WordCamp Portland Donates to WordCamp Seattle

You know I’m a huge WordCamp fan. I attend as many as I can, speak at many, and work hard with the The WordCamp Report, Blog Herald, and this blog to help promote WordCamps all over the world. For those unfamiliar with WordCamp, it is a grassroots gathering, formal or informal, of WordPress fans. It […]

WordCamp Portland: How WordPress Changes Lives

When I was asked to speak on how WordPress changes lives at WordCamp Portland in September of 2008, I was faced with a dilemma. While WordPress does change lives, blogging changes more lives. How do I connect the dots between WordPress and the life changing experience of blogging? I didn’t realize that the WordPress Community […]

WordCamp Portland: How Has WordPress Changed Your Life?

The agenda of speakers for WordCamp Portland is out and I’m the keynote speaker. And I need your help. I will be talking about how WordPress is changing lives, not just from the blogging experience but truly changing your life from stem to stern. WordPress and WordPress.com free blogs give a voice to those who […]

Help Spread the Word – Writing for the Web Class

There is still room available in my Writing for the Web course at Clark College Corporate and Continuing Education in Vancouver, Washington, just across the river from Portland, Oregon. This professional development course runs from June 11 – 27, 2013 on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9AM – Noon. The class size is limited so there […]

Blog Exercises: Under the Hood Spring Cleaning

One of my students in my Portland Community College WordPress class reminded me that clutter is clutter, no matter where you find it. Peter Smith reminds us that too many WordPress Themes is a waste of resources. Today, I feature his post to remind us all to clean up our sites under the hood. I […]

Blog Exercise: Take Yourself on a Bloggy Vacation

Writer’s block is a tool — use it. When asked why you haven’t produced anything lately, just say, “I’m blocked.” Since most people think that writing is some mystical process where characters “talk to you” and you can hear their voices in your head, being blocked is the perfect cover for when you just don’t […]

Happy Birthday, WordPress!

Today is the 10th Anniversary of that famous moment when Matt Mullenweg reached out to the world, and Mike Little replied, and WordPress was born. A blog post that changed the world. Happy Birthday, WordPress! I’m off to celebrate with the Portland WordPress Meetup Group of Oregon. Cake? Subscribe Via Feedburner Subscribe by Email Copyright […]

Blog Exercises: What Are You Missing?

Frogs redefine my thoughts about amphibians annually. As a child, spring was for tadpoles and summers were for frogs in the swamps, ponds, and ditches around my country ranch in the Pacific Northwest. Moving to Oregon’s Coastal Mountain range west of Portland, my winters are spent driving up the foothills like a crazy person, avoiding […]

WordPress Introduction Course in Vancouver, Washington

I will be teaching the WordPress I Introduction course at Clark College Corporate and Continuing Education starting Saturdays, April 27 – July 13, 2013, 9am – noon, in Vancouver, Washington, just across the river from the Airport at the Columbia Tech Center. What a great way to get to learn about how WordPress works without […]

Blog Exercises: Add Industry Events to Your Editorial Calendar

In the blog exercise to create an editorial calendar, I gave you many ideas for setting self-assignments and deadlines for content throughout the year on your blog. Don’t forget to investigate your industry to discover events, conferences, and news to add to the calendar. Whether you go or not, take time to research calendars and […]

Blog Exercises: How to Tag Posts

Categories are your site’s table of contents. Tags are your index words. While it is simple to explain the two basic organizational and navigation elements of a WordPress site, coming up with tags for each post is a struggle many bloggers battle. Tags represent micro-categorization of your site’s content. It helps the visitor find closely […]

Writing for the Web Course Starts June 3, 1013

I will be teaching “Writing for the Web” at Clark College Corporate and Continuing Education in Vancouver, Washington, Tuesdays and Thursdays, June 3 – July 8, 2013. The class will be at the West Coast Bank Building in downtown Vancouver, Washington, just a few minutes from downtown Portland, Oregon. Writing on the web is now […]

WordPress Course at PCC-Rock Creek in Beaverton

I will be teaching a WordPress Introduction college course at Portland Community College in Beaverton, just west of Portland, Oregon, starting April 3 – June 12, 2013. The course is a hybrid online course meetings Wednesdays from 6-9PM with a minimum of two hours online per week. Called “CMS Website Creation: WordPress,” this 3 credit […]

Introduction to WordPress Class at Clark College Continuing Education

I will be teaching another Introduction to WordPress course at Clark College Corporate and Continuing Education in Vancouver, Washington, starting Saturdays, April 27 through July 13, 2013. The class will be at the Columbia Tech Center in eastern Vancouver, just across the Columbia River off Interstate 205, just a few minutes from downtown Portland, Oregon. […]

Blog Exercises: Current Events January

Every month in this series of Blog Exercises I will ask you to check the news and report on something in the news that relates to you and/or your site’s purpose. It may directly relate or indirectly. Fascinated with the alignment of the planets, I wanted to share my enthusiasm with the ease of watching […]