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WordPress Wednesday News: Happy Birthday WordPress, Automattic Wins and Gets Lots of Money, Security Concerns Over Plugins and Core, WordCamp Hamburg and Hating the Name WordPress.com

WordPress Wednesday News: Happy Birthday WordPress, Automattic Wins and Gets Lots of Money, Security Concerns Over Plugins and Core, WordCamp Hamburg and Hating the Name WordPress.com

Happy Birthday, WordPress! WordPress.com and Toni Schneider win! Venture capitalists throw money at WordPress and Automattic. WordPress Plugin concerns raise their heads. Security and WordPress – becoming an issue? WordPress.com bloggers get 3 gigs. WordCamp Hamburg is this weekend. And we don’t like the WordPress.com name.

WordPress News

WordPress.com Wins! WordPress.com and Automattic won at the TechCrunch Crunchies. Automattic won in two categories, for WordPress.com for Most Likely to Succeed and Toni Schneider for Best Startup CEO. Congrats all!

Happy Birthday WordPress! Mike Little always reminds us of the birthday of WordPress and WordPress just turned five years old. Happy Birthday!

It’s Raining Money: Matt Mullenweg has announced that Automattic has secured USD $29.5 million from venture capitalist investments this year, up from $1.2 million in 2006. The New York Times has joined the investor team, too. The money is to be used for more investment in WordPress.com’s free blogging service, improvement in comment spam protection, hiring new developers and staff, and much more to help make WordPress and Automattic projects grow. As in the famous words of Dolly Madison, “Money is like manure; it’s not worth a thing unless it’s spread around encouraging young things to grow.”

New Automattic Official WordPress “News” Blog: Automattic, the parent company of WordPress, announced the WordPress Publisher Blog, a magazine style blog promising articles from WordPress developers and the staff of Automattic on how to use WordPress and offering interesting tips and tricks and news.

WordPress 2.5 News: WordPress 2.5, skipping over version 2.4, is scheduled for release in March and will include the new Administration Panels design along with some other great improvements.

WordPress 2.5 Weekly Digest: Peter Westwood reports on changes and improvements to WordPress 2.5 a week ago included update of the jQuery form Plugin, addition of a mass select functionality to the users panel for selecting all users for changing access permissions, a new interface introduced for Widget management, a new image uploader which has many very excited, ability to re-activate all Plugins deactivated by the Deactivate All button, ability to limit the depth of the “tree” displayed by wp_list_categories() template tag, optimization of the SQL query for determining which URLs are awaiting pinging and which have been pinged, and a lot more documentation, fixes, and improvements. This week included more improvements to various importers including Blogger, getting the get_sidebar() template tag to allow for multiple named sidebars, improvements in post title sanitation for the URL to allow for parenthesis and improved matching, changes to the tag cloud tag array, extensions to the HTML tags and attributes that the post filter will allow in posts when saved, improvements in displaying WordPress Plugin error detection code, new functionality for editing post slugs within the permalink context, timestamp improvements to update already published posts, and more documentation and minor improvements.

Mandatory Security Release WordPress 2.3.2: WordPress 2.3.2 has been released and is a mandatory security upgrade. The full details of the update include an urgent security release to fix a vulnerability in draft posts, suppression of some errors messages that may put your database at risk, and other bug fixes. Upgrade to WordPress 2.3.2 now.

WordPress and Solaris: If you are using the Solaris zone, check out The WordPress 2-Step, a quick way of installing WordPress in Solaris.

Many Ways to Install WordPress: A new article on the , the online manual for WordPress Users, now features many different ways to install, move, and import content with a WordPress blog. WordPress Installation Techniques covers resources and information for installing WordPress on your computer, moving WordPress from one server to another or one directory to another, integrating WordPress into an existing website, and moving from any of more than a dozen blogging programs to WordPress.

The Missing WordPress Plugins Uninstall Feature: Weblog Tools Collection continues covering the WordPress Plugins lack-of-uninstall features in WordPress and offers tips and recommendations from readers and WordPress experts on where to go with this frustrating “lack-of-feature” in WordPress. To get up to speed on the discussion, see Uninstall – Is There Such A Thing?.

BlogDesk for WordPress: There are a variety of ways to access your WordPress blog, and many are enjoying BlogDesk and Microsoft Windows Live Writer. Do you have a favorite way of accessing WordPress without using the WordPress Administration Panels?

