Confession: I have no idea what I'm doing

Ms Naughty · 2007-04-19, 08:24 PM

I've been using Wordpress since January 2006. I've been muddling along with it OK, and it all looks fine on the surface, but I feel the need to say:

I have no idea what the hell I'm doing!

Reading the recent posts on trackbacks just made me feel like shouting this from the rooftops LOL

I still don't really know how to do php (I learned how to make web pages by myself with Front Page in 2000 and my tech skills are still a long way behind). I've got no idea what a CRON job is.

I don't use RSS feeds because I'm vague on how to do them.

I've just disabled the Tag Warrior plugin because I'm worried it's screwed up my search engine results. I still feel like I've never really grasped the concept of tagging as it is.

And one of the biggest problems I have is that I know I could probably learn a lot more if I had time to spend reading articles and testing things out. But I've got a lot of things on my plate, and the time I spend on my blogs usually just ends up being the time I spend posting.

So... is anybody else feeling a bit

about blogging?

I've got a list of really dumb questions I want to ask here, but I felt the need to profess my inadequacy first.

Bill · 2007-04-19, 09:32 PM

me neither. and I don't fully get tagging either.

and a lot of the plugins make me nervous too... ;-}

docholly · 2007-04-19, 09:56 PM

Me either.. i'm sure there is a lot more i could do but I just can't find the time to read.

I wish someone would make a FAQ that explains step by step .. they could sell it as an ebook.. i'd pay $$ for that.. not the install but what you need to do aftter the install. etc.. feeds, tags, plug ins, etc etc..

oldbrad · 2007-04-19, 10:23 PM

I know less than anyone. I didn't even install the fucking thing, my host did lol. I just type shit and hit publish. Thats all i know.

walrus · 2007-04-20, 01:47 AM

This is why I had originally started adult blogging tools. Unfortunately, I've found I have less time for it than I had hoped for.

Perhaps I should post a blogging 101 type of thread...but where to start. Give me some idea's and I'll see if I can't dedicate a post a week on a different subject.

oldbrad · 2007-04-20, 01:50 AM

Something on plug ins, rss feeds and tags. Like common plug ins, how to use feeds, etc. would be awesome to me.

SaucyPanties · 2007-04-20, 03:22 AM

To be honest the best way to learn is trial and error. I have 9 blogs now, well between myself and my husband.. I found the best thing to do was run a test blog and your real blog alongside each other. If you want to try a plugin or make a change then try it on your test blog first.

The php I have very basic knowledge of and that is only because on the test blog I used to cut and paste chunks of code around seeing what would happen. Before I started I used to copy the code into notepad so if I made a real pigs ear of it I could just paste the code back into place.

Grandmascrotum your blog (assuming it is msnaughty/blog) looks great and I would exchange links with you tomorrow, are you sure you are not worrying too much? The blog is full of great content and lots of text.

I would personally install the google sitemap generator and the no-ping-wait pluging, my hubby has them for download at http://www.hardrated.com/wordpress/?page_id=5

A quick tip, you have lots of RSS feed buttons, have you remembered to add each of them to your own reader? For example, set up your own MyYahoo page and when logged in, click your 'Add me to Yahoo' button on your blog. Then each time you access your MyYahoo page it should check to see if there have been any updates on your blog.

Walrus - Time permitting, what about a working weekly article from the basics down. Get a blog, what plugins you use, your first post editing blogroll etc? Actually, now I have wrote that I am thinking it could be a lot of work and very time consuming lol...

Ms Naughty · 2007-04-20, 04:03 AM

SaucyPanties, thanks for the compliment

So... here's an example of what I don't know. Why would I want to add my feed to my own reader? Does it mean that it would then be indexed in Yahoo/Google readers for other people to see?

Boogie originally wrote a Blogging 101 thread here:
http://greenguysboard.com/board/show...light=blogging
But it doesn't get into the nitty gritty of feeds and plugins and that kind of thing.

It would be nice to have a list of:
Recommended plugins
Recommended hacks e.g. title hack
Feed readers to submit to
Sites to submit to
Info about tags, trackbacks, feeds

Like, if you were to set up a new blog, what is the list of things you'd do to get it up and happening?

JaceXXX · 2007-04-20, 04:22 AM

think of tagging as a fancy and on the fly way of creating categories

docholly · 2007-04-20, 08:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SaucyPanties

To be honest the best way to learn is trial and error. I have 9 blogs now, well between myself and my husband.. I found the best thing to do was run a test blog and your real blog alongside each other. If you want to try a plugin or make a change then try it on your test blog first.

