Month: December 2008

WPTavern – Where The Drinks Are Always On The House

Just the other day, I mentioned that I had a decision to make regarding an opportunity for me to purchase a domain centered around WordPress and start up my own project. It’s funny because I didn’t think I would see such an amazing amount of support thrown my way but that is exactly what happened. After reading through the comments on that post, discussing the project with certain people via email and Skype, I have decided to bite the bullet and purchased the domain WPTavern.com as well as WordPressTavern.com from Kyle Eslick of WPHacks.com.

I love the sound of the domain as it’s centered around WordPress and it should be common knowledge that the word Tavern has a social nature to it. If any of you have read my About Page, you’ll know that there are two things that I want in life as it pertains to the web. To foster a community and to be successful. I think with my own project such as WPTavern, I can accomplish both of those goals at one time.

My initial thoughts on what WPTavern will be is a website that covers all things WordPress and related projects. I want WPTavern to be the gathering place for everyone in the WordPress community. I’ll be covering BuddyPress, WPMU, WordPress.com, Akismet, WordPress.org, BBPress, and anything else WordPress related. As for the forum, I’ve been thinking long and hard about which forum software to use and even though Vbulletin or PHPBB might be better for the job, since I’ll be writing about BBPress it would make sense for me to use BBPress. I won’t be opening up the site itself to user registrations, I’ll be keeping that tied to the forum.

As for the design. I want to mimic the Problogger look and feel. I want a front page which looks more like a portal for example, Problogger.net where each block has an excerpt, number of comments and permalink. Each block will be for a different category although I don’t want to place every category on this page as I want to leave room for advertising and recent comments. I also want my navigation at the top and one of the links should be ‘BLOG‘ which will take the visitor to the actual blog where I’ll be publishing full posts. If I could, I would just take everything Problogger has for a design and use that as my base. Just change things around to give it a unique look for WPTavern. If anyone can help me nail down a theme or figure out how to accomplish this look and feel, I’m all ears.

In terms of the type of content I’ll be producing for the site, it’ll be podcasts, special interviews, text based content, screencasts, breaking news if I got it, reviews, and anything else I can conjure up. In order for this to work, I’m going to have to bust my ass and produce every type of content imaginable. That ought to be fun! There is no telling how many posts I’ll be publishing a day. It could be one, it could be ten. The point is, I want to be the go to source for all sorts of news dealing with the world of WordPress.

Now I realize that perhaps there isn’t a need for another WordPress centric site/forum and that the news I publish on the site can be easily obtainable if you were to simply subscribe to the RSS feeds of each site. However, a small part of me thinks that people enjoy having all of that information filtered and presented for them in one place. Again, why bother when there is Planet WordPress or Ozh’s version of Planet WordPress? The only answer I can come up with is that, the text would contain my personality and the content would be created and established by me.

With all that said, I have the domain in my possession and I’ll be adding it to my hosting account in the next few hours. I now need to take things one step at a time and with each sign of progression, I’ll keep you updated.

The Day Zunes Stood Still

Paying attention to my Twitter feed, I noticed a story on Gizmodo which showcased a number of 30 GB hard drive Zunes were freezing for no reason. Upon looking at my own, I noticed that mine froze as well. Here is a video for proof!

I’m currently in the middle of trying to perform a hard reset but it is not working.

*UPDATE*
After unplugging my Zune to let the battery die, I plugged it back in to recharge. This seems to have solved the issue.

I Have A Decision To Make

I’ve been thinking about something the past few days and I’m not sure if I am going to pull the trigger or not. I make a decent amount of income by producing content for others but it’s generally confined to writing about Blogging. Writing about Blogging and watching the space from a distance is fun at times but doing it all the time is not. My passion does not revolve around blogging, it revolves around WordPress. I can write about WordPress and related projects all day long, something I can’t do with other topics. The problem though is that, I can’t write purely about WordPress and make a decent level of income and it’s not fair if I write specifically about WordPress but across multiple sites.

There happens to be a pretty cool domain name that is available in WPTavern.com. I love the sound of that domain name. Taverns in the U.S. provide a somewhat social atmosphere and in this case, social about WordPress. I envision a forum being attached to the site as I write countless numbers of articles throughout the week on the domain. I seem to have a knack for reporting on WordPress and related items so I’m wondering, do I have what it takes to do things on my own. WPTavern would be my project, my chance to foster a community, and would allow me to pursue my passion in writing about WordPress all day long.

While it all sounds good to me on paper, I have to wonder if doing something like this would be smart for me to do at this current time. If I drop other sites I write for to put all of my concentration and effort into WPTavern, will I be able to develop a loyal fanbase/following in less than one year to the point where the site makes as much money as writing for others. Other things I have to consider is the existence of WPCandy, WPHacks, of course WeblogToolsCollection.com, would I be able to produce content that is on par with those and other WordPress centric sites? I have a competitive nature inside of me but one thing I have learned while writing for Performancing is to not view sites in the same niche as enemies but rather, collaborators. It’s better to link and build relationships with those who are in the same niche as you rather than burning bridges.

