Fighting Comment Spam: WordPress Comments Mass Edit Mode

Every once in a while, the comment spammers win. Just a little. They use new techniques, new IP addresses, some method that slips by Akismet and other comment spam fighting tools. Your Comments Panel overflows with comment spam. After marking 10 or 20 as comment spam, your natural inclination is to fire off an angry […]

Developing a Business Model with Greg Balanko-Dickson

My friend, Greg Balanko-Dickson, has decided to jump off the risk cliff out of his comfort zone and you all get the benefit. You may be familiar with Greg as he is an occasional guest blogger on this blog. He’s brought you the wonderful articles such as Business Blogging Strategy: Build Trust and Rapport, Relationship […]

Blog Models: Ways to Use Blogs

Tan Kian Ann of Blogopreneur offers “10 Practical Ways to Use a Blog”, outlining some common blog models. These include: Personal weblog Professional interest blog Company website Online resume Newsletter publisher A communication platform for companies A brainless instant publishing site to make money Project development and status announcements Collaboration project logs Chatroom creator Some […]

Modern Crusader: Plagiarism Today with Jonathan Bailey

When you look around the world today, especially in the blogosphere, do you find many serious crusaders? I have, and Jonathan Bailey of Plagiarism Today is one of my modern crusader heroes. When it comes to defending copyrights, few are better at digging into the truth and destroying the myths than Jonathan Bailey. While admittedly […]

WordPress.com Blog Remodel: Stay Tuned for Graphic Changes Here

I’m sorry, but I’m moving the furniture around and you are just going to have to learn to live with the noise of the construction and remodel for a while. The look of this blog will be changing soon. And probably a lot over the next month or so as no web design is ever […]

Your Comment Has Been Moderated – Stay Tuned for Approval

You come across a blog post you really want to comment on. You think out your comment, carefully type it in, check it for misspellings, and, when you are ready, you hit the submit button. The page reloads and…where’s your comment? It’s not there! Did it take it? What happened? Some people understand that comments, […]

WordPress Theme Easy Remodeling: Does She or Doesn’t She?

Ousshhh! My heart took a nasty jump, when I went to your blog for the latest and the brightest on WordPress and blogging philosophy. Suddenly I wasn’t at home, but in some white and bright desert. That was my first impression only, and the explanation came pronto: She’s only experimenting with some new and nifty […]

Computer Models – How New Words Become Part of the Language

In an interesting post, New Scientist’s Mark Buchanan reports on “How New Words Become Part of the Language”. Since words are an important part of blogging, understanding where words come from, how they developed, and how they are used, and to use them appropriately, is critical to a successful blog. When unwanted email first came […]

Blog Exercises: May Random Editing Day

May. It’s starting to warm up outside in the north, and growing a bit chilly down under, but it’s that time again. It’s the May Random Editing Day. In this Blog Exercise you will need to edit five random posts from among your thousands – okay, maybe dozens of published articles. What should you look […]

WordPress Anniversary: Comment Spam Lessons

It’s hard to believe that I’ve learned much from comment spammers over the years. I’ve learned that they are among the most hated folks in the world, yet you have to respect them as well. As I look back on ten years of blogging with WordPress on this 10th Anniversary year, I realized that comment […]

Blog Exercises: List Your Resources

In “Blog Exercises: What Are Your Reference Articles” your blog exercise was to identify your reference articles from within your site and list them on a Page or in a post as a reference list. Today’s blog exercise is to identify and publish your resources beyond your site, the reference material and sources you count […]

Blog Exercises: Fall in Love with Words

There are certain clues that tell you how much a restaurant will cost. If the word “cuisine” appears in the advertising, it will be expensive. If they use the word “food,” it will be moderately priced. However, if the sign says “eats,” even though you’ll save money on food, your medical bills may be quite […]

The Brute-Force Password Attack on WordPress Sites

My mother emailed me and asked if WordPress was under attack. With all the news of last week’s attack of the Boston Marathon, the attacks on WordPress and other PHP-based web publishing sites was low on the priority list for myself and others, but this is something to take seriously. As we get back to […]

Blog Exercises: April Random Editing Day

It’s the April Random Editing Day in our ongoing series of Blog Exercises. With Spring in the air, flowers and trees blooming, it’s time to flex your editing muscles on four blog posts this month. If you are having trouble finding random posts, think of a keyword that best describes your site or a topic […]

The Secret Recipe of Comment Spam Comments

Mr. Louis Vuitton just sent me a message in my blog comments I’d like to share with you. I share this touching message because it is highly educational when it comes to the art of spam comments, and serves to remind us of why we love having Akismet, the best comment spam fighter, on our […]