Last Week’s WordPress Wednesday News: Last week’s WordPress Wednesday News report covered WordPress 2.5 On Track, Uninstalling WordPress Plugins, Premium WordPress Themes Debated, Permalinks, and More WordPress News, if you would like to catch up with the news on WordPress.

WordPress Security News

WordPress SecurityThe latest release of WordPress 2.3.2 is a mandatory security release, fixing some recent vulnerabilities found in WordPress. Upgrade WordPress now.

Pondering WordPress Security: Blog Security asks if “WordPress is Insecure by Design?” and then answers the question about the critical vulnerabilities that keep popping up lately in the WordPress core programming and Plugins. It explores the main issues and offers some ideas on what to do about it.

The most recent news on WordPress security includes:

To check your blog’s security, try WPIDS – WordPress Intruder Detection System and WP Scanner WordPress Plugin.

WordPress on Your Calendar

WordPress Events CalendarWordCamp Hamburg is this weekend, January 26-27. I’m not sure if it’s sold out, so check now for any last minute tickets.

WordCamp Dallas is March 29, 2008 and has opened up registration. There is a USD $20 registration fee and the event will be in Frisco, Texas, just outside of Dallas. I expect this to sell out fast, so get registered now. The line-up of speakers is very exciting and includes the top bloggers and experts on WordPress and blogging. Sponsors are still being sought, so if you want your company or blog’s name associated with a hot WordPress conference, get involved.

Are you involved with a WordPress group or club in your area? Make sure you announce meetings on the WordPress Meetup list and let me know so I can help promote your group’s activities. Here are some WordPress-related dates and events to put on your calendar as found on the WordPress Roadmap and the WordPress Meetup Group Listings (subject to change):

If you are having a WordPress-related event that isn’t on the calendar, post them below or via email.

WordPress.com News

WordPress.com W logoThree Gigabytes of Free Storage on WordPress.com: The WordPress.com blog has announced all bloggers on WordPress.com is now entitled to 3 gigs of free storage, a six-fold increase. This will allow users to upload podcasts and video without much distress. If you need more, the paid storage is now increased from one gig to five gigs.

Dissing WordPress.com’s Name: It’s nice to know I’m not the only one. Mark Jaquith joins myself and many others whining about the WordPress.com name and all the confusion it brings. I was still having trouble explaining the difference between a page, web page, and WordPress Page when explaining the difference between WordPress and WordPress.com got thrown into the mix. While no one is serious about really changing the name, Mark’s recent rant about the name confusion has brought up a lot of neat suggestions. I vote for BlogPress. :D

Improvements to Akismet’s Interface: WordPress.com announces improvements to the Akismet interface which adds new tabs to the Comment’s Panel. There are now four tabs, one for all your comment spam caught by Akismet, and then three others to sort the comment spam by comments, trackbacks, and pings. The popular Akismet Auntie Spam Greasemonkey Script for Firefox will still work with the new interface, processing all of the comment spam. WordPress.com has also added an option to Options > Discussion which allows you to discard spam on posts older than one month, which shrinks down the size of your Akismet queue.

New To WordPress.com: If you are new to blogging on WordPress.com, check out this basic guide on What Do I Do With My New WordPress.com Blog?.

WordPress Plugins and Themes News

WordPress Plugins DatabaseTracking WordPress Compatibility: It’s often difficult to track what Plugin and Theme is compatible with which WordPress version. In the are two “master” pages that list all the various compatibilities: WordPress Theme Compatibilities and WordPress Plugin Compatibilities. No matter which version you are using, and in preparation for the next version of WordPress, add these to your WordPress resource list to check before you upgrade.

Plugin Authors: Take Advantage of the WordPress Plugin Repository: Weblog Tools Collection reports on the WordPress Plugin Repository working in combination with Plugins on the WordPress Plugin Directory, which gives Plugin authors the ability to post and assign bug tickets to their Plugin and have an easier way of reporting and monitoring bug reports.

WordPress Post Order: Perishable Press offers “Six Ways to Customize WordPress Post Order”, a great look at various code and Plugin options for changing how WordPress displays your blog posts on the front page of your blog.

Get Under the Hood of WordPress: If you are developing a WordPress Plugin and want to get under the hood of WordPress, check out the WordPress Source Code from Taragana. It’s a directory of all the code files of WordPress. Click a file and it opens up in the right window will display the file’s code. Need to check out how WordPress does what it does and find the hooks you need to write WordPress Plugins, add this to your resource list.