I also have to consider that I cut myself down from work to do weekends only as that provides more time for me to do freelancing. I figure that if I were to cut out 3 of my paid writing gigs, that would slice a good chunk of pay from my monthly income.

I have 7 days to make a decision on whether or not I will purchase the domain and go through with the project. I’m just sitting here wondering if I’ve made a deep enough impact to where I can do things on my own, if I have developed any sort of loyal following which would serve as a great base to start from, if I have what it takes to rise above the noise, if I can provide any points of difference regarding coverage of WordPress and related projects, or if I should just continue doing what I’m doing and let Lorelle handle everything as she is the GO TO person as it relates to anything WordPress.org or WordPress.com.

Hmm, and the clock starts ticking!

Podango Might Fold Is Talkshoe Next?

Podango LogoPodcastingNews.com has has a report out regarding the recent announcement made my Podango regarding their future. Based on the announcement, things don’t look very good for the company:

We at Podango believe that you, our customers, are our most valuable asset. Given this belief, we have always done our best to be honest and forthright in our dealings with you. The current uncertainties of the financial market has affected many of us in this nation. As of this morning, Podango is no longer immune to it’s effects. Our ability to continue operations past the end of this year (2008) is in question. We do not want any of you, or any of your shows to be negatively affected by this uncertainty and so we are encouraging you to begin taking all necessary steps to secure your data or begin moving to another hosting provider. On Monday we will have a more definitive direction. As of today, the last day to move or secure your data is December 31st. RSS feeds will need to be redirected by this date as well. It is our hope that the events of the next few days will allow us to continue providing you a service based upon a subscription fee. Again, we will know more on Monday and you will be notified of any changes to the above plan as soon as we are made aware of them.

We will have a link in the My Podango section of the Podcasters login page by Monday which will allow you to redirect your RSS feed off of the Podango feed to a new feed. Instructions will accompany that tool. Also on Monday we will provide you with alternatives for show hosting.

Inactive accounts, those without recent uploads or downloads, may be already been deleted from the system. If you need to contact us, please use info@podango.com.

Again I personally apologize for this notice of caution. We truly appreciate your business.

With Podango possibly going down the tubes, I am now wondering how well Talkshoe.com is doing. I host two podcasts through Talkshoe.com, one called Perfcast which deals with all things blogging and the other, WordPress Weekly which is a WordPress centric podcast.

At this point, I pretty much have a vested interest in Talkshoe.com surviving. There are many things which can be improved upon within Talkshoe but overall, I’ve been very happy using the service for my podcasting needs. My worry is, Talkshoe.com does not offer any type of (PRO) account or package. In terms of monetizing, I know they have a few Google ads on the Talkshoe site and you can also pay to be featured on the front page but that is about it. I also know based on what a representative of Talkshoe told me, they make money whenever someone calls into the site.

I’d hate to see Talkshoe fall from the wayside and honestly, I’m willing to shell out some cash to continue using Talkshoe if the opportunity pops up. I hope that Dave Nelson who is the CEO of Talkshoe takes this opportunity depending on the final outcome of Podango to come out and make an announcement regarding the future of Talkshoe and put the minds of its users at ease. Hell, it would also be a nice time for Dave to capitalize on the fall of Podango to see if he can’t reel in some users from that service to Talkshoe.

Simple Yet Overlooked Speed Cam Prank

I had one of those “Duh, why didn’t I think of that” moments this morning when I read a news story about how some teenagers have found out how to spoof license plates of their enemies and for performing pranks overall. So how does the prank work?

students duplicate the license plates by printing plate numbers on glossy photo paper, using fonts that are similar to those on Maryland license plates. They then run by a speed camera, so that those they feel have “wronged them” receive a citation in the mail.

I know speed cameras were not a welcomed edition to busy streets in and around Cleveland, Ohio but I can’t believe this prank is that easy to do. However, as was noted at the bottom of the article, someone with the technical know how created a Google Earth KML file mapping out the speed cams. Using technology to fight technology!

All Ready For The New Year

Just wanted to take a moment to update everyone regarding some changes I’ve made to the site. For starters, I’m almost finished with managing my sidebars. I’ve been assigning widgets to specific areas of the site where I think it makes sense to display them. Speaking of sidebars and widgets, you should be able to see the Jeffro2pt0 poll back on the front page. I’ve also added my link blog which is nothing more than a list of shared items from my feed reader. Last but not least, I’ve added a text widget on the about page which allows me to cut the length of the page in half.

