Wordpress MU Collage

Wordpress MU has become an indispensable tool for  building out vanity and other stand alone sites outside of the established .NET/ASP Content Management System (CMS) used for our main site.

I have been able to implement   a variety of sites, from simple to complex, thanks, in part, to the availablity of free plug-ins that allow implementation of some very sophisticated behavior.

To date, the number of Wordpress MU sites I have deployed is close to 30 close to 60 … and more are in the queue. [info updated on 02/04/2010]

I have been able to accomodate the blogging/publishing requests made by professors, admissions counselors, groups of faculty blogging under one roof, members of the student body, libraries on two campuses, and even the Dean of the school. The potential to build out sites in WPMU is (almost) limitless.

If you are looking to implement a solution that is sustainable, growable, and easty to manage, I would strongly recommend taking a look at a Wordpress MU implementation.

y  a  w  n.

I’m sorry. Did I just yawn in your mid-sentence? I just have to wonder at the marketing strategy over at Lexus: a car company willing to fund, what is basically, a dying publishing model (http://www.magazinedeathpool.com/) — I predict ‘mine’ will NOT be bailed out. The concept was kinda neat, but the execution is lackluster. In a world where exquisitely designed magazines like Wired are losing subscribers daily, a ho-hum misuse of dead-tree pulp like ‘mine.’  is not a noteworthy risk. If anything, I hate to admit, it’s a bit of schadenfreude on my part to look forward to my 4 remaining issue run come to an inevitable end.

Flipping through the latest issue of Time magazine (March 30, 2009), I stopped at a page that read in a nice, thick, satisfying, sans-serify font:

‘mine. My Magazine. My Way.”

I took the path offered to timeinc.com/mine and signed up to receive what was being promised as a “publication made just for (me)”.  Clicking through landed me on a page which offered me a few choices, five of which will eventually make it into my MINE magazine. I’ll confess to my choices here: InStyle, Real Simple, Travel & Leisure, Food and Wine and Sports Illustrated. (disclaimer: to have it TRULY be MINE magazine, my choices would have looked more like this: Elle, Lucky, Marie Claire, Velo News and National Geographic Traveler. However,  I gladly chose from what they offered: FREE and MINE are always two words that go well togther.)

My first issue of MINE magazine will be delivered in 2 weeks and I will receive 5 issues total. While I’m sorta, kinda looking forward to the magazine, I can’t say that I was in any way compelled to test drive the 2010 Lexus RX. Oh, yeah, by the way: one goal/purpose of the print ad was to drive traffic towards the Lexus RX promotional site, Lexus being the top sponsor of this particular MINE campaign.

With MINE, the effort at personalizing the print experience is ttrying to come close to what’s been happenign online for a while now. It’s a bold experiment in reaching a big audience and having it engage in the personalization process. However, advertisers hoping to reach some target audience by sponsoring these MINE campaigns need to take a close look at wether it translates in visists or sales for them. They did not sell me a Lexus. But, I was sold on the idea of a personalized print product (albeit the limited choices, which I expect will grow if this effort is successful.)

I’m a magazine junkie, I DO recycle, and, NO, I  do NOT want to give up print despite my love for the digital. I love the smell of glossy paper, I love the feel of glossy paper, I love being able to sit in bed and grab what I’m reading. And, no, a  KINDLE will not do.

Darn. Did I just ’sound’ like my DAD?

At our own University, a group of key stakeholders  recently met  to discuss the great benefits of the soon-to-be legislated G.I. Bill 2.0 … this revamped version of the G.I. Bill   finally rises up to meet the challenges of  our present social and economic environment;  the improved GI Bill benefit will cover up to the cost of in-state tuition at the most expensive public college in a veteran’s state, it includes a monthly housing stipend, and a $1,000 a year for books. There is also a “Yellow Ribbon Program” component to the bill in which the government matches funds to private colleges that cover part of the difference in tuition over and above costs at public institutions.

The bill is sure to encourage veterans to enroll in colleges and universities as it greatly increases their choice and access to education. The veterans are ready and they are coming;  Higher Education institutions had better prepare now to address the myriad of issues that will inevitably arise as  this new crop of highly-motivated and dedicated students arrives on campus. The incentives will be there, hopefully, to motivate veterans to enroll and graduate. see also …

• Campaign for the new G.I. Bill
• New G.I. Bill overview

I’m really happy that Nathan Gasser and Alex Urevick-Ackelsberg made this happen in Philadelphia. The sessions were divided into Beginner and Experienced. I sat through all but one of the novice sessions and was inspire by, not only the great number of attendees from the East Coast, but by the passion for Drupal displayed by the presenters. This loyalty to Drupal is a cousin to fanaticism, but it comes wrapped in a desire to add to the ‘greater good’.

I’m earnestly giving serious ‘thoughtitude’ to attending the 4-day DrupalCon DC in March 2009.

See also: DrupalCamp Philly Recap by Steve Karsch,
Pics by Yours Truly & Official Photog. Shai 

DrupalCamp Philly Notes (.pdf)

I’m self-aware at this moment: I know the Google server farm has loads of personal information tied to me and my life. This self awareness, however, is no really translating into me giving up the convenience (and fun!) of the Google experience.

“What are you doing?,” it asks

“Wondering about you,” I reply.

What could the webizens be Tweeting about? Is it the time of day? Is is something in the news? I’m curiously pondering and eagerly awaiting to tweet. Let me in!!

I’m then asked to click through again to a different form so that they can Snail Mail me the Coupon: upon landing on that page I fill out another form and submit. Another “elegant” feature noted on the McNeill Tylenol site … An antiquated favicon …hmm the Netscape logo icon. Boy, didn’t netscape, like, die a long, long time ago?

Browser lock-out did not make me feel welcome. The McNeill site should not purposefully prevent me from entering, engaging or submitting. The web is meant to be universal, inclusive, device-independent, disability-blind and HUGE pharmaceutical corporation$ catering to a worldwide customer base should abide by web standards to make their sites universally accessible.

Gosh, I know I’m going to show my age here, but, the experience I had on the McNeill site really brought back memories of 1999 when browser lock-out was the standard (Flashback moment: “You need Internet Explorer 5.0 to view this site…” Augh!)