A few weeks ago I discovered a new related post plugin – LinkWithin (thanks to Heather at Celiac Family) that displays your related posts along with images it generates automatically from images it finds in your posts:

Looks nice, right?

The plugin is called LinkWithin and is custom made for your site. You visit their site, enter your email address and your site name, let them know what platform you need the plugin for (they support WordPress, Blogger and TypePad as of now) and your plugin is created instantly and ready for you to save to your computer.

The install is easy – from your WordPress dashboard select Plugins, Add New and Upload the file from your computer, Activate and you are in business.

The one thing I realized quickly was that the plugin worked great on WordPress themes that were more traditional, meaning the home page was not set up with excerpts or a fancy magazine style layout. However, many of my sites that would really benefit from this plugin were using Studio Press themes that displayed as a magazine style layout on the home page. The LinkWithin widget would show up on the home page and it looked horrible.

Now for the good part! The team behind LinkWithin ROCK. I dropped them a quick email and let them know my challenge. I got an email response from a person almost immediately thanking me for using the plugin. She also let me know, not only would they make a version just for my sites with magazine themes, but that they are working on the next version of the plugin that will give users more input. Features in the next version will include things like whether to show the plugin on the home page, weighting categories or tags more, the number of related posts displayed and more.

And now for the real test – does the LinkWithin plugin really help increase the number of actions per user? YES!  I can see in my stats when visitors click through the LinkWithin widget to go to another story and the number of actions per visit has increased on each site I have the plugin installed on.

Have you tried Related Posts plugins? Which one do you prefer?

WordPress 2.8 is out and I just did the upgrade without any issues. If you haven’t upgraded your WordPress installation, DO IT NOW, your site will thank you.

And with that out of the way, here are some links I think you will find useful this week:

• WordPress 2.8 and 10 Things You Should Know Before/After You Upgrade from Web Design Booth
• 9 Proven Headline Formulas that Sell Like Crazy at Copyblogger
• Problogger shows how Simple Changes to Your Adsense Layout Can Increase Revenue
• Chris Cree has a great list of 21 WordPress Plugins to Make Your Life Easier
• The State of WordPress Theme Options Pages from Pro Blog Design
• Randa Clay shares her excellent post on the basics of going from a Photoshop Design to a WordPress Layout

Have a great weekend!

Enter SurfShelf! You can attach the SurfShelf.com to your treadmill, stationary bike or elliptical trainer and watch videos, catch up on your RSS feeds, read your email, and more.

Now, I don’t think you can pound out an in-depth blog post or design a website while jogging on your treadmill, but you certainly could combine some of your more basic tasks with some exercise and take care of two tasks at once. Your heart, waistline, and inbox would thank you.

I think it is a pretty cool gadget actually! What do you think? Would you use it?

One of the highlights of this latest update is the ability to upload and activate a theme through the dashboard, much like you can do now with plugins. This is a huge plus – especially when you consider that the average WordPress user is intimidated by FTP.

Rather than rehashing what others have already put together so nicely – check out the following articles on the the new features for WordPress 2.8, its benefits and a very cool tutorial.

The official word from the Codex – Wordpress 2.8

Kim Woodbridge spells it out in her post on WordPress 2.8: Upcoming Features and Enhancements

Clint Maher keeps it positive with Seven Reasons Why WordPress 2.8 is Better than Ever

Justin Tadlock has three posts on WordPress 2.8 already – The Complete Guide to Creating Widgets in 2.8, Custom Taxonomies in WordPress 2.8, and Tag Descriptions in WordPress 2.8.

I have not heard when the official release date for WordPress 2.8 actually is, but suspect it will be sometime in the next month or so. Have you tried the beta? What did you think? Do you think that the newer versions of WordPress are better or worse than the WordPress of old (2.1 and 2.3)?

The ad shares an amazing cross section of data in a very easy to digest format – its visual, relevant and its presenting numbers about what people are using their Sprint cell phones for NOW. Like:

• The number of cell phone users – then how many just hung up
• The number of incoming emails – and the power of spam filters
• What people are searching for
• How video is being used on their phones
• The popularity of texting – even in business meetings
• People using their phones for Twitter – and the fact that 26% of the population has no idea what Twitter is
• That people are using their phones to research destinations (such as restaurants) and oh, by the way, we even lose those phones
• And the fact that now, the first thing people do when a flight lands is turn on that cell phone!

That is a TON of information – relevant information with a little humor built in – that is conveyed in less than 60 seconds! And as someone who uses my cell phone for just about every one of those purposes, I got a really good sense that if I ever needed to change providers, that Sprint would have everything that I need. Luckily Verizon has done a great job of offering the services I need at a price I am satisfied with, but if I ever considered changing, the first network I would think of would be Sprint.

What other ads/commercials have you seen that are so effective, especially in today’s highly fragmented ad market?

Last week one of my clients asked, “How do you know what the numbers in CSS shorthand refer to – meaning which number do I change to get more padding on the right of my image or which number to I change to lessen the margin above an element?”

The numbers refer to Top, Right, Bottom and Left. If you have trouble remembering that they are listed (and applied) in a clockwise fashion around and element, then think of TRouBLe.

Hopefully that will help make things a bit easier to visualize next time you are looking at your website’s CSS file!

