The Spinning Donut

Wordpress Automatic Upgrade allows a user to automatically upgrade the wordpress installation to the latest one provided by wordpress.org using the 5 steps provided in the wordpress upgrade instructions.

For those who are still looking forward to upgrading to WordPress 2.5 I like to share my experience upgrading from WordPress 2.3.3 to 2.5 on two blogs.

I decided to download and install the WordPress Automatic Upgrade plugin. Pretty easy to do and outlines for you how the upgrade process will work, along with a one click upgrade. I decided I didn’t like the one click solution and was pretty skeptical of using it. So I used the step by step option. Plus, I just like to know what the heck’s going on at each step of the upgrade.

If you look at the upgrade the steps are:

1. Backs up the files and makes available a link to download it.

Since I did this upgrade one step at a time after running the backup task, I downloaded the zip file containing the backup. When I opened the zip file using 7-Zip, the following folders with their files were:

1. public_html
2. wp-admin
3. wp-includes

I ran that in the root folder of where my blog is installed on my hosting account. That worked fine.

However, when I ran it on a subfolder where I have one subdomain I ended up with an empty zip file with no title. Maybe that was just my experience with a subdomain but I fired up FileZilla and backed up the following folders to my hard drive:

1. The root of the subdomain
2. wp-admin
3. wp-content
4. wp-includes

With that out of the way and feeling comfortable I moved on to step two by clicking on the link provided by the WordPress Automatic Upgrade which was…

2. Backs up the database and makes available a link to download it.

Again, this is part of my nightly routine by using the WordPress Database Backup plugin. I wasn’t too worried about this since I know it works and I’ve actually used it to restore. Which by the way wasn’t too bad but will require someone technical to do if you’re not too technically inclined.

3. Downloads the latest files from http://wordpress.org/latest.zip and unzips it.

Clicking on step three worked perfectly. Like it says, it was downloaded and unzipped.

4. Puts the site in maintenance mode.

Clicking on the next step puts your blog in maintenance mode where a user who would see a short message on a blank web page that your site is having maintenance performed on it at the moment.

5. De-activates all active plugins and remembers it.

De-activating the plugins worked just fine as well. However, before I took this step I took a screenshot of all my plugins to make sure I did not miss a plugin at the end.

6. Upgrades wordpress files.

This step worked just fine. Nothing too complicated just click on the upgrade link and away you go.

7. Gives you a link that will open in a new window to upgrade installation.

Since the WordPress Automatic Upgrade runs in WordPress as a plugin this step keeps you in the old version while opening up a window to the new WordPress 2.5 version. After you’re done with this step you go back to the old window and finish up by doing…

8. Re-activates the plugins.

For some reason this didn’t work for me. None of my plugins were reactivated with both blogs. There is a final link for clean up and you’re done. Each step runs pretty quick so you’re literally done withing 5-10 miinutes. However, since I took the time to check each step it probably took 15-20 minutes.

I closed out the old WordPress and started working in the new WordPress 2.5. First thing I did was look at each plugin and activate the ones I knew I still needed and wanted. I left some of them de-activated because I wanted to do some further investigation on whether I still needed that particular plugin.

The plugin screen is nice because it lists each plugin along with a link to a newer version of the plugin if it exists. You can either investigate that link or there is a link that automatically upgrades your plugin. Very nice. I chose the automatic upgrade on all the plugins that needed upgrading. Everyone worked well except for one right now - Top Commentators plugin. There is a bit more work with that one.

So all in all the upgrade was a pretty darn good experience for me.

I have a couple domains that I haven’t setup before so I’m debating setting up a 2.3 WordPress and running through the upgrade process and recording it so I can provide a video on it. We’ll see.

Filed Under WordPress | 2 Comments »

This is my first post using WordPress 2.5. Most everything is working. I don’t have a bunch of plugins for this blog and you can view them on my resources page. The Top Commentators plugin isn’t showing up so I’ll have to investigate that a bit more.

More to come on WordPress 2.5

This post is a quick post about making money with a blog. I have not spent a bunch of time trying to make money on this blog and the blog I made money on was my Smart Saving Investing blog. Specifically the article called Zen To Done - The Ultimate Simple Productivity System from a November 26, 2007.

Although I haven’t updated that blog in over a month and some of the updates have been sparce, it goes to show you that it’s possible to make money with a blog even when you don’t update it. Not a whole lot of money in this case, but some.

Now, the pay out for the ebook is 50%. So, the ebook costs $9.50 and I was paid $4.75. Not a lot, but pretty cool to be paid for anything online instead of me paying for something. So if you haven’t been paid for anything that is advertised on your blog, there is hope.

Now, I will say, buying the product and writing a blog post about it probably helps. Providing a bit of commentary on parts of the ebook helps as well. With a big image that is clickable and takes you directly to the shopping cart so you can check out quickly.

Here’s the post from that blog. The concepts and principles that Leo talks about are sound and are timeless.

Zen To Done - The Ultimate Simple Productivity System

Leo Babauta of the wildly popular Zen Habits blog has released an 83-page e-book called Zen To Done for $9.50.

Table of Contents:

Introduction
1 Why ZTD?
2 Overview - What is it?
3 Minimal ZTD - the simpler alternative
4 Forming the 10 Habits
5 Habit 1: Collect
6 Habit 2: Process
7 Habit 3: Plan
8 Habit 4: Do
9 Habit 5: Simple, trusted system
10 Habit 6: Organize
11 Habit 7: Review
12 Habit 8: Simplify
13 Habit 9: Routine
14 Habit 10: Find Your Passion
15 A Day with Zen To Done
16 ZTD FAQ
17 Resources

If you’re a fan of GTD - Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen or a Stephen Covey fan - The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, then you’ll like this e-book.

