“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” ~ Margaret Mead

Join me, and countless others, in protesting SOPA/PIPA (Stop Online Piracy Act and the PROTECT IP Act) on January 18th, 2012. This site, and my other web properties, will go dark on 1/18/12 in protest of this freedom-robbing bill. BONUS: If you are a Wisconsin resident, please urge Senator Herb Kohl to discontinue his support of SOPA/PIPA immediately! Call his offices: (202) 224-5653.

Take Action: AmericanCensorship.org

And while you’re at it – find something else to do on the internet tomorrow since many of your favorite sites are going dark to protest this horrible bill. Take that time and speak out about this – loudly – to your representatives in Congress.

Find and write to your Senator here.
Find and write to your Congressperson here.

1. Discovering the Who, What and Why of WordPress Multisite
   Who are the type of people using Multisite, what are they using it for and why are they using it, versus regular single-user WordPress.
2. Exploring Multisite Use Case Scenarios
   Taking a look at a few real world examples and case studies of the Multisite feature in practice today.
3. Multisite versus Single-User WordPress
   A frank look at the differences between the two – - what features are you actually getting when you activate the Multisite features in WordPress?  This section provides a run down of a list of features and helps users decide if the Multisite approach is what they want and need for their site/project.
4. Question/Answer
   Time allotted for question/answer session regarding information presented in Hour 1.

Hour 2:  Multisite Preparation

1. Important Considerations Before Taking the Multisite Challenge
   Exploring concepts of running a Multisite network, what that means to the site owner and what is involved in running a network of sites.  This section of the presentation explores community management, combating spam and Site Administration versus Network Administration.
2. Exploring Hosting Environments – Tips and Recommendations
   There are many considerations when approaching a solid hosting environment to manage and run a network of sites using WordPress Multisite, this section explores options for best practices.
3. Pre-Installation Considerations
   This part of the session takes the user through a discovery process of how they would like to manage their network of sites.  Decisions made within this discovery process will determine how to approach installation and setup of the Multisite feature in WordPress.
4. Question/Answer
   Time allotted for question/answer session regarding information presented in Hour 2.

Hour 3 & 4:  Enabling and Configuring Multisite

1. Activating the Multisite Feature
   With WordPress already installed on your server, this part of the session takes the user through the steps necessary to activate the Multisite feature.
2. Becoming a Network Admin
   With Multisite enabled, site owners now have access to the Network Admin Dashboard – this part of the session takes the users through a walk-through of the Network Admin Dashboard and explores each of the settings and options; tips and realistic advice provided on best practices and specific use case methods. Includes information on:
   1. Overall Network Options/Configurations
   2. Managing Network Users
   3. Managing Network Sites
3. Exploring the Multisite Database
   The WordPress database undergoes significant changes with Multisite activation – this section of the presentation familiarizes the user with the Multisite database schema so they have a clear understanding of how data is stored and delivered in a Multisite Environment.
4. Exploring the Multisite Fileserver
   With a WordPress site that is capable of running multiple sites, its important for users to understand where files are stored on the users fileserver – this section explores the file structure and discovers how images and media files are organized in a Multisite Environment.
5. Question/Answer
   Time allotted for question/answer session regarding information presented in Hour 3 & 4.

Hour 5:  Using Themes and Plugins within a Multisite Environment

1. Installing/Activating Themes in a Multisite environment
   The process of installing and activating themes on WordPress site with Multisite enabled is slightly different than the single-user WordPress, this part takes the user through that process and the decision to activate themes per site, or network-wide.
2. Installing/Activating Plugins in a Multisite Environment
   The process of installing and activating plugins on a WordPress site with Mulisite enabled is different than regular WordPress, this part takes the user through that process and the decision to activate themes per site, or network-wide.  Additionally, this section gives the user valuable information in helping them determine which plugins require Network Activation.
3. Question/Answer
   Time allotted for question/answer session regarding information presented in Hour 5.

Hour 6:  Extending WordPress Multisite

1. Reviewing Different Use Case Examples
   A brief review of different methods and ways people are using Multisite including: domain mapping, membership sites, social community, etc.
2. Domain Mapping
   Get rid of the subdomain / subdirectory default structure of URL’s and allow each site to have it’s own domain name with the use of the Domain Mapping plugin.
3. Blog Network
   Use the main (installation) site as a portal to display the content and activity happening within the full network through the use of plugins and widgets that display posts and comments from sites within the network.
4. Memberships and Upgrades
   Utilize a set of recommended plugins to provide a network where users can sign up and obtain different paid upgrade levels.
5. Social Community
   Turn your Multisite web site into a social community complete with blogs, profiles, groups and forums using the BuddyPress plugin.
6. Question/Answer
   Time allotted for question/answer session regarding information presented in Hour 6.

