Anybody that manages a tricked out WordPress site, or any WP site for that matter, has undoubtedly longed for a way to bulk upgrade their multiple plugins. With 2.9 that functionality is finally here.
Figuring out how to do it wasn't as intuitive as I would have thought. So I'm sharing the simple but not so obvious steps here:
1. you see you have multiple plugins with updates available
You would figure you should be able to upgrade all of the plugins with available updates from the Plugin area
2. but it is done in Tools. Select Upgrade.
That brings you to where the bulk upgrade functionality has been added.
Cool. This currently available, soon to be out of beta testing, application for your Blackberry will allow you to manage your WordPress powered site from the trenches. Obviously you wouldn't use your two by two inch phone screen, and probably a slow data connection to boot, for major edits and anything visually demanding. But I could see how this could be very useful.
Let's say you need to adjust a quoted price or a stated date on the fly. Someone calls you about an embarrassing typo that just can not wait for you to get back behind your PC (or Mac, sorry). You're a lawyer, a reporter or anyone with a blog and you got something to break to the world, you can publish a post NOW, not when it's already last hour's news. Instead of capturing that golden Twitter picture which lands you your five minutes of fame, publish that picture and a quick post on your blog. Link that to your Twitter, drive a ton of traffic to your WordPress powered site, get your six minutes of fame and hopefully some new subscribers.
For my clients, and potential clients, this app obviously delivers the same benefits as stated above. I can enable your WP powered site to work with the app and either walk you through the installation of the app on your phone or do it for you. The "arrival" of this app also means I am further empowered to be there for you.
P.S. There's also a more mature, and admittedly, a probably more capable, version for your iPhone. I just haven't made the switch yet. For the roll up your sleeves clients with iPhones, I would gladly help you get started on your device as well.
I finally got an invite to try Google Wave (thanks to Stephanie) which is still in beta mode. Now that I'm "in," I have eight invites to pass out myself. If anyone out there is still trying to get an invite to try it out, please contact me. I will give my invites away, first come first serve. Please leave a comment below or use my contact form.
11/20/2009 Arlington, VA
O.K., I've always been open for business. "No" is not in my vocabulary. I guess it's somewhat of a good thing to be too busy to create your own site. However, it was time to put up a legitimate and professional offering of my services. I'm a perfectionist and as such, could tweak this Mondrian (I'm half Dutch) style creation to death. With this announcement, I'm pulling the trigger and hanging the "Open" sign is in the window. I can now focus my energy on my clients.
All this time on social media (a.k.a. hanging out on Facebook) has paid off. I'm not claiming to be an expert in the field, but staying on top of where people are hanging out online is my passion. I enjoy bridging the technological gap between each of the various distinct networks where people gather to create a stronger brand message. Until now that message has been my own.
Well someone once stated something to the effect that, "your value is really the value you bring to someone else". Now I'm gladly extending my web design and corporate blog development service to the masses – one client at a time, of course. This blog will cover various aspects of internet marketing, trends, techie stuff, and news. I'll try to share some knowledge too.
WordPress which is the open source software I use as a base for all web content, standard sites and blog integrated sites alike, has such a large and supportive community. I've learned a lot from people all over the world and from a free monthly WordPress Meetup group back in Florida. I intend to start a group in the D.C. area to continue the good stuff, share the knowledge, learn from other egg heads and take back innovative ideas to my customers.
Today I learned that WordPress received the Overall Best Open Source CMS Award in the 2009 Open Source CMS Awards. This probably doesn't mean much to you. However, if you're a prospective client, it means you're going to get a solution that is powered by the best and most supported content management system out there. I invite you to strengthen your brand.
