Tag Archives: wordpress

Four years on and counting

Posted on by

I’ve now had this blog for a little over four years. I first bought this domain in 2007 but left it with just a humble ‘under construction’ front page for almost two years. Then back in 2009, my partner suggested that I use the site to record my opinions. I’m so grateful for that advice.

So I learned how to install WordPress on my domain and within a few weeks, I was blogging with ease.

Four years on and I am pleased with how much I’ve accomplished. I have no programming knowledge or developer skills. I think it’s great that you don’t need any to run a blog these days.

It’s fantastic to read old posts and remember what things were happening in my life at the time. Back then, I hadn’t graduated from university and I was trying to  establish a business analyst career even though I was living overseas.

The purpose of this blog was to record all the things that seemed important to me and to track my career journey. It has been great to achieve all the goals I’ve set for myself since then.

My posts have become less frequent but the content I have to share nowadays is what I wanted all along. It’s good to know I have this blog next to me all the time to share snippets of time throughout my life.

I hope you enjoy reading this content. I recommend blogging to anyone. It’s a great pastime.

New theme new direction

Posted on by

So I’ve updated my theme to change things up. I’ve also decided that I will use this space to track the progress of my goal to become a business analyst. For some of you, it may seem like a modest aspiration but for me it’s one goal I haven’t achieved. I know that when I do become a business analyst, I will have a different goal in front of me.

Back to the new theme.

I’m using a default theme that came with the new version of wordpress, it’s called “twenty eleven”. I think default themes have come a long way since I first glanced at kubrick. The new theme is quite minimalist and I think it’s a great match for the new direction I’m taking. I don’t think a blog or a theme should get in the way of someone who wants to write and share opinions. I think this theme will serve me well over the next two years.

I’m done with experimenting with plugins and widgets. When I use wordpress, I want to only write. I’m glad I’ve got the spring clean done and can now get on with the job of documenting my journey to becoming a professional business analyst.

New social media strategy

Posted on by

Most people who are constant producers of information in social media will now understand that the space is getting crowded with popular services. Where once we had the one blog to update, we now have to dedicate time to facebook, twitter, tumblr and google plus.

This has made me think about my social media strategy. The truth is, I don’t really have one. When this blog started in 2009, the strategy was to produce via this medium and draw interest and attention back to this page. Since then, I’ve joined twitter, created a tumble log, joined linked in and various other services.

I’m now forced to think about how I spend my time on these networks and which ones I chose to contribute to the most. The problem is that they all seem worthwhile and enjoyable. So I will have to prioritise. This is how I think I will do it.

My blog – this blog

This blog will be the space most serious to me. As I pay money to keep this domain every year and have the url printed on my business card, I may as well keep this in good order. I haven’t written here consistently. There are two reasons for this. One is that I’ve been distracted with less meaningful social media services. The other reason is that I’d rather have well thought out posts on this blog, which means that I don’t often have interesting material to share here or it takes some time to write and edit everything in a decent manner. This blog will however become my most important internet presence. Continue reading →

WordPress themes and plugins – gratitude post

Posted on by

This blog wouldn’t be the same if it weren’t for the plugins, themes and the programmers behind them. I think it’s time that I give credit to the authors of plugins that I use on this blog. All the plugins and themes I use are absolutely free and I recommend every one of them. It makes blogging easier for the publisher and readers. So thank you to the programmers that submit their projects to the wordpress plugin library. It’s the free software/open source software movement that has allowed for ordinary people to publish on the internet without too much money or IT expertise required. Continue reading →

Once again, new blog layout

Posted on by

I’ve changed the wordpress theme as I felt it needed a new look and feel. The photo on the front of the page is of Valparaiso, my birthplace.

It’s been 8 months since I’ve started using wordpress and my only regret is not having used it earlier. I never thought a web page could be done so nicely without the use of Adobe Dreamweaver. I originally doubted using blogging software to manage a website but it has been so useful.

With wordpress, the software doesn’t get in the way of the blogging. I just have to focus on my writing and wordpress practically takes care of itself.

If you are thinking about starting a blog for personal use or groupwork, then you should try out a free blog from wordpress.com
If you need something more scalable and the ability to customise, then you should register a domain name and pay for web hosting. You then download the wordpress.org software and install it into your database on your website. From then on all you need is your username and password and an internet connection to be able to publish from anywhere in the world.

It’s as easy as writing an email to a friend.

More content coming soon.