As I prepare for my meeting with Alan Dean Foster, one of the world’s most prolific and famous science fiction authors, I’m not the only one inspired by the whole concept of making dreams come true.

Robyn Seaton introduced Alan Dean Foster to me after she and I met at WordCamp Phoenix, and PodCamp Arizona last week. She didn’t have a blog yet. After a fully packed weekend, she was ready but overwhelmed. What to blog about?

She twittered and emailed me that she wanted to help me in my quest to meet Alan Dean Foster. In the process, found her blog passion and voice. A few days ago, she started her very first blog in WordPress, Robyn Transforms, and now has two posts published on the blog. She says she was inspired by me, but I feel inspired by her!

I want to share a few of her questions on blog writing, as they also apply to my upcoming meeting with Alan Dean Foster.

How do you break away from a post? In other words, how do you know when to stop fussing with it? One of the reasons I hadn’t posted before was because I kept going back and rewriting. Every time I look at something, I find something about it I want to change. I’m sure I completely rewrote my About page at least 4 or 5 times, even after I had published it. (Should this go here? Would it be better in a post? Blah, blah, blah.) I suppose the answer becomes as simple as “when you get too tired or find something else to do.” I hope it’s really that simple.

How Do You Know to Stop Writing a Blog Post?

I assured Robyn that her questions and feelings are normal. Birthing a blog is like birthing a baby. There is a lot of anticipation and anxiety, a ton of questions and great unknowns, but once it’s born, it’s a responsibility. After a while, and a few accidents along the way, the answers come instinctively. You somehow know what to do as you get a little more experienced.

Honestly, there are no rules for how long a post must be. In my training workshops and keynotes, I tell everyone to write until the job is done, then edit, edit, edit, edit, re-read, edit, and hit publish. Trust your instincts. If it feels too clunky or makes too many points, then break it up. If it feels right, hit publish.

Here are some more specific points on the basics of writing a blog post:

1. Write Until It’s Done: Sit down at your blog post or text editor and write until the thought is done. Don’t worry about self-editing, spelling, grammar, or what others will think. Just write. You’ll know when you’re done, but focus on pulling all the thoughts out of your head first.
2. Edit, Edit, Edit: The true art of writing doesn’t come with just the writing but the editing. It’s rarely perfect the first time out of your head. I call that stage the “brain dump” as I pull all the thoughts out as they come. Then the editing process kicks in to clean it up, restructure, and break up the thoughts into the final form. Sometimes it takes a lot of writing to make all the critical points in one document, and other times a few words do the trick and you’re done. Editing helps you make those decisions as you sift through the thoughts you’ve just written.
3. Write in Complete Thoughts: Do not write with the expectation that the reader can read your mind. Edit your thoughts so they make sense and we can follow all the dots. Don’t assume we’ve read what came before. Give us a recap of the history, if necessary, and help us understand where you are coming from.
4. Don’t Be a Perfectionist: Unlike published books or articles, you can always fix a blog post.
5. Make Your Point and Stop: It’s that simple. Don’t try to shove 84 points into a single blog post. Make your point and stop. Save the other points for more blog posts.
6. What’s the Right Length for a Blog Post: There has been some research over the past few years on the correct length for a blog post. While short and concise usually wins, the reality is that if the post is well written and pulls the reader through to the end, they will read until the end. Don’t write to a word count. Few people really judge the quality of a book by it’s page count, nor should they blog posts. You will know instinctively when a post is long enough or too long. Trust that.
7. What is Your Point? “Make your point and stop.” That’s true, but it only goes so far. What’s a point? What’s your point? What if your point takes a long story to tell in order to make the point? What if you need 3 or 10 points to get your message across? While there are template formats for writing a “proper blog post,” write in your own style and voice. Tell your own story your way, after all, it’s your story! We’re reading your blog for you, not for the format. Let you shine through and make your point your way.

In an Dig Museum, Alan Dean Foster actually answers this better than me.

Do you remember what was the first thing you wrote (not necessarily published)?

Yes. It was a story about an aluminum Christmas tree that was thrown out with the trash…and took root, and grew. Nice idea, not enough story.

If you don’t have enough story, don’t publish. If you have too much story, edit it down. When the story is right, publish.

You can find more guidelines on blog writing in “Blogging Is About Writing” published on Darren Rowse’s Problogger, and in my Writing category.

Putting This Into Perspective and Reality

As I worked with Robyn to calm her fears and stay focused, I realized that I’d spent the last few days feeling exactly the same way.

Knowing you are going to meet your rock star fantasy hero in two days gives you time to get past the giddy, passing out, swoons and fears, and into some serious contemplation and planning. I’ve been reviewing all of Alan Dean Foster’s more than 100 books and stories, sorting through the memories of the stories I’ve read two to four or more times each. I’ve recalled where I was in my life for each of the books, and how that book impacted my life and helped me change direction, or keep moving forward. I’ve reviewed many of his articles and interviews, including info on his Wikipedia page and listened to some of my favorite podcast interviews with Foster on The Future and You. I’m finding the man behind the stories as I read and listen again to my favorite author’s thoughts on writing, movie making, movie script writing, publishing, and science fiction, but am I? Who is he really?