While this is an in-person workshop in Oklahoma – it is also being streamed live on the web, if you’re interested in attending you can sign up for the WordPress Developers Course at WebDesign.com. You’re able to register for the Multisite Workshop only – or, you can register for the WHOLE entire course (which is a pretty valuable offering, by the way!) – - the choice is entirely yours.

I’ll be in Oklahoma City Wednesday, January 11 – Sunday, January 15th – after giving a full day workshop on WordPress Multisite, I get the opportunity to co-work, collaborate and spend time with my favorite geeks over at iThemes. I spend so much time in Oklahoma City over the years, it’s become a home away from home for me lately!

I am speaking on the topic of WordPress Themes and in the short time I have available to talk, hope to cover the information I wish I had years ago when I first started dipping my toe into the world of WordPress Themes. Themes are very popular with users of WordPress, primarily because the theme defines the look and feel of your web site, and the functions within the template carry your content forward to the eyes of your readers.  Yet, themes still remain a mystery to many new users of WordPress, especially getting started in creating your own theme.  This session covers the basics of WordPress themes and provides practical tips on how to get started creating your own theme.

In this session you will learn the basic templates (index, header, sidebar, footer), including the stylesheet with basic CSS information to help you with styles and formats; additionally, you will learn how to connect the template files together to create a basic WordPress theme that you can build on from there.  Discover basic template tags to help you accomplish your goals of content delivery and even learn how to make sure your theme supports basic WordPress features such as widgets, featured images, custom header and custom backgrounds.

At the end of the session, I will provide attendees with a link where you can download the example basic theme for you to work with long after WordCamp Atlanta is over, as you continue your journey towards becoming a master of WordPress themes!

If you’re planning on attending WordCamp Atlanta this year – be sure to let me know, or at the very least – look me up while you’re there and say hi!

So, yea – business-wise, 2011 has been pretty stellar and I cannot complain. Personally, however… well, let’s just say that 2011 is a year that I would rather not repeat again, thank you very much. In March, my daughter left home .. not on good terms and not because I wanted her to. It’s a long story full of dramatic details that only matter if you’re the person(s) involved, so I’ll just leave it at this: I miss her, a lot..and I heavily grieve the the loss of the relationship, for the moment and how it will change our relationship in the future. I wholeheartedly hope that someday, sooner rather than later, we can come back together and that our relationship will be stronger for it – - forever changed, but maybe for the better. In the meantime – I’m practicing the art of letting go, which is easier said than done, most days.

In April, my father was diagnosed with liver cancer. I’ve written about it on this blog in recent months, including the eulogy that I gave at his funeral in July. He passed away on July 12, 2011 at 5:35am. To say that my life will never be the same is an understatement, as I cannot begin to put into words how much that man meant to me and how very much of an empty space is left with his absence. It was the greatest privilege in my life to take care of him through the final months of his life. We were fortunate to be able to take care of him in his own home, and with the help of a home hospice agency, my father was able to live through the worst of his illness and spend his last remaining hours on this earth in the privacy and comfort of his own home, with his family.

It’s been 5 months now and not a day passes by that I don’t think of him. Not a day passes that my heart does not ache. I never knew it was possible to cry so hard. People tell me that it eventually gets better, and while I do believe that is true – I am patiently waiting for the day that it does. As I wait, I am trying to help my Mom put the pieces of her life back together, although, I don’t ever think we’ll get there 100%. They were married for 50 years. She met him when she was 15 years old and married him when she was 17. She’s never known a life outside the life she had with Dad … so this time is challenging and redefining on so many levels. Learning how to live life without him is something her and I are learning together, slowly.

So, during the time that I was taking care of my Dad – I hurt my back pretty bad. I was lifting him and transferring him from bed to chair and back again, every day and then again every night. It got so bad that I finally broke down and visited my Doctor in the early days of July. I explained my aches and pains and told him what I had been doing for Dad at home and he gave me a prescription for some anti-inflammatory meds and told me to come back in a month, which I did. When I returned to his office – I wasn’t taking care of Dad anymore. He asked me about Dad and I broke down and sobbed like an idiot and told him that Dad had passed the week prior. He sat and talked with me about it for good long time before we got back onto the topic of my back pain. He told me when I was in his office a month prior, it would not have done any good to tell me to stop the activity that was causing the pain – because he knew that I wouldn’t. He also told me that it wouldn’t have done any good to have the discussion that we needed to have about other contributing factors – such as my sedentary lifestyle (writing books and designing web sites isn’t exactly good cardio activity, who knew?) and my need to drop some weight.