GrandmaScrotum originally said and it was echoed by those that followed:

Quote:

And one of the biggest problems I have is that I know I could probably learn a lot more if I had time to spend reading articles and testing things out. But I've got a lot of things on my plate, and the time I spend on my blogs usually just ends up being the time I spend posting.

Unless blogging is our #1 focus, not just an additional traffic feed and/or labor of love, most of us don't really have the time to read or test etc. Wordpress is a very powerful tool and it has capabilities that most of us really don't utilize to the fullest extent, speaking for myself here, mainly becuase I find that the "faqs" written are not explained very well and are truely cumbersome.

That's why something that is an article like "feeds" -- a brief explaination on why/what and then a Step 1/Step 2/Step 3 guide to setting them up.. etc.. would be very helpful.

BTW.. Walrus..your blogging tools page was/is extremely helpful. Kudos!!

and Grandmascrotum's blog does rock!!

walrus · 2007-04-20, 12:52 PM

Back a few months ago when I decided to take misterwalrus.com away from porn, let it die a bit and then use it as the on-line site for my consulting business, I registered a domain name to use to replace The Walrus Blog with. I miss writing that blog it was very theraputic.

But as with everyone else, Ive gotten so involved in other things, other area's that I haven't taken the time to build that blog up.

If there is some interest....and everyone understands this wouldn't be a blog in a day...or a week...or a month but something I worked on and documented weekly, I'd be willing to document what I go through to develop a blog and why I feel it's important.

And answer questions about feeds, tags, which blog directories I think are almost as good as mine (

), where and why you want to submit you feeds to aggregators, etc. etc. etc.

Jim · 2007-04-20, 03:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by walrus

This is why I had originally started adult blogging tools. Unfortunately, I've found I have less time for it than I had hoped for.

Perhaps I should post a blogging 101 type of thread...but where to start. Give me some idea's and I'll see if I can't dedicate a post a week on a different subject.

I wish you would

Sparky installed wordpress for me months ago and I haven't done a thing with it. Only because I don't know how.

Greenguy · 2007-04-20, 11:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim

I wish you would

Sparky installed wordpress for me months ago and I haven't done a thing with it. Only because I don't know how.

I'm the same way - except for the fancy design Urb did for me, I'm pretty much running a very basic blog.

SaucyPanties · 2007-04-21, 03:51 AM

Grandmascrotum - I have a MyYahoo set as my home page with lots of favourite modules (as Yahoo allows you to do). When logged into My Yahoo it has a small blue + button reading "Add Content". When I have a new blog I copy the RSS feed link by 'right click copy url' (your blogs RSS is http://www.msnaughty.com/blog/feed/ ) and I enter this as my add content option into Yahoo.

Now Yahoo knows to check my blogs for updates every time I open my browser. Does this make a massive difference? Who knows but for something so simple to do you are not losing anything and I do swear by this method for new blogs.

As for plugins, my personal 'MUST' have is the Google sitemap generator. Each time you make a new post, the sitemap generator builds a new site map and it 'pings google'. Once installed you do not click any extra buttons, it is all automated.

Before I installed this my Google traffic was poor to my blog, the day after I installed it I noticed a difference. Take a look at http://blogsearch.google.com/blogsearch and search for 'fart' or 'used panties'. Both should return my blog top, used panties because that is the theme and fart because that was the title of my last post.

docholly - Yes I did read the comments however I cannot see that having a 'test' blog to upload a plugin click activate and 'see if it has a desired effect' is too time intensive? You are talking under 5 minutes and if it screws up the test blog then you know not to try it on your main blog.

My comments about php and my very basic knowledge did not say 'THIS IS WHAT YOU SHOULD DO' I was simply saying I only have a basic understanding because.... my 3 actual suggestions were run a test blog if you are unsure of a plugin, use the sitemap plugin and add your feed to a reader such as your Yahoo homepage.

JTandmisstee · 2007-04-23, 03:43 PM

Well I see we aren't the only ones that don't know what the "h" we doing with blogs. I have one main blog that been up over a year but don't really get the chance to update much and some free hosted blogs too. In the basic plain that we are going to to using is three domain names (one is were our main blog is now) and linking each blog to the other.
But to be honest I don't have the foggest idea of what we are doing. We have search engine traffic and pinging but that's about were it stands. As far as sales I have made more off the blogs than I ever did with free sites, TGP etc... I have two sponsor that are recurring each and every month which never happen with any of our free sites etc...
The wife is busy with her job so she doesn't have too much time to spare so it up to me to keep it all going.
Think it would be a really go idea that someone put up some good info on not how to install but what to do from your frist post on.
Another idea would be those that would be interested... form a group and work on our blogs exchange ideas and what we did or did not do and explain why...link each of our blogs with the others.
grandmascrotum....I think you have nice blog there and would exchange links with you as well.

