May
23

Posting to WordPress With Word

So if you’re using Microsoft Word for writing and blog posts, here’s the best way to cut and paste text into WordPress. Just click that last button on the WordPress toolbar, and it will expand to show a button that allows you to paste text from Word and removes all the extraneous tags.

The link above has some screenshots and a better explanation, but I think it’s easy to figure out. As I mentioned in my previous post, I really don’t use Word much unless I’m writing a long document. I tend to use Evernote for quick notes. Enjoy!

May
21

Life After Tumblr

There’s so much that has already been written about Yahoo!’s acquisition of Tumblr that I’m afraid of being redundant. And I’m just a Tumblr fan and user, not an insider. But when a big billion dollar acquisition happens in the tech world, it really gets me thinking.

First of all, the money. It is $1.1 billion in cash which is a lot. Many people didn’t even know that Yahoo! had that much cash lying around.

Then there’s the negative association of Yahoo! which is exemplified by this one image that started appearing last weekend when it was just rumors.

yahoomadebetter

I admit I’m slightly disappointed that Tumblr choose to accept the offer from Yahoo! because I don’t think the two companies are a good fit for each other. It reminds me a bit of AOL/TechCrunch. Or even Facebook/Instagram. Different cultures, different paths, but they try to make it work somehow. Part of me wishes that Tumblr held on and remained independent. Or that a company like Google or even Facebook would have been a better match.

There also seem to be issues of culture, leadership style and remaining free of corporate interventions. Can Tumblr truly remain independent? Can Tumblr founder David Karp keep control of his company and continue to implement his vision? Will Tumblr users leave in disgust or dismay?

Yahoo said on its Tumblr page: “We promise not to screw it up.” But that’s not reassuring. Consider this:

wontscrewtumblrup

 And yes, I found both of these on Tumblr.

Whatever happens it seems that David Karp is using Tumblr as a springboard to his next idea. Sure, he’ll stay on board until his contract is up and he’ll work hard for Yahoo!, but I think that the most interesting part of the acquisition is wondering what Karp will do next. I’m excited just imagining what it might be and how the $1.1 billion acquisition can be a part of that.

Tumblr seems to be just the beginning.

May
16

Using Evernote to Post to WordPress

Since I’m using WordPress for blogging, I started looking for better ways to write posts. I don’t particularly enjoy using the WordPress interface for doing the actual writing and drafts and edits. I’m a bit concerned about losing my draft in case I press the wrong button or something. So I’ve been looking at ways to use Evernote to post to WordPress.

First, I love Evernote. It’s a great way to cut and paste anything I find on the web into one handy place. I don’t have to use bookmarks or save files to my desktop and organize them later. I just cut and paste into Evernote and it saves it for later. If you’re not using it, it’s a great research and organization tool.

Anyway, I also use Evernote for taking notes. I think Word is overkill, and Evernote is good because I usually already have it open, so I just pop open a new note and start writing. I figure it would be great to use Evernote to post to WordPress since I’m already using it for most of my writing. However I found that there’s no way to post directly from Evernote. There’s no plug-in. And nothing in the Evernote Trunk apps.

But I did find another blog that found a work-around. It’s the Post by Email feature built into WordPress. As long as you turn that on in your WordPress blog,  you can email a note from Evernote directly into WordPress. Cool, eh? You do have to do some minor editing, so check out the article for some limitations and other tips.

May
08

Speaking at State of Now 2013

On June 18th/19th, I will be a speaker at the “State of Now 2013” conference in NYC which will focus on health, wellness and fitness. You may know the #140conf which has been around for a number of years, mostly focusing on social media or Twitter. But this year, the conference organizer, Jeff Pulver, has decided to focus on health and wellness.

That’s quite a new spin on the conference, isn’t it? Well, the reason for this new direction is that Jeff is undergoing a transformation or a “personal reboot”. Last year, he realized he was tired of being overweight and unhealthy. Although at first he decided to try gastric bypass surgery, he decided to get on a fitness regimen and transform his health with a goal to lose 100 lbs. No surgery, just eating well and exercising. And as a result, he decided to make the #140conf all about health and wellness.

The email I received from Jeff announcing the conference really spoke to me because I was in the middle of a similar journey. I too have been overweight most of my life and have struggled with health problems because of it. Like Jeff, I just ate and ate and didn’t exercise and felt like I needed surgery to lose the weight.

Instead of surgery, I opted to try a medical weight management program administered by a local hospital. The program meant that I would have to eat a very low calorie diet made up primarily of shakes, soups, puddings and nutrition bars. I also ate one regular, low calorie meal a day. When I started the program last September, my body was feeling terrible. I couldn’t walk well because my back and feet hurt. I knew I wanted to change.

So fast forward to today, it’s been over 7 months and I’ve lost about 90 pounds so far. And I feel great. It was easier than I expected, but I still need to lose 10 more pounds to make it an even 100 lost. I know I can do it, even now that I’m no longer in the weight management program and am eating regular food.

At the conference, I’ll speak about my experience with the medical weight management program and give some tips on how people can get started and succeed. I really hope to inspire more people to lose weight and transform their health. This low calorie plan may not be for everyone, but I think it’s a great way to reboot your health and eating habits.

I still would like to lose even more weight and get even healthier so my struggle continues. But I’m excited to be part of this and hope to meet Jeff in person and share our war stories on this personal transformation.

May
08

Everything

It’s time for a new start and a new blog. I’ve mostly kept this for technology and work/business but I think it’s time for a change. It’s time to be more personal, more of what’s happening in my life. More of everything.

Perhaps I’ll write regularly, but most likely it will be sporadic. I’ll write about things like social media, technology and Internet video, but I’ll probably also talk about American Idol, or The Following, or some other TV show I’m watching right now. But the key thing is that I will write. I realized recently that I really am a writer. That’s what I always wanted to be and that’s what I primarily as my job.

So I’m a writer.

And I’ll write about anything and everything. Welcome!

 

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