I’ve been gathering questions from fellow fans on what to ask Alan Dean Foster, and coming up with a huge list of my own. With two days to think about it, I’ve had time to think up a million questions. Too many. I organize them, try to find structure, edit non-stop in my head – unable to sleep and starting to panic that these questions are old ones, asked a million times before, or that I’ll overwhelm him or myself in the process – or worse. Think too much and blow the whole thing.

When Robyn emailed me about her own panic on how to write a blog post and knowing when to stop writing, I realized that I was doing the same thing. Over-working the entire process in my head.

I stopped. I am treating the upcoming interview like my blog. It has to be organic. Natural. Whatever will happen will happen. Listen, feel, and let the experience flow.

You have to do the same with your own blog writing.

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Copyright Lorelle VanFossen, member of the 9Rules Network, and author of Blogging Tips, What Bloggers Won't Tell You About Blogging.

I’m in Arizona after a very exciting and busy series of conferences, including the very successful WordCamp Netherlands, WordCamp Phoenix, and PodCamp Arizona, visiting family living near one of my favorite authors in the world, Alan Dean Foster.

During WordCamp Phoenix and PodCampAZ, I shared with my audience that I was too excited to just be “this close” to the one man who completely changed my life when it came to writing, actually helping me become a professional writer. Robyn Seaton stepped up to my challenge and connected me with the master himself. This is just one more amazing reason why I love WordPress and WordCamps!

In the next few days, I hope to connect with Alan Dean Foster and tell him thank you and hug him. Hopefully, I’ll also get time to interview him.

Alan Dean Foster is on my top ten list of people I want to meet, hug, and thank for having such a profound impact on my life, changing my path and encouraging me to stay focused on my passion. Earlier this year, the first person on that list was met, LeVar Burton, giving me a chance to say thank you for changing the conversation about disabilities. The list includes Bill Cosby, Shirley Maclaine, Terry Pratchett, and Orson Scott Card. My husband met Card, saying thank you for me, but that’s not good enough. As you can tell from the abbreviated list, authors have played a very strong role in my life, but Alan Dean Foster was the mentor whose knees I sat at and whose words I drank like a sponge.

After arriving last night, we walked the streets of Prescott and stopped in the lovely galleries and shops along Whiskey Row. I bought a key chain and postcard from Prescott to take home and put in my office as a reminder that I was this close to Alan Dean Foster, knowing he’s probably walked these streets and shopped in these stores, or ate at the Hotel St Michael Bistro where we had the best and most beautiful meal, hoping that would just be enough. Waking early this morning to find an email from him, instigated by Robyn, wanting to meet me has me over the top with joy and all the fears that come with making your dreams come true.

When I stop shaking and can compute all of this, I will tell you more about how Alan Dean Foster’s writings rocked my brain from the inside out, teaching me about turning a phrase, storytelling, and understanding the mastery of dialog no school has ever taught, and how knowing his life was richer for traveling spurred my own travels and willingness to jump off the cliff and live on the road full-time for almost 16 years…it’s amazing how one person you’ve never met can influence your life so much. The more I think about the powerful effect his writings and lifestyle has had on mine, the more I’m overwhelmed with emotion and stunned that I may get to actually met him.

For now, I’d like to ask you two important questions. First, if you could ask Alan Dean Foster a question, what would you want to know?

Second, what is stopping you from living your dreams? I’m living mine, with the help of friends, so why aren’t you? What’s your dream and what is getting in your way?

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Copyright Lorelle VanFossen, member of the 9Rules Network, and author of Blogging Tips, What Bloggers Won't Tell You About Blogging.

WordCamp Phoenix is all set to really rock and roll with great WordPress, blogging, and SEO experts on November 13, 2009, in Arizona at the Arizona Grand Resort.

Some of the hottest folks in WordPress and web tech are lined up to speak and attend, taking advantage of PodcampAZ and Az Entrepreneurship Conference happening the same weekend. Speakers include Matt Mullenweg, Merlin Mann of 43 Folders, John Hawkins, Brent Spore, and Dave Moyer of Bitwire Media and WordCast. Oh, and little ole me.

The Phoenix WordPress event will be live streamed thanks to sponsor, GoDaddy, so you can watch the event from around the world from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm MST.

Registration is almost sold out, so get signed up right now to ensure you have a seat. You can follow all the Twitter fun on the phxwc tag and hashtag.

WordCamp Netherlands

WordCamp Netherlands a week ago was amazing. The speakers were fantastic, great fun at the WordPress Genius Bar was had, and lessons learned more from the audience at times than the speakers! What an amazing group.

The attendees at this WordCamp in Holland were not beginners by any means. They were, for the most part, experienced WordPress users and bloggers. They had intelligent questions to challenge myself and the other speakers and attendees, including a couple representatives from Automattic. While we converted a few non-bloggers and non-WordPress users, for the most part, they challenged us on how to use WordPress better and more.

The enthusiasm was amazing, and a WordPress Meetup was quickly arranged and held Wednesday afternoon in Rotterdam, attended by about 20 people from all around Holland. Wow!

I’ll be heading back to the states in the next few days for a day or so of rest and then on another plane to WordCamp Phoenix, my last WordCamp of the year.

