I redesigned the Tech Writer Voices site with the Leia theme. I like how it looks, even though I think the code in the Leia theme isn't the easiest to work with. Mark Ghosh, who recently mentioned my site on Weblog Tools Collection (thanks Mark), describes the Leia theme as follows: Well put together, two column, striking, well structured, featureful theme for Wordpress. Very goth (?) undertones and very cool and different look and feel....
If you missed my presentation today, here it is online: presentation home. Also relevant are some posts I published last week. Read my posts on themes and plugins. If you don't have time to read those posts, at least check out my theme viewer and plugins used page. And don't forget the post that increased my readership from 80 subscribers to 250: Twenty Usability Tips for your Blog: Condensed from Dozens of Blogger's Experiences. Where ar...
While we were eating Thai food last night in Vancouver, one of my technical writing buddies asked where I'm going. He always seems to ask me this, like when you look at a menu and ask, what are you ordering? But more philosophical. It's an open-ended question that provokes thought. I'm young with an open road ahead of me. Since I finished my presentation today at the Doc Train conference, I returned to my hotel room (see my panoramic hote...
Using Blogs as CMS Set up parent and child pages Call list subpages function in sidebar Use posts more than pages Define user roles Building Subscribers Write interesting posts Link to highly-read blogs Comment on other blogs Add blog to e-mail signature Generating Frequent Content Stay engaged Keep posts short Most Common Reservations Time What to say Fear of the unknown Confusion about setup Not convinced of returns
WordPress.com vs. WordPress.org Installing WordPress Logging in Finding WordPress Tutorials Writing Posts and Pages Visual editor and code editor Editing Posts and Pages Creating Categories Enabling Permalinks Adding Users Allowing Comments Activating Plugins Writing Posts and Pages Switching Themes Folder Structure Finding Theme Files Changing Title and Tagline Searching WordPress Codex and Forum Recommended Resource: http://codex.word...
Is WordPress a Web Content Management System? Yes, WordPress is a content management system. It contains many of the features that common content management systems have (see this Wikipedia entry for a description of content management systems). Collaborative authoring. Multiple users can publish information to the same site. Users can own specific pages that they have editing rights to. Users can log into the site from any Internet brows...
You can use WordPress for much more than just a personal blog. The following sites show the variety of WordPress implementations: Chapter site: Suncoast STC | STC Alaska Special Interest Site (SIG): Hyperviews Competition Information: FTCC News: NY Times Store: Moo [printing] Hypertext book: GAM3R 7H3ORY Travel Guide: 71miles Online Magazine: XXL Magazine and Cebu Living. Budget: Mo.neytrack.in Company site: http://www.obuweb.com/ | http...
Geological Stratum Blogological Stratum
Speaker: Tom Johnson Time: 1:30PM - 2:30PM 20 April 2007 Track: Content Development This session is designed for both beginning and experienced bloggers. While the principles of blog usability are independent of the platform, this session focuses on WordPress, due to its popularity and flexibility. This session will be useful to people using blogs for chapter sites, personal sites, magazine sites, company sites, corporate blogs, and other...
Below are some usability tips for your blog. This was by far my most popular post, so you can flip through each tip by clicking the numbers below, or read the expanded version of the post here. 1. Pick a topic for your blog. 2. Encourage comments. 3. Make it easy to subscribe. 4. Include an About page. 5. Present your ideas visually. 6. Keep posts short and to the point. 7. Use subheadings for long posts. 8. L...
In the latest episode of This American Life, the show explores how glamorous jobs really turn out to be boring. It's one of the best audio podcasts/shows I've ever heard, and fits right in with some of my previous posts on Is Technical Writing Boring? The episode has several profiles of people in desirable careers, such as astronaut, actor, and cartographer. In the first segment, the host explains that most astronauts never see space; in...
WordPress plugins are scripts you install to extend the functionality of your WordPress blog. For example, one common plugin is Subscribe to Comments. When added, it allows readers to keep track of responses to their comments. When someone responds to a reader's comment, the reader receives an e-mail. WordPress doesn't ship with this feature already included — you must install it via a plugin.
I'll be attending and presenting at the Doc Train Conference in Vancouver, B.C. this Tuesday. Let me know if I'll see you there. I'm hoping to do a lot of blogging and podcasting from the conference, so keep your eyes on this blog and the Tech Writer Voices podcast.
I created a theme viewer here: www.idratherbewriting.com/themes. Most of the themes are attractive and well-designed. You navigate the theme viewer by clicking the links in the Themes section of the sidebar. Each theme wraps its own formatting around the same posts. To download a theme's files, see the instructions on the first post on the theme viewer site. Enjoy the themes—they were created by more than a dozen different designers. Let ...
I recently received an e-mail from someone who wrote, 'I liked your blog extremely and was wondering if you customise one for me with the same theme and layout.' Readers often don't realize that most WordPress blogs are free themes that you can apply in a few minutes. This post offers a little crash course on WordPress themes.
