the Gaboink! network

Gaboogled Prologue WordPress Theme Hybrid

I doubt that anyone argues that no two bloggers are the same, and not everyone has the time to create long, detailed, blog entries or pieces of content. Personally, I am a hybrid of the two and tend to write articles or detailed blog entries when absolutely necessary, but 80% of the time, I am more likely yo submit quick updates on a subject of the moment.

I am extremely pleased to have stumbled across the Prologue WordPress theme as I’ve been wanting to gain some experience with WordPress theme development, and what better way to do so with a theme that I could customize to suit my personal blogging habit. As a fanatic of Twitter and other microblogging platforms, I decided to fiddle around with the Prologue theme recently released to the public by the folks at Automatic, delivering a Gaboinked! version called Gaboogle?

I am a few tweaks (Not weeks!) away from releasing this theme to the public, but I wanted to share an early preview of the Gaboogle? Prologue WordPress theme with everyone! There are a few custom plugins and added features that are not present in the original Prologue theme, and I will be releasing these to the WordPress community as soon as time permits because they can be used on any WordPress blog.

If you are interested in seeing the Gaboogled Prologue WordPress theme in action, you can do so previewing the demo. Stay tuned for further announcements and download locations.

Facebook Badge WordPress Plugin

I’m sharing another WordPress plugin that may be useful for Facebook users. Facelook allows you to display a facebook Badge in the Sider Bar of your on a self-hosted WordPress Blog without having to hard-code your WordPress template or use the sometimes unreliable Text Widget.

Download It:
Facelook Facebook Badge WordPress Plugin v1.0.1 (.tgz) (63)
Facelook Facebook Badge WordPress Plugin v1.0.1 (.zip) (142)

Adding a Facebook Badge to your Wordpress blog is as easy as copying the Java file code from your choice of Facebook Badges and configuring the Facelook plugin.

Facelook has been tested on WordPress version 2.5 and should work on any WordPress version 2.3 and above. My Facelook Facebook Badge can be seen used at http://gaboink.net. If you find Facelook useful, any contributions or donations towards gas money are greatly appreciated. Please leave a comment letting me know that you are using this widget!

Twitteriffic Twitter for Mac OS X

I am a huge fan of micro-blogging because it fits my method to the madness of blogging. I am also a Mac freak.  As of last week I finally made it over to Twitter and setup an account and immediately got hooked on the concept of twittering or tweeting and decided to search for an application for my Mac that would allow me to tweet as I go. It didn’t take me long to find the Twitterrific application by IconFactory.

Twitterrific is an application that lets you both read and publish posts or “tweets” to the Twitter community website. The application’s user interface is clean, concise and designed to provide a very light and small foot-print on your Mac’s desktop. It is extremely configuarable and the user interface is above what to be expected from a Mac application, light and straight to the point, with a cool factor.

Free vs. Pay Version
Twitterrific comes in 2 version a free and paid license. As of this post, I downloaded the free version and only assume that a disadvantage of the free version is the occasional advertisements that appear from time to time. The paid version is only $14.95 and I intend to purchase a license for this application as it is a great addition to my micro-blogging tool box.

Other Twitter Application Conflicts may be Flocked!
Unfortunately Twitteriffic does seem to play very well with my Flock Web Browser at the moment. Apparently Twitter only allows 70 request per hour, and with the Flock browser attempting to get it’s updates caused my Twitterrific application to error out stating to avoid running other Twitter applications or refreshing too soon. I certainly was not refreshing, and the only other application running at the time was my Flock Browser logged into Twitter as well.

Screen Shots:

Summary:
Twitterrific is a more than useful tool for micro-bloggers and Twitter users on the Mac OS X platform, and is highly recommended by George! If you are a user of the Flock browser, simply do not log in to your Twitter enabled Flock account until these 2 have figure out how to play together. I have confidence in both of these developing groups and I’m sure that once they are aware of potential conflicts, they will assume a stance to correct the issues.

All-in-all Twitterrific has added value to my day!

Get Twitterrific for OS X

WordPress 2.5.1 Upgrade Blank Admin Page

Well what a day it was in the WordPress 2.5.1 upgrade realm. I just finished updating and committing my changes to the Gaboinked! Chipin Sidebar Widget for Wordpress, and happiliy noticed a new 2.5.1 upgrade package was available for WordPress. I took extreme care to upgrade the Gaboink! network blog, and everything seemed to go smoothly until poof! I saw a blank screen when either trying to login or access the admin section directly.

I immediately search the WordPress forums and Google for a solution to no prevail, so I decided to delete every plugin to include my own to find the culprit and I did. I had the WP-SpamFree plugin installed and activated which for some reason has render itself not compatible with the 2.5.1 build of WordPress.

I did not take enough care apparently, because the upgrade directions clearly stated to deactivate any plugins, and I strongly recommend that this step not be ignored or skipped by any WordPress bloggers upgrading in the future.

If you are experiencing the same issue, I recommend starting at the plugin folder and finding the one that may not like the new changes to WordPress 2.5.1. Rest assured that the Gaboinked! Chipin Sidebar Widget for Wordpress is compatible.

Gaboink! Discussing Gaboogle?

The Gaboink! network forums are now online.  These are community forums meaning anyone is free to join and post discussion or support questions.

Specifically I have started a thread called How Do You Gaboogle? in a effort to inspire some creative thinking and user experience sharing regarding online shopping experiences as a resource to socially collect requirements for the Gaboogle It? Project Plan.

These forums will also support the Gaboinked! Chipin WordPress Sidebar Widget and any other Gaboinked! Application.

To join in this discussion, provide feedback or get support, visit the Gaboink! network social development forums.