This week on WordPress Weekly, I have the privilege of interviewing both Randy Hoyt of AmesburyWeb who will discuss making WordPress work for business oriented sites while Scott Clark, co-author of the Pods plugin will discuss using WordPress as a CMS. Both of these guys presented at WordCamp Dallas two weeks ago so it will be a treat reviewing what went on at that event. I know many of you who listen to the show have wanted to hear an episode dedicated to the topic of ‘Using WordPress As A CMS‘ and I hope to deliver on that with Scotts help this week.
But the exciting news is that WordPress Weekly will notch a new milestone with this episode as Randy has informed me that there will be an ongoing listening party as the show is being recorded. How cool is that?
We are turning this recording into a full evening for local technical WordPress users and developers to meet and discuss using WordPress as a CMS. We’ll have pizza and drinks from 6:00-7:00, the live recording of the podcast from 7:00-8:00, and a question and answer session with Scott and Randy from 8:00-9:00.
I’m certainly interested to see how this all turns out. The only concerns I have is their ability to call into the show via Skype or some other piece of software and the background noise. The background noise is my main concern and I hope it won’t drown out the interview although if it were subtle, it would add a nice tough.
Most interviews with Matt Mullenweg revolve around WordPress which of course makes sense. However, there is more to Matt than just WordPress and the folks behind the blog BornRich do a good job showcasing that in their interview with the project leader. The interview ranges from discussing print media going away versus blogs, the web browser market, content discovery, micro-blogging, and backwards compatibility which I found to be a question I’ve wondered about myself:
Walker: With the launch of new versions of WP, and hopefully there will be more coming in the future, how do you manage backward compatibility with software efficiency?
Matt: We usually have at least a thousand people testing every new version before it’s released to the world. Still things get missed though, so I’d like to formally start testing say the top 20 plug-ins from the directory and make sure they work as promised when we introduce new versions.
Be sure to check out the interview, especially the bottom where there are some funny questions and answers.
This post is part of an ongoing series called Ask Jeff. This is where I’ll take a question someone within the WPTavern or WordPress community gives me and provide my thoughts/answer to. The question is:
Longtime listener of your podcast here. I noticed the “Submit a Post” feature now on WP-Tavern, and I was wondering: Is this a plugin? Anything I could use on my own site?
Answer:
You can read all about the post submission feature on WPTavern here but as it stands, the plugin I use was custom built by Michael Torbert who is the author of the All In One SEO Pack. The plugin contains functions and code that is specific to this site so releasing it to the general public would not be a good idea. However, you are one of many looking for a plugin that accomplishes what this one does so I imagine that if there is enough demand, Michael might recode the one on this site so that it can be redistributed or he’ll place a new version on the plugin repository. Until then, the only thing I can suggest is taking a look at the TDO Mini Forms plugin which enables you to create forms.
Submit Your Question:
If you have a question regarding any aspect of WordPress you would like me to answer or at least, hear my take on, you can either contact me using the following contact form with your question or you can follow WPTavern on Twitter and send me an @reply with your question. If the WPTavern account is following you, simply send me a Direct Message with your question.
Aaron Brazell who heads up Technosailor.com and who used to work for B5 Media announced on July 3rd that he has secured a book deal with Wiley Publishing to write a 700 page WordPress Bible. Aaron had been working on the deal since April but only recently received the go ahead to write the book.
Today, I approach The WordPress Bible with some fear and trepidation. Currently, the book is marked at around a cool 700 pages. And oh yes, it has to be done in October. Yikes!
What this effectively means is that for the next four months, I will be spending monumental amounts of time doing nothing but writing. I’m considering disappearing to the mountains once a month for 3-4 days just to write.
In conversation with Aaron regarding the book, when it is published it will have current information for WordPress 2.8 with editing for WordPress 2.9. The goal is to get the book done and when it is published to the public, it will be for whatever version is current at that time. Also, Aaron says that the book will contain the nuts and bolts of WordPress which generally stays the same from version to version meaning the book will be a valuable resource for some time to come.