2009: A Packed Year of WordCamps and WordPress Events

I’ve learned a lot this year from all the WordCamps I’ve attended, including WordCamp Toronto, WordCamp San Francisco, WordCamp Las Vegas, WordCamp Whistler, WordCamp Columbus, WordCamp Dallas, WordCamp Portland, WordCamp Seattle, and WordCamp Netherlands! Whew! That sounds like a lot, and still doesn’t include all the many non-WordPress events, conferences, and workshops I spoke at and attended.

To find a WordPress Meetup or WordCamp in your area, check out WordCamp Central, which includes instructions and guidelines for running a WordCamp. There are also news, events, and articles with tips and techniques for WordPress Meetups and WordCamps on The WordCamp Report and WordCast, as well as on blogs by those who have run these events.

Check out WordPress Meetup Groups where you can browse a map and list of cities where there are WordPress events and activities and where ones are wanted. You can also search Yahoo Upcoming events for WordPress, WordPress Meetups Upcoming Events, and Upcoming events tagged with “WordCamp” or “WordPress.”

If you are interested in creating a WordCamp or WordPress Meetup, check out WordCamp Central and the articles I’ve written below, as well as more on the WordCamp Report.

• WordCamp and WordPress Meetups: The Events Heard Round the World
• How WordPress Changes Lives
• WordCamps 2009
• Do You Have All the Information on Your WordCamp Blog?
• Exploring WordCamp Logo Creativity
• What You Need to Consider When Planning a WordCamp Event
• It’s What Happens After the Event That Counts
• WordPress Event and WordCamp Speakers Rights Release Form
• When WordCamp Sponsorship Raises Questions
• Why You Should Get to a WordCamp Near You
• It Takes a Team to Do a WordCamp
• WordCamp Dallas: What Does a WordCamp Cost?
• Tips for Planning and Organizing a WordPress Event and WordCamp

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Copyright Lorelle VanFossen, member of the 9Rules Network, and author of Blogging Tips, What Bloggers Won't Tell You About Blogging.

You know I’m a huge WordCamp fan. I attend as many as I can, speak at many, and work hard with the The WordCamp Report, Blog Herald, and this blog to help promote WordCamps all over the world.

For those unfamiliar with WordCamp, it is a grassroots gathering, formal or informal, of WordPress fans. It can happen anywhere and in many formats, all focused on WordPress fans getting together to talk about WordPress and their online world.

For those familiar with the WordCamp experience, you will not be surprised at my announcement. For those who haven’t had the joy of a WordCamp, you are about to learn how magical that experience is.

WordCamp Portland is donating USD $750 to WordCamp Seattle to help them with their event.

That’s right. One WordCamp is helping another overcoming problems with finding sponsors and funding for their event. That’s love, folks. Pure WordPress love, and an example of the overwhelming support of WordPress fans for their community.

On Monday, just a few hours after WordCamp Portland completed a very successful two day, sold out event in Portland, Oregon, WordCamp Seattle found out that negotiations with food services had gone astray. Five days before their event, 250 people attending the event were going to be without the promised lunch and snacks.

Seeing a chance to help, several volunteers on the WordCamp Portland team swung into action. Tweets went out around the world, with retweets following one after another as it spread out to the WordPress Community and the Seattle food blogging community. Led by DeBorah Beatty, the requests for food, drinks, and snacks spread like wildfire, with people eager to contact their “lists” via Twitter, email, and their blogs.

Worried about their sister city in the Pacific Northwest, WordCamp Portland organizers decided they now had a purpose for the extra money left over for their very successful event. They had talked about saving it as seed money for next year’s event, but when the call came out that Seattle was in need, they knew it would be the right thing to do: Give to the WordPress Community in Seattle.

That’s the magic of the WordPress Community at work.

Your Help Needed for WordCamps Everywhere

WordCamp Seattle continues to need help with food, drinks, and snacks. This generous donation is a fantastic step to help feed 250 WordPress enthusiasts this weekend, along with the many volunteers it takes to run such a huge event, but more is needed. Your help is needed for money, food, non-alcoholic drinks, and other event support. Contact @DeBorah Beatty and @JoshH to help them out.

Help is not just needed for WordCamp Seattle. The organizers of the Seattle event have been so stunned and grateful for the donation from WordCamp Portland, they have offered to give any money left from their event to another WordCamp, starting an amazing interaction between WordCamps beyond their community. It’s the WordCamp Wave!

WordCamps are non-profit and non-commercial events. They are social gatherings and educational opportunities to learn from each other on how we use WordPress. Some communities can support huge events with big sponsors, while others are content meeting in a park or community center with no sponsorship. Our hope is that WordPress will help us create a fund that will help sponsor WordCamp events and attendees around the world. It’s early days, but your help is needed to help others in the WordPress Community.

Thanks to all who give so much to the WordPress Community! And especially to WordCamp Portland for their generosity. You continue to set an example for everyone to follow!

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Copyright Lorelle VanFossen, member of the 9Rules Network, and author of Blogging Tips, What Bloggers Won't Tell You About Blogging.

