Google+ Blogging For The Past Month

This past month I took a challenge from +Mike Elgen to blog exclusively on. Turns out I was about as hit and miss with long form posts as I am here on thomallen.com. I always post short form images, links and likes several times a day, that didn't change. Bottom line, I didn't blog any more or less.On the subject of blogging and this site, a friend has gone through my blog and given me some pointers on SEO. I suck at SEO and he doesn't, so I'm listening to him. His suggestions included blogging more often, longer, and on topics...

read more...

Exclusively Blogging On Google+ For One Month

Follow me here. See ya in a mont...

read more...

I'm Using WordPress, Now What? Starter Edition

Here is the PDF of the presentation on GitHub.The following is a list of plug-ins that we discussed during the presentation. All links are valid as of this post but not be in the future.JetPackWeb hosting with BlueHost (*affiliate link)Editorial CalendarSecuritySEOAnalytics - Clicky or GoogleCache - W3 Total Cache or WP Super CacheBackup - BackWPup or VaultPressSocial Shari...

read more...

Discussions On Software Development Newsletter

While looking at several ways to improve the reach of my Blog, and to try my hand at some new marketing, I've added a newsletter subscription widget to the sidebar. It's powered by MailChimp, and the goal is send something out on development at least once a month. Subscribe, an help me build the list. Thank...

read more...

BuddyPress And The Missing Admin Bar: Solved!

I’ve been working on a few BuddyPress projects lately, using custom themes. Actually, I’ve used a great new plug-in, BuddyPress Template Pack by Andy Peatling to help with custom themes. While this great plug-in got me down the road (it basically turns your existing theme into a BuddyPress compatible theme), there were a few things missing. I wanted...

read more...

Is An RSS Feed Important Anymore?

Goolge has started transitioning users from Feedburner to its own brand of RSS delivery. After I completed the transition I reviewed the different RSS feeds that are being distributed through Feedburner, and I started to wonder if RSS feeds actually have any value individually.My reason to question this is I have FriendFeed consuming all of my blogs RSS feeds, my Twitter Feed, my Flickr feed and many other. In essence I am posting all of my content in one location which doesn't require you to subscribe to my individual feeds,...

read more...

Speaking At WordCamp Utah 2008

I'm excited that WordCamp has been scheduled for Utah. I'm an avid WordPress fan, developer, hack, and bigot. OK, I love other software too, but I really do use WordPress for a lot of projects.Joseph Scott of Automattic has worked really hard to get this WordCamp going, and I think there is a fantatic lineup of speakers. You will be rocked by Cameraon...

read more...

I Lived 080808

Yes, today is 08 08 08. The most significant thing happening today is the 2008 Summer Olympic Games (link is to English version), being held in Beijing, China. Without trying to make some political statement, I'm pretty surprised more athletes or countries didn't refuse to participate. Does that mean something?A neighbor is getting married today....

read more...

Could This Be A Hot Solution To My Flickr Post Problem?

If you're a Flickr user, and want to post photos to your blog, you know there is no way to add categories or tags to the post. There could be a plug-in solution, but I couldn't find it. Seriously, I looked for a long time. If there is one that does what I'm proposing, please let me know and I will update this post and back out what I've done.This...

read more...

One Hot August Day

It's August 1st. We are in the dog days of summer. The time where you're just about fed up with hot weather, and ready for the fall cool down to happen. Not to mention you're ready for the kids to go back to school. Pools are your best friend, and you get up early just to go for a runNaBloPoMo theme for August is HOT. So, I'll be writing post about...

read more...

WordCamp Coming To Utah

Joseph Scott mentioned to me at PodCampSLC that he was interested in having a WordCamp here in Utah. I thought it was a fantastic idea. So over the past few weeks we've talked about it and it looks like the event is going forward.Because this is a community event, it's important that everyone get involved early. We only have a few months to put a...

read more...

PodCampSLC Is Getting Close

We only have five days before PodCampSLC kicks off. The current schedule we have at the moment:9-10 Come by and get your name tag, get a seat, and schedule your discussions10-11 Kick off and Keynote by Michael Harper, Professor, Utah Valley University11:15-12:15 Attend Session 1, join another discussion, or start your own12:15-1:15 Lunch1:30-2:30...

read more...

I Might Be Down But Not Out

It's been a few weeks since I've posted anything and it feels really weird because I had been on a roll publishing something everyday. But alas years of neglecting my body has caught up with me. No one can sustain themselves on all night binges and running non-stop for the twenty years. So I must slow down and smell the roses as it were.Ironically...

read more...

First Snow Of The Year

Salt Lake City and they surrounding areas received a welcome guest yesterday, snow. The first storm dropped some white stuff a few days earlier but it melted just as fast. But not this time. It snowed for at least 24 hours. This is the good stuff. The stuff Utah is famous for; powder. I took a few more photos around the outside of my house. Take...

read more...

November Was A Big Writing Month

During the month of November I tried to tackle two writing projects at the same time. I knew I would be blogging so joining the National Blog Posting Month group would be pretty easy. The other project I was attempting was National Novel Writing Month. Arguably the most difficult task to complete in 30 days. So here's how I did:I managed to write...

read more...

Great Links From The Past Week

Here are some great links I came across from the previous week: Russell Beattie writes eBooks need more contrast to take off Chris Brogan says Passion Drives Personal Brand Pam at Escape from Cubical Nation asks Do you have to have an interesting life to use Twitter? 52 Novels asks Could something like TechStars work for novelists? (I am so on board with this idea) Mark Cuban writes Do Blog Comments Have Value? Zen Habits writes Obsessive- Compulsive’s Guide: Top 12 Organizing Tips, Plus Resourc...

read more...

Surround Yourself With Winners

A good friend sends out a weekly email about improving sales skills. One of the reasons I like reading his advise are the questions he asks at the end. Most of the time they are interpersonal questions. But today, her wrote this:Educating the world is not your job. Go find some smart people and do some business with them.Several years ago a mentor told me this "If you want to be making a million dollars a year, why aren't you surrounding yourself with people who are?" The point I think he was trying to make, and the one my...

read more...

WordPress Plug-ins I Use And Why

My WordPress blog uses several plug-ins, and I thought I would share with you what they are and why I use them. Akismet: Comment spam prevention. This is an essential plug-in for any blog. All in One SEO Pack: This plug-in helps me build SEO friendly links. Comment Referrers: This give me additional information when someone posts a comment. Its sent to me via the notification email and doesn't appear any where on the blog. Comment Timeout: I use this to lock comments on posts so many days after I post them. ...

read more...

Great Links From The Past Week

Here are some great links I came across during this past week. LifeHacker asks Does Google Make You An Efficient Time-Waster? Russell Beattie posts Mobilized Bookmarks in Del.icio.us Jesse Stay write Auto-Follow Those that Follow you on Twitter Box.net opens up their API Upcoming local events from Utah Tech Spotlight Chris Brogan writes Elements of a Personal Brand (probably the best blog post you'll ever read) Zenhabits writes Top 10 Resources and Inspirations for Decluttering Your Ho...

read more...

Announcing PodCampSLC - January 2008

Hello everyone, well, you knew it was bound to happen. PodCamp has come to Salt Lake City, Utah. On Saturday January 26th, 2008, at the Salt Lake Main Library building, 210 East 400 South, we will hold the first PodCamp. The web site address is www.podcampslc.org. You can confirm your registration at the Upcoming.org site. If you would be interested...

read more...