11 Hawt WordPress Plugins I've Fallen In Love With

Aug 21st

Posted by Jeremy Wright in Blogging

24 comments

Image by Thomas Hawk via Flickr

As part of building out that whole agency thing, I’ve had to do some digging for clients on interesting WordPress plugins. In doing that I’ve found a bunch of interesting plugins that I had never used before, so here are 11 of the best (my girlfriend asked “why 11″, and I answered “cause it’s better than 10″… yeah, I iz wittay).

  1. Featured Content Gallery: If you’re not familiar with it, it’s what sites like b5′s Bizzia use to do the whole content rotator thing. It can be a touch cumbersome if you don’t already have a “Featured” category setup, but not overly so. Just read the setup instructions one.at.a.time.
  2. Preview Theme: If you’re ever wanting to edit one theme while having another viewable to the public, this is perfect. Not a huge innovation, as there are other ways to do this, but for idjuts like me it’s just dead simplestest!
  3. Quick Subscribe: There are probably more fully featured, better ways of doing this, but for an easy, “in WordPress” way to alert readers to new posts this one’s just dead easy. If you have a better one, let me know in the comments!
  4. Shockingly Simple Favicon: Favicons in WP can sometimes be a pain. This removes that pain.
  5. Thank Me Later: One of the best tools to increase readers coming back is to email them a thank you for leaving a comment. Problem being that you either have to make it automated (and look like an automated-tool-using-idiot when they get a “personal” email 1 second after commenting) or slog through them one at a time. Enter Thank Me Later, which has a random delay on it, and a bunch of other settings, to make the email (and its timing) more personal and less automated… while still letting you be an automated-tool-using-douchebag ;-)
  6. Tweetmeme: One of my favourite plugins of all  time, Tweetmeme lets users RT posts from within your post, and then tracks those RTs. If only this integrated into the next plugin I’d be in heaven…
  7. Twitter Blog: I actually went looking for something like this, and this is the best I could find. If there’s something better out there,  let me know. But basically what this does is tweets out when you post (duh), but then tracks replies to those tweets and then integrates them (if you’re lucky/good) into the comment stream for your blog. More comments, more interaction, more juicyness! Again, there’s probably something better out there (ideally that used bit.ly and others’ reverse-APIs to actually track ALL responses… and REALLY ideally integrated into tweetmeme… but yeah, this is hawt)
  8. Wordbook: Updates your Facebook wall/news feed/etc when you blog. Tends to result in, well, more traffic.
  9. wp-AuthorComment: Lets you style comments by the blog’s author differently. So you could change colours, indentation, background, whatever. Dead simple, but very cool.
  10. WP Greet Box: Okay, I’ll straight up say this plugin is a bit overkill in how many services it lists, but anyways… Basically it looks at a user’s referrer, and then displays a custom message, with a pretty graphic, based on where they’re coming from. It’ll also do more advanced things for search engines like show related content. Someone comes from Twitter? Encourage them to subscribe to your Twitter feed. From Digg? To Friend you. From Fox News? To get a clue. Setup’s easy, but having to change the default message that encourages each site’s users to “subscribe  to my feed” is a bit tiresome.
  11. Youtube Profile Field: Again, there are probably better plugins for this, but this allows you to integrate with your youtube account, have shortcodes for most recent videos or a video feed (for insertion in a page), etc. It’s a touch clunky around setup, but once it’s working you can just leave it be.

So there you have it. When my girlfriend saw the title of this post she took exception to me saying I fell in love with plugins. I had to reassure her that if she was a WordPress plugin I’d have a list  of 12 plugins. Her response? “You’d only need 1 of them to make you happy”. Rowr.

If you have better suggestions for any of these features, or cool plugins “outside the norm” you think I should try with clients, let me know :) I’ll happily beta test hawt new features. I did the same for the “hawt even in beta” GravityForms!

