Mission: Communicate

Domain Name Search Tools to Find the Perfect Domain Name

Tim Griffin — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 15:54:56 +0000

The domain you choose becomes your call sign – your signature. The recent couple of blog posts on Mission: Communicate have covered:

3 Tips for a Successful Domain Name

and

Top 3 Reasons to Register a Custom Domain Name.

In this post you will be introduced to 5 domain name search tools to help you brainstorm, test, tease, try and land your perfect domain name.

Photo by MJ Photography © iStockphoto

Use these domain search tools and I guarantee you’ll discover useful name options you never knew existed and maybe even lose a few hours of sleep tossing these names around in your head. Well, hopefully you can sleep just fine and still find the perfect domain name.

Or 2, or 3, or… you may find a new hobby in collecting domains!?!

That could be fun – but you want a useful name that really packs just the right amount of meaning and uniqueness. So, here you go.

Revolutionize your domain name search – 5 Great Tools:

a) Mission: Communicate Domain Availability Search

Ok, a quick note about the Mission: Communicate domain search utility vs. the 5 tools. Our domain name search gives you a quick view of whether or not the name you search is available and allows you to register your new name (or transfer already registered names from your current registrar) with Mission: Communicate. Domain registration with Mission: Communicate affords you a complete set of management tools to maximize the use of your domain name. (Setup cname, text, MX DNS records, Google Apps setup, email forwarding, and more).

In addition, when you input a name to search on our site, you will be given a list of available domain names related to your search is also spun and given to you in the results. You can also try a bulk domain name search – inputting more than one name, and of course use the bulk domain transfer to migrate previously registered domain names.

Now, the following tools offer a variety of fantastic variations and idea generation options. Most of these search tools connect to an affiliate domain registrar which allow the creators to earn a bit of $ from the registrars. I recommend these tools for search purposes only. Find your new name, then head over to your preferred domain registrar to handle the registration of your new domain name.

Ready, set, GO!

1 Domainr

Domainr is a domain name search tool that gives you:

you get a list of domains names using your word with the traditional .com, .net and .org endings
also a list of possibilities using various top level domains to create your word (i.e. .ie, .ng, .al might be the perfect ending to your word)
included is a list of subfolder and sub domain names. For example a search of perfectdomain gave a list with this suggestion: perfectdom.ai/n
A green dot alongside any of the results means the domain is available. A half green dot indicates the name is possibly available.
Domainr is also available in the iTunes app store

2 Bust a Name

Bust a Name is a unique domain name search tool with instant gratification. Type a word, two words, five, ten… the words are instantly spun into a list of combinations which are available to register.

What Bust a Name does:

Provides a place to input one word, two words or a whole slew of terms and related keywords
A current list of available domains names using your words is born
create groups of words
save a list of available domains names
specify to combine two or three words
sort the results
automatically find more results by choosing prefixes like “i” or “the” or “my” or even “bust a”
and more… great for getting your creative juices going

3 DomainsBot

DomainsBot is a popular domain name search tool. Start typing and you’ll begin seeing results. Available domains AND twitter/facebook also show in the results. DomainsBot combines your words, identifies and mixes in synonyms for results. By default the search results include premium domains with a price tag.

This name search gives you the ability to:

add or remove synonyms automatically in search
use or exclude prefixes/suffixes
specify a greater or lesser price range
exclude premium domain names from results
require all key words
exclude numbers or hyphens from search results
specify domain name length
builds a quick list of domain searches

4 Dom!ze

This domain name search tool is about speed. Speed to find available domains and also gives you information on already registered domains. Type in a word, phrase or any combo and here’s what you get:

Domain name extensions in blue = available, red = taken, green = for sale
Results by default show the domain in .com, .net, .org, .co, .us &.biz names
A list of domains based on your search – each one letter shorter
Screenshots of already registered names if taken
Results can be sorted by “available”, “not available”, “starred” or “all”
Search options to include more domain extensions (.ie, .be, .info… etc)]
Advanced list creating options such as rhyming, dictionary word lists…
and more

5 NameBoy

NameBoy is a domain name search tool that works with two keywords. Once you’ve put those words in the search, NameBoy spins them into unique combinations and lists which are available and which ones are taken.

This search gives you:

list of unique names based on your two keywords
availability in these top level domains: .com, .net, .org, info, .biz and .tv
add selected names to a cart where you can spin them for more variations
additional domain management tools – regardless of where you have them registered

So to wrap this up for now -

When it comes to finding a domain you want to be able to test out your ideas quickly, compile a list of clear potential winners and make a decision. Each of these domain search tools give you just that. Go take one or two for a spin – or all five just to see where they get you.

Keep these tips in mind as you look for the perfect domain:

Your domain name is easy to share
The name is unforgettable
In a clear way it tells your story

Once you are sure you’ve found the name you then need to register the name and host your amazing website. The primary decision of what domain name to use is crucial – and hopefully these tools help you get it just right! If you’ve got a number of domains remember you can point many names to the same website through domain parking.

Here’s to your happy domain discover!

3 Tips for a Successful Blog Domain Name

Tim Griffin — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 13:56:55 +0000

The following tips will help you craft a personal name for your blog and choose a domain name that is unique and useful.

Take a moment to recall the last two websites you visited.

Did they make the cut according to these guidelines?

©iStockphoto.com/Alex Slobodkin

1. Is the Name Easy to Share?

A name that doesn’t require complicated explanations or extra effort to spell fits this criterion. If you have to think about the name before you say it, keep working on it until you find something better.

Hyphens are ok if there’s no other option but are generally not a good idea because they take more effort to spell.

What about .net, .com and other top level domain names? Dot COM names are still the best option but they’re getting harder to find. As a general rule, pick a domain name that’s still available on this most popular domain name.

2. Is the Name Truly Unforgettable?

With this tip, you can drastically improve the odds of attracting people to your site. Perhaps your first name last name combination works well for your personal blog, perhaps not. I wish I had purchased my firstnamelastname [dot] com domain name before someone else did. If you can get it, get it! (You can point more than one domain name to the same blog/website with forwarding or domain parking).

Picking an unforgettable domain name will work around the clock for you. People will get and share it reliably every time.

3. Does Your Domain Name Tell Your Story?

What story are you telling? What truth are you uncovering? What is the meaning behind the name you choose? Keep your name consistent with your story and you’ll have a handle that will stick in readers’ and visitors’ minds.

Here are a few great examples of names that are easy to share, hard to forget and tell a story:
EasyLunchBoxes.com – lunch boxes for your children at school
LetThemEatCheeseburgers.com – Hmm, could this be about what it looks like?
ParentHacks.com – Portland, OR At Parent Hacks, smart parents share forehead-smackingly clever tips, shortcuts and product recommendations.
PlumOrganics.com – Organic. Fresher. Better Tasting Baby Food & Toddler Snacks! The leading provider of nutritious, organic food for babies and toddlers.
TheBump.com – Take a guess what this domain is saying

Bonus Name Registration Tips

#4 Pick a Reputable Domain Registrar

Who to trust with your domain registration? There a hundreds of reputable service providers in the domain registration category. Our company offers this service through the number one domain name reseller – ENOM. Serving you will be a pleasure. Even if you choose someone else, try our domain search first. We’ll provide a list of suggested names based on your lookup for your consideration.

