WordPress Conference Roudup

Just returned from a wordpress conference in Boston. Here are some of what I learned:

* JQuery: selector by id is really fast, selector by class is fast, selector of body or head is simple.

* Buddy Press
- Use BB Press 2.0 for forums rather than Simple Press (because it has same functionality to user but better integrated admin)
- BB Press would complement Wishlist Member if I wish to charge for content and protect certain content
- BB Press plays more nicely with standard wordpress themes
- Buddy Press innately uses WordPress MultiSite so that each end user stores data on a separate instance without a
having the interface of the wordpress backend (that was the core functionality)
- Buddy Press groups can be associated with content (but there is no protection or monetization built-in)
- Buddy Press is aware that it is missing capability to address multi-media
- Buddy Press uses custom posts
- Buddy Press best documentation is the source code
- Buddy Press has free support on the buddypress.org forum
- Buddy Press would seem suitable as one potential solution to an music website (but missing certain pieces)
- Buddy Press believes it is big enough that they don't know whether they are compatible with other plugins such as WP E-commerce, but they think they are.
- Buddy Press focuses on custom profiles for users

* Themes
- Build website without Javascript/JQuery with the structure of keyword rich URLs with separate pages for separate keywords
- Use a gateway page with links to each of their children if javascript is missing, but shows the children in a slider if has js

* Media Handling
- Need to upload to specific media library location
- Need to enable playing and/or downloading from that location
- payment infrastructure for selective digital purchases
- Need to host media on a server

* Custom Posts
- Can configure in PHP using Wordpress logic specific fields for artists such as mp3 or images
- Does not require buddypress
- Can separately create bands who have music (without associating members to bands)
- Tag the posts with relevant sorting fields
- Can pull content from blog such as mp3 attachment or lyrics in a blog post based on tags

* Moodle vs. Wordpress
- Moodle has way to track grades
- Moodle has assessment structure such as quizes and tests
- Community of Moodle administrators is much smaller (e.g. no moodle conferences)
- Growth of plugins slower, less vibrant community
- Wordpress supports better user to user interaction
- Moodle has profiles and forum software competitive to buddypress

* Mobile Devices
- Core issue seems to be using relative numbers in the css (keep the long decimals)

* Multisite
- Set up specific set of plugins and themes that are enabled on the superadmin will be inherited by children
- Installed plugins can be available for children
(Question: can a child site have a different theme?)

* Lead Generation
- Focus on industry-wide research questions/what customer is searching for...

* Multi-Voice Blog
- Blog contributors need to register at least with email so you can ban them or encourage them to contribute more

RSS feeds will transmit only the content of posts, not the headers or footers. Similarly, content scrapers.

wordcamp, Wordpress, jquery, buddypress, bb press, inbound marketing, themes, education, mobile

Wordpress Theme, Design and Content Organization

My tendency is towards: a more conservative look where the information is more important than a lot of pop and flash, and the information itself is more important and timeless, then having your posts referenced by category is the best choice.

Content: what information the user will need to know, you have to consider what information you are willing to share with them. That information may include how to contact you, what the purpose of the site is, who you are, and what your expertise is

About Us, Contact Us, Sign Up for Our Mailing List.

Need to create an opt-in incentive for the mailing list. My current thinking is "Why Destiny's Child Might not be the Best Bar Mitzvah Tutor".

Write down the possible Page titles and describe the information you are willing to share online on each Page:
* Bar Mitzvah Tutoring Team
* Bar Mitzvah Software Platform
- describe what platform current does and why to use it
* Work Harder Have Fewer Students or buy our platform
* Selecting a Bar Mitzvah Tutor
* How to get software
* Remote video teaching
- general subjects and titles
paragraph description

Mission Statement: Purpose of My Site

What am I going to do with this?
* Site for B'nai mitzvah parents and their children to learn about the process of becoming B'nai mitzvah.
* Site for Jewish Cantors to share their needs, desires, fears, and frustrations
Who is going to read this?
* B'nai Mitzvah parents and their children
* Jewish Cantors, Rabbis, and Synagogue members
What kinds of information will I be posting?
* Introductory information to parents and their children educating them about Judaism, Torah, and the B'nai Mitzvah process
* Pedagogical and technology information for jewish Cantors teaching them why they should send people to our website
Why am I doing this?
* Because I believe in Jewish education and the power of my software to transform it based on this pedagogical approach
Who am I doing this for?
* Jewish Continuity
* Parents
* Children
* Teachers
* Cantors
* Rabbis
How often am I going to be posting and adding information?
* I should do this every week.

Wordpress:purpose for your site, Mission Statement

On a piece of notebook paper, or whatever is lying around, describe your site. Take five to twenty minutes to come up with a purpose for your site, or better yet, call it your Mission Statement.

Answer the following questions:

What am I going to do with this?
Who is going to read this?
What kinds of information will I be posting?
Why am I doing this?
Who am I doing this for?
How often am I going to be posting and adding information?