Answering 4 Frequently Asked Questions Since "The Announcement"

Aug 19th

Posted by Jeremy Wright in General

2 comments

Image via Wikipedia

Ever since announcing my resignation as CEO of b5media I’ve had a tonne of email. Well, less than I did while I worked at b5 (cause I don’t get the mountain of internal email), but a lot of email specifically addressed to me that asks for a specific response. I’ve managed to answer most of these (one of my todos is to get my inbox empty for Wednesday) in the midst of my “workcation”, but realized that it might be easier to post a bit publicly, and then refer the simpler questions to this post.

Not to  be antisocial, but at some point you get tired of answering “so, are you sad?” (no, I won’t answer that in any detail here, cause it should be obvious … no, and yes, at the same time).

In the spirit of openness, and efficiency, and just of, y’know, getting back in the habit of blogging, here are some common questions and my deep, thoughtful, wise answers:

Image by law_keven via Flickr

Q: So… What’s Next?

This is the question I, understandably, get  asked the most. The short answer is “I don’t know”. The medium answer is “I’ll be running netmobs and doing consulting for clients while I find the right fit… which could end up being netmobs“. The long answer is “I’m talking to companies, agencies, startups, etc about finding the right fit, but I’m in no hurry”.

Ultimately I figure I have 3 options right now (outside of the “do another startup” one, which I’ll answer in a sec): a) join a larger corporation in a senior strategic role (a friend suggested “EVP Social Media” or similar), b) join a midsized, profitable, agency or startup either for a finite period (to help them reach Goal X) or permanently or c) join a media company or startup, likely in the US, in a senior role around BD/media/social media/product development/etc.

At this point, I come back from my “workcation” on Tuesday, I have a bunch of lunches/meetings/coffees, and I’ll have a better idea by the end of the month. Right now I’m listening, talking, strategizinng and figuring out not just what I want or where I can add the most value, but where I fit.

That could be netmobs, it could be a “regular job”, it could be in a VC firm or it could be something totally random. Which is why I’m taking some time, listening, hanging out and helping folk when and where I cna.

Image via Wikipedia

Q: Are You Going to Do Another Startup?

Kind of related to the above question, some folk want to know if I’m going to do another startup. Especially after the oddly skewed WSJ article made it sound like the issue was some kind of inability to hack it in the startup world.

Granted, I was pretty tired (any job where you work 80+hrs/week without taking breaks for months/years will burn you out), and things do need to change in the startup world around helping CEOs finding balance (especially in Canada where we tend to eat our own young), but the issue around b5 was pretty simple: I was working too much, I had been at it too long, and I lacked perspective because of the huge amount of history there (none of it bad, but history nonetheless).

So I made a clean break so I could reboot. The last 4-6 weeks have basically been the equivalent of rebooting and putting more RAM into a Windows machine that’s been  running 24/7 for 4 years. I feel good, I feel very fresh, and you could install some hawt new apps on me and I’d purr and be happy. As long as I remember to reboot on a more regular basis, I should be good.

Does that mean I’m going to do another startup? Probably not right away. Probably not about to start another media/software/internet business in the near future. I’ll probably play around with ideas. I’ll definitely continue to build out netmobs, which as an agency is kind of like a startup. And one of those things might turn into a Real Business. But I won’t be looking to place my life, passions and livelihood completely on the line at this point by starting or joining a startup that isn’t profitable.

Q: Are You Still Involved at b5media?

Image via CrunchBase

Yes and no. I’m no longer involved operationally, which means if you want to know a) if b5 is doing something, b) when b5 is doing something, c) why b5 isn’t doing something, d) etc… I won’t know or speculate, but I can introduce you to the person who will know and may or may not tell you (heh). However I’m still a founder, shareholder and board member, which means I get to have input, watch my baby grow and try and stay out of the way. Not a bad deal really!

Image via Wikipedia

Q: What Would You Have Done Differently?