To avoid disappointment please read “Go AWAY Daddy“. You want to bypass unnecessary frustration and complexity right? Some popular domain registrars can cause significant downtime and delays with unfriendly user systems.

#5 Should You register only the .com name?

Although the .com top level domain name is the most popular, you may want to seriously consider grabbing the .net and the .org domain names, too. They’re the next most popular domain names and you don’t want anyone mirroring your site to ride piggyback on your reputation. If your selected domain name means a lot to you, it’s a good idea to lock in a few spelling variations because people make spelling mistakes all the time.

By registering misspellings and alternate domain name endings (.org, .net and others) you ensure that the name is yours across the major options and that you have control of the content on those spaces.

What personal tips would you add to this list? Please do point out what helps you make a great choice when it comes to best blog domain name selection.

More on domain and blog name and domain choice from the experts:

Related On This Blog:

Top 3 Reasons to Register a Custom Domain Name

Tim Griffin — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 13:47:16 +0000

Congratulations! You’ve given birth to a blog.

Consider this: Does it make sense to go to the time and trouble of birthing a blog only to tie it to a generic domain name that’s going to be hard to remember? Far too many bloggers do.

There is a better way. Follow it and your blog should draw a crowd of interested visitors faster than most.

NOTE: All good blogging options, whether for a fee or for free (WordPress.com, Blogger, Tumbler, Posterous etc.), allow you to connect your own domain name to your blog. Read on to see you’ve got a lot to gain with a domain.

Pick a Name, Make It Official

Rethink how your prospective followers will go about finding you. What do you offer that they’ll be looking for: Your expertise? A product or service? An experience?

With a real child, you wrestle for weeks or months deciding on a name then spend the first few hours and days after his or her birth confirming that the name you chose truly fits the wee being you can no longer live without.

Should the process when naming your blog and choosing your domain name not be similar?

Photo: ©iStockphoto.com/muharrem öner

Once I registered my own first domain name I was convinced this was some seriously cool stuff. Since then I’ve helped friends, family, coworkers, business owners, doctors, dentists, authors, and teachers register more than a hundred domain names so—so you can imagine, I take domain naming seriously — it’s personal.

Benefits of Choosing a Custom Domain Name for Your Blog

People will follow you more confidently and take you seriously. No matter how you grow, your custom domain name will go with you should you have to change where you’re running your blog or website. Your “fans” will need to memorize your domain name just once to be able to follow you forever. And the constancy of a custom domain name suggests permanence and expertise.
Your blog will have a name your followers can easily remember and share. There’s nothing worse than wanting to share a good thing and being unable to recall the proper website address for it.
Your blog name will be based on the benefit you offer. An exemplary browser address bar immediately identifies what it is you’re offering. This makes the address memorable and easy to recall.

In combination the above three pieces work like a charm. Your visitors will talk about your blog and share it; those they share it with will do the same.

An official, memorable domain name is the starting point.

There are other advantages, too. When you use a real name (registered domain name) for your blog or website address:

You can use your domain name for email addresses to present additional consistency when you send people messages. This is generally not an option when you use someone else’s domain name. (For example, do you often see email@yourname.someoneelse.com? Not likely!)
As you expand your blog, you can hook up a full web hosting account with additional tools and productivity features
You can run a self-hosted WordPress website with full flexibility and customize to your heart’s content
You can run Google apps on your custom domain, a suite of tools that lets you use your own domain name for their email, document, and other cloud computing services. The standard version is free and connects to your registered domain name. There are scores of serious applications that you can use to skyrocket your outreach.

As you know, software and communication services are flourishing and will continue to offer big benefits to the owner of a registered name. There are education tools, business applications, and hundreds of options available using your own custom domain name. Just imagine how well your baby will grow given access to all of it!

Have you found benefits you wouldn’t turn down with your own domain name? What are some of those benefits you rave about? What of the hidden benefits that come with your own genuine and unique domain name – have you found any?

Do tell of your own thoughts on choosing to run your own domain in the comments below. I for one would enjoy hearing your own take on this point.

PowerPoint – Tips to Keep it Alive (and Avoid Killing it)!

Tim Griffin — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 07:15:56 +0000

Have you ever been asked to do a powerpoint presentation and not known where to start? And how many of us have experienced the, oh no, not powerpoint again!?!?!? when the screen flickers on up front.

photo by Dan Brady

Honestly, I think powerpoint while a necessary evil at times, can indeed be enjoyable, effective and fun. Having put many, many presentations together using PowerPoint and now Keynote – I’ve found a few tricks to help along the way.

Whenever I am in a position to create a powerpoint as part of a presentation I find it quite helpful to start with the “7 Deadly Sins of PowerPoint” as a checklist.

Here is a good print (PDF) version for you to have on hand.
Here are the 7 sins and my take on how to get it right and encourage your audience to focus on your message and learn more.
Thanks to Terri Lackey and Steve Williams for the following points!

The 7 Sins, condensed

Deadly sin # 1 Too little contrast

My thoughts: rule of thumb: stick to colors which you find in good print. Black on white or light blue background. Be creative – but forget that people need to be able to read it and you lose the point

Deadly sin # 2 Too many colors

(for text and objects) My thoughts: the idea here is consistency. If the font changes color on each slide, and the background every other, we all get lost trying to mentally adjust. A good theme might have up to three different colors.

Deadly sin # 3 Too much text

My thoughts: I have to leave this point as is – “uncondensed”. This is the #1 offense in my book. There is very little power in a slide with too much text. If you read nothing else – read this one!!

Too much text makes a slide look cluttered and hard to read. Use the five and 10 rule. Limit each slide to about five lines of text that can be read in about 10 seconds. Six lines are okay, seven if you have to but when you get beyond that you have too much text. Williams said if the presentation requires more text, automate the text so it doesnt come on the screen at the same time. Present part of it on half the slide, giving the viewer time to read it, then put the remainder up on the bottom half of the slide.

Deadly sin # 4 Text that is too small

My thoughts: the rule of thumb I have found is 20 or 22 point font. 18 point is the smallest you should ever go. Of course the size of screen you will be presenting on always has an effect on this. As much as possible avoid last minute format edits by choosing large font size from the beginning!

Williams advised. If in doubt, make it larger.

Deadly sin # 5 Too many bullets

My thoughts: outlines are great for speakers, and help listeners to a certain extent too. If it is not broken up and the speaker is actually reading the bullets word for word – anticipate snoring! More bullets can = less retention.

Deadly sin # 6 Too many transition effects

My thoughts: Transition effects are great. I always use them as they keep the slide to slide display interesting. Use them, but only choose a two or three different effects at most for your next presentation. Maybe the first five slides one effect, the next five another, and so on.