Leo teaches you his ZTD or Zen To Done by combining and simplifying some of Allen’s and Covey’s productivity concepts. Narrrowing your focus on what you need to get done by way of MITs or Most Important Tasks.

Habit 10: Find Your Passion is one of the best sections of this e-book because it helps guide you through that over-arching question everyone needs to answer or update in their lives - What Are You Passionate About?

Leo guides you a long a path of questions that put you in the right mindset to help you determine what it is you’re passionate about.

I highly recommend this e-book as you can’t beat the price. If you’re feeling overwhelmed with all the stuff in your life and need a way to get organized Zen To Done will help you.

Filed Under Making Money Online, Productivity | Be The First To Comment »

photo credit: helmet13

Here’s another monthly report on some folks who are making money online with their blogs and reporting it. First up is me:

March 2008:

• Zen to Done eBook - $4.75
• Google AdSense - $5.94

Total Income for March 2008 - $10.69 Woo Hoo!! John Chow better watch out.

I have not spent too much time trying to make money with this blog. It’s a newer blog (< 6 months) and trying to find its way. I’m focused right now on creating content. I work a normal 8-10 hours a day job and that leaves a portion of my time working on this blog. But I’m still having fun creating content and reading and commenting on other people’s blogs.

I have two daughters who are grown and out of the house, in their twenties, so it leaves time to do stuff. It’s funny though, how you raise children and then once they’re out of the house next up is your parents. I have parents and parent-in-laws who are now needing attention as well. Life is interesting - you spend years raising your kids, they go out on their own, and the next thing you know it’s time to take care of the parents.

Here are some more folks income for March 2008:

John Chow - $31,441.24

Tyler Cruz - $1,746.14

Caroline Middlebrook - $2,091.42

All very inspirational. Caroline’s got a great article on Internet Marketing here.

Jonathon Volk - Over $70,000.00

Zack Johnson - $3,463.53

Filed Under Making Money Online | 5 Comments »

Have you tried Google Notebook? If you’re a blogger and you’re in the middle of writing a post, and you have an idea pop into your head, there’s nothing like a notebook right in front of you ready to record that thought so you can get it out of your head and not have to remember it later.

If you’re a fan of David Allen’s Getting Things Done (GTD), then you know part of staying organized is getting stuff out of your head and in the right place. Well, Google Notebook can sit in your status bar as a Firefox browser extension. When those random thoughts come into your head, the extension allows you to open a mini-notebook so you can start taking notes and clearing your mind.

Here a short video show Google Notebook.

Filed Under Productivity | Be The First To Comment »

“Live Like No One Else, So You Can Live Like No One Else.”

- Dave Ramsey

photo credit: paper by design

Mindset (or “the emotional side of money”)

There are a lot of folks who think and approach saving money as, “if I have leftovers I’ll save some money.” I’ve been through that thought process as well as other folks in my life - like my two daughters who are in their twenties and have listened to me preach to them about what they should do and how they should think about their money.

I would say that you need to start thinking of saving money the same as buying something. So if you go and buy that $4.00 latte every day or every other day, then you have to save as well. That is a hard mindset to get to.

When we receive something for our money, it makes us feel good. You give your hard-earned money to someone when you buy a book and you get this new, crisp, wonderful smelling thing that you can read or a new piece of clothing that demands our friends to look at us and exclaim, “you’re the bomb, that looks so good on you, snap!!”

Think of anything else you purchase that gives you this immediate gratification. Well, with saving money we don’t get anything in return…yet. We put money away and no one gives us anything in return right away. I think this has a lot to do with why people don’t save. It’s boring, which it should be, but more importantly you don’t get anything. It’s as though we’re screaming, “I WANT A PRIZE DANG IT!! GIVE ME SOMETHING NOW!!” for saving money.

A lot of money gurus, financial advisors and planners, talk about living off less than what you make. So if you make $2,000.00 a month, live off of $1,950.00 or $1,900.00 or $1,850.00 or $1,800.00, etc. and really think that you do. Change your mindset and you’ll change how you view your money.

One of my daughters lived in an apartment that was really nice (her first) and it seemed like she could afford it when she made out her budget. But, one year after the lease was up, the lease went up. She told me she wasn’t going to sign up for another year and was going to look for another place because she didn’t fee like she could afford to live at her apartment she was in. She found a new apartment and it was $200.00 less than her first apartment. Woo Hoo!! I told her to increase her savings every month then. She said, “We’ll see.” Youth.

Paying Down Debt

So if you’re asking the question whether you should pay your debt down or save, you end up realizing that that’s not the question. You have to save, and then you figure out how to pay down your debt. You have to take care of yourself and your family if that applies.

What this action looks like then is after you set up your online savings account (from part 1 of this series) and link it to your bank checking account, the money will be transferred automagically and you’ll receive emails reminding you that they will be taking money out in the next x days and then another email after they’ve taken the money out.

You can set a filter on your email reader so those emails go directly into a folder with the name of your online savings account, like HSBCDirect. When that is setup, you can just check that folder every month or whenever you feel the need to. That also helps for those folks who feel the need to check all the time when they see those emails come through. There’s no need to constantly check your online savings account.

Then during tax season, look at your online savings account and make adjustments if you need to, by depositing more or lessen your automatic deposits if your account is reaching that desirable range you’re shooting for. Take the time to verify your preferences as well, email address, home address, etc.

That’s it for this part. Next post in this series will talk about contributing to your company retirement plan if that is available to you.

More to come…

Filed Under Making Money Online | 2 Comments »