If you have a CSS, WordPress or Web Tools question you want answered, let me know in the comments and I’ll do my best to address it in a future post.

My best explanations for Twitter are a global water cooler, business mixer or cocktail party. You are exchanging small bits of information – both personal and business/interest related – while coming in and out of multiple conversations.

For the basics, check out this video from one of my favorite sources, Common Craft, called Twitter in Plain English:

While Twitter really started out as a way of filling in the gap between email and blogs, it has become so much more! Twitter has become the ultimate networking tool (just ask Wendy at Sparkplugging about how Twitter landed her a spot on the Today Show), it has become another tool in a brand’s marketing toolkit, and it has become the place to make new contacts, find resources, and get connected in the social media arena.

So how do you even start to navigate Twitter, know who to follow and what to tweet?

Getting Started:

Sign up at Twitter. Use your real name, “handle” or company name and get started on your profile. Add your location (even if you define it in your broader metro area), add 1-2 lines about your company, interests and web site address (if you have one). You decide how much goes in your profile, but these are the minimums in my opinion.  Add a photo, image or logo to help you become identifiable on Twitter and you are ready to play.  If you want to get snazzy, add a custom background to your Twitter profile (examples and how to at Spoon Graphics).

Who Should You Follow?

Everyone has to be the new kid on the block at some point. Don’t let that keep you from getting started. Start by looking at some of your favorite blogs – are the authors on Twitter? If so, start by following them. Take a look at sites like Twellow.com and JustTweetIt.com to find people with similar interests to yours. You can also search Twitter (www.summize.com) for keywords, conversation topics and niche topics to find people you want to follow.

What Do I Tweet?

With Twitter you only have 140 characters to share what you have to say. Its amazing how good you get at writing in short, descriptive and meaningful thoughts. Ultimately there are no real rules, but to get you started things you may want to tweet about include:

• What you are doing.
• Ask a question related to your business niche, something you want to know more about or something even more general.
• Answer someone else’s question.
• Respond to a tweet made by others.
• Share your opinion on current events, shows, and topics of interest.
• Share your latest blog post automatically using TwitterFeed.
• You can share links to web pages you like but if the URL is too long you need to use a URL shortening service like TinyURL.com.

What Else Should I Know?

• Be courteous and don’t spam. Twitter is like any other social media tool – treat others as you wish to be treated. Be genuine and develop relationships.
• Tweet on a regular basis and make your Twitter experience a two way conversation.
• You don’t have to follow everyone who follows you, but try to keep the numbers somewhat balanced. Its hard to have a conversation when you follow 3 people and expect 300 to follow you.
• You can even block people from following you if you need to – especially if it looks like the follower is really a spammer.

More Twitter Resources:

• Twitip.com – an entire site of Twitter Tips from Darren Rowse of ProBlogger fame.
• MySocialButtons.com – let the world know you are on Twitter with the best bling for your blog (the twitter bird on this post is from My Social Buttons).
• My Twittonary is an exhaustive list of Twitter terms, shorthand and tools – color coded for your convenience.
• Add Twitter to your WordPress blog using this list of 15 Useful Twitter Hacks and Plugins from Smashing Magazine.
• Twitter Tools for Community and Communications Professionals

Remember this was meant to be an introduction to Twitter in as simple terms as possible. Hopefully it will take the mystery out of Twitter! Feel free to share it with someone you know who is getting started on Twitter and of course, you are always welcome to Tweet, Stumble or Digg this, too!

• Daily Blog Tips: When and How Will Google Index my Website
• ProBlogger: Sign up for 31 Days to Build a Better Blog
• Drew’s Marketing Minute: The Marketing Magic Bullet Does Not Exist
• Sparkplugging: The Three Kinds of Sponsored Conversations – Paid, Trade and Straight
• Sparkplugging: Getting on the Today Show Thanks to Twitter
• Brian Gardner: Shades of Blue – Free WordPress Theme
• Vanseodesign: 5 Reasons Design Matters to SEO
• WebDesignerDepot: 10 Excellent Tips for Designers to Improve their Income

Have a great weekend and stay tuned for some new posts this coming week.

When I look at the past year, I can see why. I have designed over 30 new websites (99% WordPress), nutured 4-6 blogs at any given time and 4 of them have expereienced more than 50% growth over the past year, done some consulting, and managed my very busy family life. I am being to feel slightly overwhelmed and out of balance. Over the next few months I am going to be working on streamlining processes, rearranging priorities, and preparing for the the summer months when my three kids are home on summer break.

As a freelancer do you ever feel overwhelmed, burned out or discouraged? Inspired by an article from Freelance Switch which I followed via Twitter this morning, I have collected a list of additional articles dealing with burnout and freelancing.

• 25 Stress Relief Tips for the Overworked Freelancer
• 27 Secrets to Avoid Internet Burnout
• Avoiding Freelance Burnout
• How to Deal with Freelance Burnout
• How to Avoid Freelance Burnout
• How do you Deal with Burnout?

Last week I announced the Blogger Appreciation Awards sponsored by CellPhones.org and come to find out, I was nominated and now have the chance to win $1000 of my cell phone bill for the year to be paid.

But I need your help – I need you to visit the Finalist page and scroll down to the bottom and click on my name (Char Polanosky).  Its easy – you don’t have to register, just click!