Matt Mullenweg’s New Year’s Resolutions set a plan for WordPress in 2009. BuddyPress nearing release from beta. WordCamp Las Vegas was a resounding success. This weekend is WordCamp Jakarta. Next weekend is skiing and WordPress at WordCamp Whistler. BlogSecurity makes predictions for security issues facing WordPress in 2009. WordPress shines at the People’s Choice Awards. Are you a Plugin author? Got information you have to know about the future of developing WordPress Plugins. WordPress.com now offers Subscribe to Comments WordPress Plugin on every WordPress.com blog. Google offers method for converting between blog platforms, including WordPress. Want to have your say in where Ed Morita puts a permanent WordPress tattoo on his body? And more WordPress news.
WordPress News
Matt Mullenweg’s New Year’s Resolutions and Birthday Celebration: Matt Mullenweg offered “Open Sourcing Resolutions,” asking people to tell him what his resolutions should be for the new year. In Twenty-Five, he celebrates his birthday and lists his goals for the next year, which include goals associated with WordPress.
WordPress Tattoo: Ed Morita wants a permanent tattoo. His WordPress blog has changed his life and he wants to honor the expertise with a WordPress tattoo. In “Where Should I Put My WordPress Tattoo?” he asks for input on where to put his new WordPress logo tattoo on his body. The deadline is January 30, and he will get the tattoo on his birthday, February 10th.
BuddyPress Prepares for Launch: Second Beta & 1.0 Final Dates for BuddyPress are set. The second beta release of this social media Theme for WordPressMU (and potentially for full versions of WordPress) is scheduled for January 26. The final release is set for February 9. Andy Peatling of BuddyPress will be speaking at WordCamp Whistler 2009 in Whistler, BC, Canada, on January 24, 2009, if you want an upclose and personal view of this new social media WordPress Theme.
WordPress at People Choice Awards: According to the WordPress Publisher, the People’s Choice Awards were hosted on WordPress.com VIP for the live event. Their People’s Choice Awards Live Blog was designed especially for the live event with AJAX updates developed by Crowd Favorite, which worked well for fast posting and updates.
Google Blog Converters: The Google Blog Converters is a Google project that uses Python scripts and the Google GData API to convert blog services from one to another. The blog platforms include Google Blogger/Blogspot, WordPress, LiveJournal, and Movable Type.
WordPress Skills Required: According to a post on the WordPress Pulblisher’s blog, oDesk Reports “WordPress” Fastest Growing In-Demand Skill in 2008. WordPress expertise is now required as a top skill when it comes to web design and development. If you are a web designer without WordPress skills, this could be a big sign it’s time to start embracing WordPress.
How to Merge Two WordPress Blogs: Mark Jaquith offers tips for merging two WordPress blogs into one by importing them into a new author then cleaning up the imported posts filtered by the new author.
Co.comments Closes: Many WordPress blogs eagerly embraced Co.mments, a blog comment tracking service with easy integration into WordPress blogs. The company has announced that it is shutting down, though some have expressed interest in taking over the company. If you are using the Co.mments WordPress Plugin or have integrated it into your blog, consider removing it until the status is determined so your blog will not break down.
WordPress Security Predictions: In WordPress Security Predictions in 2009, BlogSecurity takes a look at the past and predicts the future for security issues that may confront WordPress. They make some very insightful predictions including spoofing and DNS poisoning type attacks, more SQL Injection, Cross-Site Scripting vulnerabilities, WordPress plugin attacks, development of a secure framework for WordPress plugin developers, work and virus attacks through integrated services, and attacks against WordPress.com. The WordPress development team is taking top expert measures to protect WordPress users, especially as they are forewarned.
Two bbPress Releases: Two versions of bbPress, the free forum software by Automattic that integrates into WordPress blogs, have been released, bbPress 0.9 and bbPress 1.0-alpha. The first is a security fix and the second contains the fix, but also an improved fix for WordPress integration to synchronize user roles.
