Monthly Archives: January 2009

How To Be a Guest Blogger

Posted on by
1

You can be a guest blogger as well as have guest bloggers. This is a really good post from one of the super blogging experts, Problogger. He is via a guest blogger talking about guest blogging, showing you some great guidelines for having guest bloggers.

I was a guest blogger for an entire week on the Baby Boomer Knowledge Center. It was a great opportunity and got me loads of traffic.  It contained podcasts of interviews I did with several great baby boomers. Hence, I decided to keep it going and set up a blog with the name of the post called, Baby Boomers Bustin Loose. I am about to post another interview up there today.

Of course, my strategy is to have more guest bloggers on this site as well as our other sites like my hubby’s, Midlife Guitar, Points for Presenters, Rosies Boomer Review, and a few more later. Oh, almost forgot, if you are an early childhood educator I am looking for guest posts with activity guides for Crumbsnatcher.

 So if you are interested and have meaty content, (or vitamin filled veggies) email me at bloggingbettyboomer@gmail.com.

So check out the excellent post right now!

Can You Upload Audio and Video To a WordPress.com Blog?

Posted on by
8

Can you add audio/video to a WordPress.com blog?

I am glad you asked. YES and NO
As you know I am a fan of WordPress.com sites for community groups and blog beginners. However, let’s not forget that “hosted” blog platform does not punch as much power as a “self-hosted solution like WordPress.org. But allow me to answer the question that I presented.

The NO Answer

YOU cannot upload audio and video without paying for an upgrade.

WordPress.com provides 3000mgs (3Ggigs) of space. That means you can upload pdf’s, powerpoints, documents, jpg, jpeg, png, gif’s (for images) without payment, absolutely free.

The YES answer

If you want to add 5 gigs to your existing 3mgs of space you need to purchase that space at $20 for the year.

If you want to purchase 15 gigs of space it will cost 50 dollars.

If you want to add 20 mgs gigs of space it will cost you 90 dollars.

Then, and only then, will you be able to upload the following files:

mp3, m4a, ogg, wav) and videos (avi, mp4, mpg, mov, wmv).

You can pay for your upgrade only by using PayPal.

In Additon

You can go to Youtube , for example, and copy the URL option. Then go to the Media button and add the url to the post. However, it will only give you a link that when you click will take you directly to the Youtube site away from your own site.

Or

Here is a little trick

Go to your PROFILE page and click on the option to disable the visual editor. Then you can embed the code for the video to play directly on the site.

Go and try it.

Hope this helps. I enjoy my WordPress.com and WordPress.org blogs. I think that the upgrades are reasonable and a great option.  However, by the time you need  the additional functions many of you might be ready to transfer to  WordPress.org and find good hosts that will provide the space and bandwidth to maintain your blog’s needs.

10 Ways To Add More POWER To Your WordPress Blog-Intermediate to Advanced

Posted on by
3

Do you want to go beyond basic blogging and add more power to your blogging? If yes, ruffle those boomer feathers and get ready to learn.

Smash Magazine has written an excellent article called !0 WordPress Hacks. Now, because we have been hacked recently I am so uncomfortable with that word. So I changed the title of this post.

However, read the excellent article that has great graphics. But I do warn you that you need to spend more time than usual if you are not “code focused.”  But whatever you do DON’T SHUT DOWN.  Hang in there , read and ask questions.  But this article is a must read and absorb.
Add more power to your wordpress blog now!

What Does Obama’s Inauguration Have In Common With First Time Bloggers?

Posted on by
2

Today is the first day that Obama will be president of the United States.  He has never, ever done this before. Have you thought about blogging but decided that it was not the opportunity you wanted to pursue?

As I chatted with my husband today I reflected on my first time doing something I was challenged by doing. I mean it took a real mental resolve to learn how to blog and then keep learning.  Did it involve change? Yes! Did it involve time? Yes! Did it involve persistence to go beyond my fears, anxieties and the “but what if I make a mistake” feelings. YES

Yet, like Obama, when faced with the new challenges ahead for all still thinking about or still struggling with blogging, we need to take our experience and expertise as baby boomers to the table and START.

I have been blogging for a while now and with 10 blogs between hubby and I, there is still so much to learn. Whenever, we coach new folks who, sometimes, come kicking and fussing to the computer, it is rewarding to see them evolve, emerge and even empower others.

We are personally looking at some challenges. Ray, is teaching a particular Art medium class he has never taught before. I am jumping into internet marketing areas of learning I have never experienced before.  But I recall the first time I wrote a blog post, the first time I got a comment, and the first time I made a mistake and recovered from it.

