Web Publishing Group » Blogging

Going Mobile is Easy

Dan Romanchik — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 18:35:17 +0000

One of the good things about friends is that they push you. My friend, Scott, recently pushed me into thinking about how WordPress sites looked on a mobile device, such as an iPhone or an iPod. So, a couple of days ago, we connected via Skype, and together we explored some of the options for making our WordPress sites look good on mobile devices.

The result was that we both installed the WordPress Mobile Pack plugin, and I must say that, as a first shot, I’m quite pleased with the results. What the plugin does is to detect what kind of browser the user is accessing your site with, and then display your site with its regular theme if the user is using a desktop PC or a mobile theme if they’re accessing it with a mobile device. It comes with some very basic mobile WP themes that you can use and modify.

So, if you have a smart phone or an iPod, take a look at the site. I’d be interested in what you think about how it looks and what changes I might make to make it even more readable.

Born to Blog

Dan Romanchik — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 11:29:46 +0000

When I was a writer and editor for Test&Measurement World, an engineering trade magazine, the most enjoyable part of the job was writing my monthly editorial. They were meant to be pithy, thought-provoking, controversial, inspiring, and sometimes humorous. In other words, exactly what blog postings are supposed to be. I didn’t realize it then—because blogs had not yet been invented—but I was born to blog.

Perhaps that’s one reason that my ham radio blog is the #1 ham radio blog on Google. That is to say, when you type “ham radio blog” or “amateur radio blog” into Google, I come up #1. (btw, I’m also #1 on Bing.)

I sometimes can’t believe it, but I also get paid to blog. I blog under my own byline on oscilloscopes for EDN at scopes.edn.com, as well as on commercial building for Commercial Building Products. I’m also “ghost-blogging” for another electronics company.

And, if that’s not enough, I also do WordPress development work. Along with a graphics designer, I’ve developed custom themes, custom widgets, and custom plugins. I’ve even developed a plugin–Membership Database–that’s available via WordPress.Org.

As you can see, I love to blog, and I believe that I can help you be a better blogger. Whether it’s help developing your blog content, coaching on what and how to write blog posts, or custom WordPress development work, I can help you. Email me at dan@danromanchik.com or phone me at 734-930-6564.

Geez. I Was Just Getting the Hang of Blogging…

Dan Romanchik — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 18:51:50 +0000

… and now there’s Twitter to contend with. “Predictions on How Twitter Will Change Blogs in 2009″ from Social Computing magazine examines this trend. Some interesting ideas here—including how to integrate tweets with blog postings. I’m sure we haven’t heard the last of this.

Build Your Blog Right, and Readers Will Come

Dan Romanchik — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 15:53:49 +0000

I’m a big advocate of blogging, but most blogs never seem to really take off. One reason for this, obviously, is that the blogger just lacks the commitment. But, even when there’s commitment, bloggers have trouble finding a groove.

One reason for this might be a lack of focus. Chris Brogan’s latest blog post, ”
Build Blog Posts Like Building Blocks” discusses this, and gives some good advice on building a solid foundation for one’s blog. I love this comment:

One focusing element I have that I try to practice all the time is: “will this help other people?”

If you focus on helping other people, then the readers will come.

Make Your Blog Stand Out

Dan Romanchik — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 11:56:47 +0000

ProBlogger is a great resource for serious bloggers. One of their latest articles, 13 Quick tips to Make Your Blog STAND OUT from the Crowd will help you get even more serious about blogging.

I especially like #13: Drive People to Your Archives. If you’re working hard to produce interesting and useful content, chances are that content will be useful and interesting a year or two years from now as well. On my ham radio blog, I always try to reference previous posts on a topic and build on that theme with the later posts. I think doingn this makes my blog even more useful and interesting.