idano.net http://www.idano.net The idano Blog Network Portal Thu, 09 Oct 2008 00:11:59 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=abc en The Frustration in Choosing WordPress Themes http://www.idano.net/the-frustration-in-choosing-wordpress-themes-378.htm http://www.idano.net/the-frustration-in-choosing-wordpress-themes-378.htm#comments Thu, 09 Oct 2008 00:11:59 +0000 Dan http://www.idano.net/the-frustration-in-choosing-wordpress-themes-378.htm myImage I think frustration is maybe a little strong word to use given my situation. My “frustration” stems from me trolling several sites that offer free or even very inexpensive WordPress themes. I do not really think it is fair on my part to be “frustrated” because hey, these people are giving these themes away for free (or for very cheap).

The part that does frustrate me though is that I cannot find a theme from my dan.idano.net website in the layout that I want. I would think that what I want is simple but it is just not proving to be that way. The layout that I want is simple -

  • Has Pages and Categories along the top in the header
  • Has the first post section on the blog be a “Featured Posts” section where I can control which posts show up there
  • Has recent posts under the featured posts section
  • Has a two column sidebar for ads, links, and my network feed
  • Has a footer that can have different sections for Blog info, Archives, etc
  • Have just the recent posts on the 2nd page + when paging through content
    I have the above sketch that I whipped up really quick and it looks like I am just going to have to build it myself. Oh well, maybe I can distribute it for free in order to get some free back links from it. 
]]> http://www.idano.net/the-frustration-in-choosing-wordpress-themes-378.htm/feed The Halloween WordPress Theme Updated to v1.4 http://www.idano.net/the-halloween-wordpress-theme-updated-to-v14-374.htm http://www.idano.net/the-halloween-wordpress-theme-updated-to-v14-374.htm#comments Tue, 23 Sep 2008 23:08:32 +0000 Dan http://www.idano.net/the-halloween-wordpress-theme-updated-to-v14-374.htm halloween-theme The free Halloween WordPress Theme has been updated to version 1.4. This new version includes the following updates:

  • Added support for Tags
  • Added support for native WordPress Photo Galleries
  • Verified to work with WordPress 2.62

It has also been accepted in the Official WordPress.org Theme Directory as well. It can be downloaded from the directory here. You can see a Live Demo of theme at the Halloween Theme official site.

Technorati Tags: ,,,

]]> http://www.idano.net/the-halloween-wordpress-theme-updated-to-v14-374.htm/feed WordPress iPhone App Version 1.1 Released - I Can’t Wait Until 1.2 http://www.idano.net/wordpress-iphone-app-version-11-released-i-cant-wait-until-12-372.htm http://www.idano.net/wordpress-iphone-app-version-11-released-i-cant-wait-until-12-372.htm#comments Mon, 04 Aug 2008 22:29:04 +0000 Dan http://www.idano.net/wordpress-iphone-app-version-11-released-i-cant-wait-until-12-372.htm WordPress has just released the 1.1 version of their iPhone Blogging application. This was mostly a bug and stability fix so their are no noticable feature updates or changes. They did reference the coming 1.2 version and provided a link to it from their announcement iphone.wordpress.net.

The 1.2 version virtually looks like my Don’t Like and Wish List combined together. It is supposed to include the ability to add links to posts, better image insertion, and password protection. This app already has gotten me blogging more but the addition of these items would make my life much easier.

Thanks WordPress team for awesome blogging software and an awesome software app!

]]> http://www.idano.net/wordpress-iphone-app-version-11-released-i-cant-wait-until-12-372.htm/feed WordPress iPhone Blogging App - 5 Posts and a Day Later http://www.idano.net/wordpress-iphone-blogging-app-5-posts-and-a-day-later-365.htm http://www.idano.net/wordpress-iphone-blogging-app-5-posts-and-a-day-later-365.htm#comments Thu, 24 Jul 2008 15:08:21 +0000 Dan http://www.idano.net/wordpress-iphone-blogging-app-5-posts-and-a-day-later-365.htm I know it gas only been a day (or so) since the WordPress iPhone blogging app has come out but I have already used it to do at least 5 posts on various blogs. As I speculated it is allowing me to blog more which I really have been struggling to do. The fact that I can blog from anywhere has caused me to try to utilize my down time more and I am actually trying to think of things to blog about now. Also, I do not feel restricted by the tiny keyboard and have actually typed some rather long posts (quite longer then long emails that I have done in the past).

With that there have been somethings that have surfaced on my like/dislike/wish lists in regards to the app. I will start with the likes first.

