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This Saturday, the first stable wordpress 2.5 was finally released. After some delays and two beta release candidates, wordpress as reached another new level.

I could mention the new features that come with the new version, and how awesome the new control panel was, but i won’t do that. First, im not in the mood for that, and second, my first impression on the new cpanel was not that good lol.

Last week, with the release of the final version of the options theme, i decided to upgrade to the wordpress RC-2 in order to properly use the new theme, which was WP 2.5 specific.

I had to do some research first on how to safely upgrade my wordpress installation, and spent some time reading about the possible incompatibilities with some plugins.

So, after some research i decided that it was time to backup my database (obviously), not only from this blog, but from all my sql driven sites. Heck, if i was downloading one database why not download all of them and spare some time in the future?

Now, with all backups placed in a “safe” place it was time for the next phase:

Checking plugins issues with WP 2.5

Every wordpress blogger will have for certain, plugins installed, and most of you will be like me, a plugin addict, that installs almost all new plugins that appear lol. But this new version is different in so many ways, that some plugins might not work correctly, or not work at all.

So, a mandatory stop is the Wordpress Codex where you can find a list of compatible plugins, and a list of plugins that don’t work with this new version. Just browse the list and see if there’s a plugin that you use and it is known not to work with WP 2.5. Just take notice that if your plugin is not on the list, that does not necessarily mean that it is compatible.

This may be also useful. There is a plugin called Wordpress Upgrade Preflight Check that will generate a list of all your installed plugin, and it will tell you if there’s issues with the wordpress version you want to install. Unfortunately, the plugin author has not released yet a version that checks problems in upgrading to 2.5. It only does to version 2.3. But check the plugin page often, as i expect a release soon.

Now, with instant upgrade plugin, i just click to install the latest stable version of wordpress and voila! You have upgraded easily your blog and in a safe way.

Now, you just need to test your blog to see if you find any conflict with your plugins, and if everything is fine then, there is nothing more to say than:

Enjoy the wordpress features and happy blogging!

Btw, i made a new bans site

I have recently installed the plugin Show Top Commentators. I have configured this plugin to show the top 5 commentators of the month for now.

This is another cool tool to stimulate blog participation by visitors. Besides the do follow link on the comment, you will get featured on the plugin if you manage to reach the top five. Your name will be shown, linked to your Website.

IF this wasn’t enough for you, every month i will write a post giving some link love to my 5 top posters. That’s another link for your and free exposure

Good evening fellow bloggers!

This has been a busy day for me. I have spent the last hours configuring the new design for the blog and updating the wordpress version of this blog.

A new version of the wordpress 2.5 has been released. It is in the RC-2 Version now. Still in beta though. But still, i decided to upgrade the blog. First i did a full backup of my hosting (a thing that i haven’t done in a long long time). Downloaded a backup of the blog’s database, checked for compatibility issues with some plugins i run here, and deactivated the problematic ones. Then i did the upgraded with no problems at all.

The main reason i upgraded the blog was that the theme i am currently using (options themes) is fully functional with wordpress 2.5, and has some issues with version 2.3

I have been eager to use this theme for some time now, and this was the right time to do it.

I really like the new design of the blog. I was getting a little bit bored with the previous one (structure theme, which is still a great theme). This theme gives me more Options to play around ;), but due to the great number of options it will take some time for me to reach perfection. The next thing i will do, when i finish writing this post, is to make a new header. Right know the header says “Options Theme bla bla bla”, and that can’t stay there

So, now, i ask for your cooperation. If you see something out of place, errors, or something similar please post a comment here or mail me using the contact page. I would appreciate your cooperation

While i was working on the updates i was thinking what would be the future of this blog. I mean, things are going well. I have a decent amount of traffic, my alexa score is reaching the 100,000 mark :D, but know a question appears. Should i move the blog from being a subdomain of my main website (Dahh.net) to a independent .com domain address or should i stay like this?

I would love to have some feedback from you

By this time, we all know that if we want to create mini sites, we need to do some keyword research to find a niche where it is possible to easily compete with other existing sites. (if you don’t know how to do keyword research then you should read my mini site creation series Part 2).

But where do you get ideas for keywords to research?

Sure it is easy to find a word. You just pick the first word that comes to your head, write it on a tool that gives you long tail keywords, and do a little study to see the competition and searches these long tail keywords have.

I personally, don’t do this often. 95% of the keywords i research using this method turn out worthless, and this is a time consuming method, although patience pays off. Just pick an afternoon or any part of the day where you have a few hours to research and create your list. Right now i have around 15 keyword lists ready to be studied, but i lack time…

From time to time, and now im heading to the point of this post, a keyword just “pops” in my head! i usually don’t carry some paper to write down the keyword, but i really don’t need it because i use my cell phone notepad for that. Hehe.

Keywords “popping” from your head tend to be better than researching a massive amount of keywords, based on my experience. But we must not forget what surrounds us, or what we see or hear.

The best keyword so far to me, was found while watching a comedy movie! I took note of that keyword and then when i arrived at home, searched for long tail keywords related to that main word. Did a research on number of searches and competition and manage to select some keyword phrases. Did the mini site, and i can say to you that in 10 clicks in 2 weeks, it managed to make 4-5 times more than 50 or more clicks from several other mini-sites in months!

So, don’t forget, pay attention to the “inspiration of the moment” that may appear at any time, and the tips your surroundings are giving to you… you’ll never know when a gold mine is right beneath your nose.

And you? how did you found your best keyword so far?

Blogging activity requires that you write posts with a certain comfort level. Think like this: you don’t like to stay in front of your computer, or watch tv in an uncomfortable chair or sofa. Even less if you are working on your office or at home.

I consider blogging a part time job, and i tend to spend a lot of time in front of the monitor, but this would be almost unbearable if i hadn’t a decent chair or a workbench. it is not the best, but it is definitely not the worst.

If I, in the future i decide to change my working area, i will sure look at Formaspace to find suitable Workbenches - You will find that their site very professional, as also their catalogue.