In our second Theme Show episode of the new year, “The Compliment Sandwich”, we stick to our new format and dish over four new themes and pick one to rule them all. Well, for another seven days that is.

As a reminder, each episode of The Theme Show we tear apart four different themes — one for each of us to spend time with and properly review — and at the end of the show decide which one deserves the highest regard. Some weeks that might mean the best of the worst, and others it might be a really, really tough decision.

This week we review and discuss the Bloggit theme by WPExplorer, BlueBird by Just Good Themes, Identify by ThemeBros, and Soundstage by Mint Themes. Of course only one theme could be the supreme winner this time around — and you’ll just have to listen in to find out which one did it.

Episode #12 Show Notes

• 00:00 Introduction
• 02:00 Bloggit theme review by Ray
• 15:20 BlueBird theme review by Justin
• 23:20 Break: Splinters, hot dogs and screenshots
• 26:53 Identify theme review by Ryan
• 41:44 Soundstage theme review by Nick
• 55:45 Final debate and a winner is chosen!

• MP3 file – 1:01:25 and 29.8 MB
• Subscribe on iTunes
• Audio RSS Feed

The post Theme Show #12: “The Compliment Sandwich” appeared first on WPCandy.

Let’s talk about WordPress meetups! On this episode of The WPCandy Roundtable Podcast, I asked four awesome WordPress meetup co-organizers to chat about what makes a quality meetup and how they do what they do. We also went over what they would recommend to new WordPress meetup organizers.

Joining me on the podcast are Angie Meeker (Columbus, Ohio WordPress Meetup), Brian Richards (Grand Rapids, Michigan WordPress Meetup), Steve Zehngut (Orange County WordPress Meetup) and Aaron Jorbin (Washington, D.C. WordPress Meetup). These folks know what they’re talking about.

Still not sure about listening? Steve Zehngut and Aaron Jorbin each co-organize events with a full roster count of over 800 and 1,200, respectively. That’s a couple of times the size of most large WordCamps, folks.

• MP3 file (27.2 MB)
• Audio RSS Feed

We discussed a number of issues that will face new meetup organizers. Some of my favorites this episode were:

• What’s the best advice for brand new meetup organizers who haven’t started their event yet?
• What sort of format does your meetup use?
• Where do you find your meetup speakers?
• How do you keep your community involved when not meeting?
• When does your group meet? Do you find weekdays or weekends to be best for meetings?

We talked for about 50 minutes and had a great time. If you’re interested in running — or improving — your own WordPress meetup I highly recommend this podcast.

What about your WordPress Meetup experience?

I know for a fact that plenty of you organize the meetups in your city too. I’d love to have your comments on these topics as well. What did you find helpful when you started your event?

If you aren’t organizing your meetup, and also don’t have a meetup in your area, what’s  holding you back? Have you ever considered running it for the community in your city?

The post WPCandy Roundtable #3: WordPress Meetup Discussion with 4 co-organizers appeared first on WPCandy.

I’m very happy, and very excited to announce the newly refined Theme Show. For our eleventh episode, and first episode of 2013, we bring a new format, introduce a new member to the show (hi Ray!) and also introduce a brand new theme song courtesy of Chad Deutsch.

This year on The Theme Show we’re taking on a new format entirely. Each week, the four of us will bring a new WordPress theme to the table — something from the previous couple of weeks, something released this year. We’ll review it a bit on the show, and then each week we’ll choose which one of the themes is best. Each week we’ll be awarding a best theme of the week, and we’ll pit them all against each other at the end of the year. Got it? Cool.

This week we talk about the Reader theme by WP Minima, Response by Organic Themes, Gallery by UpThemes, and Velo by The Open Dept. Which theme will reign supreme? Well you have to listen to find out.

Episode #11 Show Notes

• 00:00 Introduction
• 06:00 Velo theme review by Nick
• 15:20 Response theme review by Justin
• 21:40 Break: Brief Troll Hunter movie discussion
• 24:30 Reader theme review by Ryan
• 30:22 Gallery theme review by Ray
• 43:50 Final debate and a winner is chosen!

• MP3 file – 55:03 and 17.5 MB
• Subscribe on iTunes
• Audio RSS Feed

The post Theme Show #11: “A New Year and a New Sound” appeared first on WPCandy.

In this episode of our podcast David Bisset was kind enough to join me to discuss his upcoming event WordCamp Miami, BuddyPress, and other noteworthy WordPress news of the week. David even gets greedy and offers up somewhere around 3 or 4 WordPress picks for the week. Honestly, I lost count.

You can follow David on Twitter, visit his website (and hire him!) and of course register/sponsor/adore WordCamp Miami in April.

Show notes and download links are after the jump.

Show Notes

• 0:00 – 18:15 WordCamp Miami
• 18:15 – 36:30 BuddyPress.org guest post, bbPress beta, and Achievements 3
• 36:30 – 45:51 Ryan’s pick is Edit Flow, David’s picks are PostStat.us and a recent discussion there, and the BPMail newsletter

David also recommended this video overviewing the upcoming BuddyPress 1.7.

• MP3 file (22 MB)
• Subscribe on iTunes
• Audio RSS Feed

The post WPCandy Podcast 36: Sticker Furniture with David Bisset appeared first on WPCandy.

Jake Caputo started up quite a discussion this week centered on his being prohibited from speaking at WordCamps due to listing split licensed themes on the ThemeForest marketplace. Jake was kind enough to join me on The WPCandy Podcast to chat about his editorial and the state of the community on this divisive issue.

He also stuck around to discuss other WordPress news this week, and offer a couple of WordPress tips. It’s a fun episode, have a listen below!

You can follow Jake on Twitter, see his work and read his blog at Design Crumbs, and listen to his podcast Please Advise.