Likes

  • Using the iPhone Keyboard for content - the suggestions and spell check while you type are great.
  • Multiple blogs available - I have only setup 3 as of right now but it is nice to just open the app and start typing.
  • Local saved copies of drafts - the fact that it saves it locally is cool in the case you are blogging and do not have Internet for some reason.
  • Remote drafts - I like this because I may want to do a post that I would want supporting images formatted in the post (not after the post).
  • Categories and Tags - it reads your categories from your blog and you can add new ones from the app if you like.
  • Attaching images to posts - while still primitive I would still rather have it in it’s present form then not at all.
  • Preview of your post - it is awesome that you can see what it looks like on your blog before publishing.

Dislikes

  • No inline images - I really like to put images in the content of my posts, not neccesarily after
  • It’s really hard to do HTML markup - it’s available and supported in the app but it is a pain. I was going to code these lists in HTML but gave up after the third tag. This has a lot to do with the iPhone keyboard and where characters are placed. Also the spellcheck/auto complete really don’t help here (they actually do the opposite of help).
  • You have to leave your password intact to have a blog listed in the app. I have a private journal that I don’t want anybody to stumble into if they are checking out my phone. I would rather be prompted for a password to access it (it us a private blog).
  • You cannot access your online images already on your blog. This would be great.
  • Uploaded images do not adhere to standard resizing rules. In WordPress 2.5+ you get to set the thumbnail and medium sizes of uploaded images. The app uploaded and displays the smaller image size from the iPhone.

Wish List

  • Some sort of HTML macros for lists and other formatting items.
  • More/Better image support
  • Password protect app/individual blogs.

Overall the app is one of the most usable iPhone apps for me. All the others that I have downloaded are mostly toys in comparison. For me it is completely usable in its current state despite my dislikes and wish list items. I have come to realize that blogging is about the content more then anything else and this app addresses that head on. I would pay money for it if necessary but am happy that it is free. I would gladly pay money for a version that has more advanced features included.

This app will definitely change the way I blog and frequency in which I post.

]]> http://www.idano.net/wordpress-iphone-blogging-app-5-posts-and-a-day-later-365.htm/feed Finally! A Better Looking Theme Here at idano.net http://www.idano.net/finally-a-better-looking-theme-here-at-idanonet-354.htm http://www.idano.net/finally-a-better-looking-theme-here-at-idanonet-354.htm#comments Tue, 22 Jul 2008 20:54:41 +0000 Dan http://www.idano.net/?p=354 I had really trashed the other theme that was here previously but know we have something that is a little better looking.

This is the WP Premium theme from by WP Remix.

I have made a couple of modifications to it to fir this site but the underlying theme is still intact. I will probably look to change the color from red to blue down the road but the red color scheme is much better then what was here before.

Anyway, I have gone through it and everything seems to work correctly. If you find anything that doesn’t please drop me a line.

]]> http://www.idano.net/finally-a-better-looking-theme-here-at-idanonet-354.htm/feed Images are Working Properly Now http://www.idano.net/images-are-working-properly-now-360.htm http://www.idano.net/images-are-working-properly-now-360.htm#comments Tue, 22 Jul 2008 20:54:32 +0000 Dan http://www.idano.net/images-are-working-properly-now-360.htm Another update here at the idano.net website is that I fixed the issue that I had with images being uploaded and displayed properly.

I did not have the “Full URL path to filed” set. It says that this an optional setting and it worked before but I guess it wanted it now.

Anyway here are some pics from my iPhone to make sure that it is working.

photo

photo

photo

]]> http://www.idano.net/images-are-working-properly-now-360.htm/feed WordPress Releases Blogging Client for the iPhone http://www.idano.net/wordpress-releases-blogging-client-for-the-iphone-325.htm http://www.idano.net/wordpress-releases-blogging-client-for-the-iphone-325.htm#comments Tue, 22 Jul 2008 15:48:36 +0000 Dan http://www.idano.net/wordpress-releases-blogging-client-for-the-iphone-325.htm Hot off the press - WordPress has released their blogging client for the iPhone. In fact I am typing this post on my iPhone right now.

I have been waiting for this since the iPhone 2.0 firmware release when Typepad released their blogging client. I downloaded it but never used it since I don’t have a Typad blog.

So far this seems to be working great. The add photo section works cool although it adds the photo to the bottom of the post. Preview is awesome since you get to see you post formated in your blogs theme.

I think with this app I am going to be blogging a whole lot more :-) .

P.S. I originally uploaded images from my iPhone to this post but it was not working. That was an issue with this blog not the app. Also, I have noticed with this post that this template is not very WordPress Gallery friendly - I realize that - i am looking for a new theme as we speak as I cannot stand this one anyway.

