Now, I was confronted with having to come up with my own design code. I’ve seen some tricky code before, but this takes the cake! I spent 40 hours trying to hammer out the details over three days, seriously backing me up on my Blogs. When finished I got ready to use the code for a post over here at Blogging Extreme only to be over-ruled by the editor stating that I had spent so much time refining the thing, that I should now place it on the Blog as an E-Book. Man, ……… I’m wasn’t even ready to do that! 20 hours later, here I am. READY; SET; DOWNLOAD!

You can now download from the homepage, the price is $9.95. I’ve run several tests on the coded instructions and they work fine. It does assume that you have some basic experience with GIMP. Once you play around with the coded instructions for a couple of hours, you will see how it easy it is to do whatever you want it to do. I’ve really just laid the ground work, with some improvisation, you should do just fine.  You can really design any type of E-Book with any type of back ground; any size you want.

As for now, the manual does not cover how to design round CD’s or multiple books in one image.  As I have the time, I will update the manual to include these types of images. If you have an hints or tips on the subject, be sure to leave your comments below.  And yes, I did do the image you see on the homepage with these same instructions in the manual. Pretty cool, huh!

Here it is: When editing a “Draft” you have the ability in WordPress to Preview these changes, as you are logged in to the admin area, in the preview you will notice the word “edit” next to the date and your name. When you press this edit to clean up your copy you will open a new tab in firefox or a new browser window in Explorer. Now it only does this one time, however you now have two tabs or two browser windows open for you to edit in. Once you save in one, you will not be able to save in another. The trouble is, when you hit the preview button and after reading your post you decide to edit and hit the edit link, you should be forced to back-up, like hitting the back button on the tool bar of you internet browser, not the ability to open a new tab or new browser window. Man, ………. I seen some bugs, but this is a killer.

After I had work through my copy and realized my problem, I was like four hours doing this post, and I was forced to stay with it, because I was looking at a deadline.

Once you publish your post and you decide to edit that post, you still get this behavior with WordPress. I’m sure there is a work around, I just don’t know it yet. I just wanted to get this info to you as soon as I realized the problem. So, do yourself a huge favor and when you hit the “Preview Changes” button; after you are through editing, just turn off the tab or window!  If you know of a work around, leave a comment and help us out, please. Thanks. See you next week!

When looking to add your URL to your Twitter feed,  it makes sense to drive home the name of the blog instead of a string of numbers along with the fact that the search engines really don’t like Tiny URL’s.  So I came up with this solution that by-passes the Plug-In route, (I need another Plug-In like a hole in the head).  So ……. try this;  the theory is pretty straight forward, first go to your “Dashboard” in the Admin Area of your WordPress Software.  Then go to “Settings” and click on “Permalinks” and go to “Common settings” and click on “Custom Structure”.  Add this code:  /%postname%/ …… now click “Save Changes”.

I usually like to see the whole URL of my post to show,  meaning;  site name, category, post name.  The Permalink “Custom Structure” looks something like this: /%category%/%postname%/  If yours is set-up in a similar fashion you will have to drop out the /%category%/  Of course it does not effect function,  you just won’t see it show up in the URL of your blog.

Now when you add your URL to your Twitter feed,  you no longer have to add:  http://bloggingextreme.com/what-i-did-on-my-summer-vacation

You simply add this:  http://bloggingextreme.com/what

That’s it.  Now,  if you have two posts that start with the word “what”,  WordPress will seek out the earliest post. If that is not the post that you want, you will have to add another word or letter.

Like this:  http://bloggingextreme.com/what-i

Get it ?  Good ! ………. Nuff said !  If this doesn’t work for ya ……. sorry,  I tried !  You’re back to the alphabet soup thing. 

I’ve got an update.  Since I published this post. Allan over at iwoodpecker.com passed along this killer tip to the above.  You can actually go with a numerical system if you want.

Like this: http://bloggingextrme.com/p0001

That way you don’t have to worry about two posts that start with the same word.  Just remember,  to avoid the number showing up in the post title, edit at the perma-link level and don’t forget to place the  “p”  in front of the number.

Thanks Allan!!! Great Tip!

While I’m pretty sure that the codex is a lost cause, I have hope for WordPress TV. Video after all is the going rage these days for the blogger. However, while working with WordPress TV I have noticed some bugs that you should be aware of.

I just can’t put my finger on it. How is it that the WordPress software is bullet proof, but the support is so weak? I just don’t get it. I digress !

One of the cool things about WordPress TV is the ability to actually embed the video inside your post. Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Youtube this ! But WordPress TV is at least a little better in quality than the other video services that allow you to embed. To control traffic to their sites some of the better one’s don’t even let you embed. So to have a good quality video to embed inside your blog about blogging is like kinda cool.

When you reach the video that you want to embed, you will see the word “embed” in the top left of the video. Once you click on the control menu button, you will see a drop down menu that gives you several choices. Unfortunately, those choices don’t include anything that will fit your template more than likely, so you will have to adjust the dimensions in the embedded code.  I’ve provide the code so that you can check out the dimensions change.

