AI1EC has many more features than GigPress—so I’ll start with a list of the advantages of  the “All in one event calendar” (aka AI1EC) vs GigPress:

I want specifically to point out the design of their support page (they title it “empower”). It’s very impressive. They offer multiple ways to get involved in an interactive series of checklists. I’m not 100% convinced it’s what all visitors need – I would prefer a “quicklink” to just making a cash donation. But still it’s very innovative and other NGOs might find it inspiring. I can think of some other non-profits that I built WordPress sites for that could perhaps use a simper version of this kind of page to help communicate the many ways to promote their cause.

Want to get involved with Not For Sale? Want to be a part of the modern-day abolitionist movement? Not sure how to get started? This tool is designed to help identify which Not For Sale projects and programs are best suited for you.

By answering a few questions, the tool can tailor a list of action steps that will best help you get involved. Begin by choosing which areas of society you identify yourself, then you can refine your results by answering further questions about time commitment, community engagement, financial support and leadership. Let’s get started!

via Empower – Not For Sale: End Human Trafficking and Slavery.

Well, this is long overdue but I finally cleaned up my notes from WordCamp.

Adding custom content types: I’ve always been on the lookout for a Drupal-like “views” module for WordPress. These tools come close:

• Loop buddy
• Views and types
• Pods Framework: I used this one long ago but it’s evolved alot and looks like a great option

Other fun things I learned about

• SASS for CSS
• REM not em for best responsive CSS
• S2member for member and paid level management
• Hellobar: a simple idea: use the top 30 pixels of yoru site for eye-catching messages. Hellobar includes A/B testing and it’s own analytics so it might be worth paying for on a ongoing basis. Other similar solution like Foobar are just a plugin with no extra fees. (let me know if you have a free version you use)
• SlideDeck:  Slider & Gallery Plugin that gives a powerful UI and lots of sources and skins for building sliders
• Flare social sharing bar
• HappyTables: free restaurant website-building tool – developed around a customized version of WordPress

Chatting with Matt about new WordPress usage stats.

Notes from 2011

Yes, you should use the lastest versions of WordPress core and for the most part the latest version of plugins. But of course incompatibilities arise so be careful when updating.

The #1 security measure I suggest is to remove “admin” user – many robots will assume you have a “admin” user and try to guess the password. By keeping this default user name you are giving away half of the username+password puzzle that is the barrier between your site getting hacked and your site staying safe.

Another concept is that some plugins change the way WordPress works so it’s more secure while others focus on malware scanning to see if anything has been hacked. Sucuri is a great plugin that scans for hacks – you can do the same free scan from their website. You can also pay them to actively scan and they will actually fix any issues that come up.  Code Garage does backups as well as malware monitoring so that’s a good option to explore also.

Plugins that do many security tasks

• WordFence: This is a great new plugin I’m testing out that offers a complete solution for free with an optional paid upgrade that actively scans your site from the outside to make sure it has not been hacked. So it combines security edits with malware monitoring.
• Better WP Security: I’ve been using this one for a while and it’s great. It has a “one-click” feature that will harden a number of security features very quickly.
• A good handful of features: Secure WP
• WP Security Scan

• Login LockDown an older simple plugin that works well but has not been updated recently. Getting the many emails it sent help me learn how many bots were randomly attacking my sites.
• Login Lock: like the above with with a few extra useful features like a button to force logout for anyone logged in. This plugin is no longer supported. another replacement option:  Login Security Solution
• Limit Login Attempts: yup, another plugin with similar features.
• The name says it all: the Replace WP-Version plugin
• Updated SSL Plugin: forces ssl anywhere passwords are asked for
• Timthumb vulnerability scanner: does a bit more than just check for that one giant security issue…

WordPress Ecommerce folks at instinct.co.nz have a great checklist for how to secure WordPress

GoodSync is a utility that provides all the tools you need to keep your data safe and up-to-date. It works by synchronizing (and backing up) files such as MP3s, Office docs, photos, financial documents,  between desktop HD/SSD, laptops, servers, and all manner of thumb/external drives.

GoodSync is very user-friendly—its’ got a geeky but usable UI and is full of functionality. If you need a too to backup your data to protect it from crashes or need to synchronize complex data on a network, this tool makes it simple to keep you data current and safe.