• MP3 file (21.4 MB)
• Subscribe on iTunes
• Audio RSS Feed

Show Notes

• 0:00 – 0:28 Discussion on Jake’s blog post and community discussion
• 0:28 – 0:39 WordSesh, congrats Sergey, and WordPress 3.6 cycle
• 0:39 – 0:44 Picks: Fullscreen Editor Preview Button for WordPress, WP Email Capture

The post WPCandy Podcast 35, with special guest Jake Caputo appeared first on WPCandy.

Tonight’s WP Late Night saw special guests Andy Nacin and Helen Hou-Sandi. They each played an integral role in the extremely-recently-released WordPress 3.5, and we all discussed the new version for a solid hour. Listener beware: this one does get pretty heavily into developer topics.

Or you can grab the show in a few other ways:

• MP3 file (25.4 MB)
• Subscribe on iTunes
• Audio RSS Feed
• YouTube video

Full show notes are available just after the jump!

Episode #31 Show Notes:

• Ryan’s Bar Trick: WP Blazer Six Widget Image plugin
• Brad’s Bar Trick: WPMaintainer service
• Dre’s Bar Trick: Google Maps Shell plugin
• Helen’s Bar Trick: Blue Toolbar plugin

The post WP Late Night #31: “Redefining next day shipping” with Nacin and Helen Hou-Sandi appeared first on WPCandy.

Back from our Thanksgiving hiatus full of tryptophan and nonsense, the crew has its thirtieth episode in the can. Thirty. Episodes. Milestones are fun. So are italics.

First things first: big thanks to Robert Nienhuis, one of the organizers of WordCamp Orange County, for putting together the new, awesome WP Late Night logo. You can expect to see it showing up in a few more places real soon.

In this week’s episode we discussed the first release candidate of WordPress 3.5, WebDevStudios acquiring Startbox, WordPress maintenance services, and of course our bar tricks. Special guest Brian Richards also joined us for a few minutes to discuss Startbox and WebDevStudios.

Or you can grab the show in a few other ways:

• MP3 file (25.4 MB)
• Subscribe on iTunes
• Audio RSS Feed
• YouTube video

Full show notes are available just after the jump!

Episode #30 Show Notes:

• WordPress 3.5 RC1
• WebDevStudios acquires Startbox theme framework
• http://theoatmeal.com/comics/restaurant_website
• Lots of WP maintenence sites: ManageWP, WPFix, Maintainn, WP Maintainer
• Mentioned WPHelpCenter.com
• Perezbox Gangnam Style! http://www.jibjab.com/view/VZsga2hjRCBNyazc8RFy
• Dre: Tumblr Importer http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/tumblr-importer/
• Brad: Advent http://advent.squareonemd.co.uk/
• Ryan: http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/ice/

The post WP Late Night #30: “Insane in the Maintainn” appeared first on WPCandy.

WP Late Night is back in full swing tonight with Brad, Dre and Ryan discussing the news of the week and the big WordPress events of the month. If you’ve been wondering about Pressnomics, John O’Nolan’s Ghost project, or Jetpack Photon than this is the show for you.

Enjoy!

Or you can grab the show in a few other ways:

• MP3 file (38.7 MB)
• Subscribe on iTunes
• Audio RSS Feed

Show notes are just after the jump!

Episode #29 Show Notes

• Pressnomics 2012
• WordPress Community Summit 2012
• http://make.wordpress.org/summit
• John O’Nolan’s Ghost
• Photon added to Jetpack
• Brad’s Bar Trick: From Pressnomics: New Relic, Windows Azure
• Ryan’s Bar Trick: Mixpanel.com
• Dre’s Bar Trick: Love to StickerGiant, BlogWorld 2013 with a Sucuri booth, WordCamp Phoenix

The post WP Late Night #29: “You fork, I’ll spoon” appeared first on WPCandy.

Very late in the evening after the WordPress Community Summit wrapped up (technically early morning, but you know what I mean) a group of five gathered around to discuss the event and what it means for the community. Myself, Brad and Dre, Brandon Dove and John Hawkins all discussed our thoughts on the first-ever community summit.

Download audio file (WP-Late-Night-028b-Special-Edition-WPCS2012.mp3)

Or you can grab the show in a few other ways:

• MP3 file (39.1 MB)
• Subscribe on iTunes
• Audio RSS Feed

The post WP Late Night Special Edition: WordPress Community Summit 2012 appeared first on WPCandy.

Last night’s episode of WP Late Night, “Bughetto”, had the regular crew discussing theme philosophies, the WordPress.com homepage redesign, and the slew of WordCamps coming our way soon.

You can listen in right now:

Or you can grab the show in a few other ways:

• MP3 file (39.1 MB)
• Subscribe on iTunes
• Audio RSS Feed
• Watch on Spreecast

Episode 23 Show Notes

• WordCamp Chicago 2012
• Twenty Twelve theme coming closer
• Jason Schuller’s thoughts on themes
• http://wordpress.com
• http://www.noeltock.com/web-design/wordpress/making-sense-of-the-wordpress-com-redesign/
• http://make.wordpress.org/summit/
• http://2012.vegas.wordcamp.org
• http://2012.philly.wordcamp.org
• Ryan’s trick: http://wordpress.tv/2012/08/28/ryan-imel-the-state-of-themes/, http://wordpress.tv/2012/08/25/pete-davies-how-to-run-a-small-country-using-the-p2-theme/
• Dre’s trick: http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/cloudsafe365-for-wp/
• Brad’s trick: http://wordpress.tv/2012/08/28/adii-pienaar-the-business-of-code/, Twitter Feed
• Bonus trick: http://symbolset.com

The post WP Late Night #23: “Bughetto” appeared first on WPCandy.