]]> http://www.idano.net/wordpress-releases-blogging-client-for-the-iphone-325.htm/feed Behind the Scenes Progress Happening in the Network http://www.idano.net/behind-the-scenes-progress-happening-in-the-network-322.htm http://www.idano.net/behind-the-scenes-progress-happening-in-the-network-322.htm#comments Tue, 17 Jun 2008 20:59:14 +0000 Dan http://www.idano.net/behind-the-scenes-progress-happening-in-the-network-322.htm I have been working on things - I promise. I will admit though that it has been slow going though, a WHOLE lot slower then I anticipated. This network is a monster and things have changed since I drifted from being a daily blog poster to a monthly one.

idano-magazine-theme-wireframeCurrently I am working on a new custom theme for this site. I really do not know what medication I was on when I put this theme up here but I wish I had more. This is probably one of the worst theme I have ever put on any of my sites. To be fair this theme is of my own creation since the original theme was quite lovely. I just like the color blue for this site but it not quite working in it’s current rendition.

In the works is a Magazine styled theme that I will be developing and releasing several versions of. The main reason that I am going with a magazine styled theme is that their are certain posts/products that I want to highlight and a traditional blog layout just doesn’t cut it. The theme has a "Featured" section at the top and will show the last 3-5 featured posts. Under that the other posts will be aggregated in 2 columns. For this site/blog the posts from this blog will be in the "Featured" section and the the posts from the rest of the network will be below that in the two columns. You can see the wire frame of the theme to the right.

I have all of the pieces done, I just need to site down and put them all together. I probably will get them working on a couple of my sites first before I package them for the masses. Also, I am going to offer a free basic version for free and then offer a couple of premium version that will be for sale. I am going to price them pretty low since I actually want to sell them (some people charge too much IMO).

Anyway, I am still alive and kicking. Work is work though and takes time.

Technorati Tags: , , , , , ,

]]> http://www.idano.net/behind-the-scenes-progress-happening-in-the-network-322.htm/feed Writing Two Posts a Day on the idano Blog Network - Easier Said then Done http://www.idano.net/writing-two-posts-a-day-on-the-idano-blog-network-easier-said-then-done-319.htm http://www.idano.net/writing-two-posts-a-day-on-the-idano-blog-network-easier-said-then-done-319.htm#comments Wed, 28 May 2008 23:10:01 +0000 Dan http://www.idano.net/writing-two-posts-a-day-on-the-idano-blog-network-easier-said-then-done-319.htm The picture says it all.

Car_in_Ditch Two weeks ago Today I proclaimed that I would be doing 2 posts a day around the network. I started out with a bang and kept it going for 4 days. The 5th day I did a single post. From there I went AWOL in regard to posting. In my defense I did do things around the network. I updated some sites, created a new one, and did some general maintenance.

It is work though, I will not lie. Doing regular posts is what got me the traffic and page rank which attracted the advertiser but then I didn’t do anything on the sites for 9 months. Traffic is down a little, Page Rank is down a lot (this site went from PR 6 to 3 :-( ) and I want to try to double the ad revenue that I am making now.

My hope is that by the holiday season that I am back on top again so I can cash in even more then I did last year.

Technorati Tags: ,,,

]]> http://www.idano.net/writing-two-posts-a-day-on-the-idano-blog-network-easier-said-then-done-319.htm/feed Google Analytics Missing Data - Benchmarking Tells All http://www.idano.net/google-analytics-missing-data-benchmarking-tells-all-316.htm http://www.idano.net/google-analytics-missing-data-benchmarking-tells-all-316.htm#comments Thu, 15 May 2008 20:23:54 +0000 Dan http://www.idano.net/google-analytics-missing-data-benchmarking-tells-all-316.htm It seems that Google Analytics has been having some hiccups in their data collection and process right around the end of April and beginning of May. They are currently processing the back data which is nice but it seems that e-commerce metrics from that time period may be lost. Users of Google Analytics have been pretty understanding and that is understandably so - I mean the service is free - but on the flip side loosing the e-commerce metrics were probably the worst metrics to have go missing.

Today I logged into my GA account and happened to click on Benchmarking and google-missing-datanoticed a dip in the graphs. At first I thought that it was my traffic that had dipped but upon closer examination it was Google’s Benchmark that dipped. While this isn’t the end of the world in regards to using their service it does bring a case and point as to “You get what you pay for”. When there is no money on the table you really do not have a voice to complain with.

Free is great, if… your livelihood doesn’t depend on it.

Technorati Tags: ,,,,

]]> http://www.idano.net/google-analytics-missing-data-benchmarking-tells-all-316.htm/feed