Deadly sin # 7 Using boring slides

My thoughts: I have seen some great presentations. Good factors the great ones have: surprize, graphical taste, simplicity. The best presentations I can think of, the presenter never told me he was using powerpoint, scarcely looked at the screen, made good eye contact with the audience and was relaxed – even if the powerpoint quit. Now that is something for me to shoot for.

Do you agree with these 7 Deadly Sins of Powerpoint? What would you add to your powerpoint must do or must not do list?

Helpful sites on effectively building Powerpoint and Keynote presentations:

18 Tips for Killer Presentations
PowerPoint: How to Create a Killer Power Point Presentation… in 60 Minutes or Less!
(Book title available on amazon.com)
Complete Guide to Finding and Using Images on Flickr

No related posts.

Community Building Web Design – WordPress Gives People Options

Tim Griffin — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 13:22:26 +0000

credit: image by Zoran Ozetsky

How do you build community? What focus is required to succeed in building community online?

Justice Wardlaw just published a fantastic post on “Why Building A Blogging Community Is More Important“. I think he is onto a crucial point in the area of building community.

Most of the websites I get to create are built around the idea that a goup of people will be engaged. They are places for people to connect and contribute. Conversation. Community building websites fit people like authors, speakers, bloggers, photographers, designers, educators, influencers, and the like.

Justice says that when he got started with blogging his priorities didn’t necessarily build community. (Note: blogging is one of the most practical options to attract like minded people into community.)

The priority: “having a community of like minded people is the one focus that I should concentrate on.”

When you start to think of the idea of creating a community you want to [know] WHY you should create one and how you should grow that community in a unique way to get the best benefits for both your community and your brand.

Options For Community Building
(via WordPress Powered website):

a. Configure Commenting On Blog Posts

When you publish content using WordPress your readers have the opportunity to become content contributors. You can even turn on the option for readers to respond directly to a single comment. Each comment can then become its own conversation thread. I’m a fan of the threaded comments option.

b. Create A Blog Commenting Policy (for the health of the community)

This is your own set of criteria for what kind of comment is helpful or not. When you will delete comments or directly respond. Your commenting policy can be shared with your community or not. The point is, have a clear idea of how you will keep the contributions on the blog focused on the topics at hand. This becomes your outline of acceptable and encouraged comments behavior while negotiating what is not helpful.

Take a look at Lorelle’s tips on Commenting Policy at the Blog Herald.

Recommended Comment Plugins:

Recommended Plugin #1: I absolutely love the Akismet spam protection. Each WordPress site can benefit from this – keeping your site clean of unwanted spam!

Recommended Plugin#2: Comment Redirect This added function allows you to greet people who comment for the first time. Simple attention to detail can vastly improve how clearly people catch the overall tone of your group. A really nice touch!

Note: as the website manager you have the ability to moderate everything that happens in regards to content viewable on your site. Extremely helpful! A nice option built in to the system is allowing previously approved commenters to have comments published immediately. Even so, you can turn off or remove an unhelpful comment at any point – though your definition of unhelpful content may be challenged

b. Invite Community to Contribute Blog Posts

This takes your site to a different level. Beyond valuable comments and the conversation built around comments; invite likeminded people to contribute and build value online through quality guest blog posts.

What kind of plan is needed to see people regularly contribute to a community building website? What kind of incentive or reward does your community offer to it’s own guest bloggers? There are number of questions about incentive, quality and topics your community bloggers can contribute. A community driven blog is clearly a way to go about community building!

Options with WordPress: 1) Turn on open registration allows anyone to register on your site (generally not recommended). You can set the default level of new users to subscriber or higher – allowing them to blog. 2) Perhaps a better route is to get to know the people who you want to contribute content to the community, invite them and then register them as an Author on the site. Then they have permission to blog on the site. 3) Alternately, you can have people contribute content for you to review through email or even an online form (see below).

Plugins to help with community building (guest) blog posts:

GravityForms: This is a complete form builder that can handle simple contact requests to allowing people to create a draft post complete with title, content and an image attached. (Yes – that’s an affiliate link. I like this plugin that much that I’m happy to promote it and get a couple $ for the referral)

Members Plugin: A very powerful plugin allowing you to set permissions for user roles and content on your site. This goes beyond inviting people to contribute to a community site and actually gives you what you need to setup custom roles and content access. Read the documentation and check out the Members Plugin forum for additional insight.

More options for Community Building Websites?

Alright, so once again – the point is not to get bogged down in the technical aspects of a community website, but to really get into the relational behaviors and skills that it takes to participate with people. How do you keep your focus on the people who makeup your community when developing your website content? What do you find is necessary to get the invitation in front of the right people? Do they get it?

More to come,

Tim

Related Community Building Resources:

“The Ultimate Guide to Accepting Guest Posts on Your Blog” - Ann Smarty
3 Ways Leaders Demonstrate Commitment and Intentionally Build Community – Liz Straus
Story Telling: Building Community for Post-Secondary Students – Liz Straus
5 Elements to Building a Successful Blog – Brian Gardner

Top Advice for Website Owners: How to Backup Your WordPress Website

Tim Griffin — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 12:00:56 +0000

photo by imagebase

WordPress powered websites are geared toward content generation. With some success, you find that your content really connects with people – AND also, you’ve discovered that content creation requires a good deal of effort. Maybe that’s news to you or maybe you were a step ahead of the rest of us.

Regardless, losing hours and possibly days can be avoided with a simple backup plan. Give it five minutes – it could save you in a major way!

Here is a quick and practical outline of what you can do and how to go about making your own back UP plan.

1. When and what should you backup?

Always backup your site prior to upgrading to a new release of WordPress. (Or other software running your website.)
Backup both the files and the database. (WordPress strategically separates content from the files/images/uploads etc., by keeping the textual data in a database and the files live separately in a folder on your hosting account.
Backup on regular intervals – once a month is minimum, weekly and or daily backups are recommended for websites that regularly get new content.
Did you spend a ton of time updating things on your site today? Might be a perfect time to create a backup!

2. Verify your backup – of both data and files

Compressed backup of files and MySQL on web server

As mentioned earlier, your WordPress website consists of a variety of file types: php, images, css and other media that you have uploaded or added to your core WordPress install. The backup of your files will end up as a compressed file or a folder with all these files together.

Verification of this data means:The data part of your website is second. This is all the textual content as well as the settings you’ve made through the dashboard of your site. All this information is collected and placed in a single file through the backup process.

a: The backup files are actually created (and that they contain all the data and the files).

b: That you have access to the data (if the backup exists on your server, you may want to go ahead and download this file to keep on hand when the need arises).

You may need to download the files to then unzip/decompress the files to verify that the most recent data and files are actually in the backup file.

Also be sure you know how your hosting provider handles backup and restore processes. The automated backup service for all websites hosted with Mission: Communicate are backed up daily. These backups are kept for 7 days.

3. Running the backup process

Option 1 – Using Your Web Hosting Control Panel

Various hosting environments provide a system for backing up the files and data on your web server. Here is the simple step by step process available for websites hosted on the Mission: Communicate Hosting service.