Otto42 of OttoDestruct, a key WordPress developer and supporter, reports that there is an “attack” on older versions of WordPress right now. The number of sites hit by this is growing every hour. Protect your WordPress blog now: UPDATE NOW!!!

Update your WordPress blog before you continue reading this post. That’s how critical this issue is.

Things You Need to Know Now

Here is what you need to know right now, constantly updated with news as we get it.

1. UPDATE NOW! Reports are that this attack impacts ALL versions of WordPress up to 2.8.3 and 2.8.4, the most recent release.
2. Report from WordPress on Attack: How to Keep WordPress Secure. Information on the most recent update of WordPress that prevented this attack on updated WordPress sites: WordPress 2.8.4: Security Release.
3. Which Version of WordPress is Secure? I’ve just talked to Matt Mullenweg and have a better understanding of the version confusion. When this worm first hit the web, WordPress released 2.8.3 to deal with it. Since then, WordPress 2.8.4 was released, unrelated to the worm. Once the worm has infected your site, surface fixes do not remove the “back door” the worm injects into your database and system, as happened with Robert Scoble. Once infected, upgrading does not fix the issue, so those reporting they were now infected after upgrading, were infected before upgrading. Versions after WordPress 2.8.3 are safe, but upgrade to 2.8.4 anyway as it included other fixes.
4. What Version Am I Using? If you are using a WordPress version after 2.7, the nag screen on the WordPress Administration Panels will alert you to upgrade. If you are using an older version, upgrade now. Don’t know what version you are using? Without a nag screen to tell you to update, you’re using an old version. Checking the Administration Panels footer will help, but don’t waste time looking. Just update now!
5. Use a WordPress Plugin for Protection: Do not rely upon a WordPress Plugin to protect you. There are many reports of Plugins that will “help” in the comments. While they might help in other ways, please upgrade now. That is the only solution if your site has not been impacted.
6. How Does This Worm Work? We’re awaiting details from security experts on how this worm works. Personally, I’m waiting for the name of this thing since that does make searching for details on this worm easier. Anyone got a name for it yet? Since it isn’t exclusive to WordPress, calling it the WordPress Worm would not be appropriate.
7. WordPress is Not Secure: WordPress is incredibly secure and monitored constantly by experts in web security. This attack was well anticipated and so far, WordPress 2.8.4 is holding. If necessary, WordPress will immediately release a update with further security improvements. WordPress is used by governments, huge corporations, and me, around the world. Millions of bloggers are using WordPress.com. Have faith they are working overtime to monitor this situation and protect your blog.
8. Fear of Upgrading: This attack is serious enough to overcome all your fears of updating. If older WordPress Plugins are holding you back, update them to the latest version or replace them with new. If your Theme might break, contact the Theme author and update or replace it. There are thousands of free Themes to choose from, probably some better than what you are using. If you are using a recent version of WordPress, updating is as easy as clicking a couple buttons. If you are using an older version, download the most recent version and upgrade now.
9. Other Issues? Whatever your issue is that keeps you from updating WordPress, get over it and update now to protect your site.

When we have updated news, we’ll add them to this post and/or post a new article.

How Do I Know If My Site Has Already Been Attacked?

There are two clues that your WordPress site has been attacked.

There are strange additions to the pretty permalinks, such as example.com/category/post-title/%&(%7B$%7Beval(base64_decode($_SERVER%5BHTTP_REFERER%5D))%7D%7D|.+)&%/. The keywords are “eval” and “base64_decode.”

The second clue is that a “back door” was created by a “hidden” Administrator. Check your site users for “Administrator (2)” or a name you do not recognize. You will probably be unable to access that account, but Journey Etc. has a possible solution.

WordPress.com blogs are not impacted as they are up-to-date. Only versions prior to WordPress 2.8.4 are impacted.

To Prevent Your WordPress Blog from Attack

To prevent this form of attack, update your WordPress site IMMEDIATELY to the latest version. Change ALL passwords to a strong password immediately, including WordPress blog access for all users, database, FTP, control panels, everything.

See the articles below for more helpful information on how to harden and protect your WordPress blog.

If Your WordPress Blog Has Been Attacked

If your site has already been attacked, it appears that the hack attacks the database, going deep. You can find help in the WordPress Codex article on how to deal with a hacked WordPress site.

We’re looking for specific solutions, but the easiest appears to be to export all your content with the built-in XML WordPress export (pre 2.1 versions, try the WordPress-to-WordPress Import WordPress Plugin) and literally remove your WordPress installation totally (save images and general files). DO NOT EXPORT YOUR DATABASE! Install the latest version of WordPress and add the “clean” backup of your WordPress Theme, then import the XML export. The export will contain your posts, Pages, and comments, and hopefully no other hacked code.

“How To Completely Clean Your Hacked WordPress Installation” by Smackdown is a good article on how to reinstall WordPress after being hacked, but take care to keep your export limited to the post content and comments (and Pages), not the entire database as the hack goes into the database.

How to Respond to a WordPress Attack

WordPress has been requesting users update as soon as an update is released for several years. They also now have a excellent team to track down this issue and quickly protect WordPress with any necessary updates.

Please blog and Twitter about the attacks. It’s important that we spread the information throughout the WordPress Community as fast as possible, encouraging everyone to update WordPress. Take care not to promote rumors, just the facts, until we know more.

