At the GROW Academy 2012, Jeff and I have been discussing and showcasing WordPress and what it can do. We’ve been working with the recruits, setting up WordPress.com websites and learning the system.
We thought it’d be a cool idea to showcase what the recruits of 2012 have compiled.
While sitting down to write what was likely to be a completely different blog post, I found myself compelled to write this, so here goes…
E-mail, as a technology, is broken… and we broke it.
E-mail (electronic mail) was originally intended as a means of sending messages digitally in a similar form as a posted letter. A nice simple envelope with a hand-written or typed up letter, possibly to a pen-pal or maybe a notice to cancel an account of sorts… only digital.
As the internet became more popular, it became more a commonplace item in our lives. Nowadays, we almost assume that someone has at least an e-mail address, let alone a Facebook or Twitter account. E-mail is a common form of communication amongst the majority of us who are hooked into technology… so why can’t we use it correctly?
This week, Jeff and I will be presenting at our second GROW Academy Bootcamp session. We’ll be discussing “Website Design & Development” with the recruits, running through WordPress and how to setup a website using WordPress.com or WordPress.org.
The GROW Academy is an initiative to educate and empower the youth of today through technology. The Bootcamp session covers everything from social media and setting up e-mail, all the way through to search engine optimisation and an internet super-user course, for those who wish to continue on with more advanced studies. The GROW website’s “About” page (built on Canvas and Canvas BuddyPress by WooThemes) has a detailed explanation of the initiative and it’s founding partners.
It is said by many that attending conferences and meet-ups is an important part of developing oneself in a particular industry, and of developing one’s skills set. Surrounding oneself with knowledgable and experienced individuals can go a long way towards developing skills and a knowledge base.
At many such conferences, I’ve heard successful businessmen and entrepreneurs impart valuable tips such as “the value of your fax machine is determined by how many others have fax machines” and “surround yourself with others who know more than you in certain areas of your business”. Both of these are valuable tid-bits of knowledge that I have taken to heart.
When listening to a speaker at a conference, I feel it is important to take in every word and process it (rather than just sitting and listening while tweeting a quote from their talk). I feel it is also important to ask questions and spark discussion from these talking points.
Yesterday morning, some of the WooThemes crew went for a surf at Surfer’s Corner in Cape Town. For most of us, this was to be our first time on a surfboard (and was my first time a wetsuit, full stop). This certainly made for a memorable morning outing.
On Fridays, WooThemes works remotely. With Magnus down in Cape Town for a few days, we took the opportunity to go out and enjoy the beautiful Cape Town summer. And what beautiful weather it was.
We met up at Surfer’s Corner in Cape Town (a popular surfing spot in the Southern Suburbs) and rented some gear from one of the local surf shops. The beach was packed, there was plenty of activity in the water (and the shark spotter flag was black, which means there’s poor visibility, but we won’t focus on that 
).
As I mentioned in my new year’s post a few days ago, one of my new years resolutions is to blog more. I, therefore, decided to have Project 365 a try and to write a blog post every day for the year.
So far, the journey (pfff… it’s been only 5 days) has been interesting. The main challenge, really, is to figure out what to post about. I’m definitely of the belief that a blog post should provide some form of value for the reader (not just a video of a cat jumping into a shoe box, for example). That makes it all the more difficult. Luckily, I find I learn a lot and find & pick up web development tips on a regular basis (such as more rigorous use of the Transients API- thanks Warren), which fills up one section of posts I’d like to write. I also tend to think of concepts and theories, which I could flesh out a bit more and post up here in my “thoughts” category. These may become a bit too general though and would need to be filtered into the proper categories.
On the whole, blogging is something I really enjoy (especially using the “distraction free writing” feature in WordPress, which this blog post is currently being written in). I’m really glad I chose to blog for Project 365, as I’m thoroughly enjoying it so far.
Got any ideas for blog posts you’d like me to write up? Pop them in a comment below. 
The Transient API in WordPress is one of the many APIs available in the WordPress core that, once used, become invaluable and used on a daily basis. This is a quick guide to getting started with the transients API, when to use it and why.
The Transients API, while similar to the WordPress options API, has the addition of an expiry time. The API is used to store data in the database for a fix amount of time, at which point it is deleted and would need to be re-added, if one requires the data again. The WordPress Codex explains the Transients API as:
…very similar to the Options API but with the added feature of an expiration time, which simplifies the process of using the wp_options database table to store cached information.
From a technical standpoint, transients are also sped up by caching plugins, which store the data in memory, rather than in the database, making for a faster lookup.
“If this, then that” is a common logic step in programming. Most programmers see this on a regular basis, right from when they start out. It feels comfortable… familiar. While the principle is one used in programming, the concept is also a basic logic construct. Why not apply this same principle in daily Internet life?
“If X happens, do Y”. This could be replaced with, for example, “if you see a new blog post here, send a tweet out telling your followers about it”.
Enter Ifttt… simply named, “If this, then That”. Ifttt puts the internet to work for you. Offering a wide and ever-growing variety of channels to work with, Ifttt makes it possible to link various services to one another, based on various conditions. For example, when this post goes live, a tweet will be sent out, a status update posted to Facebook and a push notification sent to my phone, advising me that the post has been published.
Why stop there?
