WordPress Commenting Improves

Now, you can have “conversations” within comments.  We can reply to one another’s comments and have mini-conversations within comments.  I don’t know how it works exactly, but there’s an example here to demonstrate it.  Looks cool!  Let’s try it out!  Whatdaya wanna talk about?

A new WordPress.com theme came out this week, too (theme starts with a “V” I wanna say).  Looks like you can choose a lot of your own colors and features.  I’d try it out, but I just remodeled.  Somebody needs to give the thing a test drive.

Kudos to WordPress

I just made a mistake in commenting on a WordPress blog and then saw a little “e” where I could go back and edit or delete my comment!  I LOVE this WordPress!  Thank you!  They also have some new technology that makes your blog work faster…check under your wordpress dashboard for more info.  I’ve not tried it yet, but look foward to when things slow down for computer maintenance.

WordPress Note

Click on an individual post and look down before the comments, or click comments as if you were commenting and you’ll see it there…Wordpress has installed a new feature: “You Might Also Be Interested In” followed by blog posts you’ve written, as well as blogs outside your blog. 

Go to Design/Extras to turn it off.  I don’t care for it personally as is.  There are times backposts do not relate to where I am today , and I like to only link to edifying blogs.

~Maggie

Design Note

Quick note:  pressing some limits with the new WordPress because I’m such a geek.  We were all maxing out one 3 column blog and I found another and wanted to see if it’s more flexible in tone than the demo.  Love the demo, but want more spring in there, so I’ll probably play with it again soon!  (I really just love changing clothes without having to do laundry!)

So, You Want to Put Your Pic In Your Sidebar?

Well, I put a pic up in my sidebar.  Frankly, I hate it.  I hate looking at my own self when I go to read  my blog.  It’s a little scary to look at myself.  It’s like talking and looking in the mirror at the same time, which I don’t make a habit of doing.

However, many people do not know who is who locally, some are confused, I thought it may help.  Some days, I think I’d rather them not know who is writing, but I’ll try it for a while and see if I grow into it!

I am me, after all…not much hiding from that fact.

If you want to join me in this endeavor of boldness, putting your picture in your sidebar, here’s what you do:

1. Upload a pic of yourself to wordpress in a post like  you are going to post…but, don’t post. 
2. Grab the little sizing handles on your picture in the post , size it down to about the size you think would be about right for the sidebar. 
3. Click the “code” tab there by the “visual” tab.  Copy and paste that line of info (your picture in code) and paste it into a widget text box under “Presentation”. 

There you go!  Any pictures or text you can do this way to add things to your sidebar as well.

Tip:  If you are unsure about the size, open a second wordpress browser window to instal your picture to widget, leaving your pretend post open so that you can play with the sizing/test it on your blog.

I know, I know, that flew over your head and sounds like Greek.  The good news is:  this is a Greek lesson!!!  What a perk, eh?  Tackle it slowly.  Print it off, do each step one at a time, crossing off each step as you go.  Once you learn it, you’ll know how forever!  Have fun! 

Let’s Try This WordPress “Twitter” Thingy Again.

UPDATE:  WordPress community, I had to reset all your roles to author rather than contributor.  It should work now.  Let me know if I still need to add you.

Whatya Doin? community blog: 

1. Log into your Wordpress account (or get one set up). 
2. In your dashboard tray (“E” above) click the little drop down arrow beside “My Dashboards”.  “Whatya doin?”should show there.  Entre via that link.     
3. Blog!  1-3 short sentences/phrases.  A fast moving way to follow people/get to know some/see new resources (books, tools. technology (especially free stuff).   

It’s supposed to look like THIS when we are done. 

UPDATE:  you all are getting it…looks great!  Fun!!!

Behind the Scenes this Morning

Today’s quote by Ben Franklin “The problem with doing nothing is not knowing when you’re finished.” came from a box of Celestial Seasonings tea I picked up at the IGA this morning after dropping the kids off at school.  I wanted to get some ingredients to make two pot pies to deliver to a few friends today who need food.  I don’t know if it’s still on your heart to take food to people who’ve been in the hospital, but it’s so appreciated by folks.  It’s a grace the older generation know and do well, and one we are often too busy to do.  Since I’m home, I figure I can joing that part of hospitality, even though I can’t often have people into my own home due to, you know, health risks from walking across a cluttered carpet floor.  Anyway, I love these quotes on food lately.  Dove chocolate has fun sayings and challenges, too.  (Though, last week I read one that said to “wink at the person driving past you”.  Right.  Like THAT is going to work on any level of thought.  We laughed, though.