As for the About Jeffro2pt0 and WordPress Weekly pages, I have gone through and updated them with relevant information. For the WordPress Weekly page, I have included special notes regarding where to find show notes for episodes 1-22 and 23-current. This was mentioned by Andrew Rickmann and so I’ve included directions on how to obtain those show notes. As for the About Page, I’ve revamped it keeping most of the history in tact while adding personal information to the sidebar. At the bottom of the about page, I’ve included a list of sites and podcasts for which I am working with or for. I’ll be updating the page as necessary to keep everyone up to date.

Last but not least, I’ve fixed the styling issues for the Page-Navi plugin. When you update Lester’s Page-Navi plugin, the CSS files are overwritten and thus, I lost my changes. Thank goodness for backups. I’ve also changed the header from my favorite forest look to a Winter look as we are now officially in the Winter season.

In Closing:

It’s these types of changes that if left undone for a period of time, end up amounting to a ton of grunt work. It’s usually the easiest, simplest things which are left undone. At any rate, I should be all set to start off the new year fresh on this blog. I have no idea what will happen but I do know that I plan on continuing this journey I’m on. I’ve made some incredible pit stops along the way to what I hope will be a successful career in podcasting/writing. I’ve still got plenty to learn and much to improve upon but that will come in due time. One things for sure, I know that there is a core group of people out there that really support my work and what I do. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your support (even though I’m trying to right now) but it means a lot to me.

With that said, I wish everyone a safe and happy holiday! P.S., I’m 25 years of age now, woot!

Why Am I So Passionate About A Piece Of Software

heartwpI’ve been sitting back in the chair today thinking about the events that have taken place within the past 48 hours. I really bit my tongue before I decided to go through with publishing the post regarding the removal of themes. I checked out the developers IRC channel, I checked out the forum, I looked high and low for an explanation as to what happened and I couldn’t find any. While Thord of the BlogHerald was successful in contacting Matt, I assumed sending an email asking for an explanation was fruitless because I assumed his inbox is swamped with mail, why bother. After confirming that the removal of themes did happen, the only thing I had to go on was Justin Tadlock’s post and David Coveney’s post. That isn’t a lot to go by but because I didn’t see an announcement published on the developers blog, I went with the story as factual after witnessing a number of others reporting that the theme removals did happen.

I don’t want to dwell on the event because it is now a wait and see game with a detailed post by Matt being the only thing that will straighten out this mess. However, I am beginning to wonder if I over reacted? It sounds corny, but I seemingly have a passion for WordPress. The software, the people, the community. Plugin authors, theme authors, those who create patches for bugs, core developers, everything that makes the entire system tick. I want to see everyone that is part of the equation win without any unfair treatment. Make no bones about it, I support Matt and the rest of the team to the fullest extent but if I come across something I disagree with, I’ll make it known.

I feel odd that I’ve entrenched myself in this situation. I believe emotions got the better part of me last night when I wrote the post. I’m not a theme author nor am I a plugin developer yet, I still find a way to get involved with the issues surrounding each topic. I try not to be the one to always bitch and moan. Instead, I try to lend constructive criticism when I can. I’ve always described myself as no expert but simply an end user.

The basis of this post was to try and get my thoughts down on paper to figure out why something that happened with a piece of software ignited an emotional trigger. I wonder if I am too involved with the project, with the people. Do I need to back away? Can one be too passionate about something that it causes one to act and think irrationally? What the hell is wrong with me?

To Think That

Damn Gray Cable

I sit here in my room, otherwise known as my office staring at my computer monitors. That cat 5 network cable which extends from the back of my desktop machine travels along the wall and eventually finds itself connected to a device known as a router. Just inches away from the router is the modem. From there, I gain access to just about the entire world. All I need to do is type in a few words into a search engine or into the address bar in the browser of my choice and browse the enormous amount of information that is just waiting to be consumed. In mere seconds I can share photos, videos, and audio from my neck of the woods that others may never experience. I am somebody on this big blue ball known as Earth.

However, if I unplug that gray cable from the back of my computer, I lose access to the entire world. I become a nobody. Sure, I have a cell phone in which I can call people, but the feeling of being disconnected is simply too much. The feeling of living life at the pace of a snail sinks in and becomes unbearable. I read a book to make my mind feel at ease but it’s useless. As I read the book, I wonder what tweets I have missed, what’s in my inbox, the struggles of what it will be like to regain my momentum and catch up. I go for a walk to enjoy life but it’s not enjoyable because I am not connected. I grab the latest issue of Wired Magazine which has been sitting on my dresser ever since it arrived and begin to read it. After reading the first few pages, I realize that all of this information is old and has probably been published to the Wired website a month before I received the magazine.

I once again take a seat in my chair and stare at the computer monitors and think about what having that cable connected to my computer has enabled me to achieve in life. That cable has provided career opportunities, lasting friendships, endless hours of entertainment, and the ability to live life in more than one place in near real-time. The data traveling through this gray cable has provided a means of life for me. It’s become a huge part of who I am, what I do, and what I will be. After relishing the top down perspective of the cable and what its meant to me, I plug it back in and get back to work.