SocialSpark Disaster

So this is the brave new world… Let’s be totally honest (for once) - I’ve never seen a bigger pile of dren.

u add my blog as one of your links, and i add your blog as one of my links i got pr2 blog

Now you will get a free ebook every day

(2nd prize, 2 ebooks)

What would you do with an Unlimited Supply of FREE Business Cards? Can you imagine the possibilities?

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Add a podcast quicktag to Wordpress editor

This tutorial adds a button to the Wordpress post/page editor in code view, to add a link to a podcast file in your post and therefore also your RSS feed - so that you should end up with this:-

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Use WordPress to podcast

I’m that ancient that I’m not quite sure web pages should have images on them, but if you do want to try this new-fangled (in 2005) podcasting business, it’s pretty simple with WordPress.

Strictly, what a podcast is not is a link to a media file from a web page. Yes, large media websites, eg bbc.co.uk think that’s exactly what it is, but what do they know…

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Visualscope

Web Design, Seattle - with a visually impressive portfolio of launched client sites, Visualscope Studios are a web design and internet consulting company based in Seattle, USA - offering web site design, Search Engine Optimization, SEO, e-commerce and advanced web development.
The other satisfactory note in this area is the distinct lack of jargon, which ecommerce sites tend to be so fond of - for the life of me I don’t understand quite what ROI really means, (so we’re not talking about profit here?) - unless all ecommerce guys and gals are totally addicted to acronyms - fortunately, VisualScope are not - Web site resource

WordPress Plugin Ethics

I was looking at some of the recently released plugins, particularly this stock data one and also something for media content - which adds a noembed section to any embedded content that does not already have one - very handy for people reading a site in an RSS reader.

It was the <noembed> tag which was the clue. read more »

Airbrushing Post Comments

It is your platform to the world - you have the right to include or exclude any comment.

If someone complains and they’re right, it’s only a matter of time before you notice that any competent blog platform allows you to edit out your error and delete their inconvenient comment.

The more generous way is to strike through your error, probably add a retraction or clarification, and leave their comment. It’s called the right of reply.

Feedburner - use for a WordPress blog or not?

There are good reasons to use Feedburner - and, depending on your circumstances, sometimes reasons not.

Feedburner republishes (burns, as they have it) a RSS feed in more powerful and useful form - it’s the same basic content, with added extras.

Reasons For

Statistics/Metrics
It’s the quickest way to find out how many subscriptions a given RSS feed has. Note that this isn’t the same as unique users. WordPress plugins do exist for this purpose, and if that’s all you want, then no reason not to use them.

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Twitter and Tumblelogging

Still not sure I understand the allure of “ideas not quite formed enough to be part of a blog” - but then I’m not sure I understand Twitter, end of story.

It seems total narcissism to expect anyone to spend the time reading a random jotting that required 8 seconds to impart to the world.

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Future User-Driven Apps

The “voted on by users so it must be good” idea is due to be tested to destruction.

Not only the semi-publicized plan of Wales/Wikipedia to produce a community-fuelled search engine, hinted at here and here - but also with SquidOffers:-

The idea is to combine the voting mechanism of Reddit or Digg or Plexo with the text ad mindset of a Google ad. But instead of an ad, it’s an offer.

Leaving aside the semantics of ad vs. offer - and with the usual caveat of unless I’m missing something - the question remains: why would people vote to receive more ads?

Folksonomies are born, not built by artifice - I don’t know whether that’s a law or not…

Getting a start as a freelancer

Freelanceswitch have a copious list of advice for freelancers, and it’s good - here’s a brief critique of their section on freelance programmers

* Pitch yourself as a developer who understands web designers, because most of them need a developer

Less true nowadays - the halfway-competent freelance web designer will be using CMS software out-of-the-box, you can end up dealing with the less competent end of the market. But never lose the opportunity for these alliances.

* Write a small web app like ta-da list or jobpile and get some recognition

Largely identical to the final point - see below…

* Answer tech questions on forums and use a signature that says you offer freelance coding services

Good advice - but relatively time-consuming and in marketing speak, the quality of leads is abysmally low.

* Enter a programming contest like RailsDay

Prizes, by some magic, come to proteges of the sponsors with monotonous regularity - is this harsh? Possibly… You have to go into this without firm expectations, although dividends can be high…

* Contribute to open source efforts and get known

Absolutely - whether your own app or a well-known ‘brand’, even if it’s just a plugin with a few lines of code, this is the way to get a foothold. It’s something tangible to show prospective clients, it’s absolute proof of your skills. It also gives you feedback for improvement, because you’re not the world’s best just yet.