Login to your Dashboard.
Navigate to the “Backup” page of your control panel.
Select the backup icon on second row
Select the “MySQL” and “files” options for the backup.
Select the type of backup you need
Click on “Backup Now” and wait. A confirmation of backup completed will show once the process is finished.
The backup takes some time - progress will be displayed here

The backup files are now available for download so you can verify the data and have it on hand. You also have the ability to mark these files for permanent storage on your hosting account. These compressed backup files are generally available for three days following the backup.

Note: Now you can is when you can confidently upgrade your WordPress website with the automatic upgrade option.Be sure to update any plugins installed on your website! This reduce the possibility of hangups or failed upgrade of WordPress software.

WordPress Upgrade Process in a nutshell:

Backup Website (Files and Data)
Upgrade all plugins with updates available
Proceed to Automatic Update
Test, ensure plugins that need to be active are active
Enjoy your newly updated WordPress powered website!

Option 2: other Backup Options:

Backing up is a general function that all hosting solutions provide in one form or another. Backing up instructions for a couple other popular website control panels:
Backing up with Cpanel

Backing up with Plesk

Using an FTP client - which allows drag and drop upload and download website files.
(I personally find this helpful for backing up specific folders such as themes you’ve tweaked recently)

PHP: MySQL – WordPress Data Backup
This is where you can manage your database directly. PHP: MySQL also has an export feature that quickly puts all your data directly into one file. This file can then be imported to restore information to your database.

Premium options include third party backup services. Here are a two options that have set the standard for premium WordPress backup service:

Backup Buddy – by the dev team at iThemes
This tool automates the process and allows you to specify where the files and data are stored. Backup, restore, migrate – automated through this easy to use WordPress plugin.

Vaultpress – by the Automattic team. Safeguard your site automatically.

No Cost plugin options backing up your data and files on your server:

WP DB Backup plugin - on demand backup of your database. Can save the backup on your server and/or email the file to you.

There are plenty more in the backup category on the WordPress.org plugins directory. Remember to test, review and see what others say about the plugin before relying on a third party plugin!

Restoring Your Backup

So, let’s say the worst happened and now your site disappeared. Before performing a restore check with your host to see if there are any known issues on the server. If all is well and there is no issue that would cause your site to have a problem on the server side of things, it may be time to restore your site.

Start with contacting with your hosting support team. They’ll be able to point you to the documentation and steps needed to restore file and database backups through the control panel.

At any pont with the backup files you created on hand, you can go through the process of uploading the files to your server – overwriting the existing files (FTP Client). Also, the MySQL database backup will allow you to import the backup file through PHP: MySQL interface.

Hopefully you now have a grip on getting the backup routine in place. AND, you know where to start if a restore is necessary.

Best wishes to your growing website and it’s health for many backups to come!

Do People Get You? What is it “About” Anyway?

Tim Griffin — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 15:53:08 +0000

Just about jumped out of my seat at this tweet:

When an “About” Page doesn’t share any information about the actual people behind the company i instantly reject them as a business. John Saddington @tentblogger

Does your about page matter that much?

The New Normal of Work Includes Social Media

Tim Griffin — Tue, 17 May 2011 05:52:07 +0000

Has anyone challenged you recently about your use of time spent online? Using social media?

Getting your head into the game.

As someone said, “that’s the most difficult – but most important part.”

Amber Naslun pointed out that indeed, the role of Social Media is becoming a new norm. For who? For what purpose?

These are great questions and I’m interested in what kinds of answers you would have.

Here is a slice of her article – (I recommend following the link to read rest of the article):

Read enough about productivity on the internet – especially in social media circles – and you’ll undoubtedly find counsel to cut down on “distractions” like Facebook and Twitter, or to stem content creation in favor of doing the “real work”.

Connecting on Twitter allows me to participate in awesome conversations (yes, I still have them all the time), say hello to dear friends that don’t share my geography, meet new people, and help or connect with people in relation to my work, speaking, or otherwise. Hopefully in the meantime I might add or share something valuable myself.

Amber Naslund - The New Normal of Work Includes Social Media

Reading what Amber wrote, I get excited about the “creation and connection” point. Connecting has proven to inspire, shape and motivate me in doing what I do and doing it with greater strength and purpose. I take that connection with me “offline” and dive into the parts of work and life centered on face to face connectivity.

This is how it is playing out for me, but perhaps not for others? Erik Wittlake in the comments points out, “We value learning, brainstorming, forming perspective…” crucial pieces for me, for those I work with, for accomplishing the work at hand.

As I think about this, the intentionality is not just a little crucial. How does this translate to a practical approach?

Be deliberate in scheduling time for social media
Be intentional with why you connect (perhaps a log book for keeping notes/ideas/direction – evernote?)
Let it be a journey of learning how to make it work for you

Thoughts? What is your reaction to this kind of perspective? What do you find most helpful on this journey to a New Norm?

Grateful to be connected and to learn from you!

How to Jump Ship from GoDaddy to a Better Web Host and Domain Registrar

Tim Griffin — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 22:49:44 +0000

How to Jump Ship from GoDaddy to a Better Web Host and Registrar

lifehacker.com — Regardless of your feelings about GoDaddy’s moral standing, their service is frustrating and restrictive. If you’re sick of paying for crappy hosting and want to jump ship, here’s how to leave GoDaddy behind for one of many better web hosts on the net. Jump ship to better host

This article on lifehacker.com made me laugh and then moan as I think about how many people need help getting out of a service that leaves many wandering in a desert of chaos. There must be a better way. Do you not agree? Do you have a story about making the move or feeling the “go away daddy” sentiment?

Earlier this month a friend of mine discovered the freedom by getting away from the grip of this web giant. It was a process, and time was required. Was it worth the effort to leave? Absolutely. Now things are working the way they are supposed to. A happy day! Always happy to help and this happens to be an area where plenty of experience has been a gained!

No related posts.

Build With Strength – Springing With Your Strong Foot Forward

Tim Griffin — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 15:04:38 +0000

Earlier this week I made my way up the side of a mountain with family and friends. The view was stunning, the colors and overwhelming sense of Spring were consuming. At points I just stood and breathed. Enjoying the feeling of life, a mountain full of it!

A few photos made it into the collection – including a close up of an apricot tree ready to burst into full bloom. Spring had reminded the tree of what was next and now, there is no holding it back.

power beyond the freeze

The trees are doing what they naturally do.

They do it best.

Seemingly standing still.

Bursting with what appears to be an overnight splendor.

Freely soaking up the energy of sun, soil and rain.

Overcoming the high altitude freeze.

Inspirational.

Executing a Plan Based on Your Strength

What are some of the keys you find helpful to take a plan and “make it happen”?
At present, I have many plans in the works that I am quite excited about. To keep momentum I find several things absolutely crucial:

Team – stronger than solo and further reaching!
Imagination – a good dose required if you plan to get somewhere when you’re not there yet!
Experts who can give input and coach you forward.
Simple tools for keeping the vision in front of yourself and the team.