Do You Blog By Email? That’s the question asked by Weblog Tools Collection recently as they explore the options for blogging by email. An article in the WordPress Codex, the online manual for WordPress Users, Blog By Email, gives some basic tips for posting your blogs by email. It’s been around since the earliest days of WordPress.
WordPress 2.6.3 Security Vulnerability: BlogSecurity announced a WordPress 2.6.3 XSS Vulnerability which is resolved by upgrading. WordPress users were highly encouraged to upgrade to WordPress 2.6.5. or the current version of WordPress due to a previous cross site scripting vulnerability, and this just emphasizes the point.
Haven’t You Upgraded to WordPress 2.7 Yet? For information on upgrading to WordPress 2.7, see WordPress 2.7 Release News and Links. If you are worried about whether or not WordPress 2.7 will work with your server, Themes or Plugins, see:
- WordPress 2.7 Core Update Host Compatibility
- WordPress 2.7 Plugin Compatibility
- WordPress 2.7 Theme Compatibility
Social Media Tools Worm and Virus Warnings: While not WordPress specific, a lot of WordPress bloggers use social media tools like LinkedIn and Twitter. Recently, SecurityFocus reported on malware security problems with Twitter and LinkedIn. The Blog Herald recently covered the news, and has started a series on Downadup Worm Infection: Cyber Attacks on the Rise in 2009. Take extreme care when responding to email, blog comments, and other social media messages that look even the slightest bit suspicious.
Don’t Let WordPress in Your Domain Name: Do you use “wordpress” in your blog’s domain name? This is in violation of the WordPress trademark. If you find a site using WordPress in their domain name, remind them of the trademark rules so they won’t be asked later to remove it. And WordPress is spelled with a capital P is you are using it in your blog posts.
Last Week’s WordPress Wednesday News: Can’t get enough WordPress news and tips? There is so much news coming out about the latest version, so you can catch up with the past news in last week’s WordPress News: One Million WordPress 2.7 Downloads Coming, Matt Mullenweg Resolutions, bbPress Releases, WordCamp Las Vegas, and More.
WordPress Fan Blogs and Podcasts
WordCast Podcast: WordCast 42: Happy Birthday, Matt! covers RevolutionTwo WordPress Theme going premium to ridiculous lawsuits, WordPress Fastest Growing In-Demand Skill in 2008 on oDesk, Matt Mullenweg turns 25, makes some resolutions, Lifehacker’s new lead editor, Jonathan Bailey on Tweetbacks, Google’s Blog Converters, a Model Sues Google to Reveal Blogger’s Identity, WordCamp updates, and more WordPress news and information.
WordPress Weekly Podcast: PHPBB And WordPress is the topic for the WordPress Weekly podcast on Weblog Tools Collection. Douglas Bell of Webmacster87.info, host of the phpBB Weekly joined them to talk about BBPress and phpBB forum programs, security issues, and other WordPress news and information.
The WordPress Podcast: Episode 49: WordPress 2.7 released, Oxite, Blog World Expo and New Media Expo to merge, Pownce closes is the lastest episode.
WordPress on Your Calendar
WordPress Meetup or WordCamp Near You? If you are putting together a WordPress event, please email me so I can publicize it here. If there is a WordCamp near you, go. If you are interested in setting up a WordCamp, stay tuned for news and information on to bring a WordCamp event near you.
Here are some WordPress-related dates and events to put on your calendar.