If you have pertinent information that will help the WordPress team track down and stop this attack, please report it to security@wordpress.org.

Check the WordPress Support Forums for more information and support. Also check for news and announcements on security issues and updates on the WordPress Development Blog and in your WordPress blog Dashboard Panel.

Please, keep your WordPress site constantly updated. You are now informed of updates directly through the Administration Panels. Act upon it.

Here are some other articles and information that may prove useful.

• WordPress Codex – FAQ – My Site Was Hacked
• Journey Etc – WordPress Permalink RSS Problems
• SmackDown – How to Completely Clean Your Hacked WordPress Installation
• Protect Your Blog With a Solid Password
• WordPress Codex – Hardening WordPress (security protection)
• Fear, Uncertainty and Disinformation About The WordPress Exploits and Spam
• BlogSecurity – WordPress Security Predictions in 2009
• WordPress Security Prevention, Reactions, and Scares
• Mark Jaquith – WordPress Security
• Matt Mullenweg – On WordPress Security
• Technorati: Vulnerable WordPress Blogs Not Being Indexed
• Weblog Tools Collection – Maximum WordPress Security
• The Correct Way To Report A Security Issue With WordPress
• WordCamp Toronto 2008 – WordPress Security with Mark Jaquith (video)
• Matt Cutts: Alerting Webmasters to Webserver Vulnerabilities
• WordPress Security Whitepaper
• Blog Security – Interview of a WordPress Hacker
• Guvnr – 10 Tips to Make WordPress Hack Proof
• Web Hacks, Worms, Infections, and Viruses: Is Your Blog Prepared
• Firewalling and Hack Proofing Your WordPress Blog
• Daily Blog Tips – Make Sure Your WordPress is Not Hacked
• Noupe – WordPress Security Tips and Hacks
• Vladimir Prelovac – Improving security in WordPress Plugins using Nonces
• Smashing Magazine – 10 Steps To Protect The Admin Area In WordPress

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Copyright Lorelle VanFossen, member of the 9Rules Network, and author of Blogging Tips, What Bloggers Won't Tell You About Blogging.

It’s time to celebrate blogging and summer in the Portland, Oregon, area. If you are a blogger, come join the summer Blog-b-que!

We’re hosting the first ever Blog-b-que at the home of Lorelle and Brent VanFossen in North Plains, Oregon, on Sunday, August 30, 2009, and you are welcome to join us.

We’re inviting WordPress, WordPress.com, and all bloggers (and web and social media fans) to a picnic party on Sunday, August 30, starting about noon! The theme of the party is “Summer Food” and you are invited to bring food that reminds you of summer.

In addition to summer food and drinks, bring something to sit on, sunscreen, sunglasses, and binoculars as this will be the final day of the famous Oregon International Airshow in Hillsboro. We have a view of the skies and areas west in the valley the planes will be flying through. We have a hot tub, so bring suits (and we have some to borrow).

We are limited to 75 attendees. Sign up on the Upcoming Announcement where you will find directions and more information. You can also contact us with questions via the comments below, @lorelleonwp or via our Contact page. We live about 35 minutes from downtown Portland off Highway 26. Coming back from the beach that weekend? Stop in and rest before heading back to the city!

We will help you arrange carpools from downtown Portland, and will do one or two pickups at the Hillsboro Trimet Blue Line (Hillsboro · City Center · Gresham), the last stop on the Blue Line. If you are interested in taking the train out, let us know so we can arrange pickup times.

The Oregon International Air Show will feature some great airplanes and air performances on Sunday including the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds, U.S. Army Golden Knights Parachute Jump Team, high performance aerobatic airplanes, The Robosauraus car-crushing, fire-breathing, metal giant of a dinosaur plane, comedy air performances, vertigo air shows, hammerhead aerobatics, antique airplanes, experimental aircraft, and plenty more.

We will feature music, laughter, stories, and a ton of food! Whose bringing the keg?

Come meet fellow WordPress and other blogging fans and join the summer fun.

We have trails through the woods and down to the creek at the bottom of the property, plenty for kids (adult kids, too) to run around and explore. Elk, deer, rabbits, frogs, coyotes, and birds are around much of the year. We have a few indoor and outdoor games, but bring your own.

This is a no smoking event!

Note: Thank you to everyone who has been so helpful and supportive during my long health recovery. I will be back in action very soon and look forward to seeing everyone at this fun Blog-b-que!

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Copyright Lorelle VanFossen, member of the 9Rules Network, and author of Blogging Tips, What Bloggers Won't Tell You About Blogging.

My name is Jonathan Bailey and I usually blog at Plagiarism Today, where I write about content theft, plagiarism and copyright issues on the Web. Lorelle has asked me to fill in while she’s away with a few posts to keep things a little bit more active. So please pardon the change in voice and fret not as Lorelle will return soon.

The good news is that WordPress.com is a relatively spam and garbage-free site. The bad news is that, even on the best blogging sites, with the most vigilant admins, sometimes spammers, scrapers and other bad guys do manage to set up shop.

It’s easy to see why spammers would want to get on WordPress.com, with a PageRank of 9, great SEO and a built-in community, it could be haven for junk content. Many do try but the admins have been surprisingly effective, for the most part, at keeping them at bay.

