WordCamps are everywhere! WordPress 2.7 preview of the Administration Panels and interface wireframes released but not final. Theme changes in WordPress 2.7 will improve comments by design and code. Automattic buys Intense Debate for the comment power. WordPressMU updated. WordPress.com stats out. And more WordPress and WordCamp news and events.
WordPress News
WordPress 2.7 Wireframes: Jane Wells revealed the WordPress 2.7 Wireframes, the graphic draft versions being tested for the development of the new WordPress 2.7 and future version Administration Panels and interface. A work-in-process, the PDF files are going around the web and serve as guides not final versions of the interface. These are constantly in fluctuation as testing and updates are ongoing.
WordPress Theme Changes in WordPress 2.7 Comments: Otto of Ottodestruct covers the changes in WordPress 2.7 comments that may impact some WordPress Themes. While older WordPress Themes will continue to work but WordPress 2.7 includes some new features WordPress Theme designers need to know. They include creating a WordPress 2.7 compatible comments.php
template file, changes in the comments loop, password protection checks, AJAX, and style changes. Some of the improvements and features explained are subject to change as WordPress 2.7 nears release.
Automattic Grabs Intense Debate: Matt Mullenweg announced that Automattic has purchased Intense Debate to help facilitate future versions of WordPress and the comment structure which includes comment threading, voting, reply by email and global profiles.
iPhone for WordPress 100K: The iPhone for WordPress has reached 100,000 downloads and continues to rise as people from all over the world are downloading and installing the application which allows you to blog from your iPhone.
Martha Stewart: Better Late than Never to Blogging: Martha Stewart steps into the blogosphere with an entire show dedicated to blogging. She blogs with WordPress and introduced her audience and the world to blogging.
Wild WordPress Uses: Mashable published the “Seven Weirdest and Wackiest Uses for WordPress to show you the flexibility of WordPress.
WordPressMU Updated: The latest version, WordPress MU 2.6.2, has been released of the multi-user version of WordPress. It now includes WordPress 2.6.2 updates and important bug fixes.
WordPress Permalinks and Google Page Rank: In Does Google Discourage the use of WordPress Permalinks?, Pressed Words explores the issue of whether or not WordPress-style permalinks are hazardous to your Google Page Rank scores. While many are saying that it is, it is not. The issue is not the words or the structure of the pretty permalinks. The issue is one of duplicate content and the needless indexing of different and duplicate URLs. Rest assured that Matt Mullenweg and the WordPress team are working closely to ensure that Google respects WordPress and its permalink structures and options.
WordCast Podcast: Recent shows for WordCast include WordCast 29: I’m Your Fairy Blogmother!, featuring Lorelle VanFossen with updates on WordCamp Portland, Blog World Expo, WordCamp Denver, Technorati’s State of the Blogosphere, Martha Stewart, WordPress for iPhone, WordPress 2.7, and more WordPress tips; WordCast 28: Liez Stross? with Liz Strauss covering WordPress 2.7 surveys, WTF Blog Clutter, sticky posts in WordPress.com, preminum Themes, and more WordPress.
WordPress Weekly Podcast: WordPress Weekly Podcast: Jeffro2pt0 is bringing the WordPress Weekly Podcast back with Keith Murray as co-host. The live podcast will be on Talkshoe live every Friday at 8:00PM EST.
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 Wednesday News: WordPress 2.7 Final Features, WTC Plugin Contest Winners, WordCamps, Surveys, and More.
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 as found on the WordPress Roadmap and the WordPress Meetup Group Listings (subject to change).
- The Dallas/Ft. Worth Area WordPress September Meetup – September 27, 2008
- WordCamp RDU – Raleigh/Durham, North Carolina – Oct 4, 2008
- WordCamp New York – New York – October 5, 2008
- WordCamp Toronto – October 4-5, 2008
- WordPress Meetup Las Vegas – October 8, 2008
- The Boston WordPress October Meetup – October 16, 2008
- Atlanta Web Design with WordPress Group – Atlanta, Georgia – October 18, 2008
- WordCamp Bangkok 2008 – Bangkok, Thailand – October 19, 2008
- The New York City WordPress October Meetup – October 21, 2008
- Podcamp and WordCamp Hawaii – Oct 24, 2008
- Gulf Coast WordPress/Blogger October Meetup – Mobile, Alabama – October 25, 2008
- The Dallas/Ft. Worth Area WordPress October Meetup – Texas – October 25, 2008
- MinneWordCamp – Minneapolis – November 15, 2008
- WordCamp Ed 2008 – November 15, 2008
- WordCamp Australia – Sydney – November 29-30, 2008
- WordCamp Las Vegas 2009 – Las Vegas, Nevada – January 10-11, 2009
- WordCamp Denver 2008 – January 24, 2009
- WordCamp Jena Germany – February 14, 2009
Upcoming WordCamps not scheduled or confirmed:
- WordCamp Washington D.C. 2008
- WordCamp Indiana
- WordCamp Augusta
- WordCamp Miami
- WordCamp Israel – November 2008
Upcoming WordCamp and WordPress Event News
WordCamp New York: WordCamp New York is sold out and will be at Sun Microsystems on Oct 5, 2008. Speakers include Michael Hampton on WordPress Security, Jeremy Clarke on Blogging Networks, Jen Simmons on Video Blogging, Aaron Brazell on Making it into the Big Leagues, Shay David on Interactive Blogging, and Matt Mullenweg on the State of WordPress.