One such tool I’ve begun to enjoy: “StrengthsFinder 2.0“. The idea is simple and powerful: build on the strength you have.

Building on strength may seem like a no brainer – but the opposite could actually be more true. Tom Rath has some insightful observations:

At it’s fundamentally flawed core, the aim of almost any learning program is to help us become what we are not.

From the cradle to the cubicle we devote more time to our shortcomings that to our strengths.

“Most people think they know what they are good at. They are usually wrong… and yet a person can only perform from strength” – Peter Drucker

…raw talent actually serves as a multiplier.

Are you taking steps to build on strength? How so?
My guess is that a lot of people are working to build better this year and I am one of them. How are your strengths shaping your outlook, decisions and plans right now?

No related posts.

A Book a Day: Read Your Way to An Effective Website

Tim Griffin — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 12:54:45 +0000

Ok, reading a book a day may be your cup of tea. Not a cup that particularly appeals to myself – but hey, drink away

A must read list of books for blog owners showed its face recently*. A good number will probably make it to this years reading list. But where to start?

Here is a short list that you will help you improve your ability to connect and build on what you’ve started with your online communication plan (your own website for a start). A quick secret: In case you haven’t realized it yet – running your own website is a test of your ability to flex, change, grow and build momentum. Simultaneously.

A book a day keeps the… Wait, I think that was an apple.

Keeping it Action Oriented

Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard – Chip and Dan Heath

This read is one aimed at helping you plan out actions that connect with hearts and minds – while aiming for needed change. Not one to read if you don’t like the idea of transformation or the positioning yourself to make a real difference in the lives of those you love.

Keeping it Simple (Bite Sized)

Rework – Jason Freid and David Heinemeier Hansson

Not just about the content of the book – but this quick read is really just that. Quick “chapters” that make for great conversation starters, content to build on and perhaps inspire a bit of controversy. The illustrations in the book tell a story by themselves. Full of paradox-like points that will make you stop and think about what is really needed and how to accomplish it.

Start on Your Strong Foot

Strengths Finder 2.0 – Tom Rath

This find has an online community and assessment tool taking a slightly different approach. What if we stopped trying to fix what was wrong with you and started working with the abilities and skills that came with you the day you made your entrance? Tom has written a great introduction to the assessment and then helps you craft a personal action plan for developing your strengths further.

Grow It Forward

31 Days to a Better Blog – Darren Rowse

This is an “on topic” resource that will actually be useful far beyond the 31 days. Perhaps this could be an annual read or even more? (Online community of motivated people also available). Darren helps you hone in your content and plan a strategy that goes where it needs to go. You’ll be joining not just a few active learners when you decide to go for it.

Build on a Solid Foundation

E-Myth – Why Most Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It – Michael Gerber

This read is a classic. Wether you run a website as a business or for the pleasure of helping others free of charge, doing this with effectiveness is a measurable goal. Are you reaching that goal and hitting the mark?

This helpful book first came to my attention listening to a quiet influencer who has built a growing organization to serve leaders and teams: helping them thrive in environments where simply surviving is beating the odds. Read it – you’ll be glad you did for years to come

Do you as a website owner have a book that you find so good you plan on re-reading it this year? One you just started reading that may make that list? Do tell of the book in the comments below!

Want the big list? Here’s Danny Inny’s “38 Critical Books Every Blogger Needs to Read” No surprise this is another great post on the Copy Blogger

Hackers steer clear – Critical Update – WordPress 3.0.4

Tim Griffin — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 15:13:39 +0000

Since you enjoy the results of publishing online, and you intend to keep doing so – NOW would be a good time to take a few moments and steer your site the right direction and update your WordPress installation.

WordPress 3.0.4 official announcement is here.

First off, happy holidays. I hope this time of the year, chilly for many of you, has given you time to enjoy family, friends, and loved ones and reflect on the year before and the year to come.
My last message to you this year is an important but unfortunate one: we’ve fixed a pretty critical vulnerability in WordPress’ core HTML sanitation library, and because this library is used lots of places it’s important that everyone update as soon as possible.
I realize an update during the holidays is no fun, but this one is worth putting down the eggnog for. In the spirit of the holidays, consider helping your friends as well.
Matt Mullenweg

WordPress 3.0.4 was released a few hours ago. This is a security release for all previous WordPress versions. This release fixes cross-site scripting vulnerabilities in our HTML sanitization library, kses.
Please update your sites as soon as possible. This is a critical release.
Andrew Nacin

Should you update your install or not? Here are a few detailed writeups:

Now the good news for sites running on the WordPress.org self hosted publishing platform.

(One of the absolute best options available!) Updating your WordPress is a fairly straightforward process.
1. Backup your website – the files and the database.
2. Upgrade your plugins which show an update is available through your site dashboard.
3. Run the automatic update process for WordPress – again through your site dashboard.

Tip – if the automatic upgrade does not upgrade your installation – you may need to deactivate all active plugins before running the upgrade. You can easily reactivate them once your website is running on the most current version of WordPress.

Steer Away from Thoughtless Risk Toward Peace of Mind

It is not uncommon for people to discover their site has been exploited and then to request. Ask for help – Helping people get more out of the WordPress websites they manage by keeping their sites optimized and secured is something I find thrilling.

Some advice: avoid the common mistake of letting your site get out of date. Of course looking for help once you discover your site is the target of malicious hacking will help you establish a plan to avoid this in the future. What a headache getting hacked can be! Eliminate this risk as much as possible: make sure your website management plan includes timely installation of critical updates!

The effort it takes to publish and keep your website hitting the mark with your audience is significant. Allowing your site to run on out of date software is simply not an option. You are building something to last right! Take a little time to become familiar with the update process. The automatic update process is a key feature of WordPress designed to ensure you enjoy the benefit of a website that works for you.

Getting Help When You Need It

Need some help with updating your website? Have some questions about what is needed? Help is available. Here are some options provided to help you keep on the path of online publishing bliss:

Single Time WordPress Update (your site is backed up and the core software+plugins are updated).
Monthly Basic Support Service (includes keeping your site updated with latest releases and version updates..
Optimize and Secure your website installation.
Update your outdated Theme to current WordPress version.

These service options allow you to focus on getting content published. Getting the technical pieces taken care of can be a great peace of mind. Trust me!

Contact me through the website here and your site will be evaluated for the work that is required to keep you in the business of running a beautiful and functional website!

Non Verbal Communication and the Power of a Blog

Tim Griffin — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 16:35:45 +0000

When you live as a student in a country not your own, your perception of non-verbal communication goes up a notch. Particularly if the courses you study are not in a language you understand. Which may be what you planned on – or they may not

Non-verbal cues. Essential if you want to play.

You can imagine the shock of showing up to courses and discovering they are not in a language you know. An acquaintance who is a medical student described such a shock. Year one and two were in a language that was new to him. Third year courses were in a third language. Quite the story.

As a student taking language courses I anticipated not understanding much in the initial lessons. Being that the instructor does not speak but a few words of English, the learning curve though steep, is a fun challenge. Learning to read the face of the instructor and the staff have been somewhat of a game. Each session I discover a new layer of meaning with a growing vocabulary. The clues start to make more sense the longer I play.