January 2009
- WordCamp Indonesia 2009 – Jakarta, Indonesia – January 17-18, 2009
- Boston WordPress Meetup – Boston, Massachusetts – January 19, 2009
- WordPress Mingle – Austin, Texas – January 19, 2009
- New York WordPress Meetup Group – WordPress as a CMS: The Strategy of Content Publishing – January 20, 2009
- RefreshAugusta January Meetup at The Well Community Church – WordPress 2.7 – January 20, 2009
- The Scottsdale WordPress January Meetup – Scottsdale, Arizona – January 21, 2009
- WordPress Meetup Group San Francisco – Upgrade to 2.7 and Lightning Talks – January 22, 2009
- WordCamp Whistler 2009 – Whistler, BC, Canada – January 24, 2009 (Facebook)
- Toronto WordPress Meetup – January 24, 2009
- Chicago WordPress January Meetup – January 24, 2009
- The Dallas/Ft. Worth Area WordPress January Meetup – Texas – January 24, 2009
- Teens in Tech Conference – Microsoft San Francisco – January 31, 2009
February 2009
- WordCamp Higher Ed North East – Worcester, Massachusetts – February 2, 2009
- The New Jersey WordPress February Meetup – Belmar, New Jersey – February 4, 2009
- Gulf Coast WordPress/Blogger Meetup – Mobile, Alabama – February 5, 2009
- Toronto WordPress Meetup – Toronto, Canada – February 7, 2009
- Los Angeles WordPress Users Group at Philippe’s French Dip – February 8, 2009
- South Florida WordPress February Meetup – February 10, 2009
- WordCamp Jena Germany – February 14, 2009
- WordCamp Education Vancouver 2009 – Vancouver, BC – February 19, 2009
- 2009 Northern Voice – Vancouver, BC – February 20-21, 2009
- WordCamp Miami 2009 – Miami, Florida – February 22, 2009
- WordCamp Denver 2009 – February 28, 2009 (Facebook)
March 2009
May 2009
- Successful and Outstanding Bloggers Conference (SOBCon) – Chicago – May 1-5, 2009
- WordCamp Columbus – Ohio – May 16, 2009
- WordCamp Mid-Atlantic – Washington, D.C., Baltimore and Philadelphia – May 16, 2009
- WordCamp Milan 2009 – Milan, Italy – May 22-23, 2009
- WordCamp San Francisco 2009 – May 30, 2009
June 2009
- WordCamp Chicago – June 6-7, 2009
- WordCamp Dallas 2009 – Dallas, Texas – June 27-28, 2009
Upcoming WordCamps not scheduled or confirmed:
- WordCamp Indy (Indianapolis)
- WordCamp Augusta
- WordCamp Seattle (WordCamp Seattle Twitter)
- WordCamp Argentina
- WordCamp Perú
- WordCamp New Zealand
- WordCamp Iowa
Upcoming WordCamp and WordPress Event News
WordCamp Indonesia News: WordCamp Indonesia 2009 is January 17-18, 2009 at Erasmus Huis, Kuningan, Jakarta, Indonesia. The event features Romi Satria Wahono, Agus Setiawan Basuni, Matt Mullenweg, Nukman Luthfie, and Nanda Ivens.
WordCamp Whistler News: WordCamp Whistler 2009 in Whistler, BC, Canada, on January 24, 2009, next weekend, and it is expected to be one of the most fun, exciting, and unusual WordCamp events. In addition to the lodging at the conference hotel, they’ve listed other accommodation options to consider. Tickets are on sale until Tuesday of next week, so register now. There will be a social Saturday night at the Longhorn Saloon in Whistler, sponsored by Molson. There will be a lot of other social events planned including a private party. There are new sponsors coming in all the time, and a lot of other great speakers and events planned. Get registered now!
Teens in Tech: The Teens in Tech Conference, the first ever gathering of teen bloggers and web technology experts and fans will be January 31, 2009, at the offices of Microsoft in San Francisco, California. Daniel Brusilovsky runs The Teens in Tech network of blogs on WordPressMU and is a long time fan and supporter of WordPress, so expect some great WordPress tips and techniques shared by teens attending and speaking at the event.
Learn the Lessons of Content Publishing: New York WordPress Meetup Group will meet on January 20, 2009, with the meeting topic to be “WordPress as a CMS: The Strategy of Content Publishing.”
WordCamp Mid-Atlantic News: WordCamp Mid-Atlantic covers Washington, D.C., Baltimore and Philadelphia, and will be May 16, 2009, at the University of Baltimore Thumel Business Center. Featured speakers will be Matt Mullenweg and Anil Dash of SixApart. There are two tracks to the day’s events, a basic “Essentials” and advanced “Hackery” track. Tickets are $25.99 and going fast. Sponsorships are available, but limited, so get involved as soon as possible.