<center><embed src=”http://v.wordpress.com/wp-content/plugins/video/flvplayer.swf?ver=1.15″ type=”application/x-shockwave-flash” width=”585” height=”400” allowscriptaccess=”always” allowfullscreen=”true” flashvars=”guid=NBZ853Xn&amp;width=400&amp;height=224&amp;qc_publisherId=p-18-mFEk4J448M” title=”Introducing WordPress 2.9 Carmen”></embed></center>

The “Copy To Clipboard” thing is kinda cranky too, so be patient. It doesn’t always want to copy or paste for that matter.

Here it is for those who need a quick look see:

When you’re done your footer should have the following appearance at the bottom of your blog.

Have at it Kids and Good Luck !

Step #1

The first thing to do is to register the widgeted footer areas in your theme’s functions.php file. Using the Lifestlye theme as an example, here’s what the code looks like right now:

if ( function_exists(’register_sidebars’) )
register_sidebar(array(’name’=>’Sidebar Top’,'before_title’=>’<h4>’,'after_title’=>’</h4>’));
register_sidebar(array(’name’=>’Sidebar Bottom Left’,'before_title’=>’<h4>’,'after_title’=>’</h4>’));
register_sidebar(array(’name’=>’Sidebar Bottom Right’,'before_title’=>’<h4>’,'after_title’=>’</h4>’));
register_sidebar(array(’name’=>’468×60 Header Banner’,'before_title’=>’<h4>’,'after_title’=>’</h4>’));

And here’s what it will need to look like to register the additional areas:

if ( function_exists(’register_sidebars’) )
register_sidebar(array(’name’=>’Sidebar Top’,'before_title’=>’<h4>’,'after_title’=>’</h4>’));
register_sidebar(array(’name’=>’Sidebar Bottom Left’,'before_title’=>’<h4>’,'after_title’=>’</h4>’));
register_sidebar(array(’name’=>’Sidebar Bottom Right’,'before_title’=>’<h4>’,'after_title’=>’</h4>’));
register_sidebar(array(’name’=>’468×60 Header Banner’,'before_title’=>’<h4>’,'after_title’=>’</h4>’));
register_sidebar(array(’name’=>’Footer #1′,’before_title’=>’<h4>’,'after_title’=>’</h4>’));
register_sidebar(array(’name’=>’Footer #2′,’before_title’=>’<h4>’,'after_title’=>’</h4>’));
register_sidebar(array(’name’=>’Footer #3′,’before_title’=>’<h4>’,'after_title’=>’</h4>’));
register_sidebar(array(’name’=>’Footer #4′,’before_title’=>’<h4>’,'after_title’=>’</h4>’));

Step #2

The second thing you’ll want to do is establish the proper style for the widgeted footer area. Because most StudioPress theme’s footer areas are defined as “footer”, I’m going to define the main “div” for the widgeted footer area “footer-widgeted”. You’ll need to add all of the CSS shown below to style.css, but I’ll break them out so you can see what each section is. Make sure if you’re theme’s width is less than 960px, you’ll need to adjust that below.

Main Container Styling

#footer-widgeted {
width: 960px;
margin: 0px auto 0px;
padding: 0px;
}

Paragraph Stlying

#footer-widgeted p {
color: #333333;
font-weight: normal;
margin: 0px;
padding: 0px 0px 10px 0px;
}

Hyperlink Styling

#footer-widgeted a, #footer-widgeted a:visited {
color: #333333;
text-decoration: none;
}
#footer-widgeted a:hover {
color: #333333;
text-decoration: underline;
}

Unordered List Styling

#footer-widgeted ul {
list-style-type: none;
margin: 0px;
padding: 0px;
}
#footer-widgeted ul li {
list-style-type: none;
margin: 0px 0px 10px 0px;
padding: 5px;
}
#footer-widgeted ul ul {
list-style-type: none;
margin: 5px 0px 0px 20px;
padding: 0px;
}
#footer-widgeted ul li li {
list-style-type: square;
margin: 0px;
padding: 0px;
}
#footer-widgeted ul li ul li {
margin: 0px;
padding: 0px 0px 3px 0px;
}

Widget Headline Styling

#footer-widgeted h4 {
color: #333333;
font-size: 16px;
font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Verdana;
font-weight: normal;
margin: 0px 0px 5px 0px;
padding: 0px;
}

Widget Styling

#footer-widgeted .widget {
background: none;
margin: 0px;
padding: 5px 0px 0px 0px;
border: none;
}

Widget Columns Styling

.footer-widgeted-1 {
width: 215px;
float: left;
margin: 0px;
padding: 20px 20px 5px 10px;
}
.footer-widgeted-2 {
width: 215px;
float: left;
margin: 0px;
padding: 20px 20px 5px 10px;
}
.footer-widgeted-3 {
width: 215px;
float: left;
margin: 0px;
padding: 20px 20px 5px 10px;
}
.footer-widgeted-4 {
width: 215px;
float: right;
margin: 0px;
padding: 20px 0px 5px 0px;
}

Step #3

Last, you’ll need to add the proper code to your footer.php file. Most StudioPress themes are coded similarly, so this should work. Inside your theme’s footer.php file, look for this code:

<div></div>
<div id=”footer”>

Essentially, you’ll be placing the code below in between the two lines you see above. As a result, you’re code should look like this:

<div></div>
<div id=”footer-widgeted”>
<div>
<ul id=”footer-widget-1″>
<?php if ( !function_exists(’dynamic_sidebar’) || !dynamic_sidebar(’Footer #1′) ) : ?>
<li>
<h4><?php _e(”footer-widgeted #1 Widget”, ’studiopress’); ?></h4>
<p><?php _e(”This is an example of a widgeted area.”, ’studiopress’); ?></p>
</li>
<?php endif; ?>
</ul>
</div>
<div>
<ul id=”footer-widget-2″>
<?php if ( !function_exists(’dynamic_sidebar’) || !dynamic_sidebar(’Footer #2′) ) : ?>
<li>
<h4><?php _e(”footer-widgeted #2 Widget”, ’studiopress’); ?></h4>
<p><?php _e(”This is an example of a widgeted area.”, ’studiopress’); ?></p>
</li>
<?php endif; ?>
</ul>
</div>
<div>
<ul id=”footer-widget-3″>
<?php if ( !function_exists(’dynamic_sidebar’) || !dynamic_sidebar(’Footer #3′) ) : ?>
<li>
<h4><?php _e(”footer-widgeted #3 Widget”, ’studiopress’); ?></h4>
<p><?php _e(”This is an example of a widgeted area.”, ’studiopress’); ?></p>
</li>
<?php endif; ?>
</ul>
</div>
<div>
<ul id=”footer-widget-4″>
<?php if ( !function_exists(’dynamic_sidebar’) || !dynamic_sidebar(’Footer #4′) ) : ?>
<li>
<h4><?php _e(”footer-widgeted #4 Widget”, ’studiopress’); ?></h4>
<p><?php _e(”This is an example of a widgeted area.”, ’studiopress’); ?></p>
</li>
<?php endif; ?>
</ul>
</div>
<div></div>
</div>
<div id=”footer”>

That should do it. If your footer came out looking like a can of worms,  sorry,  try again.  Patience will win the day with this one!

Pull up your CSS and paste this code into the “Content” area at the bottom (it will be easier to find if you need to edit in the future):

.follow-me {

background: url(http://www.your-web-site-name-goes-here.com/images/twitter.png) no-repeat left center;

padding: 2px 0px 2px 20px;

}

You’ll now need to upload a “twitter image” to your images or media library on your server. Be sure to watch the size of your image. Or better yet grab this image below and you can mess around with it later if you want to. Just get up and running now.

Next edit your themes index.php file; look for the content call:

<?php the_content(__(’Read more’, ’studiopress’));?><div></div>

Immediately after, place this code:

<a href=”http://twitter.com/username”>Follow Me on Twitter</a>

Remember to change the word “username” above with the username of your Twitter Account and that should do it.

One note of caution. If you do not have an “index.php” file edit your “single.php” file instead. You will have the same result. See ya next week !

Blogging for a dollar is not rocket surgery, it comes down to driving traffic to your website and converting that traffic to sales. Nuff said !

When considering what it takes to achieve this goal, first and foremost I guess you need to write pretty good; you will need a good blogging platform and the skills to manage it. You will also need some marketing skills and you will have to do the SEO thing, whether you like it or not. When I started out this was the most challenging area of blogging for me. It is my hope that I can provide you with some focused ideas so that you can maintain your sanity.

Thanks for stopping by !

This months post deals with making life easier for yourself when it comes to your blog. When I started out blogging, no one really wrote how to manage a blog efficiently. As blogging becomes more competitive, you will have to make sure that you are managed as efficiently as possible; to save time is nothing else.

Life is hard enough, make it easy on yourself and follow my suggestions or put some thought into your own blog habits and make some hard and fast rules to follow. In the coming months I’ll be writing about, managing your future posts, how to manage breaking news, how to manage your media library so that you don’t lose your mind, how to manage your plug-in library, efficient software upgrade, and database management just to name a few.

It would be nice if all we had to do was write, but a blog is a business even if you do it for a hobby …….. if you want to be read you will manage it like a business anyway. There is a way and a means to an end where you can manage with joy. It can be fun. It can be a nightmare. Having to meet deadlines and hassling with tech issues does not a happy blogger make. So make life easy on yourself and check back here for a dose of blogging sanity.

Those that have been looking at their blogs for a year or two, maybe more, know that it can be a time killer to have a tech problem that cuts like a knife and seems incurable. With a little patience and time (Google helps), your back in action and that eight figure year looks closer than ever ……….. until the power goes out.

As I sit here this morning, in 18 degree temps, my ISP is frozen, literally ……… I’m in and out. Man ….. it’s just 18 out. It’s not like I’m at the North Pole. Oh well ……. there goes my four figure year !!!

I hate to think that I have banked so much of my future on this interweb thing. While it provides me with a much needed income, if the lights go out, I’m screwed.

While technology is way cool, it’s a really frail thing. I’m afraid if the lights go out, we’re all screwed. Hey …….. I’m just sayin ……….