Archive for April, 2010
Mixing Personal Beliefs and Business
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photo credit: gabriel amadeus
The question I pose is this….should a blogger post about their personal beliefs such as politics and religion etc. on their
business blog? Or should the expression of personal beliefs be kept separate from business?
Granted our personal belief system affects the way we do business. Personal values such as honesty and our work ethic obviously carry over into every aspect of our lives.
But as a customer do you really care that a business owner is of a particular religious faith or political party? Or are you more concerned about getting a quality product or service at a fair price? As a business owner do you really care that a customer is a member of a particular religious organization? Or are you more concerned with being treated respectfully and getting paid for the value you provide?
As a business owner do you want to run the risk of losing business because a potential customer doesn’t like your political beliefs?
Speaking as a business owner I feel that my personal beliefs are just that…personal. We have a storefront and I certainly do not express my world views to people that come in. They didn’t come in the store hear me spout off about what I think. They are in the store to do business and get their needs met. And I certainly don’t care about a their politics or religion. Be respectful and pay me…that’s what I care about.
I use my blog in the same manner. You don’t come to The Blog Builder Guy to learn what I think of the nation’s economic situation, you come here to learn about blogging and how it can benefit you. If I thought people cared about what I think, I’d have a personal blog where I could bore them with my views on the world’s problems.
This is a hot topic around here and I’d like to know what your thoughts are.
Is Your Blog Safe?
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You’ve spent hours writing your content, you’ve got the perfect template, the plugins and widgets are configured to your liking. It’s your baby and you love it. But is it protected? What happens if you hit the wrong key and your blog blows up!! Not that I’ve ever done that….nope not me!
Do you have a backup system in place for your blog?
If The Blog Builder Guy did your blog setup then you don’t have to worry because I install a backup system on every blog I build.
The one I use and recommend is WP-DBManger. You can find the plugin at WP-DBManger. It is easy to configure and you can set the backup schedule to your liking:
- Once Hourly
- Twice Daily
- Once Daily
- Once Weekly
You can also choose where to send the backup:
- Save to server
- Download to your computer
- Email backup to:
My hosting company, HostGator, also has a backup system that is easy to use. I use their backup system as extra protection being that it only takes a couple of minutes to use it. And you can have the backup sent to your email if you wish.
I highly recommend that you install a backup system for your WordPress blog. You don’t want all your hard work to disappear into the internet dead zone!
If you have any questions or need some help give me a shout!
WordPress 3.0 Beta 1
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photo credit: Charles Williams
It looks like WordPress 3.0 will be out soon. Below is a cut and paste from the official WordPress Blog. Rather than me explaining the latest and greatest update for WP, I'll let them do it for me. The Blog Builder Guy will keep you posted as more information is available.
Here is the link to the blog. WordPress 3.0 Beta 1
Below is the cut and paste from the WP blog:
"Remember when I posted earlier about the Twitter account, and I said that hopefully you’d find out later today what has been keeping us all so busy? Beta testers, this is your moment: the WordPress 3.0 Beta 1 has arrived!
This is an early beta. This means there are a few things we’re still finishing. We wanted to get people testing it this weekend, so we’re releasing it now rather than waiting another week until everything is finalized and polished. There’s a ton of stuff going on in 3.0, so this time we’re giving you a list of things to check out, so that we can make sure people are testing all the things that need it.
You Should Know:
- The custom menus system (Appearance > Menus) is not quite finished. In Beta 2, the layout will be different and a bunch of the functionality will be improved, but we didn’t want to hold things up for this one screen. You can play with making custom menus, and report bugs if you find them, but this is not how the final screen will look/work, so don’t get attached to it.
- The merge! Yes, WordPress and WordPress MU have merged. This does not mean that you can suddenly start adding a bunch of new blogs from within your regular WordPress Dashboard. If you’re interested in testing the Super Admin stuff associated with multiple sites, you’ll need some simple directions to get started.
- We’re still fiddling with a few small things in the UI, as we were focused on getting the more function-oriented code finished first. For example, we’re getting a new icon for the Super Admin section.
Things to test:
- Play with the new default theme, Twenty Ten, including the custom background and header options.
- Custom Post Type functionality has been beefed up. It’s really easy to add new types, so do that and see how it looks!
- WordPress MU users should test the multiple sites functionality to make sure nothing broke during the merge.
Already have a test install that you want to switch over to the beta? Try the beta tester plugin.
Testers, don’t forget to use the wp-testers mailing list to discuss bugs you encounter.
We hope you like it! And if you don’t, well, check back when beta 2 is ready. 
"
Maintaining Your WordPress Plugins
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Yes you need to do some maintenance on your WordPress plugins. The best way to do that is by deciding which ones you are going to use. And that will depend on the purpose of your blog. A blog used for keeping in touch with family and friends will probably not be concerned with search engine rankings so the All In One SEO plugin won’t be necessary. But if you want your site to rank high in the search engines then the All In One SEO plugin might be something you want to take a look at. So do some research before deciding which plugins to use.
If The Blog Builder Guy did your blog setup then I will have talked with you about which ones are important based on your blog’s purpose. But remember everyone needs spam protection and the Akismet plugin is a must! I install it on every blog I build.
It’s also important to remember that plugins require resources and too many may have an adverse effect on the speed at which your blog loads. Don’t go crazy installing plugins!
After you install a plugin make sure that you give it a thorough testing. Go through your blog page by page and make sure it doesn’t cause any problems. If it does make sure it is configured properly. If it still causes problems delete it and try one that is similar. There are many plugins so you aren’t stuck with only one choice.
Every once in awhile it is a good idea to reevaluate the plugins you are using. One that was useful a year ago may not have much use any more. Or it might be better to replace it with a newer one that provides a similar function. If you decide to not use a plugin any longer don’t just deactivate it. Delete it. Under each plugin’s name you will find these options. Use Delete to completely remove it. Activate | Edit | Delete
And last but not least, always update your plugins as the updates become available. And another tip is to do a backup of your site before updating the plugin…you never know what might happen. I’ve never had a problem but I’m sure one day something strange will happen.
I hope you found this helpful. If you have any questions shoot me an email and I’ll be happy to help you out.