WordPress For Dummies authored by Lisa Sabin-Wilson is also published by Wiley so I asked Aaron if The WordPress Bible will pick up where the Dummies book left off or if it’s for a different audience.
Different audience. Same publisher. The Dummies books are supposed to provide a 101 level overview of a topic, software product, etc. The Bible series is supposed to be exhaustive and for all levels of skill. The WordPress Bible, like others in the Bible series will be more in depth and provide tutorials for beginners and advance technical knowledge for advanced users. It will be a beneficial addition for any WordPress user whether a blogger, developer or themer and it should provide the info to just get started or to get into new areas of development.
I dunno about you but I hope I can snare a copy of The WordPress Bible, especially if I can get it with Aaron’s autograph! Will you be getting a copy once it’s released?
This freedom filled edition of WordPress Weekly was an open mic night where we discussed all sorts of topics such as the freedoms of the GPL, commercial GPL themes and plugins, bbPress 1.0, the WordPress bible and a whole lot more. This episode also kick starts the WordPress Weekly Trivia game.
Ad Copy:
This episode of WordPress Weekly is sponsored by, WebDevStudios.com. WebDevStudios is a website development company specializing in WordPress support and development services. Contact them today for help with your WordPress powered website.
The freedom to study how the program works, and change it to make it do what you wish. Access to the source code is a precondition for this.
The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help your neighbor
The freedom to improve the program, and release your improvements (and modified versions in general) to the public, so that the whole community benefits Access to the source code is a precondition for this.
Jeff – WordPress iPhone App – This is a free application for the apple iPhone 3g, 3gs, and iPod Touch that lets you write posts, upload photos, edit pages, and manage comments on your blog. Both self-hosted and WordPress.com blogs are supported. WordPress 2.5.1 or higher is required.
This Weeks Trivia Question
Matt was recently interviewed for a blog post which I won’t name but one of the questions he was asked was: What can we expect from Matt in the near future besides WordPress advancements, of course? Your job is to provide the answer
Announcements:
This week we’ll be interviewing Randy Hoyt who presented at WordCamp Dallas. We’ll also be interviewing Scott Clark who is the author of the Pods plugin. He also did a presentation at WordCamp Dallas on the topic of “WordPress As A CMS“.
Recently, it was announced that there is now a commercial GPL themes page that was added to the WordPress theme repository. Now, there is discussion that there should be a page on the plugin repository for commercial GPL plugins. While Matt has said that there is no need for this because the repository already has a number of commercial GPL plugins, not all GPL plugins reside in the repository. A great example of this is the Shopp e-commerce plugin. What do you think?
Should There Be A Page On The Plugin Repository For Commercial GPL Plugins?
Yes (73%, 27 Votes)
No (16%, 6 Votes)
Commercial GPL Plugins Already Exist In The Repository (11%, 4 Votes)
This blog post has been on the tip of my tongue ever since I introduced display advertising. Here on the Tavern, I use a plugin called OIO Publisher to handle my advertising needs and it’s been the best $48.00 I’ve ever spent. In the sidebar as well as the blog header, I use a block of javascript to display the advertising zones. Unfortunately, these advertising zones are not displayed for those running Ad Block Plus in FireFox or alternate ad blocking software.
Back on May 11th, 2009 the creator of the Ad Block Plus extension proposed a change to his user base where occasionally, a new version of the software would suggest users to whitelist frequently visited sites. He has published the responses to the initial proposal in a follow up blog post along with his take on the feedback.
As an Ad Block Plus user myself, I actually wouldn’t mind a notification every now and then asking me if I’d like to whitelist a site URL since I visit it so much. I thoroughly enjoy browsing the web without having to deal with blinking ads, flashbased annoyances, etc. However, I can certainly understand the other side of the argument in that these advertisements are there to generate revenue for the site to exist.
I’ve been down that road of annoying advertising on sites so with that in mind, I am asking you to instill trust in me and whitelist WPTavern.com if you’re using Ad Block Plus or any other ad blocking software. As it stands, this site only displays images for advertising, nothing is flash based and there are no popups. I don’t plan on adding popups, popunders, flash advertising, surprise forms for you to fill out to give me your details, etc.