I know a lot of folk write those kinds of long, reflective posts immediately upon leaving a startup. Might gut says it’s a way to decompress, make a clean break, reflect, etc. For me, though, I don’t have the necessary distance or perspective to put together a list of 5, 10 or 100 things I’d have done  differently, that I learned, etc. Ask me again in a year and you’ll likely get a useful and coherent answer.

Bonus Q: You Got Divorced?

I don’t talk about personal things in this kind of public way very often, but I did mention a new girlfriend in my leaving post so folk asked about my marriage… and suffice to say that I’m no longer married, but that (see: girlfriend) I’m not single either. So, David, please stop sending me topless pictures of yourself.

Drive-by Thankyous

Before I head back to my hermit-like last few days of my workcation,  though, I do want to thank a few folk who’ve helped me over the last few months through this transition.Some of it has been simple encouragement, some has been outright advice, all have been incredible, incredible friends.

I’m sure I’ll forget people, so I’ll also just say a generic “thank you” to anyone who was helpful, supportive, caring or even just gave me a swift kick in the pants. I hope to see you all at BWE, SxSW or in a random airport/bar/marina.

The Next Step in Standardized Term Sheets: VC Declarations

Aug 17th

Posted by Jeremy Wright in Business

1 comment

Image via Wikipedia

There has been a lot of fantastic chatter over the last few weeks about standardized funding docs. I caught wind of it from (no surprise) Brad and Fred‘s fantastic posts on the VC side, which led to Chris Dixon’s also amazing post on the entrepreneur side of the equation.

I love the fact that some firms, particularly law firms, are starting to release standardized funding docs.

A Lil’ Bitta Background

If you’re familiar with why standardized funding docs are important, skip this section :)

If you’ve never raised a round of funding before, you might be really surprised to learn that you can often agree on the principal terms (valuation, round size, board composition, etc) within a couple of weeks of pitching for the round. You then go through a period of Due Diligence, which is pretty normal, and finally you move on to LEGALS.

The challenge is that not only can this take 2 weeks to 2 months, but that:

  • Each side is on the hook for their own legals if the deal doesn’t close (there are few things scarier than watching your legal bills go over the $20K mark, when you only have $10K in the bank)
  • When sides do negotiating, particularly through their law firms, you can often have 3-10 lawyers in a room negotiating at $300-500/hour each
  • This process can end up costing 50-100K

Some Sample Docs For Ya

Everyone involved agrees this is silly, which is why standardized funding docs are so critical. Both sides agree on a  pair, both sides negotiate primary terms, both sides get a lawyer to look over final docs, closing docs, deal book, etc, and you’ve just shortened your time to deal completion by likely weeks (if not months). As my friend Mario would say, Hey bada boom bada bing!

For context, here’s TechStars’ standard docs, Y Combinator’s and some standard terms from the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA for short).

The Next Step Is…

Brad says the next step is for all  the big startup/funding law firms to actually standardize their docs. While that’d be great, I actually think there’s a more constructive next step: for VC firms to declare, publicly, that they agree with any or all of these docs on principle.

I kind of look at it like the whole RSS 1.0 / RSS 2.0 / Atom debate from a few years ago. Sure, having all of the teams standardize on a set of docs (a syndication standard, if you will) would be great. But ultimately, having a set of standards is the big thing. Pick one, pick all of them, entrepreneurs don’t (or shouldn’t) really care. They’re all quite reasonable, after all. Knowing a firm supports a standard makes our job of picking a firm and planning a funding round’s timeline 4x easier.

Ultimately if VC firms publicly declare their support for specific standards (even if it’s just via Partner blogs, like Brad and Fred’s), they’ll not only shorten the deal time,  but they’ll also put themselves firmly in the middle camp of being focused on getting good deals done. And, as an entrepreneur, that actually ratchets up my respect for them.

