Tag: WordPress

Categories
BlahBlahBabble

Making Plans to Reboot My Blog

Here I go again. This feels both familiar and strange, all at once.

A little bit of backstory to start. In November 2022, my Facebook account was hacked. I know exactly when it began, as I had a strange “you must change your password” message. My Facebook account and my Instagram account were linked together, and whatever they did once they got inside was so bad, Meta would not give me my account back. At all. I tried everything short of working with a lawyer on it.

What a nightmare. My Facebook account was 16 years old at that point. My Instagram account was 12 years old. If you look at my decline in posting on this blog, it aligns with those time periods.

I have found the silver lining in it all, as it has been nice to have a fresh start. It is like moving houses, you don’t notice what all you have until you have to pack it up and find a place for it in your new home.

The only part that still bothers me is all the content that I gave Meta that is now just … GONE. From articles or quotes I found interesting to entire lengthy posts that really belonged on a blog. Photos from Instagram. Comments from friends. Gone.

The irony of all of this is that when I published my book in 2015, I talked about building on the land that you own – but I was not doing that myself.

Lesson learned.

My purpose here now is mostly selfish. Much like in the original days of blogging, actually. I want to write about what I think about, in a space where I know it will be here later. Probably. (Note to self: another post needs to be written about how none of us really own anything we put online, but not yet. No need to scare people completely.)

I want to use it like a Commonplace book, where I can reference and find things as I need them.

It will also function as a journal, a diary, a photo album. A place to put a good quote. A place to just keep my thoughts.

Here is my to do list as I get this site ready – in the form of links to articles and videos.

Commonplace Books, PARA Method, and a Second Brain

Productivity

WordPress Design Updates

This site is using a Block Editor theme at this point, but now there are Patterns. I need to figure out what they are and what to do with them.

Close the Backdoor in my WordPress blog

Categories
BlahBlahBabble Creative Geek

My Comments Just Got SOCIAL! Social Plugin for WordPress from MailChimp Review

Review of the Social Plugin for WordPress From MailChimp

For years, one of my biggest pet peeves was that if I wrote a post here but you commented on Facebook or Twitter about it, those comments were just … LOST. They didn’t all get archived here. It has made me CRAZY.

Somehow, Mike did not know this. So he didn’t tell me when he discovered the Social Plugin for WordPress from MailChimp. I had to find out about it from his blog, as I was migrating the content over to Spoon & Knife, our new food blog.

I may have screamed a lot yesterday when I discovered this plugin. It was sort of the perfect Valentine’s Day gift for me. Ohhhh, maybe that is why Mike didn’t tell me about it? He was holding out for Valentine’s Day so he wouldn’t have to buy me something bigger? I bet that is it. He is such a sweet, thoughtful guy like that! (I gave him a blog all set up at Spoon & Knife for Valentine’s Day, so it is a pretty good trade off!)

Back to the Social Plugin for WordPress! NOW … when you write a comment on my post, you can chose to log in with WordPress, Twitter, or Facebook. If you use the Twitter or Facebook option, you can also post the comment there. Now here is the COOL PART!!! If you comment on this post when I push it to Twitter & Facebook after it is published? Those comments are pulled back in here on my blog! That is what I’ve been waiting for!

I never wanted to use the Facebook plugin – it looks cluttered to me to have both Facebook + regular WordPress comment options on your blog. Which one do I use? You want me to write in the Facebook one (publicity for you, smart move), but what if I don’t have Facebook? Or what if you retweet my post?

Finally, after wishing for it for 6+ years, everything is gathered in one place! I don’t know if you know how GIDDY this makes me!!! (I’m only sad it doesn’t retroactively get comments made on old posts – but we can’t have it all, right?)

NOTE: It does take a little while for the comments on Twitter & Facebook to get scooped up and put on the blog, but they do come over. Just not immediately.

Install the Social Plugin for WordPress from MailChimp and try it out. Write a post, “broadcast” it easily to Twitter & Facebook, and then track and archive the conversation happening about it everywhere. I am absolutely in love with it, and have it on all of my blogs now! (Thanks for the gift, Mike! It is PERFECT!)

Categories
Geek Love

Closing Comments on Old Posts?

Goodness. I’m getting a TON of spam comments on old posts. WordPress is catching them and holding them in pending status, but that means I have to go through them and mark them all as spam. Akismet is catching even more of them, just not all.

I need a good plugin that will close comments on old posts. I have 11+ years of archives here, I’m not up to doing it manually.

Anyone know of a good plugin to use for it? One that they love more than all the rest? Help?

Categories
Getting Down to Business

Read Your Site – What Does it Say About You?

I was looking at the site of an event planner today, someone who had contacted me about working together on weddings. On their site was an “About Us” page. Yay! I could read and learn a bit about her.

Or not. Other than the opening sentence, which was launched with a typo as well, it only included their names and nothing more. That isn’t “About Us” – that is “About our company”.

In the Internet age, people want to know about YOU. And what is really amazing is that while 10 years ago, I used to point out to clients that the awesome thing about the web was that you could make your business seem as large as you wanted, now people want to connect with the people they are working with. All around, you can see huge corporations wanting to act as if they are small mom & pop shops. They want to be personable. They want you to connect with them. To embrace their brand as your own. They want you to be loyal to them and only them.

So go look at your about page. Does it tell your reader about you? Really about you? Is it full of a lot of “we” puff up text where you try to make your business sound like there are many employees when it is really just you? Big brands are envious of the advantage you’ve got. Stop trying to be something that you’re not. Be yourself. Be real. People want to work with people they like – and that “About Us” page? It is the door to them liking you. Give people that chance.

Categories
Geek Love

Houston’s History of WordPress – Matt Mullenweg’s WordCamp Keynote

WordCamp Houston is taking place today, and I’m not there since I’ll be the wedding photographer at a Woodlands Resort wedding in a little bit. I tuned in this morning to Matt Mullenweg’s keynote presentation, and he even gave me a shoutout! Awww…

If you’re interested in watching it and learning about Houston’s history of WordPress, you should check it out!

So many great memories, like Matt’s Palm user club, us swapping tips about using our Handspring Visors (remember those?), SXSWi 2003, which is where he first told me he needed a name for the software he had been working on, the first time he met Jeffrey Zeldman, and so much more. It is great to hear that we are Matt’s people. I *heart* WordPress!