Did you know that you can optimize your recipes so that they are listed with a thumbnail, rating, and other info in Google search results? Have you ever wondered why other food blogs with the same amount of traffic as yours get more comments and interaction? Do you just need a few pointers on how you can spiff up the look and feel of your food blog?

If you answered yes to any of these or have pondered similar questions you should be sure to attend my session on Food Blog Design at FoodBlog South this coming Saturday. I’ll be speaking at 10:30 for 80 minutes on this topic and one lucky attendee is even getting a design makeover for their blog!

The entire conference is going to be delicious and you’re sure to leave enriched with new knowledge and ideas as well as full from all the wonderful food! There are still a few tickets left, so if you haven’t registered yet, be sure to do it soon!

Register for Food blog South 2012

I’d like to give a big thanks to those that attended my session today and I hope that you were able to glean something from it. It’s my goal to help those that are interested in developing for WordPress to learn the right ways to handle things like enqueues and activation hooks from the beginning, instead of backwards after you’ve already hacked around a different (read “wrong”) way. I hate it when I learn backwards and have to say things like, “Oh crud, why didn’t I know this already?”  So hopefully my talk today will help you avoid such an experience.

If you weren’t able to attend today, or if you want a refresher, here are my slides:

Here are the slides from my presentation:

View more presentations from Tammy Hart.

Custom Post Types and Taxonomies

This is the topic I will be speaking on. With the release of WordPress 3 earlier this year came a lot of great new features. The top two favorites of mine are the new menu system and the support of custom post types and taxonomies. The ability to create a custom type of content entry and custom tags and categories for those types or the built-in types of posts and pages, can help turn a WordPress install into a custom content management system. There are already a ton of plugins out there that really boost the functionality and make it easier to create and manage them as well.

In this session at WordCamp Birmingham we’re going to go over how to interact with custom types and taxonomies with templates, queries, and plugins. In no time, you’ll be singing their praises too.

Also, as the title reads, I’m partnering with Infomedia so that from time to time, projects will actually be handled by the entire production team, and not just myself. This is a win/win. Not only will you get continued great results from Tammy Hart Designs, but we can offer so much more as a team that I ever could alone.

I want to take this opportunity to also give a big thank you to all of those I’ve worked with and learned from over the years, and of course, thanks to my clients who have placed their trust in me and challenged me to learn more and become better and better at what I do.

I can still say, and hope to always have the ability to say, “I love my job.”

WordCamp Birmingham

Like most conferences, there was more than one track to choose from. I found myself bouncing back and forth between them for one reason or another, sometimes torn between what seemed interesting and just good old fashioned loyalty to friends. I could go through each and every session that I went to, but I’d rather just do what needs to be done, and link you to everyone’s notes and slides:

Session 1
WordPress.com vs. WordPress.org by Tom Brander
Jumping into WordPress Plugin Programming by Dougal Campbell

Session 2
Write and Wrong: A Framework for Ethical Blogging by Wade Kwon
WordPress and Your Brand by Sara Cannon

Session 3
Content Strategy + WordPress = Awesome UX by Andy Ford
Essential SEO and Analytics for WordPress by Jeremy Flint

Lunch – Matt Mullenweg: WordPress Town Hall Meeting

Session 4
Using WordPress to Create and Manage your Non-Profit Community by Scott Schablow
Beyond the Blog: Setting up a Full Dynamic site with WordPress by Mitch Canter

Session 5
Making the Move and Asking for Help by Jerri Ann Reason
Plugins to Die For by Tammy Hart

Session 6
Design Your First WordPress Theme in Minutes by Brett Bumeter
WordPress Security by Mitch Canter

Of course, I got to spend the entire day with my good friend Esra’a Al Shafei from MideastYouth.com who gave the closing keynote. People gathered in close as they listened to what she had to say about blogging for the rights of others (yeah it was because she’s quiet, but it was also keenly interesting).

Sunday morning, I sadly dropped my friend off at the airport, and then met up with everyone over at Shift to continue the WordPress obsession. I gotta say, this was probably the best idea ever. Rather than having yet another day packed full of presenters (which would have been cool too), we enjoyed just kicking back and chatting the day away about what we had learned the day before, new ideas we had, and answering questions for those that were thirsting for more. Brandon Sheats even gave an impromptu presentation on the difference between Flutter and Pods.

So there you have it, WordCamp Birmingham was a true success. Thank you, Andre, and thanks to everyone else that made it possible, especially all of the attendees.

Turning a Static Website into a WordPress Theme

While I cringe at the video that was posted (not because of the fabulous work that Jeremy Flint did, it’s just me), I’ve been assured by friends and colleauges that it’s not as bad as I think it is. If you’d like to take a look, you can watch Part 1, and Part 2 on Vimeo, and they are also embedded below. This was my first time to talk about what I do in public, but it was a great practice run for the several new opportunities I have on schedule this year.

I have already posted recently about some of those new opportunities, but this time I have dates:

• May 12th Date TBD at New Horizons I will be teaching my first class on “What is WordPress and How to Use It”. It’s also the first WordPress class to ever grace the schedule of any New Horizons locations.
• May 15th at Innovation Depot I will be presenting on “Using Media with WordPress” for May’s IPSA meeting
• August 20th and 21st at Innovation Depot is the Social South Conference, and I’ll speaking there
• September 26th and 27th at Shift Workspace is WordCamp Birmingham. I’ll be speaking there, and will even possibly play some design tennis with Mitch Canter.

It’s all so exciting, but I think my favorite part is just the interaction with real people face to face. I can call most of these people my friends now, and that’s a big boost to my confidence and productivity. See ya ’round Birmingham!

P.S. Today is my birthday.

• I don’t get out much, unless you consider checking my mail every day “getting out”. I do have to walk all the way across my driveway. gasp! That’s at least 10 yards!
• I don’t know anyone! I was homeschooled, quit college to get married, freelance from my home, and go to a small-ish church. I know all my neighbors. Coincidentally, I’m also related to them by marriage.
• I get to make my very first presentation on WordPress. Everybody wants to hear from the homebody that has no friends, right?

I’ve never attended before, but I hear it is really cool. PostCamp at Shift Workplace is going to be awesome too.

What is Bar Camp? I won’t try to rexplain it for the umpteenth time. If you don’t know, then go check out the official webiste.

I have been asked to do a few speaking engagements, and I am really excited. Jeremy from IPSA wants me to speak on WordPress at next month’s meeting. I’ll be at BarCamp Birmingham, and will hopefully get a chance to present. I sat in on the WordCamp meeting today, and Andre has asked me to speak. (That is especially cool because Matt Mullenweg will be there.) New Horizons has asked me to teach a WordPress class in their schedule. Today I met the guys from Shift Workplace, and they asked if I might be interested in teaching WordPress at their new facilities here in Birmingham.

I want to thank Wade and Andre for inviting me to the WordCamp meeting, and helping me meet all these new people. My only prayer now is that I can live up to everyone’s expectations! I’m not afraid of speaking or being on a stage. I’ve been there my whole life in church ministry and singing, playing guitar, etc, but this is a brand new thing for me, and my head is buzzing with so many different ideas, I’m not sure how to outline it all into a 30-40 minute session, and not just blow over everyone’s heads. It’s hard to decided how basic or how advanced I should be, and how to balance between “about me”, “how-to”, and other approaches. So if anyone wants to share some feedback, or give me ideas, I would love it.