The name of this tea with today’s quote is “Tension Tamer”.  Sounded GREAT.  It has some ingredient unknown to me called Eleuthero (okay, so WordPress just linked it for me, I’ll have to read it when I get done typing), apparently recognized by the Chinese to help “restore harmony” to your hectic day.  Any cup of decaf tea helps restore “harmony to my hectic day”, but I’ll be interested to look this herb up. 

It cracks me up to see a tea call “all ingredients natural” when I don’t recognize the ingredients at all.  It grows in nature, so do snakes, for heaven’s sake.  But, hey….I’m drinking out of my new “delight in the everyday” mug by Ali Edwards, designer, that I got myself for Christmas off her website.  In that cup, we are delight with even snakes and dirt and whatever “natural things from nature” may be in our tea.  Just goes back to what Mom used to say, “A little dirt isn’t going to hurt anybody.  It’s fiber.” 

In other news, I’ve been getting a MUSIC e-newsletter the last couple weeks  from Christianity Today.  I’m really enjoying it.  I was getting one from Christianity Today on women for a while, but found myself sighing when it came into my inbox for some reason.  As I went to unsubscribe, I found this one and thought I’d give it a whirl for variety.  It’s good:  concise, informative, personal, to the point, with a lot of added information thrown in for good measure for other age group music, etc.  Just how I like it.

Today, the author said that in the 30 sec ad for the new American Idol series, they chose music for the background of the ad from a relatively obscure Christian music group I’ve been reading about the last fear years on blogs called “Coldplay“.  It is said that they have a fresh sound mimicing the quality of rock stuff in secular music.  I’ll have to give them a listen sometime.  I have a feeling it is not my genre of choice, but I’d still like to know what’s out there.  I agree with the author:   it’s cool that music is being selected for it’s integrity and quality rather than it’s specific genre for high exposure ads like this.   Not every band is geared to do something like that, but this band hit’s a crossover audience more easily perhaps.

I’m going to start a new post to techie tip for email, so stay tuned for that today. 

(Why a second post?  Let me tell you, since you asked.    People people search for things by topic.  If you don’t create a new post and give it a clear title with key words in it, google can’t find it.  If google can’t find you, people can’t find you, and if they don’t make it to your blog, they may never meet Jesus through you.  Get it?…okay, so that was another little techie hint for you bloggers today).

Have a great day!

A New WordPress Tool! (I Like Me Some Tools).

I saw it from the moment the blank form popped up.  “Whoa.  What’s that?  Something is different.  Something is new.  Something…a new icon on my toolbar…what it is, what is it, what does it do?” 

And…I pushed the little blue button. 

All kind of info was flying at me like M&Ms in a chocolate storm…” Mmmm Chocolate!

What’s that?  What were we talking about?  Oh yes!  I got distracted.  I have chocolate needs.

So, here you go:

“Answers.com and WordPress are pleased to provide a unique autolinking feature, AnswerLinks, as one of your WordPress editing tools.

AnswerLinks are a quick and simple way to provide more information for your readers. The tool links certain words to their definitions and explanations from Answers.com. The AnswerLinks tool is accessible straight from your editing toolbar.
After writing your blog post, click the icon to trigger an application that will suggest terms for automatic linking.”

And God heard my cry.

I SO hated that process of inserting helpful linkeage for my beloved readers! 

It doesn’t take much for me to belt out a worthy praise.  But, this is big people!  BIG.  Life changing big.   Time saving big.  BIG.  Embrace the new toolbar icon! 

Okay, so I just tried it after I finished typing, and ironically, it had no linkeage suggestions for THIS very post “at this time”.  Maybe it will want to link back to it’s own website “Answers.com” later?  And, that would require me to come back and edit the post to see if it works, which I’m unlikely to do.  

So, just click the little thingy on your toolbar to get to their site!  We’ll see if it rocks. 

We’ll give the tool a break!  It’s just settling into a new home, and things are, no doubt, a mess.  I don’t blame it for not working “at this time”.  It’s stressed!  I know stress.