Chicago WordCamp and WordPress Meetup: The Chicago WordPress January Meetup on January 24, 2009, will feature a Q&A session on “Who uses WordPress” with everyone invited to share why they use WordPress. WordCamp Chicago registration is open, so hurry to register for this powerful event in the windy city. Confirmed speakers include Matt Mullenweg, Jeremy Wright, Mark Ghosh, and Sarah James.
WordCampED: WordCamp Education Vancouver 2009 is scheduled in Vancouver, BC, for February 19, 2009, on the UBC Main Campus in the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre. They are currently looking for speakers and those interested in attending this educational based WordPress event.
WordCamp Columbus, Ohio: WordCamp Columbus is set for May 16, 2009. The Twitter account is @WordCampColumbus. WordCamp Columbus has announced that since WordCamp Mid-Atlantic is scheduled for the same date, and Matt Mullenweg will be speaking there, his keynote will be streamed to attendees of WordCamp Columbus so no one will miss the “state of the word” by the founder of WordPress. Noel Jackson, designer of the Monotone WordPress Theme, and Nick Momrick, speaking about WordPress.com, will be noted speakers at the event. Registration is $20 and will be open soon.
WordCamp Iowa: Tom Altman wants to host a WordCamp Iowa and is looking for volunteers.
WordCamp San Francisco 2009 Announced: Matt Mullenweg has announced the date for WordCamp San Francisco 2009 for May 30, 2009, at the Mission Bay Conference Center. There is also a Upcoming Event page set up.
Past WordCamp Event News
WordCamp Las Vegas: Timed to coincide with the United State’s largest electronics show, 2009 International CES (Consumer Electronics Show), WordCamp Las Vegas was able to draw on some of the top bloggers attending the event to speak at this exciting WordPress event. I’ll cover more of the event on Lorelle on WordPress in the next day or so, but everyone there was thrilled with the upcoming news from Matt Mullenweg about where WordPress is going with BuddyPress, documentation, security, Themes, Plugins, and making WordPress easier to use. Social media experts shared their tips and views on the future of blogging, and some great WordPress Plugins and Themes were showcased. The event was streamed live via the Ustream WordCamp Las Vegas Live Stream, and most of the speakers’ presentations were archived there so you can share in the WordCamp Las Vegas experience.
WordCamps and WordPress Meetups Everywhere
- WordPress Meetup: A WordPress Meetup is a frequent meeting of WordPress fans. If you would like to start a WordPress Meetup group, find a meeting place and announce it among your friends, and add a listing to the Yahoo Upcoming events for WordPress and WordPress Meetups Upcoming Events and tag them “WordPress Events” and “WordPress”, as many track WordPress event announcements there.
- WordCamp: A WordCamp is a day or two long event with sponsors and dozens if not hundreds of WordPress fans gathering annually. If you would like to sponsor or host a WordCamp, check out the new official site for tracking WordCamps is WordCamp Central, which includes instructions and guidelines for running a WordCamp. Get a Twitter account and add a listing to the Yahoo Upcoming events for WordPress and WordPress Meetups Upcoming Events and tag them “WordPress Events” and “WordCamp.
- WordPress and WordCamp Event News: In addition to our weekly Blog Herald WordPress News, you can learn more about the various WordPress and WordCamp Events on the official WordCamp Central site, The WordCamp Report, Yahoo Upcoming events for WordPress, WordPress Meetups Upcoming Events, and Upcoming: Public events tagged with “WordCamp”.
WordPress Plugins and Themes News
JavaScript in Plugins: Lester Chan talks about JavaScript in his WordPress Plugins to help others using JavaScript in theirs. He uses Dean Edward’s Packer and TW-Sack or Simple AJAX Code-Kit (SACK) in his WordPress Plugins and talks about how the series by Andrew Ozz on Optimizing Script Loading on the WordPress Development blog (see below) has changed how he uses JavaScript in his Plugins, as well as the pros and cons of using these two tools. He’s upgrading his WordPress Plugins accordingly, and recommends other Plugin authors do the same.
