Tag Archive for plugin

Liveblog plugin from WordPress

September 5, 2012 No comments

Automattic, the people behind WordPress have released a live blogging plugin for those of you who are using the self-hosted version of the platform.

The plugin, unsurprisingly called Liveblog, does exactly what you would expect and seems to do it very well and very simply. Granted it does’t have all the bells and whistles of some of the, now paid for platforms live Coveritlive, but for a blogger who wants to live blog an event it is perfectly adequate for the job.

Once you have installed and activated the plugin all you need to do is create a new post and tick the box in the live blog widget on the post page, press publish and your Liveblog is running.

If you go and view the post logged in users will see a text entry box

all you need to do is type your update in to the box and press the Publish Update button and your entry is live on the page, viewers of the live blog will see your entry without the need to refresh the page.

Want to add an image? No problem, simply drag it in to the text entry box and press publish.

All in all it is a nice little plugin that does enough for most Hyperlocal bloggers and probably even more serious live bloggers.

One word of warning, I have seen a report of people losing the whole text of a live blog by going and editing the post. It seems that WordPress have confirmed that this is a bug and is being worked on, so given the way WordPress devs work, it should be fixed very soon and in my opinion it shouldn’t stop you using it, just remember to not edit the live blog post!

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Add GroupsNearYou.com to your WordPress blog

December 11, 2009 2 comments

There’s a great site for finding social groups in your area called GroupsNearYou.com. Just type in your location or postcode and it shows you what’s close by.

Now you can provide that very same ease of use to your own local blog. I’ve just finished the first phase of a new GroupsNearYou plugin for WordPress. It provides blog owners with a new widget which, once configured, will show the groups in your area.

Below is a video showing how to set the widget up and there are also written instructions. The plugin itself can be downloaded from my website where you can also subscribe to updates. Once you’ve downloaded the plugin, follow these instructions on how to manually install a plugin. If you have any suggestions, questions or comments please use the comments section.

Instructions

  1. Go to Plugins
  2. Activate the GroupsNearYou plugin
  3. Go to Appearance > Widgets
  4. Drag the GroupsNearYou widget to your sidebar
  5. Configure the settings according to your own location and your preferred display
  6. Check your blog and you should see the new widget added to your sidebar
hyperlocal, hyperlocal labs, Other Tools and Tips, Wordpress Guides and Tips , , , ,

How to add Twitter to your WordPress blog

December 10, 2009 No comments

If you run a local blog there’s a good chance you might be on Twitter, as my some of your neighbours. This creates a ‘back-channel’ that can often go unseen. So in the interests of enhancing local blogs with this back-channel, below is a video which shows you how to add both your own tweets and the results of a Twitter search to your WordPress blog.

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions please leave them in the comments section below.

Instructions – adding someone’s tweets

  1. In the WordPress dashboard, go to Appearance > Widgets
  2. Drag the Twitter widget onto the sidebar
  3. Add the twitter account name you want to show
  4. Configure the remaining options to change the display
  5. Click Save
  6. Refresh your blog and you should see the new widget on your sidebar

Instructions – adding a Twitter search

  1. Go to search.twitter.com and perform a search.
  2. On the right hand side, right click on the link that reads “Feed for this query” and select Copy link location
  3. Go to your WordPress dashboard
  4. Go to Appearance > Widgets
  5. Drag the RSS widget to your sidebar
  6. In the first box, paste the link you just copied from Twitter
  7. Configure the other options according to your preferences
  8. Click Save
  9. Refresh your blog and you should see the new widget on your sidebar
hyperlocal, hyperlocal labs, Wordpress Guides and Tips , , , , , ,

Add WriteToThem.com to your WordPress blog

December 10, 2009 No comments

If you’ve not heard of WriteToThem.com before, it’s a great site by mySociety which makes contact politicians really easy, whether that’s your local councillors or your MP, regional assembly member or MEP.

To make it even easier for readers of your own blog, I’ve just finished the first phase of a new plugin for WordPress. It provides you with a new widget based on WriteToThem.com which will provide an easy way for your readers to get in touch with their politicians.

Below is a video showing how to set the widget up and there are also written instructions. The plugin itself can be downloaded from my website where you can also subscribe to updates. Once you’ve downloaded the plugin, follow these instructions on how to manually install a plugin. If you have any suggestions, questions or comments please use the comments section.

Instructions

  1. Go to Plugins
  2. Activate the WriteToThem plugin
  3. Go to Appearance > Widgets
  4. Drag the WriteToThem widget to your sidebar
  5. Configure the settings according to your preferred display
  6. Check your blog and you should see the new widget added to your sidebar
hyperlocal, hyperlocal labs, Wordpress Guides and Tips , , , , , ,

Add TheyWorkForYou.com to your WordPress blog

December 9, 2009 One comment

TheyWorkForYou.com is a great site built by e-democracy charity, mySociety. It provides an easy way for citizens to keep an eye on their MP. You can sign up for e-mail updates whenever your MP speaks in the House of Commons, for example.

So wouldn’t it be cool if you could also put this stuff on your local blog for all your readers to see and keep up to date with? Well, know you can!

I’ve just finished the first phase of a new plugin for WordPress. This first version provides you with a new widget. Once configured, the widget will show the latest activity from your MP and is available both as an addition to your blog for the benefit of your readers but also as a dashboard widget so that you can see the latest updates everytime you log in.

Below is a video and written instructions on how to set the widget up. The plugin itself can be downloaded from my website where you can also subscribe to updates. Once you’ve downloaded the plugin, follow these instructions on how to manually install a plugin. If you have any suggestions, questions or comments please use the comments section.

Instructions

  1. Go to Plugins
  2. Activate the TheyWorkForYou plugin
  3. Go to Settings > TheyWorkForYou
  4. Configure the settings according to your own MP and your preferred display
  5. Click Save options
  6. Go to Appearance > Widgets
  7. Drag the TheyWorkForYou widget to your sidebar
  8. Check your blog and you should see the new widget added to your sidebar
hyperlocal, hyperlocal labs, Wordpress Guides and Tips , , , , , , ,
 

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