Wordpress MU vs. Wordpress Vanilla

It’s been about a week and a half of using WPMU, since I switched full time. And it’s been a real trial but I am slowly bringing the blogs back to full speed. Obviously, blogging is going slowly and each stream will be less frequent than the full blog, at least until I’m more able to handle the beast called MU.

It’s not for newbies!

Wordpress is a great application for bloggers, and it’s a great way for relative newbies to cut their teeth on managing, installing and updating a PHP based system. It’s fairly robust on the installation front, quite stable once running. However, Wordpress MU shares many of the features, it’s a little more tricky to set up; but the limitations (mostly for security) really drive me nuts at times!

Stubborn and spiteful

There are quite a few issues with plugins, themes and general wordpress functionality in the MU environment. In general, Javascript and other scripts DO NOT work out of the box. Additionally, some common and important plugins just don’t play nice with MU at all. I’ve had problems with the sitemap plugin, and several that share the database. Any themes that require any plugin with javascripts or popular database reliant plugins will likely encounter severe problems. And you can forget YouTube Videos out of the box, though there are solutions.

Forums and Advice

If you are considering switching to MU, then consider this: many of the plugins that I have tried, (for example, to install Adsense or YouTube) simply don’t work, though you’ll find the odd one that is worth it’s weight in Gold. Similarly, advice that is posted on forums, blogs and the Codex may or may not be relevant to your install, and there’s little to tell either way.

So, if you are considering switching, I’d suggest a trial install of MU on another domain so that you can figure out if you will be happy with the switch. I’m still finding the problems annoying, but I am not switching back: the power of this platform is surprising, and I’m only beginning to understand what I can do.

Have you tried the switch? Let me know how it went!

Testimonial: InvestorBlogger Dot Com – interesting, informative site that offers realistic advice

I stumbled onto Investor Blogger the other day while researching some investments I’ve been thinking about. I never did finish what I’d intended to do because this website grabbed my attention and kept it! The first page I came across was Asus Eee PC News that introduced the new Asus Eee 900 PC. I’ve been looking for a laptop so I read the article and began browsing the index and clicking on the categories there.

The first that I clicked, of course, was Making Money. What a treasure trove! There were links to some very fine writings on finance, business and investing as well as articles by the blogger himself on a variety of business concerns. The business tips weren’t the same old run-of-the-mill unrealistic words aimed at big business but good, solid advice that the small business owner can use. The writing was relaxed and casual, almost as if you were sitting down and talking face to face, a welcome change from the formality of most sites dealing with investments and financial matters. I’ll be going back to that category frequently; you can find it in the money making section.

Next up was the NewsBites section at . This was another fine page full of the latest news dealing with the economy, finding markets for your products, ideas for improving your business and making money. I particularly liked the article that addressed how to survive and thrive during the recession we’re in and got a few good ideas for my own business.

Then it was time for something a bit lighter. I’d spent the better part of the evening reading some fine articles and following the links to fascinating financial information so it was time a change. I clicked on the Little Pleasures category and was greeted with not only an amusing clip from a popular movie but a truly magnificent photo of the Tamsui river in Taiwan that rivals anything you could find in a commercial photographer’s portfolio. There was an article about tea shops competing with Starbucks and accompanied by a video clip, a review of a Sony MP3 player and an account of a visit to San Francisco complete with photos. What a great way to add a little beauty and humor to the dour subjects of money and finance!

InvestorBlogger is an interesting, informative site that offers realisticadvice and a wealth of resources not only for investors but for anyone who wants to manage their finances intelligently. My only real gripe about the InvestorBlogger was the pop-up ad on the first page but it was a minor irritation and after all, someone has to pay the bills!

By Anuj.

Anuj, Thanks for your testimonial. I did remove the popup on the front page. It wasn’t worth the hit on the server or the irritation of my readers.

Top Twenty Feeds Download Page – Free Downloads!

What are the top make money bloggers doing to make those multi-thousand dollar incomes? What is John Chow doing? How does Shoemoney earn those ‘big’ royalty checks? Why is Zac Johnson coining it? How does the Dividend Guy get those dividend checks?

This download is a simple OPML file that I have collected and edited. It’s only 20 bloggers but among them you’ll find affiliate marketers, investors, bloggers, frugal bloggers, and many more all of whom are EARNING real money online.

Note: There is a file embedded within this post, please visit this post to download the file.

Simply download the OPML file as is, open Google Reader, ThunderBird Reader, Opera or any quality Feed Reader software or website, and upload. Voila! In a few minutes, you’ll be reading the wisdom of 20 quality bloggers, all for free. What’s more, you might even make some money, too!?

There’s no upsell on this page, just one decent download for you free!

Note: There is a file embedded within this post, please visit this post to download the file.

List of Top 20 Feeds

I’m always looking at adding or supplementing this list with the best ‘money making blogs’ and to that end, I’ve added two new blogs that I have found to be quite focused, quality driven and interesting.

The Complete List of Subscribed Blogs

If you want to know what criteria I’m using, it’s really quite simple: quality writing, regular updates (at least once a week – that’s not an average), and a writer with an entrepreneurial spirit. So this is what I’m currently recommending as my own personal reading! Enjoy…

  1. AdesBlog.com (feed)
  2. AndyBeard.eu (feed)
  3. BluePrint for Financial Prosperity (feed)
  4. Caroline MiddleBrook (feed)
  5. Consumerism Commentary (feed)
  6. Dosh Dosh (feed)
  7. *Genius Types (feed)
  8. I Will Teach You To Be Rich (feed)
  9. InvestorBlogger (feed)
  10. John Cow (feed)
  11. John Chow (feed)
  12. Make Money Online with a 13-Year Old (feed)
  13. ProBlogger Blog Tips (feed)
  14. Super Affiliate Secrets (feed)
  15. The Simple Dollar (feed)
  16. Timothy Sykes – Stock Trader (feed)
  17. Tyler Cruz An Internet Entrepreneur (feed)
  18. Shoemoney – Skills To Pay The Bills (feed)
  19. The Dividend Guy Blog (feed)
  20. KCLau (feed)

This page will keep a record of my download and the current feeds that are in it. In edition 1.1 that is currently available for download you can find 20 feeds for downloading in the file.

Note: There is a file embedded within this post, please visit this post to download the file.

These are my picks for the current season, I’ll be updating this list as time, information, and good writing permit! Please feel free to drop me recommendations for inclusion, I’ll certainly take a look at them. Future lists will just include the updates, not the entire list!

Former Feeds

I’d like to thank the owners for these blogs for allowing me to include them in my original list.

Please feel free to drop me recommendations for inclusion, I’ll certainly take a look at them. You can comment them below or drop me an email.

Thanks,

Kenneth

(update: This page was last updated on Fri, 9 August 2008 16:29:04 GMT)