WordCamp Toronto: The schedule for WordCamp Toronto is finalized for this weekend’s event and includes Joseph Thornley on Social Media, Matt Mullenweg, Jane Wells on WordPress 2.7 Administration Panels, Rannie Turingan on the WordPress Gallery, Jamie Oastler on going beyond a WordPress blog, Charles Hodgson on Podcasting, Mark Jaquith on WordPress security, David Peralty on running your blog like a pro, Mark McKay on video blogging, Brendan Sera-Shriar on WordPress Plugins, and a panel on entertainment blogging.
WordCamp Charlotte: WordCampRDU has been suspended and now will combine with WordCamp Charlotte for the November 15 event. The location for WordCamp Charlotte has been set at the Charlotte Observer with free parking and WIFI and lunch.
WordPress Las Vegas: WordPress Las Vegas is set for January 10-11, 2009, and a October 8, 2008, is a WordPress Meetup in Las Vegas for WordPress fans and volunteers who want to help the WordCamp event.
WordPress Bangkok Thailand: WordPress Bangkok Thailand plans are underway for October 19, 2008. You can also find more information at the WordCamp Bangkok Kapook site.
WordCamp Australia: WordCamp Australia announced the event will be at The Red Box in Sydney and the two day schedule is out. They are now open for registration. They are still looking for speakers for the November event. Australia.
WordCampED: Wordcamp Ed(ucation) [Twitter] has been set for November 15, 2008. More details will be released soon, though the event is right around the corner.
WordCamp Denver: WordCamp Denver 2008 has set their event date for January 24, 2009. They are still working on a location.
WordCamp in Germany: Plans are underway for a WordCamp 2009 in Jena, Germany, February 14, 2009.
WordCamp Argentina: WordCamp Argentina is in the plans.
Past WordCamp Events
WordCamp Utah: Joseph Scott offers a recap of WordCamp Utah covering the bascis of the event attended by 135 people. Couchcast featured a variety of video interviews of Matt Mullenweg and other attendees and sponsors of the event.
WordCamp Tokyo: WordCamp Tokyo was September 23 in Shibuya. Detlog offers a summary, including information that for several years, WordPress meetups have been very popular, leading towards the first WordCamp event in Japan. Michael Pick from Automattic presented a program on “Lightbulb moments with WordPress.” Other speakers covered WordPress Plugin and Theme development and customization, localization and translation issues, WordPressMU, and Mozilla Japan and Adobe integration.
WordCamp Birmingham: WordCamp Birmingham was last weekend and Dougal Gunters offers a summary of the event.
WordCamp Portland and the Fairy Blogmother: WordCamp Portland began with an appearance by Lorelle VanFossen as the WordPress Fairy Blogmother giving a presentation on how WordPress changes lives. Between that and a very social media aware community, WordCamp Portland was the most popular hashtag discussion on Twitter by early afternoon. WordCamp Portland offers a roundup of the event coverages, as did Silicon Florist, Viper X Blog, Critical Games, Eric Stoller, Oak Hazelnut, and OurPDX. There are tons of photos on flickr, too.
WordCamp China: WordCamp China appears to have been a great success. Photographs of the event by JackPark are available on Flickr.
WordCamp Philippines: Blogie has a summary of WordCamp Philippines which happened a couple weeks ago. More information and feedback is found on Stellify, Alleba, Rob Illo Blog, and the WordCamp Philippines 2008 blog.
WordCamps and WordPress Meetups Everywhere: A WordPress Meetup is a frequent meeting of WordPress fans. 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. 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, as many track WordPress event announcements there. Also, check out the latest WordCamp news from The WordCamp Report.