This isn’t to say that they are perfect. They can’t pre-screen everything that is posted to the site and some do get through. The site depends on users to report spam, copyright infringements and other forms of unwanted content so it can be cleaned up.

However, there is a correct way to file such complaints. As great as Lorelle is, she is not an official representative of Automattic, the maintainers of WordPress.com, and Matt Mullenweg, though the founder and CEO, is not the person directly responsible.

If you want a quick resolution to a WordPress.com abuse complaint, all you have to do is follow the instructions on this page. However, if you want more details or advice, read below.

Copyright Complaints

As someone who has filed hundreds of copyright complaints over the years, I can say without a doubt that Automattic has been very responsive to copyright complaints. However, there is a very strict protocol that one needs to follow in order to have their complaint acted upon.

Automattic is a U.S.-based company and its servers are located with in the country. As such, it is bound by U.S. law, most notable the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). This law provides a safe harbor to Web hosts, such as Automattic, to prevent them from being held liable for copyright infringement perpetrated by their users without their knowledge.

The caveat is that hosts are required to “expeditiously” remove or disable access to infringing content once they receive proper notification. The law itself lays down strict requirements for what constitutes a proper DMCA notice.

As such, though Automattic does comply with the DMCA and remove content very quickly when properly notified, it is filing the proper notification that is tricky.

If you find that a blog on WordPress.com is infringing YOUR copyright. You can file a DMCA takedown notice by using the email address at this page and using the stock DMCA notice to host available on my site.

If you properly fill out and send in a DMCA notice, most likely the content will be removed in 1-2 business days.

Spam, Spam, Spam

If you find a spam blog operating on WordPress.com but it isn’t infringing on your copyright, either posting excerpts, using gibberish or someone else’s content, you can still be able to report them to Automattic and get the blog removed if it is a violation of their terms of service.

The Spam blog reporting tool is extremely simple to use. All you have to provide is the URL of the blog, ensuring that it is a WordPress.com blog, and stating the reason that you think it is a spam blog.

If it’s scraping content from another site, link to the original site. If it is posting junk content, say so. Provide any evidence you can that the site is a spam blog and try to make it easy for the person processing the complaint to understand what the issue is. A few sentences of clarification can help speed up the process greatly.

Other Content

WordPress.com has a strict policy about protecting user freedom of speech. Though Automattic may remove defamatory content, Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act does not require them to do so.

WordPress.com also allows mature content on the site, so long as it is properly flagged and removed from public searches.

In short, unless the content is illegal or threatening, Automattic will be very hesitant to take any action. Still, if you wish to report something that you feel is a violation of the site’s terms of service, you can file your report by emailing the support@ address.

Caveat

It is important to remember that this only applies to sites that are hosted on the WordPress.com servers. Just because a site users WordPress as the blogging platform does not mean that they are on the WordPress.com servers.

Millions of blogs use WordPress as the platform but are hosted on other servers and are beyond Automattic’s control. In those cases, they merely produce the software that used to make the blog work, they do not run the blog or the servers it is on. It would be like blaming Microsoft for unwanted content generated using Word.

Before filing a complaint with Automattic, make sure that WordPress.com is in the URL of the site. You can also double check the host of the site by using Who Is Hosting This?.

Though the confusions is understandable, it is important to make sure that it is a WordPress.com site, not a WordPress.org (meaning self-hosted) before reporting to Automattic.

Bottom Line

When it comes to matters of copyright and spam, Automattic does a great job in removing the garbage when properly notified.

The difference in the time it takes to file a complaint the right way and simply shouting to the first person who will listen is negligible. However, it can be the difference between getting a swift response or no answer at all.

Any time you report abuse to a site, you should take a moment to familiarize yourself with that site’s policies and act accordingly. A few minutes of preparation and planning can literally save days in response time.

John Pozadzides of One Man’s Blog has been putting together the final videos from WordCamp San Francisco 2009 and WordCamp Dallas. So far he’s released:

• WordCamp Dallas 2009: Cali Lewis – Building A Vibrant Community
• WordCamp Dallas 2009: The WordCamp Panel Discussion
• WordCamp San Francisco 2009: Chris Pirillo – Community WebVisions
• WordCamp San Francisco 2009: John Lilly – Lessons From Mozilla

There were a lot of tremendous speakers at these two events, with more videos anticipated over the next couple weeks.