At the end of the day, we need to focus more on getting back to business, and less on an archaic process on the VC side of weeding out the chaff by putting them through some convoluted gauntlet. Either your interview/partner/DD process works or it doesn’t. If  it does, don’t use Legals as a second gauntlet. If it doesn’t? Standard/good/bad legals are the least of your worries.

Workcations: My First Step in Finding Balance

Jul 28th

Posted by Jeremy Wright in From My Life

5 comments

Image by daniel pozo via Flickr

I’ve always said I could work from anywhere. I’ve decided to see if that’s really true by trying out a “workcation”, basically a vacation where I work… or a work schedule where I take a vacation… Or, in essence, go somewhere vacationesque and work no more than 3-4 hours a day.

Sure, part of this is an attempt at finding balance. But mostly it’s hoping that this “workcation” thing actually works. Cause if it does? I can do this more regularly. From the beach… from a mountaintop… from a canoe… It’s not about slacking, it’s about that awkward place between “I don’t have time to take a vacation” and “I don’t have the unction necessary to work”.

So, yeah, while I figure out what I’m looking for, what’s missing, what I want next? I’m gonna work from the beach, from the lawn chair, from the porch, from the bed. I might even work from the bathtub.

Here are my basic rules for workcationing:

  1. Go somewhere you aren’t surrounded by workish people (ie: this isn’t a staycation where you reduce your work hours)
  2. Go out and meet people, it’ll help stretch your horizons a  little bit
  3. Read
  4. Work no more than 4 hours a  day
  5. Don’t “check” your email/phone after 8pm

This is the beginnings of my question to find some sense of work/life balance. How do YOU find work/life balance?

Other Work/Life Balance Articles

Handing Over the Reins at b5media (Or: A Year of Transition)

Jul 27th

Posted by Jeremy Wright in b5media

47 comments

At the beginning of this year (literally, the 4th of January), I took nearly 2 weeks off work from b5media, the company I’ve been lucky enough to serve as CEO for the last 3 ish years (the original  year or so was as a group of founders). I didn’t make it public, I told the management team ahead of time and I went totally offline for roughly 10 days.

I did it because I was tired, burnt out and recognized that my life wasn’t what I wanted it to be. I was working too much, unhappy at home, unhappy at work and just felt completely blah. Basically I did it because a friend asked me what I wanted my life to be… It was then  that I realized not only was I unhappy, but that I had no idea what I wanted my life to be.

Over the course of my time off, I realized a bunch of things, but the relevant one for today was that I was no longer happy, passionate or energized in my work. This wasn’t b5′s fault, or anyone’s fault really. It was really just that I’m a builder and a fixer, and b5 had moved beyond the point of its life where it needed that. Sad? Yes. Tragic? No. In some ways I always knew the day would come where I’d have to step aside and hire my replacement, so while this was a bit of a shock, it wasn’t one of those  “zomg I can’t believe this is happening” shocks, it was more of a “wow, huh, okay then…” type of shock ;-)

So… What’s Up?

Over the last 6 months I’ve made a bunch of life changes outside of work to find a bit more happiness, but today marks the culmination of the work-related changes for this current season of my life. As of today, I am stepping aside as CEO of b5media, and we are bringing on Elaine Kunda as the new CEO. I say “we” because I’m still a board member, still a shareholder, still a founder and still a huge, huge b5media fan. And I’ll remain available to b5, it’s employees, Elaine, our bloggers and our investors because I flat out love the company, team and bloggers. This ain’t me abandoning ship, it’s me handing over  the reins to someone who can take things to the next level (which is actually pretty darn exciting!).

Over the last 3 years, I helped turn b5 from an idea into a reality; from a loose gaggle of folk into a  real business; helped to raise millions and millions of dollars; helped establish blogging as a real industry and helped to hire the absolute best team possible to rawk this puppy for all  its worth. The journey was incredible, scary, fun-filled, sad and totally, totally worth it.

