WordPress Features: The Addination!
Posted on March 14, 2008 Posted by John Scalzi 16 Comments
I’m fiddling with the site a bit, and adding a couple of features I’ve been asked for. So far, here’s what’s new:
* I’ve added an Archives section over in the sidebar, to make it easier to access entries from previous months and years. Note that the archive only covers entries created through WordPress (i.e. from 9/30/07 onward). Maybe one day I’ll hire someone to import the previous nine years of entries into WordPress, but you know what? Today’s not that day.
* I’ve added a widget that makes it easy for you to bookmark/recommend an entry to various bookmarking and recommending sites. You just click on the appropriate icon and I believe it will do the rest of the work (if you don’t see your favorite bookmark/recommend site, click on the “more” button; it’ll pop up a couple dozen others). (Update: took out the “more” option because it made the page hang). There’s also a button there to e-mail an entry (or an entry link, at least) to someone.
Please use these buttons responsibly; not every entry here is worth recommending.
* Updated the search function to be more responsive. Again, it covers only the WordPress entries (use the “Full Site Search” link for everything).
* Fiddled with the CSS to highlight my comments. Because I know none of you want to miss my oracular declarations!
* Added a “The Critics Rave!” widget in the sidebar, featuring “reviews” of my work from last year’s Scathing Review Contest.
If I add more tonight, I’ll update this entry.
please oh please oh please return the next/prev post links. i miss them so!
I’d love to see entry links without the ?p=### personally, but I’m anal when it comes to that stuff. :)
I like ’em that way. Keeps me from confusing them with the leftover Movable Type URLs.
Note to self:
Another way to avoid writing. Click on Whatever link. Watch Scalzi fiddle. With his blog, I mean.
(Nice winter scene)
I don’t know what format your previous entries are in or if this will even work but there is a tool called Blog2blog that might help you import them. It can be found here:
http://linuxlore.blogspot.com/2007/09/livejournal-to-blogger-or-blogger-to.html
My husband used it to convert from blogspot to livejournal.
“The Critics Rave” is a wonderful addition. That’s an all-time favorite for excellent entries.
Yes, I’m fond of it, too. We may have to do another contest like it when Zoe’s Tale comes out.
what’s the name of your bookmark/recommend widget? It looks great.
Okay, how does StumbleUpon work?
You know, I have no idea. However, I get a fair amount of traffic from there, so it must work one way or another.
Oh, I don’t miss the old days of Movable Type. This new WordPress thingie is very shiny and happy.
I do miss the pink background though.
It may return, Dean. Look for it!
So, would you say you’re happier with WordPress than with Movable Type? Is the effort of switching (assuming one has to do it oneself) worth the reward of functionality?
Joe: do you remember the days of Whatever on MT? Whether or not Scalzi is happier with WordPress, I as a regular reader am. Site’s up. Site’s fast. Site looks cool. Scalzi messing with site doesn’t blow site out of the water.
Before I set up WordPress, I tried MT. Couldn’t get it working. After a couple of evenings of failure, I decided to try WP, and while their ‘five minute install’ is an exaggeration, it is only a slight exaggeration. I do believe that when I actually sat down to do the installation, it took me ten minutes, including FTP time.
I’m a PC klutz, and I installed wordpress myself. Took a bit longer than 5 minutes and all, but it’s damn easy to do and stable.
re. StumbleUpon: Basically, you register at stumbleupon.com and install the toolbar, and click “Stumble” on it. You can vote on a web page, and it’ll register that vote. Clicking on the stumble-button will move you to a random page somehow similar to the one you currently are on. I think it’s somehow calculated from how many people liked the current page and what other pages they also liked… Admittedly, I haven’t used SU much myself.