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WordPress is the most popular web software used for content management today. One of the reasons for this is the low barrier to getting started. WordPress is not only free, but it is easy to use and there are tons of resources available for theming and 
expanding a website. But, that ease of use and over abundance of resources can also work against the new user. While the first blog is quick to setup, where do you go from there? How do you make the site your site? How do you get people to visit, engage them once they are there, and get them to come back? And how do you even know about all this? These questions are what Paul Thewlis tries to answer in his book WordPress 3 For Business Bloggers
. Note that this is a new and updated edition of his book that was published in 2008.
The publishers, Packt Publishing, sent me a copy of the book for review, and it had the honor of being the first book I read on my new Kindle. One of the things I really like about books from Packt is that they are available in multiple formats including print, PDF, ePUB, and Amazon’s MOBI format. But, back to the book itself.
WordPress 3 For Business Bloggers is well suited as an introduction to what can be done with a WordPress blog for most people. It succeeds in taking the new user beyond the initial install into the world of plug-ins and theme customization. While I am not really fond of the chapter on HTML and altering themes, I can see the necessity of familiarizing yourself with it. I just think that it is too much for most people and too prone to error. Seriously, you are better either in the hands of a real designer or finding a theme that doesn’t need behind the scenes tweaking.
I do find that the plug-ins covered hit most of the major ones most folks will need. From Akismet for spam to All-In-One SEO for search engine optimization, and many more, Thewlis walks you through not only how to install and setup the plug-in, but why you are doing so and what result should be achieved. That in itself is probably the strongest trait of the book – it goes into the “whys” behind the “whats” and “hows”. In fact, this is one of the only books I have seen that really asks you to think about why you are using a blog. Early on Thewlis says, “a successful business blog is achieved by identifying strategic goals and applying these to the type of blog you are publishing.” That is something a lot of people – even highly paid web developers – miss. What is your goal, and how is your website or blog supposed to help you achieve that goal?
Speaking of goals, there is also a very good introduction given to the analysis of traffic through tools such as Google Analytics, Alexa, and PageRank. These are all topics that can, and do, cover many books in themselves. But the introduction to the topics Thewlis gives here will allow you go on and do more research having a solid foundation beneath you. Or you will be able to talk intelligently with an expert or consultant if you chose to do so. Most people will never need to go beyond what is taught in this book, but if you do, it is nice to know you are prepared.
The one thing I would warn against is getting tied up in details, such as the aforementioned theming, where you really don’t need to. Just read through those chapters for the background knowledge and move on.
So, all in all I would recommend WordPress 3 For Business Bloggers for the people who want to take their blog or WordPress based website on to the next level but don’t know where to start. It can be intimidating when you don’t even know what questions to ask, and Thewlis gives solid exposure to almost all areas so you can know where you want to dive deeper.
Tags: blog, business, Review, seo, WordPress
The tech-gift I am being asked most often about this Christmas is not the iPad or other tablets, but ereaders. 
And the Kindle in particular. Amazingly, the one I recommend for the majority of the folks is the least expensive. It has the cleanest interface, a fantastic display, is rugged, and extremely affordable. Combine all of that with being able to easily check out books from most libraries on it and it is hard to beat!
What about the other versions of the Kindle? Well, the experiences people are having with the touch-screen models are less than favorable, and most folks don’t need the cost and complexity of the Fire. And lets face it, as a present the Fire is a little on the pricey side. The Fire is a great device – for movie watching, web surfing, email checking and game playing, but it really isn’t as good of a real book reader as the lower priced e-ink display Kindles.
And what about the Nook ereaders from Barnes & Noble? Well, they are mechanically great devices. Absolutely no doubt there. But, where the Kindle beats them is the Amazon store. Now I love Barnes & Noble and wish them all the best, however they just don’t seem to have the depth of Amazon. I looked up four or five books I was interested on both Amazon and B&N. While Amazon had every one, B&N didn’t. If i had a Nook I would just be out of luck. And I can tell you from hard fought experience that it is much easier to check out library books onto the Kindle than on to the Nook. So for product availability and ease of use, the Nook fall to the Kindle.
And remember that you can try the Kindle out in all kinds of places like Office Depot and Best Buy. But you won’t find a better price than from Amazon directly, and it will come already registered to your account. And if you are giving it as a gift it is easy to transfer that registration to someone else. Yup, I think this is going to be a Kindle Christmas!
Tags: Book, ereader, Kindle, nook, tablet
Likeable Social Media: How to Delight Your Customers, Create an Irresistible Brand, and Be Generally Amazing on Facebook (& Other Social Networks)
by Dave Kerpen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
An excellent book for those looking to get started in social media, gain a better understanding of it, or understand why it is important. The examples that Kerpen gives are spot on as to the value that lies in the new, but oh so old, form of interaction.
At its base, social media is not much different than all the communication that we have all been doing for years; that the human race and consumers have been doing forever. What is different about it is the immediacy, the permanence, and the reach. Kerpen illustrates this very well with examples of how social media has been used to help companies and causes, or ignored to the peril of those on the wrong end.