If you haven’t caught them, check out the many speaker videos from WordPress.tv in the WordCamp category, such as these recent videos from WordCamps around the world:

• Gil Asakawa: Media and Publishing – WordCamp Denver 2009
• Matt Mullenweg: State of the Word – WordCamp Denver 2009
• Panel Discussion: Web Design and WordPress – WordCamp Denver 2009
• Hailin Wu: Secrets of Blogging – WordCamp Hong Kong 2009
• Matt Mullenweg: State of the Word – WordCamp Hong Kong 2009
• WordCamp Egypt 2009: Write Your First WordPress Plugin Session
• WordCamp Tokyo 2009: Hideo Kashioka – Advantages of WordPress for Web Dev Businesses
• WordCamp Tokyo 2009: Matt Mullenweg Keynote
• WordCamp Tokyo 2009: Michael Pick – Introducing WordPress.tv
• WordCamp Tokyo 2009: Takayuki Miyoshi – Introducing WordPress Regional Community
• WordCamp Tokyo 2009: Tenpura – 3 things you need for using WordPress in Japanese
• WordCamp Tokyo 2009: Yuriko – Ktai Style Plugin for Japanese Mobile Phones
• WordCamp Tokyo 2009: Mizuno – Examples of Useful Shortcodes
• WordCamp Tokyo 2009: Higashi, Micho, Nao – Ligitning talks on WordPress themes
• Matt Mullenweg’s State of the Word: WordCamp San Francisco 2009
• Andy Peatling – Cooking With BuddyPress: WordCamp San Francisco 2009
• Timothy Ferriss: Blogging Without Killing Yourself – WordCamp San Francisco 2009
• Ben Huh: I Can Has WordPress – WordCamp Denver 2009
• Jane Wells: Open Source Community – WordCamp Denver 2009
• Jon Fox on Commenting: WordCamp Denver 2009
• Micah Baldwin: Measuring Online Influence – WordCamp Denver 2009

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Copyright Lorelle VanFossen, member of the 9Rules Network, and author of Blogging Tips, What Bloggers Won't Tell You About Blogging.

I and Patrick Havens are live blogging as much of WordCamp San Francisco as we can. You can track it at WordCamp Report.

So far, the event has been very exciting, well produced, with some very hot speakers covering some great WordPress, social media, and content and community building. The big party tonight is an anniversary party and everyone is welcome to join.

See you there! Hugs are free!

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Copyright Lorelle VanFossen, member of the 9Rules Network, and author of Blogging Tips, What Bloggers Won't Tell You About Blogging.

This weekend is the granddaddy of WordCamps, WordCamp San Francisco 2009 on May 30, 2009. Registration is closed at over 700 attendees for this one day event packed with a ton of the top blogging, social media, search engine, business, and WordPress experts. I’ll be there, so be sure and find me for a hug.

That’s part of the joy and difference between a WordPress event and other social tech events. WordPressers serve up hugs, not just hand shakes. What I hear over and over again at these events is how we all know each other, so meeting face to face is just another step in the relationship process that began a few months to a few years ago. We’re already friends!

This year so far it has been my honor to be included and speaking at a variety of WordCamp events including WordCamp Las Vegas, WordCamp Whistler, WordCamp Toronto, and WordCamp Columbus, and you will probably find me rattling around WordCamp Dallas, WordCamp Portland, WordCamp Seattle, Netherlands – WordCamp NL, WordCamp Israel, and WordCamp/Podcamp Hawaii.

According to the WordPress Meetup Groups on Meetup.com, there are 32 Meetup Groups focused specifically on WordPress, representing 3,394 Members in 5 different countries among 32 Meetup groups in 28 different cities. There are almost 2,000 people interested in a WordPress event and meetup without a group near them.

Here is a list of the most popular WordPress-specific Meetup Groups on Meetup.com from around the world. The number next to some of the group names represents the current number of registered members.

• The London Bloggers Meetup Group (592)
• The New York City WordPress Meetup Group (415)
• NY Bloggers Meetup Group (354)
• Dallas/Fort Worth WordPress Meetup (296)
• The Austin WordPress Meetup Group (172)
• South Florida WordPress Meetup Group (164)
• Atlanta WordPress Users Group (147)
• The Bay Area WordPress Meetup (138)
• The Boston WordPress Meetup Group (110)
• The Chicago WordPress Meetup Group (97)
• The Vancouver WordPress Meetup Group
• The East Bay WordPress Meetup Group
• Las Vegas WordPress Meetup Group
• The New Jersey WordPress Meetup Group
• The Southern California WordPress Meetup Group
• Greater Charlotte Area WordPress Group
  

  Matt Mullenweg, Andy Skelton, Mark Jaquith at WordCamp San Francisco 2008

• The Scottsdale WordPress Meetup Group
• The Ferndale WordPress Meetup Group
• Raleigh WordPress Meetup Group
• OKC WordPress Users Group
• Singapore Blogger Meetup Group
• Seattle WordPress 2.0
• The Bonita Springs WordPress Meetup Group
• Gulf Coast Twitter/WordPress Group

While there are WordPress meetup groups around the world, there are a lot of people are shouting out for one in their area. Copenhagen (61 interested), Philadelphia (45), Houston, London, and Denver are among the many. Some of these have had or are about to have a WordCamp event, so why aren’t there regular WordPress meetups?

WordPress Meetup Groups on Meetup.com offers a map of all the places where there are WordPress events and activities and where ones are wanted. You can browse a list of cities hosting WordPress events or go directly to your region to find out where one is or who might be interested in putting one together.

What is the Difference Between a WordPress Meetup and WordCamp?

A WordPress Meetup is a frequent meeting of WordPress fans. 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 and WordPress Meetups Upcoming Events and tag them “WordPress Events” and “WordPress”, as many track WordPress event announcements there.