Understanding WordPress Native Tagging: A new document has been added to the , the online manual for WordPress Users, on WordPress Taxonomy, giving you insights into how this works.

WordPress Plugin Gossip: The new Publisher Blog from Automattic features an interview with Brian Groce of Watershed Studio discussing issues with WordPress Plugins. Yugatech asks if “WordPress Plugins Should Be Regulated” much the way the WordPress Theme Viewer is or will be soon. The issue of WordPress Plugins causing problems with WordPress Themes and having increasing security issues, and the ease of writing a WordPress Plugin, makes it hard to ensure Plugin authors are experienced enough to ensure the safety of their Plugin as well as its ability to work within different server setups and WordPress versions. Expect to see this subject be on the hot list this year for the WordPress Community.

What Makes a Premium WordPress Theme Premium? Smashing Magazine and Weblog Tools Collection both ask: What makes a WordPress Theme Premium? They both present some good arguments, pros and cons. Go have your say.

See Also
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Battling Comment Spam: While many are happy enough with , others want to take stronger action to stop comment spammers. While I vote for killing comment spam at the source, bloggers like Ardamis are working to make anti-comment spam techniques hidden from the reader while still working effectively. Web Geek has created WP-SpamFree, another interesting comment testing Plugin. Matt Mullenweg has mentioned that the influx of financial investment in Automattic will go to further strengthening and expanding Akismet. Hopefully, these folks will team together to help us put an end to comment spam infiltration of our blogs.

Interesting WordPress Plugins: There are so many interesting WordPress Plugins released each week. Have you been paying attention?

Writing to WordPress Standards: If you are developing WordPress Plugins or Themes, your first step is to visit the , the online manual for WordPress Users, especially the WordPress Coding Standards and Writing a Plugin articles.

Finding WordPress Plugins: For more WordPress Plugins see the official WordPress Plugin Directory, the WordPress Plugins Database, and Weblog Tools Collection Plugin and Theme announcements.

WordPress Techniques and Tips

Here are some featured articles and videos from around the WordPress Community and the , the online manual for WordPress Users, the source to turn to first for your WordPress help.

NOTE: If you would like your WordPress tip and technique included in this list, see Tips For Writing Good WordPress Tips and Writing and Publishing Code In Your WordPress Blog Posts.

WordPress Community News

WordPress Community graphicPhotoMatt Becomes Ma.tt: For those following the lifestyles of the rich and famous founder of WordPress, Matt Mullenweg has changed his personal blog’s domain name from photomatt.org to Ma.tt. If you have his feed in your feed reader, change it to http://ma.tt/feed/.

Vote for WordPress Ideas: Want your say in the next version of WordPress? The section on WordPress is an open forum for you to have your say. Why not take advantage of it and add your voice to the vote.

Found a Bug in WordPress? Report bugs in WordPress properly by following the instructions in Reporting Bugs on the , the online manual for WordPress Users.

WordPress Podcast: Episode 32: Automattic Rumors, Lorelle Provides WordPress.com News includes an interview with Jonathan Bailey of Plagiarism Today and the Blog Herald discussing copyright issues and content theft, rumors of Automattic’s financial ventures, the WordPress.com Premium Theme Marketplace, and Lorelle joining as a reporter for news on WordPress.com.

WordPress Installed For Free: If you have problems installing the full version of WordPress, visit Installing WordPress for Free (aka Install4Free WordPress). This free, volunteer-driven service is limited to personal blogs only, and they help only with installations, not upgrades.

Using WordPress in Your Blog’s Name: WordPress is a trademark and you are not allowed to use WordPress in your blog’s name or URL unless you have permission of and . Also, remember, it’s spelled “WordPress” not “WordPress”. Oh, and Plugin is Plugin, not plug-in (what you put into a wall electrical socket).

Looking for a WordPress Expert? WordPress Consultants on is a list of experts you can hire to help you with WordPress Themes, WordPress development, WordPress Plugins, or other WordPress-related expertise. Also see the WordPress Jobs listings, and the WP-Pro mailing list.

If You Are Reading This: If you are reading this blog post NOT on the or from within your feed reader, it is being used against the copyright policy of the copyright owners. Please report it immediately so action may be taken to break some heads and feed scraping blogs.

Even More WordPress News?

Past WordPress Wednesday News Reports

WordPress News Sources


Each Wednesday on is WordPress Wednesday, featuring the news around the WordPress Community. If you have a WordPress news item or tip to suggest, please contact me at this special email address: lorelleonwordpress@gmail.com

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