Remember, you are not alone. Remember that there change is part of growth. Remember that nothing happens unless we START.

How I Got 30 Comments In 10 Minutes

Posted on by
6

I got 30 comments in only 10 minutes. How? It was real simple and you can do it too-BUT I HOPE YOU DON’T.!

After my husband and I upgraded 9 of our sites to Version 2.7 we forgot, in the heat of upgrade passion, to ACTIVATE one of our plugins. Namely, Akismet. You know the one behind the scenes catching all that funky spam.

So when I got all those comment notifications in my email, of course I was delighted. But all of them were spam. Boo hoo. So, after a bulk deletion, all the spam was gone. And I made sure that I activated that wonderful Akismet plug in.

So don’t you make the same mistake.

How We Upgraded 9 WordPress Sites But Crashed One

Posted on by
Reply

Baby Boomer hubby and I upgraded nine sites yesterday but crased one. How? We used two separate, but effective methods. One method was using two great plug-ins.

WordPress Database Backup Plugin

This is an excellent, uncomplicated,on-demand backup of your WordPress database. Navigate to Manage ? Backup to get started. By Austin Matzko.

WordPress Automatic Upgrade Plugin

This plugin allows a user to automatically upgrade the wordpress installation to the
latest one provided by wordpress.org using the 5 steps provided in the wordpress upgrade instructions.
Go to WordPress Automatic Upgrade to upgrade your installation Thanks to Ronald Huereca for making the plugin run in automatic mode. By Keith Dsouza.

Bluehost Support

We also used something called Simple Scripts on one of our hosts, Bluehost.   All of our site were installed using Fantastico but we converted to simple scripts because it was current with version 2.7.

It was really easy to convert and then upgrade to version 2.7. But how did we crash one of our sites?

Well it was easy. We neglected to deactivate one of the plugins. In this case, it was the Podpress plugin. One of my hubby’s site’s Crumbsnatcher.com just showed strange, I mean really strange error codes when we tried to go to the site.

Well, rather than panic, cry or take a pill we decided to call Bluehost.   The delivered support at it’s finest. They analyzed the situation and explained what happened. The also corrected it for us. How cool. Now it is true that most hosts don’t support WordPress but Bluehost gives a lot of handholding to help you find the solution.

Of course the other reason I like them is because I can call then if I am at this computer at strange hours.

So, We only have one additional site to upgrade. I saved it , just in case, I wanted to demonstrate how we used Simple Scripts on Bluehost.

Meanwhile, be sure to visit The Word Press Wizard because she did a simply outstanding teleseminar on how to upgrade your site. She reminded us of the things to do to insure our themes, widgets and plugins survive the process.

So happy upgrading!

RSS is Spam Free

Posted on by
1

RSS is your own channel. It enhances your relationship with  a client. As your stuff gets updated your client;s stuff gets updated instantly!  I am listening to a FREE online tutorial on Podcasts by the great folks at Baby Boomer Audio.

RSS increases your visibility. Here is a great definition of Podcasts by ABC News.

What Is RSS?

Depending on who you ask, RSS stands for either “Rich Site Summary” or “Really Simple Syndication.” But no matter what it’s called, RSS is a new way to publish information online.

At the heart of the technology is special Web coding, called XML, that has been widely developed by the global online community over the past few years.

The XML code for RSS describes a new type of Web information called a “news feed.” Essentially, the feeds can contain a summary and links of the new content on a Web site or anything else a creator desires to share. A company may publish an RSS feed that contains news of its latest products, for example.

Anyone — an online surfer or another Web site — can pick up the RSS codes and with the appropriate Web software display the information automatically.

The concept is similar to how a newswire service operates: Information published by one news organization can be “syndicated” — picked up and displayed — by any other news organization.

So, the instructor during this 90 min call takes you step by step doing and producing a podcast with this easy audio service.  Honestly, the service is called Audio Acrobat but my affiliate to it is  Baby Boomer Audio.

The instructor also mentions that Google is very sensitive to RSS feeds. He also reviews some critical SEO (Search Engine Optimization) points related to RSS feeds.  You know, great stuff on keywords, etc.

Now, I have heard this training before but today I am listening to refresh and motivate me.

Launching New Podcast Series

I am launching a new podcast series called “Baby Boomers Bustin Loose”

So this comprehensive yet simple training session is just what the doctor ordered. I have so many questions

I didn’t have before.

So, if you get a chance go on over and give Baby Boomer Audio a try.

And yes if you click subscribe to the 30 day free trial and like and sign up for the service I get a commission. But I can honestly tell you that even if you only stay on for the trial you will gain such great value PLUS the free training.