I am this websites advertising manager and since I have access to all the stats, I feel I can make a pretty good judgment on whether a piece of advertising will be relevant to most of the audience that visits this site.
The bottom line is, not every site on the net is filled with advertising evil, WPTavern being one of those sites. So I ask again that if you enjoy what is happening with WPTavern.com, to allow the advertisements to be displayed and hell, even check a few of them out as all of them are pretty much WordPress related. If you have any questions or concerns related to advertising, you can contact me here.
Feel like whipping up a Thematic child theme that could earn you $240.00? If so, you should check out the Instinct blog to read up on the details regarding the Thematic Child theme challenge. The first person to submit a Thematic child theme which functions comparably and looks like the simpleCart demo site will win the cash prize as well as a profiled spot on the top of the site. Dan Milward of WP e-Commerce notes the reason behind the challenge:
The main goal here is to make more e-Commerce themes available for WordPress e-Commerce users and help profile your skills.
The rules for the challenge are simple:
Must look the same (or a nice variation)
Must use Thematic
Must use WP e-Commerce 3.7 Beta 4 or Higher
Must be emailed to dan@instinct.co.nz before the end of the weekend
This is a great idea by Dan and company. Good luck to all of the challengers. It will be interesting to see if this picks up speed and how many entries he receives to warrant future challenges.
I’m bummed to see that Andrew Rickmann who runs the Fun With WordPress blog about WordPress is selling the site. Andrew Rickmann always approached topics involving WordPress with an interesting angle. I say interesting because anytime I visited the site, I ended up thinking about writing a response blog post with a link back to his site. One great example is when Andrew Rickmann put together a post that examined what is community. I still refer back to the image he created which shows the community segmented in groups which I agree with as well as his Question 5 part which asks a number of intriguing questions.
The site has around 950 RSS subscribers, receives 100-200 visitors per day with 80-90% of those visitors being new. No clue as to earning potential as the site was never really monetized.
If you’re interested, check out the forum thread and get in contact with him. Hope you get a successful sale Andrew.
When I initially published information regarding the virtual WordCamp, I was a bit miffed at the price tag as well as a few other things. However, after putting together some information that I discovered through an anonymous source and from what has been added to the Virtual WordCamp website, I’ve come to the conclusion that the event is being put on for an entirely different audience than what we would see at a typical WordCamp.
Thanks to the information that Chip Bennett has put together in a forum thread regarding this event, I now realize that VirtualWordCamp is meant to be a week long event where those who want to be trained on how to use WordPress can sign up and attend these daily webinars. During my first go around with VC, I thought it would be an online equivalent of a physical WordCamp which is why the price tag and such sent me off my rocker.
Most of us in the WordPress community know that a WordCamp means the following:
WordCamp is a conference that focuses on everything WordPress. WordCamps are informal, community-organized events that are put together by WordPress users like you. Everyone from casual users to core developers participate, share ideas, and get to know each other. WordCamps are open to WordPress.com and WordPress.org users alike.
I just don’t see VirtualWordCamp in its current state matching most of this criteria. Who knows, maybe after the agenda has been published online, it will look like an awesome event but I’m not seeing it right now.
I’ve spoken with a number of people in the WordPress community regarding this event and most don’t seem to be taking it to well. For most of us, WordCamps are all about getting together in a physical location, networking, meeting face to face and establishing connections that otherwise would have never happened. I tend to agree which is why I will not be doing a TavernCamp or a Virtual WordCamp event of my own. I enjoy the physical interactions at these events and I feel that any virtual WordCamp event whether it be created through me or anyone else simply wouldn’t fit the bill for what a WordCamp is supposed to be about.
This freedom filled edition of WordPress Weekly was an open mic night where we discussed all sorts of topics such as the freedoms of the GPL, commercial GPL themes and plugins, bbPress 1.0, the WordPress bible and a whole lot more. This episode also kick starts the 
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