushed a new “location-based trends ” test to approximately 1% of it’s users in the same place as the existing trends within the Twitter sidebar.

  2. A third-party site that’s been set up to actively monitor and display hashtags. There are plenty of resources online, and I’ve got a few examples of ones I’ve previously used below:

    • hashtags.org:

      A great starting point for finding trending topics, hashtags.org provides a simple interface to search for tags. Make sure to follow @hashtags to have your hashtags tracked.

    • wthashtag.com:

      This site uses a wiki to track trending topics and allows viewers to add a definition to the tags. WTHashtag.com lists active tags, categories, and even has it’s own search bar that you can install.

    • monitter.com:

      monitter.com lets you select up to 3 hashtags to watch in real-time. It also has an option to let you choose the distance from a certain area (10-100 km or miles from a specific city, state, zip code, etc.) and only see the hashtags from that area. I like to use monitter.com to find local folks who are interested in the same things that I am based on their keywords or hashtags.

    • whatthetrend.com:

      Another website that shows hashtags in real-time, whatthetrend.com has a nice, clean page that displays the trending topics in a simple list format. Another great feature is that the hashtags are not only defined, but they can be redefined if necessary.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/halfbrown/ / CC BY-SA 2.0
Filed Under: Twitter Tagged With: , , , ,

Do You Want a Custom Blog Comment Avatar?

January 23, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Do You Want a Custom Blog Comment Avatar?

If you’re looking to spice up your blog comments a bit, sign up for a (free) Gravatar account. Many websites have an option to display the avatar of your choosing wherever you comment on a blog (based on the email address you use to comment), and it’s a great way to add a little something extra when you post. Gravatar plugins are available for most (if not all) major blog software platforms, so there’s a heck of a good chance you’ll be seeing your new Gravatar the first time you make a new comment.

Setting up a new Gravatar account is easy. Just follow these steps:

  1. Go to http://en.gravatar.com/site/signup/ and enter your email address.

  2. Check your email for the activation email sent by Gravatar.com. Click on the link in the email. (Be careful of line-wrapping if you choose to copy+paste the URL instead!)

  3. Enter the username you want to use, as well as a password. When you choose an available username and click “Signup” your account should be created.

  4. Now you just have to select a picture to associate with the email you signed up with. Follow the directions listed on Gravatar.com.

That’s it. Everything else is hands-off for you. And the next time you are on a Gravatar-enabled website and leave a comment with your selected email address, your Gravatar will show up in the comments. Enjoy!

Update: Diana Adams also has great post on Gravatars at Bit Rebels.

Image copyright http://Gravatar.com/

Filed Under: Social Media Tagged With: , ,

How I Use Twitter Lists.

January 20, 2010 By 1 Comment
How I Use Twitter Lists.

Twitter lists are a great way to help organize your tweeps into categories, or lists, that you define. Getting started with Twitter lists is easy, but how you use them every day is another story. There are probably as many ways to use them as there are people who use Twitter, but today I’m going to focus on showing you how I use lists.

Twitter List Example

I’ve broken down how I use Twitter lists into 4 sections, and I’ll go into detail with each of them below.

  1. Filtering people into lists:

    When Twitter lists made their first appearance, I decided to use mine like an email filter. I took a look at the people I was following at the time and started setting up categories based on a few general topics or interests and grouped together everyone who was an easy fit into one or more of my new lists.

    These lists allow me to view tweets based on what different people tweet about, generally speaking. For local tweeps talking about local events I check out my NW Tweeps 01 list. If I’m looking to join a conversation regarding development, design, or blogging I go to my Dev Design Blog list. You get the idea.

  2. Finding new & interesting people to follow:

    I used to follow a bunch of other people’s Twitter lists, but in the end it didn’t work out for me. I found it difficult to sort through all of the different tweets on all of the different lists and make any sense of things as they were. There were too many of one kind of tweet and not enough of others and that made it a big time-killer. My solution? Use other people’s lists as a starting point to find new people to follow instead of following their entire set of lists.

    Now when I’m looking at someone else’s list I look for who the most active tweeters are, see if they look like someone I might be interested in following based on my very exacting criteria (/sarcasm), and then follow them if they do. Lather, rinse, repeat.

  3. Creating secret societies known only by me:

    I’m a nice guy. I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. But if I’m being honest… I have a favorites list. There are people whose tweets have a higher priority than others do for me, personally, and it’s the one list that goes beyond topics or interests like the other lists because it’s filled with personal friends, influential tweeters, and the like.

    Creating a private Twitter list allows you to keep your cards close to your chest and still be in the game. Whether you’re looking to keep your close friends behind the door like I use it, peruse Santa’s list of naughty girls (or boys if you prefer) without your co-workers seeing it, or even if you just want to follow the whole “… and keep your enemies closer…” maxim, private lists are the way to go.

  4. Read but don’t necessarily follow:

    Sometimes I find that I don’t want to follow someone anymore, for various reasons; but I also don’t want to unfollow and forget about them either. Or maybe I’ve never followed a particular tweeter at all, but I want to keep tabs on what they’re tweeting because they look like they might be interesting but I’m not 100% sure. Either way, their addition to one of my Twitter lists is essentially a reminder service for me. One list where I do this a lot is my Movies Comedy Music Etc. list.

    There are a lot of celebrity accounts on that list, as well as improv groups, theaters, etc., and for the most part I don’t need (or want) to catch up with all of them every day. In that case I can use the list to drop by whenever it’s convenient for me and see what the latest news is for each of them.

And there we go, my personal Twitter list usage guide. If you’ve found any of this interesting or you have any questions regarding something specific, feel free to leave me a comment and I’ll get back to you ASAP.

Image by http://www.flickr.com/photos/halfbrown/ / CC BY-SA 2.0

Filed Under: Twitter Tagged With: ,
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