Optimizing Script Loading Series: The great optimizing script loading series on the WordPress Development blog are must reads for WordPress Plugin and Theme authors:
- Optimizing script loading
- Optimizing script loading part 2
- Optimizing script loading, implementation
Meet All-in-One Video Pack: the All-in-One Video Pack WordPress Plugin combines other video WordPress Plugins to improve the ability of uploading, recording, and importing videos directly into your WordPress blog. It includes editing and remixing content with an online video editor, enabled video responses, playlist creation, management and tracking of video content, importing of video, audio, pictures, and more from other sites and social networking services like YouTube, MySpace, Flickr, New York Public Library, and more, adding video and audio comments, collaborative videos, custom sizing of the video player, support for more than 150 video, audio, and image file formats and codecs, and a lot more.
WordPress Plugins API: If you develop WordPress Plugins, check out Documentation for WordPress Plugins API, then step into a copy of a better guide from the WP Hackers Mailing List post for WordPress.org Plugin Information API Docs. It’s a must-bookmark post to help WordPress Plugin authors.
WP Super Cache has been updated to version 0.8.7 with bug fixes and improvements for handling large or busy sites. It now offers the ability to set the “garbage collection interval” to 10 minutes or other time lengths to improve caching and updating.
Trying to Understand WordPress Licensing and GPL: BlueFur takes a look at WordPress Development: Licensing and the GNU General Public License Version 2 or later and GNU General Public License and how it applies to WordPress. Anticipate a lot of discussion this year on WordPress licenses as people come to terms with what it really means and how it works on WordPress Themes and Plugins.
CMS WordPress Plugins: Flutter and Pods are new WordPress CMS Plugins which allow allows adding of content in many different format blocks to improve Content Management System operations. Both are in the early stages as “Content Construction Kits” and starting to build followings. There are pros and cons to both Plugins, so check them out to see which might meet your CMS requirements.
Configuring MySQL for Speed: Simple Thoughts published “One MySQL Configuration Tip That Can Dramatically Improve MySQL Performance,” a technique for the tech savvy for improving the performance of MySQL.
Check WordPress Theme and Plugin Compatibility with WordPress 2.7: If you are a WordPress Plugin or Theme author, and your Theme or Plugin will work with the new version, there are two things you must do NOW:
- Check to see if it is listed in the WordPress Codex on WordPress 2.7 Plugin Compatibility and WordPress 2.7 Theme Compatibility. Users will check there before upgrading, so make sure you are on the list.
- Go to the WordPress Plugin Directory and other services and sites hosting your Plugin and update the information to show that it is compatible with WordPress 2.7, or not.
Interesting WordPress Plugins:
- CatFeed WordPress Plugin adds feed auto-discovery links for categories, tags, and comments on those pageviews, not on every page on your WordPress blog.
- Eventr WordPress Plugin adds an event form and page to your blog which allows visitors to register for the event.
- Broken Link Checker Plugin for WordPress tests your WordPress blog for broken and Page 404 Not Found Errors.
- Cforms II WordPress Plugin has been updated and allows uploading of files and images as an option in addition to general contact form information and support.
Finding WordPress Plugins: For more WordPress Plugins see the official WordPress Plugin Directory, the WordPress Plugins Database, and Weblog Tools Collection Plugin and Theme announcements.
WordPress.com News
Subscribe to Comments Plugin on WordPress.com: One of the most popular WordPress Plugins, Subscribe To Comments by Mark Jaquith (originally Scriptygoddess), is now on WordPress.com. It is enabled by default on all WordPress.com Themes and allows commenters to get email messages when a comment is added to a blog post.
Changing the Stats on WordPress.com: Recently, WordPress.com announced they had rolled over 5 million blogs on their free web hosting service. Matt Mullenweg looked at the stats and decided to change the way WordPress.com counts blogs and core stats by replacing the number of blogs with the number of bloggers on WordPress.com. There are specific statistical information on their WordPress.com statistics pages.
Moving From LiveJournal to WordPress.com: With the recent announcement of layoffs for LiveJournal employees, WordPress.com hopes to be the service LiveJournal users will turn to. WordPress.com offers LiveJournal Migration, a simple and easy import process, with their LiveJournal import tool. Already they are seeing a huge spike in LiveJournal imports and the tool is working well to transfer blogs over to WordPress.com.
