Video: Panel: Tips on Creating and Distributing Mouthwatering Multimedia Content

September 26, 2011 by Douglas E. Welch

Techmunch Panel: Tips on Creating and Distributing Mouthwatering Multimedia Content

Moderator: Douglas E. Welch (@douglaswelch), New Media Consultant & writer/producer of A Gardener’s Notebook. More at DouglasEWelch.com

Sara O’Donnell (@averagebetty), Producer and Host of AverageBetty.com

Diane Cu (@whiteonrice), Photographer and Publisher of White on Rice Couple.com

Sandi McKenna (@McMedia), Host of Midlife Roadtrip.com

John Trefry Video Producer, Docstoc.com (formerly Video Producer Mahalo.com for Recipe.com Videos) and founder of 4wordthought.com.

Douglas moderating panel at Techmunch food blogger conference

September 25, 2011 by Douglas E. Welch

I had a great time moderating the panel “Tips on Creating and Distributing Mouthwatering Multimedia Content” and spending the entire day at Techmunch food blogger conference on Friday. We were talking about the technical aspects of creating multimedia content for food blogs. There were lots of great questions and some great answers from the panel.

Video of this panel will be coming soon, so watch this space!

Douglas is moderating a panel at TECHmunch Food Blogger Conference

August 24, 2011 by Douglas E. Welch

I have just been asked to moderate at panel discussion at the TECHmunch Food Blogger Conference being held in Santa Monica, California on Friday, September 23, 2011.

TECHmunch is a series of conferences in cities across the U.S. designed to help food bloggers gain the hands-on digital media, marketing and business skills they need to make their blogs more personally and financially rewarding. Each conference features leading experts in a range of disciplines — from digital publishing and search engine optimization to public relations and online advertising. TECHmunch was created by BakeSpace.com Founder Babette Pepaj, who serves as its producer and host.

I will be moderating the session titled, “Tips on Creating and Distributing Mouthwatering Multimedia Content” with panel members Sara O’Donnell (@averagebetty), Producer and Host of AverageBetty.comDiane Cu (@whiteonrice), Photographer and Publisher of White on Rice Couple.comSandi McKenna (@McMedia), Host of Midlife Roadtrip.comJohn Trefry Video Producer, Docstoc.com (formerly Video Producer Mahalo.com creating videos for Recipe.com).

If you are a food blogger, or just thinking of becoming one, TECHmunch could be a great way to jumpstart your knowledge and connections. Join me on September 23, 2011!

TECHMunch Web Site

It’s WordPress Wednesday – Commit to keeping your blog up-to-date

January 18, 2011 by Douglas E. Welch

WordPress is one of the most popular blogging platforms in the world today, whether you are using the free hosting of WordPress.com or running a self-hosted blog on your own web site.

Along with all the power the WordPress carries, though, is a responsibility to keep your blog as secure as possible. There are many exploits (and exploiters) out there that would like to turn your WordPress into a spam-infested Google magnet.

There is an easy way to keep your blog trouble free, though. You need to regularly check for updates to both the WordPress program itself AND any plugins that you might be using on your site. Updates often contain fixes for known errors or bugs that can be exploited by the nasty people of the Internet. Keeping everything updated doesn’t guarantee that your blog won’t be attacked, but it closes the most basic holes in your security.

So, in the interest of keep your blog on the straight and narrow — I am proposing that every Wednesday become WordPress Wednesday. Let’s make this alliterative weekday and use it as reminder to check our WordPress software, our plugins and even comments that we may have missed along the way.

So, how do you keep your blog updated?

First, if you are hosting your blog at WordPress.com, congratulations! You are updated automatically by the WordPress.com staffers. You could still use WordPress Wednesday as an opportunity to check your comments for spam or if they need to be moderated, but most of the work is done for you.

If you are using a self-hosted install of WordPress, here are a few actions to take each WordPress Wednesday.