Non-Verbal Lessons for a Blogger :

Each blog post is like a language session.
Wether you are new to the blogging scene or you’re considered a pro – each blog post is a new session building on the clues you learn from the previous. Certainly comments on blog posts allow you to see how people interact and what impacts them. The non-verbal is also a huge clue.
1. Which posts get more visits on your blog and what might that indicate?
2. What content do people link to from their sites? or on Delicious or other such social linking sites?
3. How are people discovering your site? I.E. email, rss, search engines (which terms),
  Take what you glean from these non-spoken cues and start to take a hint as to what this means for your next blog post. You’ll get some mileage from learning at these lessons.
Listening is one of the more powerful tools in the box.
1. For a blogger this means 1) Getting out of the internet and in face to face conversations with people.
2. And 2) it means learning to listen not just to the things being spoken, but to the things indicated by the actions and attitudes of your audience.
  In the study of language you quickly become aware that much of communication has less to do with actual words and everything to do with context, tone and action.

When it comes to applying these to your own online publishing with a blog it means several very practical things.

1. The path forward is a path of learning. Position yourself as a learner. Decide to try and then try again. Love to laugh at your mistakes – it works in language learning environments just as well as in the online communication. The life of a learner is seldom dull.

2. Isolation is the path of decline – proactively seek interaction. Let others be a part of your learning and growing strategy. Going it alone means ending up alone. Intentional relationship does require trusting – that others want to help, that others are interested and interesting. You have yet to meet some amazing people and your willingness to try to have two-way conversation will open some amazing doors!

Are you a student of language or online publishing? If so, take a moment to add some of your own thoughts on how non-verbal interacts with the verbal side of what you do

All Websites Now Required to be Powered by WordPress

Tim Griffin — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 16:30:31 +0000

Have you taken a look around the web lately? What you may or may not have noticed is the multitude of sites now taking the WordPress.org approach to publishing online. Expect this trend to pick up major speed in the days to come!

The fact that your site is already powered using this powerful content delivery engine(WordPress) for your content just proves you are one step ahead of the curve. Now, you and I can enjoy the fact together that the rest of the internet World will eventually catch on and get into high gear with their own effective web presence with this tool.

The “down low”:

I was just informed that Matt was just informed that:

WordPress, in head-to-head voting against Joomla and Drupal, has won this year’s Open Source CMS Hall of Fame award.

What does this mean?

As Matt puts it,

We have to be careful because if this trend continues people might think WordPress is a real CMS, useful for more than just a blog. This would ruin our stealth campaign and might bring dozens of new users to the WordPress community. If you could keep this on the DL we’d appreciate it.
We don’t want WordPress to develop a reputation.

In other words, you are watching history being made. Tomorrow, a more powerful, intuitive experience will exist on the internet as people discover how to utilize the power of WordPress to deliver content and connect with more people, more effectively.

Many sites do require more than a simple, intuitive publishing platform – for these a specialized solution is required. On the flip side it can also be pointed out that most websites need nothing more than a simple, intuitive online publishing system. That is why the award this year goes to the solution that 10,000 plus active developers have contributed to. Congratulations are certainly in order!!

If you have not already seen a few of the WP articles around here check these out:

Need help with migrating your site into a more effective system? We can help with that. Have a WP powered website that needs some optimization? Get a hold of us today and you too will be able to enjoy the award winning system loved by so many.

More to come,

Tim

Step-up your SEO Now

Tim Griffin — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 11:08:16 +0000

SEO is not rocket science. It is simply a matter of knowing what to do, and more importantly, consistently doing it.

It boils down to crafting content that provides value, is reader focused and:

You’ve got to do keyword research.
You’ve got to optimize your reader-focused content.
You’ve got to build links to your site.

Effectively and consistently do those three tasks, and you’ll achieve higher rankings and more targeted traffic.

Thousands of content creators do all three of these fundamental tasks right from WordPress (or Joomla, or Drupal). And scores of professional web writers use a web-based application to perform SEO for clients for use on any content platform.

How? With the Scribe SEO software.

Users of Scribe SEO are raving about increased search traffic, higher rankings, increased efficiency, and easy content optimization. Now you can join them in stepping up your traffic and search rankings, and get a great deal at the same time.

Are you ready to run over to the site to learn more about Scribe?

Discover how Scribe steps up your traffic and rankings here.

Get started as a Scribe subscriber today

Did you know? You can also get a free SEO report from the makers of Scribe SEO here. This invaluable free report helps you wrap your mind around what it takes to get consistent and relevant results with your online content.

I am personally enjoying the service and results. Two thumbs up from me!

More to come,

Tim

No related posts.

Questions and Answers. Taking Your Website Mobile

Tim Griffin — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 13:42:19 +0000

Your iPhone is always by your side, you just took a photo. You want to publish it to your site. NOW!

Increasingly, the question is being asked about how to connect more places and with more ease of use. Our hand held devices are becoming central to every kind online communication out there – including timely updates to your website.

There are really two questions that need to be answered:

a. How Can I update my website from my iPhone and
b. What can I do to optimize my site for mobile devices

Both of these questions are answered very well – particularly when you are publishing online with your own WordPress website!

Update Your website from Your iPhone | App for iOS

Every day there are more and more reasons to choose WordPress for building engaging and useful websites. (That would be the WordPress.org flavor of the ever popular Content Management System).

Today, there is another clear reason: WP iOS app (FREE) making full use of your iPhone and WordPress features. Upload images, moderate comments and more directly from your phone.

Check out the must have mobile app for anyone with an iPhone and a WordPress powered website.

The iOS App boasts a number of useful features:

Really Truly Effortless Comments
Simple Content Composing
Location Mapping
Photos – Your’s Made Beautiful

“Your Site in the Palm of Your Hands” Obox Mobile Plugin

“Obox Mobile is a WordPress Mobile Theme Framework that converts your site into a gorgeous layout which is compatible for mobile devices. Stunning design, attention to detail and unique features make your site stand out when visitors hit your site with their phones.”

This is a premium WordPress plugin developed by a team dedicated to optimizing your website for mobile devices. Do you ever need to access your site with you mobile device, do others? Consider making the experience between your website and a mobile device even better!

Obox Mobile One Week Discount: Use the discount code “NOVEMBER25″ and get 25% off your purchase. (Discount available only from November 1 through the November 8, 2010.)

No related posts.

Publish Online with “Thelonious” WordPress 3.0 Latest Release

Tim Griffin — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 10:26:58 +0000

Having now updated quite a few hosted websites to the latest version of WordPress I can say there is something to sing about. This release includes a better help menu and the updated look of the dashboard overall is not too shabby. Take a look here and enjoy your own WordPress 3.0 website.

Need some help with a secure and optimized WordPress install or an upgrade of your current setup? Do send a message and it would be a pleasure to serve up some more great WordPress wizardry.

