Buzzsonic.com

I’ve been using the blogging software WordPress for around three years now and in all of that time there really is nothing to touch it. Why? Its free (Open Source), it has a massive user base and support network, plug-ins, mods, widgets and themes galore, oh and did I mention it doesn’t cost a penny?

Of course free doesn’t always mean great but in this case, you get what you don’t pay for. I have tried literally hundreds of mods over the years, different themes/skins and modifications. Basically I like to tinker and I think I’m getting closer to my ideal WordPress install (at least for my needs).

Buzzsonic.com (as of today) runs on WordPress v2.0.2, so its not the latest install (which is v2.1.2). Anyway, I thought I’d list my top ten (or eleven!) modifications which I’m finding the most useful right now. This could well change soon but these are what I consider the most useful WordPress mods.

1. Glossy Blue Theme- For a simple, quick overhaul of the default WordPress look this neat two column Web 2.0-ish looking theme is one of the easiest ways to get a cool looking make-over. A close second was Glued Ideas Subtle which you might go for if you prefer a three column look. Honorable mentions go to Misty Look and Semiologic (I’m using an older install of this theme here). Read the rest of this entry »

OK, its been a long time since I even looked at this blog, let alone posted to it. Main reason? Well, I simply had too many projects running, including four blogs and two directories, so cutting those down is going to help to prioritize. Oh, the full time job kind of gets in the way too! So its down to Buzzsonic and iExploreFlorida.com only now and I’ve been trying two blogging tools that I think are going to help in shaving off some time wasting. I’ve been using Windows Live Writer to do my posts at Florida Travel Hacks which has actually been great, though I’m now also trying the Performancing plug-in (since renamed ScribeFire) for Firefox which is enabling me to blog using the browser rather than having to log-in to my Word Press admin area.

Live Writer also has a Firefox extension which I’m going to be trying as well. So, will be adding feedback here and seeing if a favourite emerges. Post wise, I’m pretty much going to be covering the same stuff though will adding more resources for fellow bloggers. Stay tuned !

Well I struggled with the Word Press upgrade. Even following the helpful support links at Word Press itself and doing the usual Google search I had some scary moments, php errors, parts of the site vanishing etc. Ouch. I’d backed up the whole website archive to my desktop so I was able to restore the site and try again (thankfully!).

Anyway, I decided the safest way (but not the quickest way) was to install the latest version of Word Press side by side the old version in a different directory on my server and painstakingly move all the old posts over by hand. One thing that Word Press dosn’t seem to support as yet (at least I couldn’t find it) is migrating the content over from Word Press to Word Press, although there is support for moving from alternate blogging platforms over to Word Press (I hope you’re still following me here).

So thats the latest, a weekend of moving content. The old Buzzsonic was running on Word Press 1.5 using the Semiologic theme by Denis de Barnardy. The new Buzzsonic is running on Word Press 2.0.3 using the rather cool looking Durable theme by CSS whizz Andy Partling.

Word Press Resources

Word Press Codex (WordPress.org)
Word Press Theme Browser (AlexKing.org)
Word Press News (Wordlog.com)
Word Press Guides (Tamba2.org.uk)
Word Press Station (WPStation.com)
Word Press Theme Park (WebDesignBook.net)
Word Press Plug-ins Database (WP-Plugins.net)
How to Make a Word Press Theme (TheUndersigned.net)
Social Bookmark Link Creator (TwisterMC.com)

Forever changing….We seem to have been taking one too many ’sabbaticals’ from this blog over the last year, juggling too many projects is one excuse, another is that my ideas are continually shifting.
So, another bit of a slight change on the editorial front as we’re now focussing the blog on highlighting more personal technology like blogging, RSS, bookmarking, popdcasting, software and the like as opposed to the original focus, which was the digital music industry when we started as MusicBizNews24.com (a while ago now!). Call it convergence if you like. Not jumping on any bandwagon you understand, just trying to focus a little clearer.

The remainder of this week will be a bit of a site makeover to hopefully make things easier on the eye, an update to our Word Press (we’re still on 1.5 here as apposed to 2. whatever its at now) and shifting the old database over, oh, and the more search engine friendly URL feature that the latest Word Press has.

Anyway, proper new posts and more updates at the weekend. Keep your eye out.
Adrian

As an indication of how widespread the phenomena of Podcasting is becoming, early adopters are springing up in the most unlikely places. Father Roderick Vonhogen, Catholic priest of the Archdiocese of Utrecht in the Netherlands led Internet listeners on an intimate audio tour that allowed them to pay one last visit to Pope John Paul II before he was laid to rest earlier this month with his podcast show , “The Night the Pope Died” delivered in MP3 format and downloadable from his Catholic Insider website.

Catholic Insider and thousands of other podcasts can be found through directories like Podcast Alley , Podcasting News and Podcast.net while free software like iPodder, Doppler and iPodder X automatically downloads new shows as they become available. Listeners can transfer their podcasts to an Apple iPod or other portable MP3 player, and listen to them when and where they wish.

A recent survey by the Pew Internet and American Life Project found that one in three U.S. adults who own an MP3 player have listened to a podcast, though the survey’s small sample size of respondents means that figure could be substantially lower, according to some critics. In all, 2,201 people were interviewed, including 208 owners of iPods or MP3 players.

Pew Internet researcher Mary Madden told the NewsFactor website. “Podcasting is clearly a growing online phenomenon,” she says. “It is part of the larger notion of the Internet being a democratizing medium. Anyone who has the basic tools, a basic grasp of technology, can do it. Podcasting is definintely mimicking blogging in a lot of ways,” Madden continues. “In a lot of cases, they are audio versions of someone’s personal rant for the day.”

Related Reading

Podcasting Catches On [Pew Internet PDF]
Six Million Podcasters and Counting [NewsFactor.com]
Podcasting In The Dark [Washington Times]
iPods and MP3 Players Storm the Market [Pew Internet]
Podcasting Tools [Podcasting-Tools.com]

Big buzz for us here today as looking at our server stats earlier we realised we got ‘Slashdotted’ yesterday without even realising it (we had a day off !). So, we kind of got a whole weeks traffic in a few hours. We’ve heard of some peoples sites going into melt down when this happens so all credit to our robust hosting company MyAcen, who we rate very highly indeed and kept the fires burning. We just hope some of the Slashdot readers keep paying us a visit !