This pretty much sums up my feelings about Search Engine Optimization tactics in general. 1% Common Sense and 99% Craziness.
Emerging from the Long Silence with Upcoming Appearances!
January 19, 2010 1 Comment
It’s been a busy few months since WordCamp NYC. One of the funny things about working on websites for other people is that your own site tends to fall by the wayside. So I thought I’d post an update on my conference schedule. I can’t say I’ve ever had a conference schedule before. I sort of like it. I might even consider making it a semi-regular sort of thing.
First, I’m going to be in Boston this weekend for the first ever WordCamp Boston! I’ll be speaking on the Parent/Child theme structure. It will be a great conference and I’m really looking forward to networking and all the great stuff that the event planning group has put together!
On January 28th the first Hudson Valley WordPress Meetup will convene. This will be an informal meeting to establish the group and get to know each other.
My next trip will be down to Nashville to attend and lead 2 workshops at the Blissdom Conference. I’ll be meeting so many people I’ve had the opportunity to work with over the last year and change, It’s very exciting!
Last, but not least, I’ll be speaking in the WordPress track at the CMS Expo in Chicago from May 3rd-5th. I’m honored to be asked to present and I’m looking forward to the chance to help spread the wonderful world of WordPress to a group that does not already use it. The fact that WordPress is being brought into Content Management circles more and more shows that the platform has matured beyond blogging. Something I’ve seen since I first started working with the system nearly 4 years ago.
That covers my planned schedule for the immediate future. It’s subject to change and expansion 
Slides from WordCamp NYC 2009 Presentations
November 14, 2009 Leave a Comment
Thanks to everyone that attended my WordCamp NYC 2009 Presentations. Below you will find the slides from each session.
Choosing the Right theme for Your blog
Choosing Themes
View more presentations from DaisyOlsen.
Introduction to WordPress Theming
Creating Themes
View more presentations from DaisyOlsen.
The sample theme that was discussed briefly in the Intro to Creating Themes Session can be downloaded
WordPress Security Update Released: Version 2.8.5
October 20, 2009 Leave a Comment
A security release for WordPress has just been rolled out and it’s recommended that all WordPress sites upgrade as the release will prevent your site from being targeted from a newly discovered exploit.
Read more on the WordPress.org Blog
Logging-In To WordPress
October 20, 2009 Leave a Comment
The login page for all default WordPress sites is http://yourdomain.com/wp-login.php
Here is the login process in detail
In your browser’s address bar type your domain name followed by /wp-login.php
You should then see the default WordPress login page
Complete the username and password fields
If you wish to remain logged into this WordPress website for future visits check the “Remember Me” check-box
Click Login. A successful login will redirect you to the WordPress dashboard screen
WordPress Theme Frameworks Using a Parent/Child structure
October 19, 2009 Leave a Comment
My Personal Favorite:
Hybrid by Justin Tadlock
Others Include:
- Sandbox (the grand-daddy of WordPress theme frameworks)
- Thematic
- The Buffet Framework
- WPFramework (not publicly released at time of writing)
Theme Frameworks that do NOT use a Parent/Child Structure
- Carrington
- Thesis (Commercial Theme)
WordPress Tiny MCE Visual Editor Toolbar – Text Formating Buttons
October 16, 2009 Leave a Comment
There are four primary buttons in the Visual Editor ToolBar that allow you to control the basic formatting of text in your posts:
Sets selected text as bold.
HTML view: <strong>Bolded Text</strong>
Sets selected text as italicized.
HTML View: <em>Italicized Text</em>
Sets selected text as strike-through.
HTML View: <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">Strike Through Text</span>
Sets selected text as underlined. This button is located on the second row of the visual editor toolbar, accessed by clicking the “Kitchen Sink” button.
HTML View: <span style="text-decoration: underline;">underlined</span>
Series: WordPress Visual Editor Tool Bar – Introduction
October 7, 2009 1 Comment
WordPress comes equipped with some great features to allow you to easily format your blog posts and pages without knowing or even seeing the underlying HTML coding. While die-hard coders and advanced users may tell you to get rid of the editor I think it’s more valuable to learn to use the editor effectively, especially if the thought of learning HTML gives you hives. This article will cover the features and options included in the Visual Editor toolbar as it comes with WordPress and break down the function of each button along with how and when to use them! Many of the options are self-explanatory but some are not.
The Visual Editor, sometimes refereed to as the, Rich Editor or WYSIWYG (What You See is What You Get) Editor, is comprised of a sub-set of features from the much more extensive TinyMCE – Javascript WYSIWYG Editor. TinyMCE has a mind boggling number of options available. WordPress has, wisely, chosen to include only the most relevant functions to include in the WordPress edit post/page screens.
Here is the Toolbar as it looks when you start.
See that button at the end, with all the colored dots in rows? 
Click on it and the toolbar will expand to display more formatting options.
It should now look like this:
A whole new world of formatting options are now open to you! Hover over each of the buttons in the toolbar has a tool tip that will give a hint as to it’s function when you hover over for a moment to get a general idea of what each one does. Some plugins will add buttons to the visual editor toolbar. We will be covering the buttons available in a basic installation of WordPress.
We’ll continue this series by looking at each of the buttons and their functions individually.
Let’s get this thing going!
September 7, 2009 Leave a Comment
A few months back, when I re-branded my business as WP Mama, I had every intention of posting lots of tips, tricks and answers to questions on this site. Life has a way of throwing things in my path, though, and I’ve not yet started to write. I’ve been busy, though, even if I don’t have much solid evidence as proof. I think, though, that it’s about time I start putting some of what I spend my time on into something a bit more tangible than a million trial and error attempts at WordPress Nirvana. My work is never documented except in my ever growing number of half filled note pads(Yes, I do use real paper, made from trees.) It’s about time I change my ways and start writing it up!
This week my energy is focused on finding the best way to use WordPress MU (Multi-User) to build Multiple Author, content focused sites with social and community components built in, but not as the primary focus. I’ve periodically glanced at the MU version of WordPress over the years and I always found it lacking in one regard or another. I was pleasantly surprised to find, now, that MU encompasses all that makes WordPress the incredibly extensible Content Management System that it is with the added benefit of being capable of running multiple sites and even multiple domains from a single back-end. WordPress MU no longer feels like the younger sibling that get’s features added second hand. With the news that MU and WordPress would be merged together at some, as yet undisclosed date, it seemed like a good idea to get a feel for how I might be able to start moving some sites to a scalable system that will give them room to grow and flexibility to choose their own structure.
Next I’ll be looking at BuddyPress, what I think is great, what I think needs work, and what I plan to contribute