Compare to:

• Syncables 360
• SugarSync
• Allway Sync

GoodSync for Mac

Works amoung Mac OS devices or between Macs and cloud services like Amazon S3 and Google Drive. Connect to other computers and devices by using GoodSync Connect , which finds other devices installed with GoodSync on the internet or over a local network in a peer-to-peer style. Performs syncs over a number of other networks, including (s)FTP and WebDAV. Or sync with clouds including Amazon S3, Amazon Cloud Service, Microsoft SkyDrive, Google Drive (Docs), MobileMe iDisk, and Windows Azure. You can also sync with mobile systems like WinMobile and BlackBerry devices.

Important notes about GoodSync for Mac

• Free version gives 3 or fewer jobs and 100 or less files and folders in each job.
• You need one license per computer
• You do not uninstall the old version of GoodSync before installing a new one  unless you want to install into a different folder. The new version will keep the options and settings of the previous one.
• Any data stored in a file can be synchronized

Pricing

• GoodSync Desktop for Mac license for $39.95
• Other plans for PC, Mobile…

GoodSync for Mac review and tips

Tip: It’s important to create a folder at the destination first. I wanted to synchronize a folder “C:\testfolder” to a second drive (F). When I just set Good Sync “C:\testfolder” as the source and point it to F (as root) I thought Good Sync would create the folder for me but that’s not what happens. You will get  a message indicating the folder on F drive does not exist. If you tell it to go ahead and synchronize no files are copied.

Tip: The default is for Good Sync to only synchronize  when you manually tell it to. You can change that under View – Options-  Job name. You can tell it to synchronize automatically under a number of different schedules.

Bottom line: A great option for syncing data, a mature tool that can cover the bases for many use case scenarios.

Shrub & Co elixirs add depth and complexity to your drinks with a clever combination of sweet and savory notes. Rescued from the obscurity of the colonial era and reimagined for today’s craft cocktail enthusiast, our shrubs enhance your favorite concoctions.

visit: Shrub & Co | Cocktail mixer

I recently redesigned this site that I launched last year. It features hover-based “teasers” and a Netflix-inspired interface. It’s got a modular custom content type that will grow as they add more serials. You can submit your own writing via a Gravity form so you don’t have to be a WordPress expert to update the content.

SerialTeller is devoted to serials drawn from all areas of fiction ranging from science fiction and fantasy, to mysteries, thrillers, and romance.  Serial fiction has been around for hundreds of years and has been the basis for some of the greatest works of literature known to man including those created by Charles Dickens and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

THE GREAT WALL OF OAKLAND

On the first Friday night of each month, a large wall of an Oakland office complex morphs into an outdoor theater. A projector on a nearby rooftop shows videos a hundred feet tall on the exterior of a building at the corner of West Grand and Valley Street. The spectators — most of whom also attend the monthly event called Art Murmur in nearby galleries — stand or perch on the curb to watch the show.

via The Great Wall – NYTimes.com

and recently another client was featured:
SORA AND THE CLOUD

Web-based tools

Google AdWords Keyword Tool
This tool helps you evaluate the usefulness of keywords and helps you find related terms for your WordPress based site.  Just input a series of search terms and the Keyword tool tells you how many people searched for those terms, and  related terms, (globally and locally).  Sort by keyword, number of searches or competition. searches measures Competition measures how many people are actively marketing on that term through Google Adwords. It gives you an idea of how difficult it might be to rank for that particular term. Try out the  exact match and phrase match features also, as it can increase / decrease the search volume dramatically.

Google Insights for Search
Rank keywords against one another and lets you see their performance over time: Some search terms are more useful to your business than others, and search term values can change over time.  In terms of SEO marketing,  it can be a great strategy to rank for a keyword which is starting a meteoric rise – but only if it’s relevant to your content of course.

For example, if you are the only cell phone accessory store with content about the iPhone the week the iPhone is announced, and your site is equipped to close sales, you’ll likely draw a lot of traffic and sell a lot of product.

read about more Tools To Improve Your Online Marketing Campaign by Yoast

WordPress SEO Plugins

• WordPress SEO Plugin: this revolutionary plugin has a variety of tools to help you analyse your pages and posts as you build them. The powerful SEO tools are right there in the editor and they include many educational tips as well.
• Redirection: This one lets you add redirections manually – from an old url to a new one. Avoiding broken links and properly setting up 301 redirects is important to keeping your SEO rank when changing your site’s link structure.
• Permalink Finder: This clenver plugin automatically redirects your old urls to your new ones based on keywords in the url. For the right situations this could save you many hours of rebuilding links manually.