WordPress Plugins and Themes News
WordPress 2.7 and WordPress Themes Auto Updating: Jacob Santos makes an important point about the hazards of customizing your WordPress Theme in WordPress 2.7. WordPress Themes will be updated automatically, which will overwrite your customizations when updating. To ensure protection of your customizations, he recommends backing up your WordPress Theme regularly, and using Parent/Child Theme techniques. See his article for details. See also Functions.php WordPress Child Themes by Themeshaper.
Keeping Your WordPress SVN Checkouts Up to Date: Viper007Bond offers tips for automatically keeping the latest version of WordPress up-to-date using SVN Checkouts and Windows.
WordPressMU Sitewide Tag Pages: The WordPressMU Sitewide Tags Pages WordPress Plugin has been released and updated.
WP Super Cache Updated: A bug in the popular WP Super Cache WordPress Plugin has been fixed and is available which makes some big improvements in how it caches WordPress.
WordPress phpDocumentaor Updated: Peter Westwood has updated and restored his WordPress phpDocumentor which will automatically update every 30 minutes as things change within the developer documentation so you can track the most current information.
Interesting WordPress Plugins:
- Taragana’s Del.icio.us mp3 Player WordPress Plugin adds MP3 links in a post or Page or sidebar playable directly on your blog. It includes easy tagging and posting to delicious and is an on-demand player for podcasters, music lovers, and other audiofiles.
- RSS Post Editor WordPress Plugin is another Plugin which allows you to add content to your feeds only.
- Signature Manager WordPress Plugin allows author signatures at the bottom of blog posts.
- Customizable Ajax Twitter Plugin for WordPress incorporates Twitter into your WordPress blog which automatically refreshes with AJAX.
- Advanced Tagline WordPress Plugin adds option for multiple taglines for your blog, the subtitles to your blog’s title. You can display them randomly, sequentially, or statically.
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 Techniques and Tips
Here are some interesting WordPress tips I’ve uncovered:
- WordPress as a CMS – Content Management System
- How to Protect CSS Mods for ANY WordPress Theme
- How to Format Images for Feed Readers
- Restore Your WordPress Database
- How to Use WordPress as a Membership Directory
- Tweaking Websites: 11 Top WordPress Plugins Every Blog Should Have
Want to Write a WordPress Tip and See It 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.com News
WordPress.com September Stats: In the September Wrap-Up, WordPress.com announced 334,004 blogs were created and 335,693 new members. Over 489 terabytes of content was transferred from their datacenters, with 952,281,311 pageviews on WordPress.com, and another 694,985,128 on self-hosted blogs (1,647,266,439 total across all WordPress blogs — a jump of 191,084,227 views since last month). The news also included an attendee count for WordCamps around the world. There were seven WordCamps in September, four on the same day.
Quarter of a Million Comments Daily: In the announcement of the purchase of Intense Debate, Matt Mullenweg revealed that WordPress.com gets more than a quarter million comments every day – three legitimate comments every second.
WordPress.com Journalist Theme Revised: WordPress.com announced The Journalist, Revised, a WordPress Theme on WordPress.com by Lucian Marin. The older version is still available.
WordPress.com FAQ Gets Screencasts: The WordPress.com FAQ now has screencasts on their guide posts helping WordPress.com users learn more about how to use specific WordPress.com features.
WordPress Community News
WordPress Logos: The official WordPress logos are available on WordPress as are WordPress fan art featuring variations on the WordPress logo and artwork.
Things You Need to Know in the WordPress Community:
- 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 Experts Found: Automattic WordPress Consultants List, WordPress Jobs, and the WP-Pro mailing list
- Help Installing WordPress: Installing WordPress for Free
- WordPress is Trademarked: You are not allowed to use WordPress in your domain name
- WordPress is WordPress: It’s spelled “WordPress” not “Wordpress”. Oh, and Plugin is Plugin, not plug-in (what you put into a wall electrical socket).
Past WordPress Wednesday News Reports
- WordPress Wednesday News: WordPress 2.7 Final Features, WTC Plugin Contest Winners, WordCamps, Surveys, and More
- WordPress Wednesday News: 4 WordCamps, WordPress 2.6.2, Bad Themes, Count Twitterers, Threaded Comments, and Sticky Posts
- WordPress Wednesday News: World WordCamps, WordPress 2.7 Dangers, Martha Stewart, WordPressMU Updated
- WordPress Wednesday News: WordCamp 2008, Copy and Paste in WordPress iPhone, Count Your Comments, WordCamp South Africa
- WordPress Wednesday News: WordCamp 2008, WordPress Rules the UK, and WordPress Plugin News
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
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Each Wednesday on Blog Herald is WordPress Wednesday, featuring the news around the WordPress Community. If you have a WordPress news item or tip to suggest, please contact me at this special email address: lorelleonwordpress@gmail.com
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