Log into your blog Dashboard
Look for WordPress Update notes (usually on a yellow background) announcing a new update of the WordPress software itself
Look for update markers on your Plugins menu item.
- These numbers in a black circle tell you how many plugins need to be updated.
- Click the plugins link to see a list of all plugins
Follow the steps provided to automatically upgrade either the WordPress software or the plugins.
Look for the same type of update count listed next to the Comments area
Accept or reject comments that need to moderated or marked as spam.

With just a few minutes of time each WordPress Wednesday, you can keep your WordPress blog clean and speedy.

Need more WordPress help? Ask your questions in the comments!

Flip Video Cameras – 3 Current Models

October 26, 2010 by Douglas E. Welch

I have added the 3 current Flip Camera models to the WelchWrite store. I have the Flip MinoHD and really like it. I carry it everywhere I go and it makes it easy to grab whatever happens while I am out and about.

The Flip UltraHD adds 2 hours of recording time, a removable battery and image stabilization.

Check out all the Flip models and I think you will find one that is right for you!

Amazon.com Widgets

Flip MinoHD | Flip UltraHD | Flip SlideHD

You’ll find these products and more, with user reviews, tech specs and more in the WelchWrite Store in association with Amazon.com

Tip: Using typographical elements as graphics in blog posts

October 5, 2010 by Douglas E. Welch

You may have noticed here that I sometimes like to use typographical elements — like the ?, ! and @ – as graphic elements in a blog post. Rather than go through the trouble of creating a JPEG, uploading it to the site and then linking it in with the IMG tag, I use this small bit of code below to render it out as text. Inline CSS styles allow me to easily size and position the element. This should work in nearly any blogging system, like WordPress and render properly in most or all browsers. You might also imagine using special characters like bullet signs, ™ and © symbols and more.

If you are looking for a quick way to dress up a blog post, give it a try.

…yields…

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Question: WordPress — Is it hype?

September 3, 2010 by Douglas E. Welch

I get a lot of questions every day and here is a one from today…

Q: Seth Godin uses TypePad. Is WordPress hyped VS a Reg. Website and using Typepad as your blog platform? I like WP but seems like it has to be watched like a hawk for it not to freeze up or slow down. What will this cost me in WP maintenence fees.

A: Hmmm, is WordPress hyped? I don’t think so. It does what I need it to do. There is certainly some personal choice and preference involved. I don’t use TypePad myself, but many people seem to, so it must have something going for it.

I find WordPress easy to maintain and manage and the number of plugins available for it make it quite extensible, even for someone like me who really isn’t a programmer, although technology-savvy. I do like having my own install of WordPress on my own web host, as opposed to having my blog hosted elsewhere — at least for my own personal blogs. I do use WordPress.com extensively for other, shared project blogs, though. I even have one blog still hosted at Blogger.com, where I started.

Speed is more a function of your web host and the number of plugins/features you have installed on your WordPress site. As with anything, installing too much cruft can slow it down. I find that the amount of traffic you have is more a concern than the actual software though. WordPress has caching plugins available to help in high-load environments., though, so that can help if you have a really popular web site.

I don’t find I have to “watch it like a hawk” to keep it running. In fact, I don’t think I have ever had a problem with WordPress other than those I have caused myself through badly configured plugins or themes. You should be able to maintain WordPress by yourself, as typically it only involves clicking a few buttons and waiting for the upgrade. In fact, I always recommend that bloggers know how to control and maintain their own blogs, rather than relying on someone else — especially if that person is charging by the hour for basic maintenance.

The new automated upgrade utilities built into WordPress make it almost a plug and play environment. Most web hosts have a one/two-click install for WordPress, making it even easier.

Overall, I like WordPress, both self-hosted and hosted at WordPress.com. It serves me well and I regularly recommend it to others.

Do you have a question? Why not drop me a line? Use the Comments link above, send email to me@douglasewelch.com or call the voice mail line at 818-804-5049

Question: How do I make automatic backups of my WordPress blog database?

September 2, 2010 by Douglas E. Welch