A WordPress Meetup allows locals to get together and learn from each other on how to use WordPress. There are formal WordPress meetups and informal ones, covering nothing but WordPress or including WordPress as part of other topics on web publishing and social media. WordPress meetups are usually held monthly or quarterly.

A WordCamp is a day or two long event with sponsors and dozens if not hundreds of WordPress fans gathering annually. WordCamp Toronto was the first, I believe, to have a three day WordCamp event, but there are no rules. It differs from a WordPress Meetup because it is offered rarely instead of regularly.

WordCamps were originally formatted on the Barcamp structure, loosely put together, grassroots gatherings of WordPress fans in a day long unconference style. While this works for some communities familiar with the unconference style, some stick with a more traditional conference format.

While a WordPress Meetup can cover any topics of interest to their members, a WordCamp event is focused on WordPress for the majority of the programs and workshops.

Many distinguish the two events based upon the length and speakers. WordPress Meetups tend to last a few hours where WordCamps are day long events. The speakers at WordCamps can come from your region or around the world.

How Do I Start a WordCamp or WordPress Meetup?

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. There are also articles with tips and techniques for WordPress Meetups and WordCamps on The WordCamp Report, as well as on blogs by those who have run these events.

In general, you need to have a team of at least 5 active volunteers, a location and date, speakers, sponsors, and food or easy access to food. The rest of it is up to you.

Get a free blog on WordPress.com or host your own for the WordCamp, until WordCamp Central finishes setting up their WordPressMU blog network. Get a Twitter account and add a listing to the Yahoo Upcoming events for WordPress and WordPress Meetups Upcoming Events and tag them “WordPress Events” and “WordCamp. These are tracked by many WordPress fans around the world, many whom are willing to fly in to the various WordPress and WordCamp events.

How Do I Get WordPress Rock Stars to My WordPress Event?

While Matt Mullenweg, myself, and other representatives of WordPress and Automattic try to get to as many WordCamp and WordPress events as we can, look to your own neighborhood and community for your own WordPress experts and rock stars.

Many think it helps to have a “big name” to help attract attendees. In some large cities it does, but promote the event as a chance to learn about how to use WordPress in your business or personal life, and you’d be stunned at the number of people who will show up, just because they love WordPress.

To ask one of the press-o-rati, contact them through their blogs, email or Twitter accounts. To request someone officially from Automattic or WordPress, use the WordCamp Central contact form and ask. You can be vague and invite whoever is willing to come, or be specific and request someone who is an expert in WordPress Themes, Plugins, BuddyPress, bbPress, PollDaddy, Intense Debate, or any of the other WordPress and Automattic specific features and services.

I highly recommend you make your WordCamp and WordPress event about your community. WordCamp/Podcamp Hawaii brought in local social media experts, musicians, and tourist industry representatives familiar with WordPress to speak to attendees, giving them the local perspective that their community needs. WordCamp Toronto brought in members of the local art community to display interactive art work and held community competitions for the event logo, blog designs, and Plugins, involving as many people and groups as possible to make the event a social one. WordCamp San Francisco 2008 had a fund-raising event “Scavenger Hunt” for a local educational charity on the day after the WordCamp sessions.

There are a lot of ways you can involve your community and help others blog and share their voice with the world and benefit your community in general. Make your WordPress event inclusive not exclusive

To publicize your WordPress event or WordCamp, contact WordCamp Central, The WordCamp Report, Yahoo Upcoming events for WordPress, WordPress Meetups Upcoming Events, and Upcoming events tagged with “WordCamp” or “WordPress,” and contact me by email for inclusion on the Blog Herald and my site and other WordPress fan sites.

Upcoming WordPress and WordCamp Events

Upcoming WordCamp and WordPress Events include:

May 2009

• Akron, Ohio – Ohio WordPress Meetup – May 28, 2009
• WordCamp San Francisco 2009 – May 30, 2009
• San Francisco Area – The East Bay WordPress May Meetup – May 31, 2009

June 2009

• WordCamp Chicago – June 6-7, 2009
• North Carolina – WordCampRDU 2009 – June 13, 2009
• Los Angeles WordPress Users Group – June 14, 2009
• WordCamp Brazil – June 21, 2009
• WordCamp Dallas 2009 – Dallas, Texas – June 27-28, 2009

July 2009

• Canada – WordCamp Montreal – July 11-12, 2009
• United Kingdom – WordCamp UK, Cardiff, Wales, July 18-19, 2009

August 2009

• Alabama – WordCamp Huntsville – August 15-16, 2009

September 2009

• Los Angeles, California – WordCamp LA – September 12, 2009
• Portland, Oregon – WordCamp Portland – September 19-20, 2009
• WordCamp Seattle – September 26, 2009 (WordCamp Seattle Twitter)

October 2009

• WordCamp New York City 2009 – October 24, 2009
• Netherlands – WordCamp NL – October 31, 2009

Upcoming WordCamps not scheduled or confirmed:

• WordCamp Indy (Indianapolis)
• WordCamp Augusta
• WordCamp Argentina
• WordCamp San Diego
• WordCamp Perú
• WordCamp New Zealand
• WordCamp Israel

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Copyright Lorelle VanFossen, member of the 9Rules Network, and author of Blogging Tips, What Bloggers Won't Tell You About Blogging.