Site Updates

Ajax Edit Comments 1.1.1.0 Released

Reader Appreciation LogoRonald Huereca has released a new version of his plugin, Ajax Edit Comments, which gives users and guests the ability to edit their comments similar to the way that comments can be edited on Digg.com The latest version includes a couple of bug fixes, most notably dealing with UTF-8 encoding.

The following issues were addressed in this release:

  1. Admin were able to edit, but non-admin couldn’t. This was caused by the timer offset in the WordPress admin panel.
  2. MySQL errors resulted in the comment unable to save. This was caused my blogs and MySQL database not in UTF-8.
  3. Some characters were being screwed up when saving to the WordPress database. This issue was caused by non-UTF-8 back-ends.
  4. The blog would be inoperable in Internet Explorer due to multiple session headings being called.
  5. Random loading comment failure on WP 2.2.2 installs.

The issues (with the exception of issue number 4) can occur on a case-by-case basis depending on blog configuration and character set.

Be sure to visit The Readers Appreciation Website to pick up the updated version or to grab it for the first time.

Email Subscription Now Available

Email Subscription Options PageI’ve been meaning to do this for awhile but time hasn’t been on my side. As of now, you can now subscribe to this blog/site by way of email. I realize that not everyone uses a web based feed reader or a stand alone feed reader, so I have given those readers the chance to subscribe via email. Using FeedBurner, I was able to make the HTML based emails look pretty similar to how the articles look on this site.

Emails will be sent out everyday between the hours of 11PM and 1AM. If you would like to subscribe to this site via email, click on this button Subscribe Via Email Button or alternatively, you can Click This Link To Subcribe. Those of you who do subscribe, please provide me with some feedback to let me know, how it works out for you.

Web 2.0 – Real World Photography Contest

Jeffro2pt0 Web 2.0 Photo Contest Logo

I’d like to take this opportunity to tell you about a contest that will be starting on August 1st and ending on September 30th. I’d love to see if anything dealing with Web 2.0 exists in the real world which is why this is a Web 2.0 photography contest. The idea is simple. Take a photo of anything that resembles Web 2.0. This could be objects with rounded corners, pastel colors, unique billboard advertisements, architecture, perhaps a product name with the word BETA next to it. Anything that you think you would see in the world of Web 2.0. At the end of the month, I will go through all of the entries to judge which one best represents Web 2.0 and the winner will receive a free Flickr Pro Account which will be good for one year.

In order to submit your entries, please visit Jeffro2pt0 the official Flickr Group for this contest and join the group. Entries submitted in any other way will be discarded.

Here is the low down concerning the contest, also known as rules:

  1. 2 Entries Per Group Member
  2. No Photoshopped Images
  3. Do not use multiple Flickr accounts
  4. Nothing Pornographic or Violent In Nature

I reserve the right to determine whether an image is a rule breaker or not and these rules could be updated or changed at any time prior to the contest completion date. Have fun, and lets see how creative you people are!

Poll Results Regarding Pownce

Earlier in the month of July, I asked visitors the question if, Pownce will ever triumph over the competition? After allowing the poll to be published for 30 days, here are the results.

  • 17 of you voted NO,
  • 9 of you voted MAYBE
  • while only 6 of you voted YES.

Granted this poll was created in the beginning of the month before the announcement of Pownce releasing a public API in September.

I personally think because of the type of financial backing in combination with the people who are directly involved with the service, it will be quite awhile before Pownce disappears off of the radar. I honestly don’t use Pownce as much as I use Twitter simply because I can’t tie my Twitter updates into Pownce.

It will be interesting to see what comes out of the woodwork in terms of Pownce related plugins/mashups due to the API being released. Perhaps someone will develop a way for me to Pownce through Twitter.

On a side note, please vote on my new poll question which is: Should I Produce A Podcast For This Site? I am seriously thinking of starting up a show on Talkshoe but I’d like to know if there is an audience who would be willing to participate in the show. I have a vague idea as to what I would like to accomplish with the show, so please cast your vote and let me know.

Pardon My Dust

Blog Construction
I have spent the past 24 hours redesigning this site. I wasn’t too happy with the top half of the site as well as the sidebar. I also wanted to change the sites appearance as I am going to start blogging about more subjects rather than strictly adhering to Web 2.0. As I become more involved in the blogosphere, I am generating new opinions and knowledge that I want to share. I also wanted to give the blog a personal look and apply a personal feel.

It was a painstakingly long process, filled with problems. At times, the site looked like a complete mess which was viewable to anyone who visited the site. Instead of doing all of the changes locally, I decided to make live edits, something I discourage anyone from doing if you want to keep traffic flowing to your site. I’m still messing around with a few different design elements but for the most part, the redesign is finished.

Let me know what you think!

Digg Like Comment Editor For WordPress

http://www.raproject.com/wordpress/wp-ajax-edit-comments/How many times have you published a comment, realizing just a few seconds later that you misspelled something, or your URL was incorrect. Usually, you would have to create another comment which would dismiss the previous comment.

Ronald Huereca of the Reader Appreciation Project has released a WordPress plugin which gives administrators and regular users the ability to edit their own comments within a given time frame. The plugin pretty much works in the same way that the Digg commenting system works.

The plugin uses Ajax so the entire page never needs to reload. Once a comment is published, a timer starts to count down the remaining time available to edit the comment. Once the timer reaches zero, only the administrator can edit the comment. Users can also edit their email address, or their URL by clicking on the text that needs to be edited. This will open the comment editor window allowing you to make the necessary changes.

Plugin Features

  • Utilizes the jQuery library.
  • Comment editing times out after 15 seconds.
  • Better error handling.
  • Graceful deletion for compatible themes.
  • A hook for other plugin authors to tap into.
  • Compatible with many plugins, including Akismet, WP Cache, Better Comments Manager, WP Grins, TinyMCEComments, and many more.

I have installed this plugin on this blog so now you’ll be able to edit your own comments. We need every WordPress blogger to install this plugin, or something similar so that users can edit their comments. Why this functionality is missing from WordPress by default is beyond me, but the solution provided above works out very nicely. Please visit The Reader Appreciation Project and grab your copy today and install it as soon as possible so people can edit their own comments.

Special thanks to the guys who host the WordPress Podcast for tipping me off on this plugin.

What Is The Purpose Of This Site?

Web 2.0 is the biggest thing on the web right now. Sites and services are being created and launched every day of the week. Many people still don’t have a clue as to what Web 2.0 actually is not to mention what the purpose is behind most of the Web 2.0 sites and services that exist on the web today. Quite often, the ABOUT PAGE is simply not enough. That is why I have decided to become the guinea pig of Web 2.0.

I will throw myself into each and every Web 2.0 service that I can find and provide a detailed review of what the service is, what the site or service does, and the benefits and drawbacks to using the particular site or service. Many people simply don’t have the time to invest in all of these different sites and services which is where jeffro2pt0.com steps in.

Asides from doing in-depth reviews, jeffro2pt0.com will also be covering Web 2.0 in general including news, applications that tie into web services, web 2.0 education and much more.

My goal, is to provide the ins and outs of every web 2.0 site/service I can register an account with so you don’t have to.