CrazyBusy Mama! (Dot Calm)

I have a love/hate relationship with my laptop. It’s old, heavy, and as stodgy as an old man. It takes naps when it wants to, works when it feels like it, and generally just acts like it needs a big helping of prunes.

Today is one of those days, which provides the perfect segue into today’s iPhone app review: the WordPress app.

The cool thing about this app (okay, one of the cool things about it) is that it doesn’t matter if your blog is hosted (you pay for hosting and have your own domain name, in other words) or if you have a free WordPress.com blog (which would be the name you’ve chosen for your blog followed by .wordpress.com).

There are a few other things I really like about this app:

• The app can handle as many WP (WordPress) blogs that you have a username and password for. I currently only have access to four WP blogs (two are mine), so I haven’t been able to test how many it actually holds. If you are able to test that feature, well…you may need to get out more, my friend.

• You can blog “unplugged” — when you’re unable to get to a computer, for example (or would simply rather leave it at home). I can totally see myself blogging this summer while sitting out in the sun. Bring on the iced tea!

• Problems with your computer won’t keep you from blogging, like Harry tries to do to me. (Harry is what I just named my “old man” laptop. What do you think? Does it fit?)

What I don’t like is that when using this app, I don’t have access to pictures and other needed items that are on my laptop. Those can be added later — as long as Harry cooperates, that is. I’m also not sure how to make words bold or italic, or if that’s even possible. (You may notice that I have added in some words in bold and italics; I was able to get on my laptop after writing this post to do a little editing.)

But if you’re in the position of having to write an entire blog post using the iPhone WordPress app (as this one has been), beggars can’t be choosers, right?

All in all, I think I like it…and am even grateful for it, especially today. Saunter on over to iTunes and download it. You never know when you might need it.

It’s yet another free iPhone app I highly recommend.

I’m feeling a little under the weather today (another cold), so I wanted to share a treat with you. If you’ve ever wanted to start your own blog, specifically a WordPress blog, guest blogger Kelly McCausey wants to help you learn how. Settle in and read on!
===================================================

WordPress is the website building tool of choice for many business owners these days. It’s a great option. No software needed on your computer, great functionality and flexibility – and you can update your site content from any computer, netbook or smart phone. It’s no wonder that it’s become so popular.

You’ve probably heard that Wordpress is incredibly user friendly – and it is! Still, most first time users find it overwhelming at first. If you ever tried to tackle Wordpress on your own and felt like giving up, you’re not at all alone. There’s a lot to take in at first.

I was lucky though. I had several patient friends available to help me over the learning curve. Still, I wouldn’t say that I felt truly comfortable for months after. The more I got to know it, the more I realized that WordPress is both simple and complex all at the same time.

If you only want to use WordPress to publish content, it’s pretty darned simple. The visual editor operates like any basic word processor. You enter content, press publish and you’re finished.

Think of WordPress as being three things at once.

1. It’s a Content Management Script that runs on your web server, letting you enter content as easily as writing an email.
2. Your content is stored in a Database on your web server.
3. Finally, it wears a Theme, a set of template files, that determines how the content is displayed online.

Entering content is easy. The database takes care of itself. Customization, want to alter your design and manipulate the database for special needs, you have to tap a whole other area of knowledge and that’s where many get stuck.

There’s good news and bad news for those who want to learn more about managing their WordPress site. The good news is that there’s a huge resource of documents and a large community of developers and users who are willing to answer your questions. The bad news is that there’s a huge resource of documents and a large community of developers and users…

The trouble for newcomers is usually that they don’t know how to ask the right questions to produce the answers they really need. The documents and forums seem to be written in a foreign language and newbie questions are often answered with links to more foreign explanations that just add to their feelings of overwhelm.

My advice? Don’t give up. Keep asking questions. To get the best answers, provide as much information about your problem as you can. If you’re persistent, you’ll find that things come easier over time.

====================================================
About the Author:

Kelly McCausey of Mom’s Talk Biz invites you to WordPress Orientation, your all access pass to exclusive WordPress learning. We demonstrate answers to your questions during our live web conference sessions. If you’re goal is to do it yourself, Wordpress Orientation is your pathway to learning how.

(Psst! You can also listen to some great podcasts Kelly has put together by going to WAHMTalk Radio. ~ Sally)

Whether you’re a work at home mom or have just batted the idea around, you’ll really benefit from listening to other WAHMs talk about what they do.

Yesterday, I finally purchased my season pass to the Hot Seminar Series. In this series of eight webinars, various work-at-home moms graciously give us a glimpse into their lives and explain just how they do what they do.

I’ll admit I’m a really bad procrastinator, and was worried — because I’d waited so long — that I’d pretty much missed out on my chance to get a season pass. (The seminar series began in June.) Not so…by purchasing my season pass now, I still gained access to the MP3 audio files of the previous webinars. (If you don’t have an iPod or other MP3 player, you can listen right from your computer once you’ve downloaded the files.)

Being a web designer/developer myself (and learning more every day), the first webinar I was interested in listening to was, naturally, Kelly McCausey’s interview with Lynette Chandler. Lynette is a WordPress tech/designer who also develops WordPress plug-ins. To do what Lynette does means I’ll have to ramp up some of my skills (or outsource to people who do have those skills, which was a great point the ladies brought up), but I was so inspired by both of them (Kelly is also a website designer).

I hope you’ll spend the small amount necessary to get your season pass, too. It’s only $10 (hello…$10!!!), and what’s that? Less than three lattes at Starbucks. It’s a small investment that can put you on the road to earning thousands.

Perhaps you’ll be interested in some of the other topics, like being a virtual assistant (this was last night’s topic, of which the audio is already available), freelance writing and paid blogging, information marketing, selling on eBay (yes, that is still a viable work-at-home option!)…and the list goes on.

Check it out yourself! You probably won’t miss the $10, but if you don’t get your season pass, you’ll be missing out on much, much more. You won’t regret it.

See you there!
====================================================