2007-04-19, 09:56 PM	#3
docholly Nothing funnier than the ridiculous faces you people make mid-coitus Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Sin-City USA Posts: 4,973	Me either.. i'm sure there is a lot more i could do but I just can't find the time to read. I wish someone would make a FAQ that explains step by step .. they could sell it as an ebook.. i'd pay $$ for that.. not the install but what you need to do aftter the install. etc.. feeds, tags, plug ins, etc etc.. __________________ Support Indie Porn Sites OMGoddess You know you need some Bling!!

2007-04-19, 10:23 PM	#4
oldbrad It is better to watch things then to do them Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: oregon Posts: 485	I know less than anyone. I didn't even install the fucking thing, my host did lol. I just type shit and hit publish. Thats all i know. __________________ Help MrMaryLou Link to his Chubby TGP & Chubby Links on your sites and blogs.

2007-04-20, 01:47 AM	#5
walrus Oh no, I'm sweating like Roger Ebert Join Date: May 2005 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 1,773	This is why I had originally started adult blogging tools. Unfortunately, I've found I have less time for it than I had hoped for. Perhaps I should post a blogging 101 type of thread...but where to start. Give me some idea's and I'll see if I can't dedicate a post a week on a different subject. __________________ Naked Girlfriend Porn TGP free partner account

2007-04-20, 01:50 AM	#6
oldbrad It is better to watch things then to do them Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: oregon Posts: 485	Something on plug ins, rss feeds and tags. Like common plug ins, how to use feeds, etc. would be awesome to me. __________________ Help MrMaryLou Link to his Chubby TGP & Chubby Links on your sites and blogs.

2007-04-20, 03:22 AM	#7
SaucyPanties No matter how good you are at something, there's always about a million people better than you Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 231	To be honest the best way to learn is trial and error. I have 9 blogs now, well between myself and my husband.. I found the best thing to do was run a test blog and your real blog alongside each other. If you want to try a plugin or make a change then try it on your test blog first. The php I have very basic knowledge of and that is only because on the test blog I used to cut and paste chunks of code around seeing what would happen. Before I started I used to copy the code into notepad so if I made a real pigs ear of it I could just paste the code back into place. Grandmascrotum your blog (assuming it is msnaughty/blog) looks great and I would exchange links with you tomorrow, are you sure you are not worrying too much? The blog is full of great content and lots of text. I would personally install the google sitemap generator and the no-ping-wait pluging, my hubby has them for download at http://www.hardrated.com/wordpress/?page_id=5 A quick tip, you have lots of RSS feed buttons, have you remembered to add each of them to your own reader? For example, set up your own MyYahoo page and when logged in, click your 'Add me to Yahoo' button on your blog. Then each time you access your MyYahoo page it should check to see if there have been any updates on your blog. Walrus - Time permitting, what about a working weekly article from the basics down. Get a blog, what plugins you use, your first post editing blogroll etc? Actually, now I have wrote that I am thinking it could be a lot of work and very time consuming lol... __________________ Saucy Used Panties

2007-04-19, 08:24 PM	#1
Ms Naughty old enough to be Grandma Scrotum Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Australia Posts: 1,408	Confession: I have no idea what I'm doing I've been using Wordpress since January 2006. I've been muddling along with it OK, and it all looks fine on the surface, but I feel the need to say: I have no idea what the hell I'm doing! Reading the recent posts on trackbacks just made me feel like shouting this from the rooftops LOL I still don't really know how to do php (I learned how to make web pages by myself with Front Page in 2000 and my tech skills are still a long way behind). I've got no idea what a CRON job is. I don't use RSS feeds because I'm vague on how to do them. I've just disabled the Tag Warrior plugin because I'm worried it's screwed up my search engine results. I still feel like I've never really grasped the concept of tagging as it is. And one of the biggest problems I have is that I know I could probably learn a lot more if I had time to spend reading articles and testing things out. But I've got a lot of things on my plate, and the time I spend on my blogs usually just ends up being the time I spend posting. So... is anybody else feeling a bit about blogging? I've got a list of really dumb questions I want to ask here, but I felt the need to profess my inadequacy first. __________________ Promote Bright Desire

2007-04-19, 09:32 PM	#2
Bill Selling porn allows me to stay in a constant state of Bliss - ain't that a trip! Join Date: Apr 2003 Posts: 3,914	me neither. and I don't fully get tagging either. and a lot of the plugins make me nervous too... ;-}