He asked if I’d ever tried Yoga, and recommended it as a good way to start getting some decent exercise and that it would help with the back pain because it focuses on strengthening core muscles (back and abdominals) and the flexibility and stretching would also help me work through the pain and help heal the sore, pulled and tight muscles. He added that it would help with weight loss and finally, that as a secondary benefit, I would probably start to enjoy it as a stress reliever.

I’m not really one for group activity – and definitely have never tried group exercise classes before. But, I was desperate with the back pain issue – - and if it would help with the stress…all the better. I guess I must have really been desperate to resolve this because within the week, I was at my local YMCA class participating in a class called “Body Flow” which is a combination of Tai Chi, Pilates and Yoga. I enjoyed it so much – I actually went back. It’s now December and I’ve been going to class about 3-4 times a week since the end of July. 28lbs later – I’ve dropped some weight and my back pain is virtually non-existent. There are days that it flares up once in a while – - but I would say about 4 weeks into my Yoga practice, I noticed a distinct difference in the intensity and level of pain and now, almost 5 months later – it’s not a daily issue any longer.

But aside from the pain relief and weight loss – probably the greatest enjoyment I get out of practicing yoga is the relaxation and stress relief. It could be that I’m taking 4-5 hours per week and, selfishly, doing something just for myself that doesn’t involve taking care of anyone or work – - it has also given me a greater clarity and perspective, which I attribute to the meditation practice that goes along with it. During yoga, I am in tune with my mind and body and focusing only on those things that matter to me, personally – which is something I have not paid any kind of attention to in decades. It has helped me work through my grief and is a big part of helping me let go and keep things in perspective when it comes to my relationship with my daughter. Yoga has become as much therapy for my mind as it is for my body. I’m actually quite surprised with how much I absolutely love it and now cannot imagine my life without it.

So much so that my goal for 2012 is to incorporate a daily yoga practice. Because it’s not feasible for me to attend the YMCA 7 days a week (plus they don’t have classes every day) – this meant that I needed to start a home practice, if I was serious about practicing yoga every day. Over the holidays, since I have been enjoying a little down time from work – I started in on creating a space in my home that would allow me to do this. This actually killed two birds with one stone because I turned my daughter’s bedroom into a yoga/exercise room – which was actually somewhat cathartic for me. Instead of sitting around and grieving her absence in my life and obsessing over where I went wrong and what I could do to make it all better – - which is something I’ve been doing for many, many months, I decided that it was time to let it go and accept what’s happened .. realize there is nothing I can do to control the situation or even change it, for now. Turning her bedroom into a studio where I can practice yoga, exercise and meditate is healthier for me, overall .. and cleaning it out and turning it into my space was symbolic in letting go.

It was a big project because her room had become ‘that’ room – - you know the one? That room  (or closet…or basement … or garage .. ) in your house that you put everything that you don’t want to look at and close the door so you don’t see it? Yes, that one. It had become storage for clothes I don’t wear, boxes of stuff that had accumulated and was beginning to take on a very kind of “Hoarders” feel (I kid you not). It had become too easy to put things in there and close the door, then pretend that the mess was not there. So, for the past week, that has been my project and tonight, I finally finished it! Here are a few photos of my modest yoga room – - I officially christened it earlier this evening with a one-and-a-half hour yoga session in candlelight – and it was beautiful!

I had a little helper with me as I created my Yoga room

Some Yogis stress the importance of a comfortable meditation space. I call them "Yoga Naps" (complete with cat)

It was exhausting work - the cat has the RIGHT idea!

I wish you could have seen what it all looked like before I got this all accomplished – it was quite a workout just getting it cleaned up and set up!  There’s not much there – - lots of candles, lots of space – a nice sound system to plug my Macbook into for some good tunes – - and my elliptical machine, just so I can throw a little cardio in there for good measure!  Oh and the mattress on the floor – with lots and lots of throw pillows, perfect for moments of meditation – - or a place to collapse after a hard workout!  Naps are essential, too!

So, wish me luck on my goal for 2012 for incorporating yoga into my daily routine.  Now that I have set up my space – I have no excuses!

Oh, and happy new year!

Yes, I used “Economy“, “Commercial“, “Open Source” AND “GPL” in the same paragraph – don’t judge!  Imagine if WordPress wasn’t open source – - WORSE, imagine if the code were not accessible to you – - if you run a commercial WordPress business, step back and imagine where that business would be today if WordPress were not free, open and accessible to you & your brain?  Would it be easier…harder?  What challenges would you come up against?  Or would you still be working for the man in a cubicle 9-5?  It’s not only the open sourceness of it all – - but it is the environment of sharing, learning and collaboration that you find so hearty in the WordPress community, overall.  Step back and think about it for a second – there’s a lot to be thankful for if you are a commercial WordPress developer, designer, consultant (or whatever you’re calling yourselves these days).

