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Recently, there has been a lot of renewed interest in forums (formally known as Bulletin Boards) and there have been a lot of questions surrounding just how to do this. Well, our special guest tonight is Patrick O’Keefe, the author of Managing Online Forums (you can find a link to his book on Amazon at the top of this post) and he will go over just what it takes to start out in this new venture.

Patrick can be found on Twitter as @iFroggy in case you want to follow him.

Due to the complexity of this interview, please listen to it in the player below to make sure you get all of the information about this topic. It is far to complex to transcribe into the show notes.

Michelle Trent, @michelletrent on Twitter, has a special guest interview during her segment tonight as well.

If you don’t have a copy of Patrick’s book, be sure to click on the Amazon link above to get your own copy of Managing Online Forums.

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Popularity: 6% [?]

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Tonight, we will discuss how to start your own forum and our special guest will be Patrick O'Keefe, author of Managing Online Forums. Michelle Trent will have a special interview during her segment too! Join us for a special interview episode at 8:00pm EST. http://www.podcastertraining.com

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P2 Now In The Repository – Back in March, I let you know that P2 was on the horizon for self installed WordPress users and that it was already available for WordPress.com users. Fast forward to today and Prologue 2 is now on the WordPress.org theme repository. The theme features perks such as threaded comment display on the front page, in-line editing for posts and comments, real-time notifications and much more. http://www.wptavern.com/p2-officially-on-the-theme-repository

WordPress help Center – Alex King, who is most well known for his popular WordPress plugins and more recently, his Carrington theme framework, made a big announcement the other day regarding a project that his company Crowd Favorite has partnered with called the WordPress HelpCenter. he HelpCenter is not aimed at replacing forums, email, comment forms, or other means of support. Instead, you’ll be able to pick up the phone Mon-Fri between the hours of 9am-7pm Pacific time and give them a call to answer any WordPress questions you might have instead of waiting around on a forum for someone to reply. In fact, any phone call under 3 minutes is free. Check out my review of the helpcenter on WPCandy.com – http://wpcandy.com/articles/one-more-way-to-get-wordpress-help.html

Matt On TechCrunch –Matt Mullenweg was recently interviewed on TechCrunch.com in a video from the Amsterdam Next Web conference. In this interview, Matt explains why Twitter is not sucking the life out of blogging. He also chats about the acquisitions Automattic made in 2008 with a hint that more could be on the horizon. Lat but not least, Matt shares some details regarding the success of both WordPress.org and WordPress.com. – http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/04/16/interview-with-automattics-matt-mullenweg-blogging-is-not-slowing-down/

Plugin Pick Of The Week – DiggBar Killer – DiggBar Killer adds a little snippet of Javascript to your WordPress website to remove any frames or iframes, such as the Digg Bar, which are surrounding it. DiggBar Killer also has a (100% optional) annoy feature. You can choose to annoy users coming from digg.com by showing an obnoxious message. The default “annoy” folder comes with some ugly animated GIFs and a MIDI file, but can be easily customized using plain-ole HTML & CSS (no PHP knowledge required). http://ibot.tv/2009/04/13/digg-bar-killer-wordpress-plugin/

If you’re looking for more information regarding WordPress or just want to be part of a community centered around WordPress, please head on over to WPTavern.com. The forum has received a new paint job, advertising options are now open on the site and much more. Remember, the drinks are always on the house.

Popularity: 6% [?]

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Since I was unable to play this tonight, here it is for your listening pleasure!

It’s important to believe in
yourself. Get into the habit
of writing everyday, practically
daily.

Have a good excuse why
you can’t write a specific
day. Don’t allow yourself
to get into the habit of
inventing reasons for not
writing.

Simply, write everyday.

“Why write everyday?” You
asked.

Writing everyday helps hone
your skills. You become a
better writer, and have work
available to sell, show-case.

Write pass the doubters.

“Who are the doubters?” A
few pondered.

Doubters are the people who
don’t believe you have what it
takes to be a writer.

“Get a real job.” Some
doubters said.

“Yer wastin’ time wit dat
writin’ stuff.” Others
complained.

“They hirin’ at Wal-Mart.”
A friend shared.

There is nothing wrong
with working at Wal-Mart.
Still, work on your writing
dream.

Find time during the day
or night for writing. Allow,
at least, two hours for
writing.

You were tired some days,
but managed to scribble a
few notes down on paper.

It counts as writing.

However, I question why
doubters push to see you
do anything else, but write.

Do they see your talent, and
are afraid you’ll succeed?
Perhaps, they’re afraid
you’ll tell some truth. They
envy your dedication to
your dream? They don’t
want you to be more than
average like them? Beware
of such people.

Often, it becomes a problem.

Sit down, and write about
it. Ask yourself some
questions. Why is he/she
pushing me away from my
dream? Is it real friendship?
Jealousy? Is he/she looking
out for my interest? Why
doesn’t he/she believe in my
talent? Is it time to leave
him/her in the past?

Swirl your answers into
fiction, or non-fiction.

Look at a possible idea
for fiction. A friend
stood by a character and
his/her dream. When the
character’s dream was
about to come true, the
friend tried to plant doubt
in the character’s mind.

There are many avenues
to travel down with it.

What would you write
next?

Or, take another idea to
explore. If one idea
isn’t working, try another.

Mix ideas up in new
situations. Stir my example
up in a new setting, different
scenario.

Remember, all fiction must
have a beginning, middle,
and an ending.

Work out your problem in
fiction to understand
it from a different perspective.

In conclusion, write pass the
doubters as they try to push you
away from your writing dream.
Write everyday about a problem
using a character. You’ll be able
to see the situation clearer, and
write interesting fiction.

Popularity: 4% [?]

I thought I didn’t care, I must have been swept in the moment. CNN really cared though, check this out.