I just received an e-mail about Seattle SMX Advanced on June 3rd and 4th, and I have to say from the topics and presenters, it looks like a great event. I am considering it. However I’m also considering a new laptop. Hmm, budget constraints! We’ll see which gets priority.

Hi Everyone,

I’d encourage you to do this on your blog if you’ve got some wishes for Wordpress. They have a section on the Wordpress site called Ideas, and the community ranks them. The Automattic team works on the highest ranked ideas, but for the programmers out there who love a challenge, you can check out some of the brilliant ideas and work on them as projects for plugins. So the things below are both a wish-list and a to-do list. These can be done by a programmer and WP professional, but the product would be more solid if the community and Automattic worked on them together. Here’s my list:

1) Importing & Exporting not just by author, but by category, or time range, or tag. Today there was a an interesting post by Jeff Chandler on the long way to export by category. However, a simple plugin would be awesome. This one’s obvious and it’s already on the list… and someday it WILL be a part of WP.

2) Really custom write panel. A write panel that works like NetVibes, PageFlakes, and iGoogle. There is a plugin called Custom Write Panel, and other similar ones, but none that goes the distance (without some modifying of your own). If you could, out of the box, define templates for types of posts you write, such as Post, Announcement, Review, Update, etc. Then based on those defined templates, you can define custom form fields that you would like to fill out for each type of post. I mean this can be done with modifications, but if it came ready to go out of the box, that would rock. (Clarification: this is not the same as a page template, which defines the markup/code/design of the page. This is about the input fields and the write panel).

3) BuddyPress. This wish is coming true some day. I can’t wait. Basically it will allow you to use WP Mu with some plugins and modifications to launch a social network. It can be (and has been) done with your own mods, but BuddyPress will probably have the checks and balances someone couldn’t achieve on their own.

4) WP linked to BBPress via comments. Basic functionality: you make a post, it is posted in your BBPress-powered forum (the first post will just have the title and link to avoid duplicate content). Then, all comments on the post are made as replies to that thread in your forum. People have been working on many WP bridges with VBulletin, phpBB, IPB, SMF, etc. but you’d think the easiest to bridge would be another Automattic product. This is more on the to-do list than the wishlist because I think it’s not that complicated, just need time to do it.

5) Post Macros. Maybe there is a plugin for this I haven’t found, but basically being able to set up posting of certain content at certain intervals; being able to schedule posts; and being able to perform specific actions on posts at certain times.

What is your wishlist? :)

stay in high spirits,

-k.s.

This will be a short review of Wordpress, the next generation.

First of all, WP is free, simple, flexible, and scalable; and I use it for almost every website I develop. So if I have any complaints, they are far and few between. I’d have to say that there are many new features of WP that I really like, but I was surprised at the way they’ve rearranged the interface. Although I’ve always modified WP, I think many more people will start modifying it now to keep the new features but restore the old interface. Especially for someone who uses WordPress everyday, I was a little annoyed with some of the changes to the Write Panel sidebar, and the navigation all over. I can understand though, because the majority of WordPress users are not web developers or programmers, and perhaps the previous layout was overwhelming, especially for a first time blogger or even a convert from LiveJournal or Blogger. Naturally, most people resist change, but for anyone out there who was already customizing WP, you can restore most of the previous interface and functionality issues with some modifications.

I’ve started to use WP 2.5.1 on this blog, but I am still using 2.3.3 on my other sites until I have time to customize the new version, which leads me to an idea: It would be great if future WP updates were released with more details as to which are “necessary” updates (e.g. security issues, bugs) and which updates would change functions and function references throughout the product. With this information, a developer could update certain sections and keep their modifications intact.

That’s all for now. :)

stay in high spirits,

-k.s.

—————

P.S. - A few recommended posts on the topic:

10 Things You Need to Know About Wordpress (TechnoSailer)

Wordpress 2.5 Blog (Matt Mullenweg)

Why I Love Wordpress (Performancing) - Also read his previous post, “Why I Hate Wordpress 2.5″

Hi Everyone,

Tazzu is hosting its first Wordpress Camp on Wednesday, from 5:30 to 8:30pm at the Network Hub and I’m very happy to say I’ll be presenting on how to build a catalog or mashup site with WordPress. There are a variety of cool presentations including blogging, website development, typography, photo management, social media, and how to make money - all using WordPress.

I was very happy to see that so many people jumped on board and started to support the event with their sponsorships and promotions. I hope this is a first of many WordPress events.

stay in high spirits,

-k.s.

So here it is - my Hello World post.

This wouldn’t be the first time I’ve said “Hello World,” though. In fact, my first blog post was in 2004. I started when Blogger was the new, hip thing and Wordpress hadn’t yet become the mainstream. I think I left the blog at that time because it was becoming too personal and I became too busy with other things, which is a common theme with many bloggers. In any case, I’ve decided to get back into it.

So right now this is just a blog, but in the coming weeks I’ll be working to grow the site and share my crazy opinions and enlightening insights.

stay in high spirits,

-k.s.

——————

Invocation:

Salok:

The Divine Guru is my mother, the Divine Guru is my father;
the Divine Guru is my Transcendent Lord and Master.

The Divine Guru is my companion, the Destroyer of ignorance;
the Divine Guru is my relative and brother.

The Divine Guru is the Giver, the Teacher of the Lord’s Name.
The Divine Guru is the Mantra which never fails.

The Divine Guru is the Image of peace, truth and wisdom.
The Divine Guru is the Philosopher’s Stone - touching it, one is transformed.

The Divine Guru is the sacred shrine of pilgrimage, and the pool of divine ambrosia;
bathing in the Guru’s wisdom, one experiences the Infinite.

The Divine Guru is the Creator, and the Destroyer of all sins;
the Divine Guru is the Purifier of sinners.

The Divine Guru existed at the primal beginning, throughout the ages, in each and every age.
The Divine Guru is the Mantra of the Lord’s Name; chanting it, one is saved.

O God, please be merciful to me, that I may be with the Divine Guru;
I am a foolish sinner, but holding onto Him, I am carried across.

The Divine Guru is the True Guru, the Supreme Lord God, the Transcendent Lord;
Nanak bows in humble reverence to the Lord, the Divine Guru. ||1||

- Gaurree Mahalla 5 Baavan Akhree, 250, Guru Granth Sahib