Customizing the Optimize WooThemes Portfolio Page

Tim Griffin — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 14:30:43 +0000

From time to time questions about tweaking and adding fun and fascinating features to sites come my way. There are some great things you can do with WordPress. Some would argue that if you can imagine it, WordPress has the flexibility to get the job done. Not so surprising is the fact that WordPress continues to gain notoriety in the age of user friendly content management systems. It simply outshines so many options and outperforms a static html website for an electronic portfolio hands down.

So, The question has now come a couple times regarding customizing the “Optimize” theme from the guys over at WooThemes – specifically about changing the Portfolio Page. Perhaps the ability to change the behavior of this page will be available in later editions. Regardless the question has a fairly straightforward answer when it comes to a slight adjustment in how the portfolio page template behaves.

Here is the latest letter to the editor from Lisa:

I’m modifying optimize and I want to get the portfolio to function like it does on your site. (I.E. using read more links and excerpts that go to the full post.) Any chance you can tell me how you did this or provide me with a link to the instructions you used?
Lisa

Great question, and here is the long and short of it:

The post content loop needs to be changed to the excerpt. Open archive-portfolio.php in the theme folder, find and change this code in the main content div (approx. line 52):

to this:
The link to the full post needs to be added. Insert the link to the full post with this line directly after the excerpt call:
Read More about This Project
And finally make sure to follow the steps necessary to create new portfolio items. a. Create a post in the designated category for the portfolio with a title and full content; b. Upload the thumbnail and full portfolio images, c. Create your hand-crafted excerpt directly in the excerpt input below the post editor, publish and enjoy.

Too cool. Similar changes can be applied on the homepage template (index.php in the theme folder) with some helpful results. What more would you want from a portfolio page and post combination on your website?

Have a question or a tip you want to submit regarding page templates, WooThemes or WordPress templates? Are you building a portfolio site? If so, what theme are you considering and what functionality would say is crucial for your site? Be sure you do not miss Cameron Chapman’s post over at Smashing Magazine’s writeup on building the ultimate portfolio website with WordPress.

Save the Date! – Event invitations From Your WordPress Website

Tim Griffin — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 19:41:26 +0000

Question:

Is there an easy way to allow site visitors to email an invitation to events through my WordPress website?

Answer:

a. Eventbrite – Amazing event management made simple

Easily Create links, event pages, free events, donation events and paid registration events1
Various ways to share the event are made available on the hosted event page. Links to this page are available through the event promotion tools. Once the event has been published you can grab the “invite your friends” link and post this anywhere on your website.

b. WP-Email – Plugin for inviting people to a page/post on your WordPress website.

This plugin gives you a button on your website allowing people to invite to a specific post/page.
As the administrator of the WordPress site you can see who invited whom and when. A little configuration to install the plugin – follow the instructions and the email button will be made available for your website visitor.

These are two simple and effective ways to go about accomplishing this important feature. Which option works for you? Have you tested or tried other methods?

Add some Wow to your WordPress Website with Four Amazing Firefox Extensions

Tim Griffin — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 21:45:19 +0000

Table of Contents

WordPress Helper
MeasureIt
Firebug
Scribefire

The tool of choice recommended for every new WordPress website owner is Firefox. If you have a Windows machine – get Firefox! If you are on a Mac – get Firefox! This is the browser of choice for website owners and developers around the world. Why you might wonder? In a word: performance. There are hundreds of extensions that make your online life easier to navigate. Here are four extensions that make managing your WordPress website all the more enjoyable.

Extension 1: WordPress Helper

Back to the Top

WordPress Helper Dashboard Links

Developer Link: Oliver Schlöbe

Download Link: WordPress Helper Addon

What it Offers: Fast access to your WordPress dashboard, quick-links to most helpful WordPress documentation, commenting profiles to automate insertion of your name – website and email when commenting on blogs, and notification of latest version releases.

When to Use it: This extension is a must have for anyone publishing content with the WordPress publishing platform. Instead of sprinkling various bookmarks on your browser toolbar let this smart addon do the work for you. Once installed there is a quick link button in the lower right corner of your browser window. When clicked you have a smart menu that allows you to jump to the dashboard, publish new post, manage blog comments or simply jump to your homepage.

Control-click (Mac) or Right-click on any page and you will see a new WordPress helper menu. In this menu is a comprehensive list of bookmarks that will take to you tips, newbie help pages, css + WordPress tips and more. You can even add your own links for quick reference to help pages when you need them. A super plugin and worth the $1.99 donation that Oliver is requesting Way to produce a useful tool.

Extension 2: MeasureIt

Back to the Top

MeasureIt Precise Height and Width in Pixels

Developer Link: Kevin Freitas

Download Link: MeasureIt Firefox Addon

What it Offers: The ability to quickly measure in pixels any area within the browser screen.

When to Use it: Every time you need to know the width or height of a section, area or image on your website. Extremely helpful in discovering the optimal width for images in your main post/page area or in your sidebar or footer widgets areas. Such a quick and easy to use tool that you’ll forget what it was like to not have it before.

Nice!!

Extension 3: Firebug

Back to the Top

Firebug Web Development Tools

Developer Link: GetFirebug

Download Link: Firebug Addon

What it Offers: This extension has been one of the primary reasons people building their own websites switch to the use of Firefox as their primary browser. Arguably the most useful browser tool for web development. You will likely never use all the features this tool offers – but there are a few that are indispensable.

When to Use it: Have you ever wanted to change the text styling on your website? Have you ever been curious how styles are controlled on your WordPress theme? If you have ever wondered anything like this then Firebug is your next best friend. With a simple control-click (right-click) you have a new option “Inspect Element”. Once you click that a world of options opens up for you. Want a quick start tutorial to get you started on useful ways to manipulate the css on your website? The WooThemes WordPress design team has a superb video showing you what to do next. Get it. Love it. Work it.

Extension 4: ScribeFire

Back to the Top

Scribefire Blogging Extension

Developer Link: Christopher Finke

Download: Scribefire Addon

What it Offers:

ScribeFire is an extension for the Mozilla Firefox Web Browser that integrates with your browser to let you easily post to your blog: you can drag and drop formatted text from pages you are browsing, take notes, and post to your blog. Scribefire

When to Use it: If you like taking notes, browsing the web and collecting resources to add to your blog this is a beautiful tool. Not only can you drag and drop text/content from the page you are on, but you can save your research as notes. Choose to change a note to an actual post at any time in the future.

Are there more blog editors the likes of this? There indeed are. Both standalone and as browser addons. Here is the WordPress Codex list of editors. (I’ve secretly enjoyed the use of Ecto blog editor on a number of my blogs)

Quick Update, 3/11/2010
Looking to add some WordPress style to your browser? Jane Wells highlights a couple designs on the WordPress blog. These designs add some WordPress flair to your Firefox browser!

Mission: Communicate

Domain Name Search Tools to Find the Perfect Domain Name

Revolutionize your domain name search – 5 Great Tools:

a) Mission: Communicate Domain Availability Search

1 Domainr

2 Bust a Name

3 DomainsBot

4 Dom!ze

5 NameBoy

So to wrap this up for now -

More content you may find helpful: 3 Tips for a Successful Blog Domain Name Top 3 Reasons to Register a Custom Domain Name fire up the browser! – ftp – web tools – portable firefox!

