Since learning how to use, break and repair a WordpressMU installation I’ve moved my previous idea, I Will Not Wait, to it’s own blog over here, given it Twitter updates and given it a new title, Deadline.
It’s a year-long project by myself and Jon Harrington about deadlines and waiting. It’s possible that we may post more information about it, but in time 
Since creating the blog for Still Waiting a thought popped into my head: Whhy host that project externally when I’ve paid for hosting? Duh! That instantly produced another conundrum, how to display that website on this one. I have several options:
Create another Wordpress install in a subdirectory
Doing this probably seems like the better idea as it lets me have full control over that blog and, aside form the url, it would have little connection to this blog.
Create another Wordpress install in a subdomain
This has similar advantages to the previous method and I could get a new domain name and redirect it to the sub domain. The only problem I can see is in future usage. I have two other ideas and to keep urls clean I’d probably want to display them in the same way i.e. as subdomains. Would I really want subdomains for each new idea?
Install Wordpress MU
Wordpress MU (multi user) is currently what’s used for Wordpress.com. It’s usually used to host hundreds of blogs, not usually anything in double digits. The advice I read usually describes using Wordpress MU for less than 10 blogs as “Overkill”. This doesn’t mean it’s not possible, just that it might be more trouble than it’s worth. I’ve done a bit of reading and it seems that you can have blogs created as subdirectories and as subdomains. Great! I’ve also been advised that migrating from Wordpress to MU isn’t as smooth as it sounds.
So, what should I do? I think I’ll opt for a mixture of the firs and third method. For now I’ll do another Wordpress installation as a subdirectory until I can configure MU to safely do what I want it to.
Last night I was at the third Birmingham Bloggers meet. If you don’t already know what it’s all about let the Facebook group do the talking.
This is the second time that I’ve been and it definitely seems more structured and formal, but I quite liked that. It meant that we had an agenda and, at the very least had an opening line when introducing ourselves to other bloggers! I wont go onto listing all of the names and blogs of everyone who attended. Just watch this handy video taken by Andrew Dubber
(check out my bit 49mins into the vid. Man, I need a haircut…)I’d like to draw up on what I said in the vid on here as well. I’m from an area of Birmingham called Winson Green. I wouldn’t exactly call that area tech savvy, so I’m very interested in seeing what a coworking space, and the people running it, can offer a communtity who are almost completely unknowledgable when it comes to technology. As well as my personal illustration work I’m a community artist and do workshops with different community groups, so I’m naturally interested in extending projects outside of niche groups into the wider community somehow.To exapnd on something that Charlotte Carey said, I’d like to get more specialist groups using and embracing technology. Based on visual appearance alone I think I was one of two Black people there, and there was probably four women there. This isn’t a fault of the blogging community at all, but what I’d like to see coworking spaces do is actively seek out these minority groups, which include ethnic minorities and women and the disabled, and introduce them to the benefits of web technologies.
The overall formal side of the meeting was great! As I was saying to Jon, I’d like to have fortnightly meetups. Although I think the arrangement should be that on one session should be based around a discussion forum and the other, like the one last night, more of a social gathering, which will perhaps still have an agenda. Whaddaya think?
I spoke to Jon Bounds and some others afterwards about how I don’t really see all that many artists using blogs. Aside from Ana Milgram and Lara Jade I haven’t stumbled across any Birmingham-based artists embracing a blog format and exploring the potential of it for their portfolio website. Since last night I’ve had a lot of cool arty ideas that incorporate and rely heavily on t’interwebber and social networking, which I’ll indulge you all with later in the week.
Can’t wait to read what everyone else thought of the meet!
That’s probably way more than 500 words. Good enough for ya Pete?
Now that I’ve found out how to make a static page my home page I want to be able to display, say, three of the most recent posts on that static page. Any clues on how to do it? I’ve had a search on Wordpress for a ‘sticky‘ plugin, hoping that it’ll simply be like having a sticky post. Alas, no luck 
Also, sorry if I’ve broken anyones rss feeds or links by changing the blog address!
As with this post it seems that yet again I’m slipping behind on things, but less so this time. Vital information is appearing on the site, but it all just needs tidying. I think that’s todays task: to tidy everything up!