2007-04-20, 04:03 AM	#8
Ms Naughty old enough to be Grandma Scrotum Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Australia Posts: 1,408	SaucyPanties, thanks for the compliment So... here's an example of what I don't know. Why would I want to add my feed to my own reader? Does it mean that it would then be indexed in Yahoo/Google readers for other people to see? Boogie originally wrote a Blogging 101 thread here: http://greenguysboard.com/board/show...light=blogging But it doesn't get into the nitty gritty of feeds and plugins and that kind of thing. It would be nice to have a list of: Recommended plugins Recommended hacks e.g. title hack Feed readers to submit to Sites to submit to Info about tags, trackbacks, feeds Like, if you were to set up a new blog, what is the list of things you'd do to get it up and happening? __________________ Promote Bright Desire

2007-04-20, 04:22 AM	#9
JaceXXX A woman is like beer. They look good, they smell good, and you'd step over your own mother just to get one! Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Atlanta, Ga. Posts: 55	think of tagging as a fancy and on the fly way of creating categories __________________ That Blog Guy

2007-04-20, 12:52 PM	#11
walrus Oh no, I'm sweating like Roger Ebert Join Date: May 2005 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 1,773	Back a few months ago when I decided to take misterwalrus.com away from porn, let it die a bit and then use it as the on-line site for my consulting business, I registered a domain name to use to replace The Walrus Blog with. I miss writing that blog it was very theraputic. But as with everyone else, Ive gotten so involved in other things, other area's that I haven't taken the time to build that blog up. If there is some interest....and everyone understands this wouldn't be a blog in a day...or a week...or a month but something I worked on and documented weekly, I'd be willing to document what I go through to develop a blog and why I feel it's important. And answer questions about feeds, tags, which blog directories I think are almost as good as mine ( ), where and why you want to submit you feeds to aggregators, etc. etc. etc. __________________ Naked Girlfriend Porn TGP free partner account

2007-04-21, 03:51 AM	#14
SaucyPanties No matter how good you are at something, there's always about a million people better than you Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 231	Grandmascrotum - I have a MyYahoo set as my home page with lots of favourite modules (as Yahoo allows you to do). When logged into My Yahoo it has a small blue + button reading "Add Content". When I have a new blog I copy the RSS feed link by 'right click copy url' (your blogs RSS is http://www.msnaughty.com/blog/feed/ ) and I enter this as my add content option into Yahoo. Now Yahoo knows to check my blogs for updates every time I open my browser. Does this make a massive difference? Who knows but for something so simple to do you are not losing anything and I do swear by this method for new blogs. As for plugins, my personal 'MUST' have is the Google sitemap generator. Each time you make a new post, the sitemap generator builds a new site map and it 'pings google'. Once installed you do not click any extra buttons, it is all automated. Before I installed this my Google traffic was poor to my blog, the day after I installed it I noticed a difference. Take a look at http://blogsearch.google.com/blogsearch and search for 'fart' or 'used panties'. Both should return my blog top, used panties because that is the theme and fart because that was the title of my last post. docholly - Yes I did read the comments however I cannot see that having a 'test' blog to upload a plugin click activate and 'see if it has a desired effect' is too time intensive? You are talking under 5 minutes and if it screws up the test blog then you know not to try it on your main blog. My comments about php and my very basic knowledge did not say 'THIS IS WHAT YOU SHOULD DO' I was simply saying I only have a basic understanding because.... my 3 actual suggestions were run a test blog if you are unsure of a plugin, use the sitemap plugin and add your feed to a reader such as your Yahoo homepage. __________________ Saucy Used Panties

2007-04-23, 03:43 PM	#15
JTandmisstee Internet! Is that thing still around? Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: KC area Posts: 5	Well I see we aren't the only ones that don't know what the "h" we doing with blogs. I have one main blog that been up over a year but don't really get the chance to update much and some free hosted blogs too. In the basic plain that we are going to to using is three domain names (one is were our main blog is now) and linking each blog to the other. But to be honest I don't have the foggest idea of what we are doing. We have search engine traffic and pinging but that's about were it stands. As far as sales I have made more off the blogs than I ever did with free sites, TGP etc... I have two sponsor that are recurring each and every month which never happen with any of our free sites etc... The wife is busy with her job so she doesn't have too much time to spare so it up to me to keep it all going. Think it would be a really go idea that someone put up some good info on not how to install but what to do from your frist post on. Another idea would be those that would be interested... form a group and work on our blogs exchange ideas and what we did or did not do and explain why...link each of our blogs with the others. grandmascrotum....I think you have nice blog there and would exchange links with you as well.