3 Tips for a Successful Blog Domain Name

1. Is the Name Easy to Share?

2. Is the Name Truly Unforgettable?

3. Does Your Domain Name Tell Your Story?

Bonus Name Registration Tips

#4 Pick a Reputable Domain Registrar

#5 Should You register only the .com name?

Related On This Blog:

More content you may find helpful: Domain Name Search Tools to Find the Perfect Domain Name Top 3 Reasons to Register a Custom Domain Name A Better Blog – Day 1 with 9100 Other Bloggers

Top 3 Reasons to Register a Custom Domain Name

Pick a Name, Make It Official

Benefits of Choosing a Custom Domain Name for Your Blog

More content you may find helpful: Domain Name Search Tools to Find the Perfect Domain Name 3 Tips for a Successful Blog Domain Name

PowerPoint – Tips to Keep it Alive (and Avoid Killing it)!

The 7 Sins, condensed

Deadly sin # 1  Too little contrast

Deadly sin # 2  Too many colors

Deadly sin # 3  Too much text

Deadly sin # 4  Text that is too small

Deadly sin # 5  Too many bullets

Deadly sin # 6  Too many transition effects

Deadly sin # 7  Using boring slides

Community Building Web Design – WordPress Gives People Options

How do you build community? What focus is required to succeed in building community online?

Options For Community Building (via WordPress Powered website):

a. Configure Commenting On Blog Posts

Recommended Comment Plugins:

b. Invite Community to Contribute Blog Posts

Plugins to help with community building (guest) blog posts:

More options for Community Building Websites?

Related Community Building Resources:

More content you may find helpful: Building Your Website With WordPress – Why and How it Works Dear TypePad user, from a WordPress enthusiast When People Get Lost – Helpful “Error 404 – Page Not Found” tips

Top Advice for Website Owners: How to Backup Your WordPress Website

1. When and what should you backup?

2. Verify your backup – of both data and files

3. Running the backup process

Option 1 – Using Your Web Hosting Control Panel

Option 2: other Backup Options:

Restoring Your Backup

More content you may find helpful: Disappearing Widgets – A Solution in WordPress 2.7 Add some Wow to your WordPress Website with Four Amazing Firefox Extensions Hidden Tool – Minimize The WordPress Admin Menu

Do People Get You? What is it “About” Anyway?

More content you may find helpful: When People Get Lost – Helpful “Error 404 – Page Not Found” tips

The New Normal of Work Includes Social Media

More content you may find helpful: Showdown – Social Bookmarking Breakdown

How to Jump Ship from GoDaddy to a Better Web Host and Domain Registrar

How to Jump Ship from GoDaddy to a Better Web Host and Registrar

Build With Strength – Springing With Your Strong Foot Forward

Executing a Plan Based on Your Strength

A Book a Day: Read Your Way to An Effective Website

Keeping it Action Oriented

Keeping it Simple (Bite Sized)

Start on Your Strong Foot

Grow It Forward

Build on a Solid Foundation

More content you may find helpful: More Effective Email Tip #2 RE: e-newsletters More Effective Email – Tip #1 RE: Attachments Top Advice for Website Owners: How to Backup Your WordPress Website

Hackers steer clear – Critical Update – WordPress 3.0.4

WordPress 3.0.4 official announcement is here.

Now the good news for sites running on the WordPress.org self hosted publishing platform.

Steer Away from Thoughtless Risk Toward Peace of Mind

Getting Help When You Need It

More content you may find helpful: Building Your Website With WordPress – Why and How it Works Top Advice for Website Owners: How to Backup Your WordPress Website Publish Online with “Thelonious” WordPress 3.0 Latest Release

Non Verbal Communication and the Power of a Blog

Non-Verbal Lessons for a Blogger :

More content you may find helpful: Communication Strategy for this Year A Better Blog – Day 1 with 9100 Other Bloggers 3 Tips for a Successful Blog Domain Name

All Websites Now Required to be Powered by WordPress

The “down low”:

What does this mean?

More content you may find helpful: Static HTML vs. Dynamic WordPress Powered Websites

Step-up your SEO Now

More content you may find helpful:

3 Tips for a Successful Blog Domain Name

Top 3 Reasons to Register a Custom Domain Name

fire up the browser! – ftp – web tools – portable firefox!

More content you may find helpful:

Domain Name Search Tools to Find the Perfect Domain Name

Top 3 Reasons to Register a Custom Domain Name

A Better Blog – Day 1 with 9100 Other Bloggers

More content you may find helpful:

Domain Name Search Tools to Find the Perfect Domain Name

3 Tips for a Successful Blog Domain Name

Deadly sin # 1 Too little contrast

Deadly sin # 2 Too many colors

Deadly sin # 3 Too much text

Deadly sin # 4 Text that is too small

Deadly sin # 5 Too many bullets

Deadly sin # 6 Too many transition effects

Deadly sin # 7 Using boring slides

Options For Community Building
(via WordPress Powered website):

More content you may find helpful:

Building Your Website With WordPress – Why and How it Works

Dear TypePad user, from a WordPress enthusiast

When People Get Lost – Helpful “Error 404 – Page Not Found” tips

More content you may find helpful:

Disappearing Widgets – A Solution in WordPress 2.7

Add some Wow to your WordPress Website with Four Amazing Firefox Extensions

Hidden Tool – Minimize The WordPress Admin Menu

More content you may find helpful:

When People Get Lost – Helpful “Error 404 – Page Not Found” tips

More content you may find helpful:

Showdown – Social Bookmarking Breakdown

More content you may find helpful:

More Effective Email Tip #2 RE: e-newsletters

More Effective Email – Tip #1 RE: Attachments

Top Advice for Website Owners: How to Backup Your WordPress Website

More content you may find helpful:

Building Your Website With WordPress – Why and How it Works

Top Advice for Website Owners: How to Backup Your WordPress Website

Publish Online with “Thelonious” WordPress 3.0 Latest Release

More content you may find helpful:

Communication Strategy for this Year

A Better Blog – Day 1 with 9100 Other Bloggers

3 Tips for a Successful Blog Domain Name

More content you may find helpful:

Static HTML vs. Dynamic WordPress Powered Websites

More content you may find helpful:

Hackers steer clear – Critical Update – WordPress 3.0.4

WordPress 2.9 Media, Lights and Action

6 weeks – Online Communications Course Wrap-Up

More content you may find helpful:

When People Get Lost – Helpful “Error 404 – Page Not Found” tips

More content you may find helpful:

Send a PDF using your WordPress website and email list

Community Building Web Design – WordPress Gives People Options

Add some Wow to your WordPress Website with Four Amazing Firefox Extensions

More content you may find helpful:

Firefox: getting started with my preferred browser

fire up the browser! – ftp – web tools – portable firefox!

Top Advice for Website Owners: How to Backup Your WordPress Website