I digress – - the reason for my post is to talk about a few projects that have kept my fingers busy over the past few months – several of them Multisite deployments, along with extensive work with custom post types and taxonomies – which I’m pretty excited about. Earlier on this blog, I mentioned recently launching the Cheapflights.com and Cheapflights.co.uk sites for the London-based group, Cheapflights, which was a really fun project!

Recently, I’ve also helped launch Bostinno.com, a Boston-based tech news/resources site for all things tech in the greater Boston area – they plan on using Multisite to branch out into other cities such as NYC, Philly, etc. Both sites use Custom Post Types and Custom Taxonomies with WordPress, along with the Multisite implementation to make it easy for them to add new sites to their network as their efforts and reach grow. Working on this site was a fantastic experience as the team at Bostinno are also developers, themselves, so it was an interesting mix of development and design collaboration with a client that I don’t get very often.  As a result, both sides had much to offer and learn from the other and I consider it to be one of my more priceless development experiences of 2011.

Both sites are utilizing WordPress Multisite & Custom Post Types in different ways:

• Cheapflights – uses Multisite with domain mapping so they can easily control each of their different regional properties under one installation of WordPress (.com, .co.uk, .ca, etc) – as they add new properties, they can easily map their domains and go!  The custom post type implementation here can be found on their Airline News page – that page pulls in the individual taxonomies created (in this case, different airline brands) along with the logo and the last 3 most recent posts and a ‘read more’ link that takes you to an individual airline news page that brings in not only the posts from that taxonomy – but the specific airline twitter feed, logo and information (using some custom field magic).
• Bostinno.com – uses Multisite, also with domain mapping, so they can add their different tech news sites based on different US cities while maintaining one install of WordPress across the board and they utilize the Gigya social solution to create community, sharing and social logins from Twitter, Facebook, etc.  Custom Post Types were implemented in two different ways for Bostinno.  First, their Series section allows them to create a grouping of posts that exist within the same series and has a custom template that pulls in a featured image to serve as a header image for that particular Series section (example: the Bostinno Tech Mafia Series).  The second implementation of Custom Post Types can be seen in their Channels section where they feature different Boston-based tech companies (example: the Wistia Channel), also with a custom template that pulls in a featured image so they can include a photographic header per channel, along with some custom widgets that pull in top posts from the individual channel, social media information for the channel company and featured writers from that channel.  Fun, fun!

Check out the post I recently wrote over at Convertiv – just a little primer about the power of WordPress Multisite.

I completed both these sites over the past few months in a partnership with my good friends, and colleagues, over at Convertiv.com.  Last month, I took on a more official role with Convertiv as their lead dev on these projects and VP of development – as they continue to grow their team and take on more and more enterprise level clients, my role expands into development oversight and implementation.  With projects rolling in and 2012 looking very promising at keeping me insanely busy, I have been putting out some feelers here and there to build a bit of a dev team to work with me on some of these larger scale projects for Convertiv and if you have an interest, please drop me a line.  Requirements?  Advanced WP development experience, plugin dev, PHP, MySQL knowledge and solid knowledge and demonstrated experience working with WP hooks, filters, functions, and such.  Also looking to work with a few theme devs with extensive experience in CSS, XHTML (HTML5, CSS3, and responsive design a total plus).

I also continue to maintain my own business at E.Webscapes, as well, getting custom work done for our clients – - doing both simultaneously keeps me off the streets and outta trouble (no, really)!  I am also looking for a few skilled freelancers to do WordPress project work there, both in design and development. Requirements?  Graphic Design, XHTML, CSS, WordPress themes (be prepared to show what you’ve done through examples).

It’s entirely possible that the positions could overlap both for Convertiv and E.Webscapes – - the projects differ slightly (at Convertiv, we do some pretty high level, large scale work with corporate clients, whereas at E.Webscapes I do a lot of small business and personal sites) – if you have an interest, don’t be afraid to reach out and get in touch.

NOTE:  Please be advised that I probably will not respond to inquiries until after the New Year (as the holidays creep up on me, my schedule has gotten ever so slightly impossible) – so have a happy, and SAFE holiday season and let’s chat in 2012!

Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.

- Dr. Seuss

I hear a voice…’you must learn to stand up for yourself because I can’t always be around.’
He says…’when you gonna make up your mind?  When you gonna love you as much as I do…?

Winter ~ Tori Amos’