As one saying goes about social media, “your customers are already talking about you, don’t you want to be part of that conversation?” Likeable Social Media helps you to understand how to be part of that conversation without being a pushy salesperson or an overpowering know-it-all. You want to be liked. You want to be the person that others gather around at the cocktail party instead of the one they all avoid.
You don’t have to read this book cover to cover, in fact your don’t even have to read the chapters in order. In that way it is a great desk or bedside reference to just pick up from time to time to get a quick bit of inspiration.
If social media bewilders you at all, this book is highly recommended.
Tags: Dave Kerpen, Facebook, Google Plus, social media, twitter
EBooks are the coming wave of publishing, if in fact that wave isn’t already upon us, so I was eager to get hold of a really promising tutorial book I had heard about, “EPub Straight to the Point: Creating ebooks for the Apple iPad and other ereaders” by Elizabeth Castro. Unfortunately after reading it I have some mixed feelings. I would still recommend the book to those interested in self-publishing ebooks, but I do have a few hesitations.
My biggest issue with the book, and not that there is any actually problem – the book isn’t bad or is wrong or anything like that, is that the book just doesn’t go far enough. A couple of examples of this: first we will start with the title. The title states, “creating ebooks for the Apple iPad and other ereaders.” What doesn’t make sense to me about that is the fact that the iPad is not the number one ebook reader. That honor belongs to Amazon’s Kindle. I am truthfully not sure where the iPad ranks after that, but regardless, as eBook readers go, the iPad isn’t the most targeted platform. So, you would think that you would want a how-to book that was aimed at publishing ePub books to the dominant platform. Instead it seems that the book, and the title, were designed to grab key word searches.
The other example of this is that the book is designed around teaching you how to use Microsoft Word to generate your ePub. Now I will make no claims that Word isn’t the number one wordprocessing program and tool for writers, but it isn’t the necessarily the main tool for creating ePubs. Castro also covers using Adobe’s InDesign software for eBook creation, but she even admits that the software is costly and cumbersome. But other software that is freely available, such as Calibre, that is much more adept at creating ebooks and is much more frequently used aren’t discussed. Calibre doesn’t get any mention in the book – not even a footnote! This is a glaring omission that can’t be overlooked.
Continue Reading »
Tags: Books, eBooks, ePub, iPad, Kindle
At the Charleston Social Media Club panel on February 16th, one of the audience members asked for recommendations on good books for learning more about social media. We all know that technology-related books can be outdated pretty quickly. However, “Web 2.0: A strategy Guide” by Amy Shuen is a good introduction for users new to the Web 2.0 world and since it covers strategy; it is a very relevant book. It goes beyond just the latest and greatest tools.
Amy Shuen encourages the audience to ask relevant questions before embarking on a social media plan. How will we draw people to our site? Can we learn from users as they visit us? What is the target group? How will it change our business practices? How much input do we want?
Shuen gives an overview of well-known applications, such as Facebook, MySpace and LinkedIn, along with implications for their use. Web 2.0 tools make it difficult to control content, but more likely to generate interest from users because of its interactive nature. As I’ve mentioned to groups when introducing them to social media, people need to get past the idea of “control” and think more about influencing the audience. There are powerful multiplying effects of social media that people should tap into. After finishing this book, the reader should be able to begin implementation of a Web 2.0 plan and think strategically about maximizing online opportunities.
Guest post by Tina Arnoldi of the Coastal Community Foundation. Please be sure to check out her blog on technology for non-profit organizations. You can also find her on Twitter at @TinaArnoldi.
Tags: Book, guest, Review, Strategy
If you have a Mac and are even the least bit interested in automating the work you do on it, you need to pick up a copy of AppleScript 1-2-3
This is part of the Apple approved training series of books and is written by Sal Soghoian.
Soghoian being the author of this book is significant for two reasons. First, he is the product manager for AppleScript. He has been using and working with AppleScript for years. Simply put, nobody knows more about what AppleScript can do that Sal Soghoian. Second, he is a great teacher. If you have ever heard him speak at a conference or maybe seen one of his podcasts on MacBreak Work, you will already know this. If not, you are in for a pleasant surprise. His style is light and friendly without being causal and silly. He has the rare ability of making technical subjects easy to read – and not a cure for insomnia.
AppleScript 1-2-3 is a large volume of nearly 900 pages that is broken down into three broad sections. Starting with the absolute basics in the first section, Sal and his co-author Bill Cheeseman, take you through the fundamentals of scripting with plenty of examples and explanations. The second section takes what was gone over in the first section and expands on it. This second section goes into more tools, tips, and methodologies to make your scripts both easier and more powerful. Finally, the third section of the book takes you through specific examples of fully working useful scripts that you can use, modify, and make suit your own purposes. This section give you a strong toolbox to start you on way scripting.
Many people who move to the Mac lament the fact that they can no longer use their trusted MS-DOS batch files. The truth is that Apple’s AppleScript is much more flexible and powerful. The problem is, as with using VBScript in Windows, there is a bit of a learning curve to unlocking the real power. This book is the answer to that problem. From automating repetitive actions to performing complex series of actions, the power you need is there. This book can help you harness that power.
Tags: AppleScript, automation, batch files, programming, Sal Soghoian, scripting
