The first is the Google Analytics plugin. You will need to install the latest version, then on the Google Analytics option page you will need to click Reset all settings at the bottom, and then re-enter your UA number and select the options you require. If you use the robots meta plugin and RSS Footer plugin from the same author you will need to do a similar thing.

Secondly the Unique Blog Designs Block Ad plugin does not currently work. A fix will be available very shortly so just hang on a few days if you use this plugin and want to upgrade.

Third, another popular plugin, Popularity Contest, has issues. A fix can be found here.

Look here for a further list of plugins that don’t work with Wordpress 2.6.

Please let me know if you would like to upgrade and have any of these plugins installed.

I especially love using Gmail, it’s archiving, labeling and search features make it easy to use and easy to find anything that has every been discussed. It even allows you to manage multiple accounts within the same interface.

However a couple of recent “incidents” have led me to question whether it’s always best at times.

Firstly someone contacted me, and I replied promptly as always. Then, after a couple of days I a got another message, the same as the first - always a sign the recipient hasn’t received my email. Checking my reply was sent, and I resent it from a different email address in case my domain was being blocked. Then, again a couple of days later, I received a comment on my blog complaining about my lack of replies. Having no other way to contact the sender other than email, I was actually happy they had left the message! It was quickly sorted out, the emails had been filtered into the recipients spam/junk folder automatically, and they hadn’t checked. All was fine in the end, but things had been delayed a week.

Secondly another client sent me an email for some further work. And then sent me another, and yet didn’t receive a reply. She then sent me an email from my contact form which alarmed me, as she had been worried about why I hadn’t replied. Of course I hadn’t received the emails, but why? The answer rests in Gmail’s virus scanner. All the emails that had been sent had contained a .php attachment. Gmail does not allow executable files or scripts to be sent in email, however the details are a little sketchy. .exe’s are blocked and so are password protected zip files. .php files are not mentioned though seem to be blocked, but not when they’re zipped. There is obviously no notification when an email is blocked (otherwise you would get lots and lots of notifications from spam bots), so I hadn’t known anything is wrong.

Gmail launched in 2004 and is still classed as a BETA - i.e not complete software. Perhaps this shows why?

ACTIONS: My contact form now includes a telephone number / Skype box in case someone wants to provide an alternative contact method. I also check my own spam folder regularly.

So, if I don’t reply to you, send me an email from my contact form with a phone number and explain the problem. I look forward to speaking to you soon!

For those who are signed up to my Monthly Maintenance Package, they will get upgraded by me as part of this.

A couple of interesting articles about the new version are available. Weblog Tools Collection talks about:
- Post revisioning.
- Tumbling your posts.
- Admin interface speed improvements (by the use of Google Gears).
- (De)Activating plugins in bulk.
- Other technical changes.

Technosailor also goes into detail about:
- Post revisioning.
- Google Gears.
- Avatar Options.
- Press This! feature.
- More technical details.

Very interesting for when you blog is upgraded and you think “I wonder what this does?”. Just remember, you should be making at least weekly backups of your blog database, and more for mission critical blogs. And aren’t they all critcial?!

The book is split into four main sections:
1. Why You Need To Join Twitter Right Now
2. How To Use Twitter As A Mini Blog
3. Using Twitter To Enhance Your Online Business
4. Twitter Tools

The book is 48 (short, fat) pages long, with the first section explaining neatly what Twitter is. It has some quick tips on getting your page set up, finding people to follow, and more importantly, getting people to follow you.

The second section gives you more tips and advice on writing tweets (your messages on Twitter are called tweets), while the third part has some good solid advice on building your business and brand through Twitter. Finally the book talks about all the (free) Twitter tools out there that can make posting tweets easier, or help you automatically add blog posts.

Personally, I wouldn’t think too long and hard about, just join and follow me and I’ll be your first follower back :). If you like Twitter then I’m also on Plurk if you want to give this Twitter competitor a try.

1. Use the word “your”. Treating visitors as if they’re people (even friends), and your site is all about them can increase your sign-up or conversion rates.

2. Add video, video and more video. Something I don’t do enough of myself, but it works. Whether it’s a video loading/squeeze page to get newsletter signups, a demo of your company’s services, or even a silent, short video of the product you’re selling, the evidence is that it could be phenomenal for your conversion rate. Don’t believe me? Watch this video on the subject.

3. A flashing arrow can help. Yes, really. I’m against flashing graphics in a lot of situations (and especially more than one on a page), but apparently this can really help. Look, isn’t it nice?

4. Add a Call Me button, usually this is done with Skype, and is very easy to do. Being able to contact someone easily, especially before purchasing something.

5. Tell them what your site is about and how it can help them. Very obvious I know, but sometimes your company name may have nothing to do with what you provide. Don’t leave it to someone to work out for themselves, let them know immediately.

Quick and easy isn’t it?

Many people are testing Plurk to see how it compares to Twitter and with all of Twitter’s downtime recently then people are very intrigued. It’s not fair to directly compare then, but they do fulfill a similar need. If you try it, please let me know what you think.

You can create unlimited 30 second videos for free (Animoto Shorts), or extended length (and downloadable) ones for $3 each or $30 for a year (or $25 with this code: tlobsvqg), and I almost guarantee you’ll sign up for one of the options when you see the results! Short video creation can take about 10 minutes, and if you’re not happy with the results you can just press Remix, and as no two videos are the same you’ll get something else. Give it a try for free.

If you’re interested in video, as a free gift to all my newsletter subscribers, you can now get the Ultimate Guide to Online Video for free! A 45 page report looking at 61 different video sharing and video editing sites, this is yours if you sign up to my newsletter.

[Via: Brendon over at Tailored Consulting]

The below list is a matrix of which social bookmarking sites the most popular social bookmarking submission tool websites help you submit to. These tools are where you still have to finally submit the article yourself. They are not automated spam tools, and they don’t automatically create accounts either. They just speed up the process of browsing to the relevant sites and easing the burden of copying and pasting in most cases.

Many sites are in particular niches (and languages) and so may not be relevant for your site, and also some sites (such as Newsvine) don’t allow self-promotion. Also, believe it or not, not all social bookmarking sites are covered here so it’s best to search for ones in your niche that might have been excluded.

Finally this list is up to date as of when this post was published. As I’m not a mad man I won’t be updating it frequently as services are constantly adding sites to their offerings.

If you enjoy this, you may also like my Ultimate Guide To Video Sharing Sites covering 61 different video sharing and editing websites.