I want to be clear that this is a personal decision. There are seasons of every entrepreneurs life where you work your 80-100 hour weeks and you thrive. Then there are seasons where you need to breathe for a change, damnit. And this, for me, is the latter season. I’ll still work my ass off, but I’ll do it in a more balanced way. I’ll exercise more, spend more time with my girlfriend, spend more time with my boys, maybe even take up (or renew) some hobbies. I’ll probably start to play drums again, spend more time meditating and praying and generally remember what it is that makes me “me”.  I’ll probably play with some startup ideas, help some younger companies and CEOs out and I’ll take on some consulting work (more on that later) so that I can pour everything I know and can do into a project for 2-3 months and then take a break if necessary instead of going so hard and strong that I literally collapse in exhaustion for 3-4 days.

Whatchoo Talkin’ ‘Bout Willis?

For those who love to attempt to read between the lines let me save you the trouble: yes this is my choice, no I’m not being kicked out, yes b5 is doing incredibly well and yes the team is absolutely going to kick ass. While sometimes CEOs leaving reflects on the CEO or on the company, in this case it reflects on one thing and one thing only: I need a bit more balance in my life, and I need to find my flow again.

I want to publicly say how very proud and honoured I am to  have worked with such an amazing group of employees, bloggers, advisors and VCs. Really, I (and b5) wouldn’t be where we are without you guys and your efforts, passion or energy. b5 has become more than  I ever dreamed it would be, and while I’ve worked my ass off, so have all of you guys and you all deserve a huge round of applause and at least a dozen beers (Elaine’d probably prefer if this was done after work hours, heh). This goes doubly for our bloggers who have stood with me, the other founders and the company through a myriad of changes, most of which have been good but some of which I know have been really, really hard. So thank you, thank you, thank you!

Back to the Future, Episode 4: Return of the Errrrngh

For those who are wondering what’s next, the answer is pretty simple: I have no idea. For the short term, I’ll be working with clients via a quasi-agency I setup to do that: netmobs (site is a work in progress, so be thou gentle), I’ll  also be taking a bit of time off, I’ll be thinking about what really makes me happy, what really makes me passionate and how I can take what I’ve learned over the last half dozen startups I’ve done and both have fun with it and do something really interesting.

If you have any questions or whatever, you can reach me in any of the standard ways (email is jeremy@netmobs.com, cell is 416 726 3602, skype is jeremy_wright, Twitter is @jeremywright). Oh,  and feel free to comment/ReTweet, whatever. It’s great news for b5, great news for me and my happiness and even great news for the industry that we continue to evolve, survive and thrive.

I  guess that’s it. Another chapter from my 20s closes. Next, I think I’ll learn to skydive. Always wanted to do that! ;-) Or maybe I’ll take up ballet. I think the pink’d really bring out my eyes! :-D

Mark,

As Satish mentioned, we tried to interpret what was effectively amy’s “art” into something that was truly a “logo”. As Satish said, some of this involved “un-arty” things like simplifying the look and so forth, but we still tried to maintain her core concept. In doing this, we realized that there were effectively 2 paths we could take, and your confusion to the logo would tend to support that assumption:

Path 1: Go the “art” route, where everything’s very free-form and flowy. We believe this will potentially look more arty, but won’t necessarily result in more purchases in the long term … and may actually end up distracting from Amy’s products.

Path 2: We believe a cleaner, perhaps more retro look (per amy’s examples she sent) will be professional, fun and, most importantly, will let the work speak for itself instead of potentially distracting a user, reader or potential purchaser.

While we do recommend path 2, we are good with either path :)

As Satish mentioned, we’ll be bringing some design samples on Saturday, which we think she’ll actually really enjoy. We think it captures the spirit of what she’s trying to do, keeps things neat and tidy, but also lets the work stand on its own. But if Amy prefers to go down the “art” route, we can definitely make that happens as well.

Hope this helps, and all the best :)

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