I am a FireFox user.  I prefer it over Internet Explorer for a lot of reasons.  It has WAY more flexibility.  And one of our MLSs is even going to be supporting it soon.

I had installed one particular plug-in a long time ago, and was left wondering why.  In fact, when I set up the new computer, I didn’t install that particular plug-in.  But while at REtechSouth (#retso), I attended a session of FireFox, and it was mentioned as a ‘must-have’ add-on.

It is back.  And it is back with a companion.

GreaseMonkey is an add-on that allows little ‘scripts’ to be run.  They modify the experience of sites from Amazon to YouTube.  They can be major (literally moving components around) or minor (blocking Farmville notices in FaceBook).

GreaseFire is the companion.  This little add-on finds things that can be modified by a GreaseMonkey script. I’m finding it a bit buggy… and that doesn’t seem to be very different from some other users… but the concept is great, and I would expect that to be fixed in a release in the near future (FireFox just did a major upgrade).

The other way to find scripts is to look on Userscripts.org.  There are thousands of different scripts…

Have Fun.

As mentioned last time in WordPress and Joomla and Active Rain… oh my!, dynamic websites are the direction the web is going.  In order to live in the dynamic website world, you need to produce content.

That is the first problem.  Good, engaging content doesn’t create itself.  Readers want to see pictures and video.  They want interaction.

Image via CrunchBase

I’m AT LEAST as guilty as anyone else of not serving it up sometimes.  One one of my blogs I don’t have any access to a plug-in called Zemanta, and I have to jump through hoops to use Apture.

On my WordPress sites I have both Zemanta and apture installed, so it is easy to amp up the graphics and add video.  Now, on my Joomla sites I also have Zemanta installed.  I still have to jump through a few hoops to run Apture, but I have bookmarked a direct link to the page to build embeds.

Zemanta

Zemanta is a plug-in and site that surfs for images and links that are related to the article (post) you are writing.  Basically, it scans your content and finds related articles and images.  You also have the ability to refine the results (spelled S-E-A-R-C-H) for specific terms if the automatically returned results are getting it for you. Also, through Zemanta, users can allow content to be reblogged, similar to Active Rain’s reblog feature.  A reblog is a reprint of the post (with permission) on another blog.  It basically syndicates the content.

Apture

Apture is slightly different, but geared similarly.  It isn’t automatic, and I find it best geared towards video.  It also has a linking component.  Apture builds mini-galleries.  You can put as many as 6 videos in one embed on the site.  Here is an example in Joomla.  Here is one in WordPress.  (BTW, the first link was created using Apture and the second using WordPress’s editor)  With Apture, you have the capability of combining multiple content types into one embed.  The only thing you can’t combine are links.  Other embeds, like pictures, slide shows, videos, maps, etc CAN be combined.

Combined, there are great options to make a more engaging site, in both WordPress and Joomla, as well as some other platforms.

Part of the power of WordPress is in the extensibility of the platform through plug-ins. The large community of WordPress users have created these little snippets to solve problems or overcome shortfalls of the basic program.

These are some of my favorites…

And I’m going to start off with two that aren’t for WordPress, but that I use ALL of the time…

• Zemanta – This is one of my “blogging assistants”.  Zemanta searches for relavent photos for posts, while I am writing them.  It is a FireFox plugin, and functions on all of the WordPress blogs without installing a WP plugin.  I also have it installed on my Joomla sites…  I did have to install a Joomla plugin…
• ScribeFire – Another of my “blogging assistants” … and a commenting assitant, too.  ScribeFire lets me format posts or comments, even adding video to comments on Active Rain.  I can add headlines, colored text and other features using it.  It is also a FireFox plugin.

I promised WordPress Plugins…  So here are a few…

• Add Post Footer – Just like the Post Footer settings here on AR, I can add whatever I want to each post on my blog with this plug-in.  Automatically…
• All-In-One SEO Pack – Tunes SEO for the blog and posts easily…
• Apture – A different way to present media.  I just started using this on my WP blogs after reading about it here from Brad Andersohn.
• Google XML Sitemap – It is very important to have a sitemap.  This automatically creates, updates and sends to search engines…
• Great Real Estate – I can showcase listings easily on my blog…  I also can run sidebar widgets with the listing pics and other info if I choose.
• Local Market Explorer – This is a tool from Zillow that put market stats, reports, pictures, info and other juicy stuff on pages in my blogs… easily.
• MobilePress – Automatically see when a mobile devide is looking at the blog and tweak it to better display on that device.
• NextGEN Gallery – This is a better gallery system that the stock one in WordPress.  It is also required for Great Real Estate.
• Property Watch – Automatically builds a form so that buyers can send me requests for the type of property they are looking for…
• SoJ Tag Feed – I can create a landing page for ANY tag or catagory on my blog… with this I can create an RSS feed for any tag as well.
• Wibiya – Check out the Toolbar at the bottom of LaneBailey.com.  Although I might have to pull it down to experiment with something else (something BETA this way comes?)
• WP-DB Manager – I can do database management from my blog… and have it automatically email back-ups to me.

There are actually a lot more plugins that I run, but this gives you a good idea of what is available.  it is a VERY extensible platform.

What do you think of the new theme?  Like how it matches GarageHomesUSA, even though they are on different platforms?

from Lane’s Active Rain blog

Just a note here.  There are tthings to consider when looking at themes for WordPress.org.  This is the version where you load WordPress onto your own hosting account, not WordPress.com… the hosted type.

Fixed Width – As the name implies, the width of the theme is fixed.  The good side of this is that the blog owner knows how the site will display… it is the same regardless of the viewers computer.  The bad side is that if they have a wide screen, it will be a band down the middle.  If they have a narrow screen, they might have to scroll to the side to see everything.

Fluid Width – Instead of a fixed width, the theme expands or contracts to fit the monitor of the viewer.  On the good side, the display generally looks good… it fits where it sits.  But… that also means that different people will see different presentations.  Pictures may move around a bit.  Things might not fit the alloted area.

Widget Ready – This means that the sidebars are able to be modified.  The blog owner can add widgets to their blog… Even if a theme isn’t widget ready, it might be modifiable to accept widgets.

Plug-ins Required (or not) – Some themes need other plug-ins to be installed in order to function.  Others don’t.  I would select a theme based on that criteria… plug-ins are easy to deal with.

Picture Menu - Instead of having a post represented with text, the posts are represented with an uploaded image.  I am working on one here.  Each post will have a descriptive picture.  Of course, I won’t be posting every day…  These might also be called Graphic Menu or Image Posts… or a variation.