Nice Review of ‘HTDE with Web 2.0 Blog’
I appreciate what this reviewer is saying about my book…sometimes it’s tough to “hit” just right with the marketing, cover design and so on. The truth its, a lot of folks worked hard on the book (editors, tech editors, copyeditors, publicists) and not just me. But it’s a pleasure to receive glowing praise such as this:
Do yourself a favor: don’t judge this book by its (awful) cover. I’ve had this book by my side every step of the way while setting up my very first blog, and I have to say it has been a huge help. Stauffer’s style is direct and engaging, not cutesy. He tells you what you need to know to get started, without a lot of fluff.
I wanted to write a review here because I think this books deserves a big audience, and because the Amazon listing tells you little about what’s covered.
Bob then goes on to talk about the different topics in the book.
Actually, he brings up one problem I’ve had with Amazon on past projects — the book descriptions often come from very early entries in whatever cataloguing systems are used for book orders and sales. So, many times the descriptions of the books just aren’t as accurate by the time they’re written; this book, for instance, moved away from some programming coverage in part because the “rise of widgets” took place as I was writing. It took a long time to get the description changed to reflect the new outline.
Snoozester: Wake 2.0
Very cute idea from Snoozester, a Web 2.0 product that, for as little as $3.99 per month, will give you a wake-up or reminder call on your home or cell phone. The service features a “SecureAwake” feature that will keep calling you until you answer the phone. (This assumes that, unlike me, you’re able to keep your mobile phone charged and ready to go at all times.)
My Web 2.0 Blogging Book is Here!
Well, it took me about six months longer to write that I’d expected, but How to Do Everything with Your Web 2.0 Blog is finally available. I got my author copies the other day, and I just noticed that Amazon is live and shipping. The book covers choosing a blogging application (I cover Blogger, TypePad, ExpressionEngine and, of course, WordPress) and then goes into some depth with customizing the blog’s design, multimedia offerings, headlines and so on and so on.
The book focuses mostly on incorporating existing Web 2.0 content into your blog and extending it onto the Web using social bookmarking and other services, and it even has a chapter that goes into how you can make money from your Web 2.0 blog. (Step One: write a book about Web 2.0 blogging. No, I’m kidding. Don’t do that. Less money for me.)
The one thing to watch out for in the Amazon description — I don’t know where they get that stuff…probably from the proposal. The book doesn’t really cover much PHP or AJAX scripting, as I figured out early on that I couldn’t fit that in a 400-page primer. Still, it lives on in the Amazon description, mocking me forever.
Anyway, if you’re interested in getting started with a blog and would feel more comfortable with a book by your side, check it out!
‘My iTunes’ Widgets For Blogs
Now you can advertise for Apple with nearly no benefit to yourself! Whoo-hoo!
Actually, I’m sure some folks will find the ‘My iTunes” widgets appealing — they enable others to peer into your iTunes buying habits and link to the albums and artists you tend to check out the most. (This, of course, would be hideously embarrassing to me, what with my penchant for show tunes and karoake tracks.) The widget uses flash and can be added to your standard issue blog sidebar.
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EE Updated; Multiple Site Manager announced
The folks at EllisLab have updated ExpressionEngine to a new version that includes a new Pages module, as well as releasing a new tool called Multiple Site Manager, which is not an Extension, Module or Plugin — it’s an Expansion. (Whoa.) ExpressionEngine is my favorite for-pay blogging tools, offering some amazing features for sites that taking blogging (or something beyond blogging) very seriously.
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