New Theme on WordPress.com: WordPress.com announced the First Theme of 2009: Grid Focus by Derek Punsalan for WordPress.com blogs. It features two widget areas in the sidebar and a front page icon that synchronizes with your blavatar, if you are using one.
WordPress Techniques and Tips
- Change Your WordPress Backend
- How to Setup an Efficient WordPress
- How to retrieve a lost password
- Identify Authors With Gravatars
- Creating an image gallery with WordPress bookmarks
WordPress Tips on Twitter: I’ve started sharing WordPress Tips and Plugin suggestions I’ve collected over the past couple years on Twitter at @lorelleonwp. I’ll be posting one WordPress tip and one WordPress Plugin link every morning (PST) covering recent versions of WordPress and WordPress usages and features.
Want Your WordPress Tip Shared Here? If you would like your WordPress tip and technique included in this list, see Tips For Writing Good WordPress Tips and Writing and Publishing Code In Your WordPress Blog Posts. When its ready, contact me at lorelleonwordpress@gmail.com.
WordPress Community News
Things You Need to Know in the WordPress Community:
- Help Installing WordPress: Installing WordPress for Free
- Finding WordPress Plugins: WordPress Plugin Directory
- Finding WordPress Themes: WordPress Themes Directory
- WordPress Experts Found: Automattic WordPress Consultants List, WordPress Jobs, and the WP-Pro mailing list
- WordPress Facebook Community: WordPress on Facebook
- WordPress Schwag for Sale: WordPress Shop
- WordPress Bugs: Reporting Bugs in WordPress
- Online WordPress Manual: WordPress Codex
- Have Your Say: WordPress Ideas
- WordPress Logos: The official WordPress logos are available for use on your blogs or WordPress event promotions.
- WordPress is Trademarked: You are not allowed to use WordPress in your domain name.
- WordPress is WordPress: It’s spelled “WordPress” not “Wordpress” and Plugin is Plugin, not plug-in (what you put into a wall electrical socket).
Past WordPress Wednesday News Reports
- WordPress News: One Million WordPress 2.7 Downloads Coming, Matt Mullenweg Resolutions, bbPress Releases, WordCamp Las Vegas, and More
- WordPress News: Weblog Tools Collection Scholarship Fund, WordPress at the Supreme Court, Top Plugin Authors, XML-RPC Trouble, and More
- WordPress News: 650,000 WP 2.7 Downloads, BuddyPress, Theme Threat, Schwag, and More
- WordPress News: WordPress 2.7 Awesome, WordPress.com 5 Million, Plugins Updated, and WordCamp News
- WordPress News: WordPress 2.7 Released
- WordPress News: WordPress 2.7 Out on WordPress.com, WordPress 2.7 News, WordCamps, WordPress Plugins and Themes Updated
- WordPress News: WordPress 2.7 New Login, WordCamp Australia, WordPress 2.6.5 Security Update, BuddyPress, and More
WordPress News Sources
- WordPress Planet
- WordPress Development Blog
- WordPress.com Blog
- Weblog Tools Collection
- The WordPress Podcast
- Lorelle on WordPress
- Planet WordPress from Planet Ozh
- WordPress Publisher Blog
- Planet WordPress Canada
- The WordCamp Report
- WordCast
If You Are Reading This: If you are reading this blog post NOT on the Blog Herald or from within your feed reader, it is being used against the copyright policy of the copyright owners. Please report it immediately so action may be taken to break some heads and feed scraping blogs.
Each week, the Blog Herald features WordPress News, a weekly column by Lorelle VanFossen of Lorelle on WordPress featuring the news around the WordPress Community. If you have a WordPress news item or tip to suggest, please contact her at this special email address: lorelleonwordpress@gmail.com
Neuroscientist reveals a new way to manifest more financial abundance
Breakthrough Columbia study confirms the brain region is 250 million years old, the size of a walnut and accessible inside your brain right now.