Tag: peter mcdermott

How to Backup Your WordPress.com Blog

Keeping a backup of all of your important files is important. You probably make regular backups of the important files on your computer at home, but do you worry about backing up your online data like all of the information on your blog?

If you have an account on WordPress.com and you’d like to move it over to a self-hosted site (something that many people decide to do as they continue to grow their audience), you will eventually need to export your data. But, don’t wait until you’re ready to move. Make regular backups of your blog,  just in case.

I was talking to A.V. Flox from BlogHer about an aquaintance that had their WordPress.com blog disappear. There’s no telling why the blog disappeared, whether it was a server error, a violation of Terms & Service, or just an anomily, but the truth is, it could happen to anyone, especially if your password isn’t secure.

To protect yourself from losing all of the valuable information you have created, your words, your posts, your comments, your images–all of the content that you have worked so hard to create–you should perform regular backups. Don’t worry though, they’re easy to do. Just follow these steps.

Step 1

Log into your WordPress.com Account and select the blog you want to backup:

Step 2

Click ‘My Blog’ in the upper left hand corner and select ‘Dashboard’

Step 3

On the left hand tool bar, go down to ‘Tools’ (it’s towards the bottom) and select ‘Export’

Step 4

If you want to backup all of your pages, posts and comments, select ‘All content’ and click the ‘Download Export File’ button.

Step 5

Depending on what browser you are using, a notification should appear asking you if you would like to download the file. Since it is an XML file, your computer might warn you that it could be dangerous. In situations where the source is trusted, such as WordPress.com, you don’t need to worry about this warning. Click ‘Keep’ and then, presto, you have a backup of all of your blog content on your home computer!

When you get more proficient and as your audience continues to grow, you might want to start your own website on an independent server using the WordPress.org framework. The interface is virtually the same, and when you go to set it up (using their famous five minute installation) you’ll be able to instantly Import your content, pages and comments from your previous location!

By backing up your data regularly you won’t have to worry about your blog “disappearing” because you’ll always have a copy of your content right at your fingertips.

If you liked this tutorial, be sure to share it with your friends using the social media buttons below! Also, be sure to enter your e-mail address and Subscribe in the right-hand navigation bar of my website to get weekly updates of all of my content at absolutely no cost!

Photographic Archaeology: How To Find the Source of an Image on the Internet

Are you sharing responsibly?

Most of the content that gains traction on the Internet, whether message boards, social media sites like Google+ and Facebook or through e-mail chains (although becoming less popular) has an origin. A lot of people take for granted the fact that someone took the time and effort to create this work. Instead, they share the image with reckless abandon as if it was their own original work.

Now, that’s not to say that everyone that downloads and image to their computer and shares it on a social network is necessarily in the wrong. A lot of the images that are found throughout the web are not copyrighted and are usually “modifications” of existing images. Think of all of the memes where people take an existing image and populate their own text on top. Just because they captioned the image does not make it theirs, per say.

I was approached today by +Bud Hoffman who pointed out that he shared an image he had found on the Internet and was surprised by the amount of interaction and attention it drew. Bud shared an image of two men smoking and standing beneath a mural to make it look as though they were being buried at a funeral.

Image from Snopes.com
Image from Snopes.com

Continue reading Photographic Archaeology: How To Find the Source of an Image on the Internet

Have You Ever Crawled Through the Mud In the Rain?

Why I am teaming up with +KOMU 8 News +Sarah Hill.

Lady with child in PET
Lady with child in PET

Person Energy Transportation (or P.E.T. for short) gives the gift of mobility to people all around the world that suffer from paralysis, disease and other circumstances which have caused them to lose their ability to walk. Each of these hand-cranked carts allows these individuals to use their own energy to power themselves through third world countries which lack the infrastructure that you and I take for granted every day.

For a mere $250, the P.E.T. organization can gather materials needed to construct a hand-powered cart that allows people lacking mobility to commute through their communities, find work and restore their personal freedom. No longer will they have to crawl on the ground or depend upon the support of others to get from point A to point B.

If you live in a metropolitan area like I do, you might take the infrastructure around you for granted. Most modern suburbs in the United States even boast sidewalks on every street. However, in countries like Honduras and Vietnam, accessibility is a major problem for most people. Especially those with mobility issues.

+Sarah Hill is undertaking a project to raise One Million Dollars which would fund the construction of over 4,000 P.E.T. carts and restore mobility, freedom and jobs to 4,000 people in third world countries who suffer at no fault of their own.

How +Sarah Hill Plans to Do It

Sarah will be using +Google+ Hangouts to her advantage. As she has integrated the technology into her +KOMU 8 News U_Newscasts, she will be offering people the opportunity to “sponsor” segments and get their name out in exchange for their donation to her project. With over 600,000 followers on +Google+ and the ability to touch people with her stories, I have no doubt that +Sarah Hill will be successful with her endeavors.

How You and +Peter G McDermott Plan to Help

Now, this is where it gets interesting. Since I don’t have 600,000 followers and don’t appear daily on an NBC affiliate, I’m going to depend on +The Internet to help me get the message out and show +Sarah Hill that the little guys can make a difference too.

Since my following count is about 5% of Sarah’s, I’m going to recruit you and all of your friends, family members and colleagues to help me raise $50,000 towards Sarah’s goal of $1 Million.

What’s In it For You?

If you have seen my YouTube videos or read my blog, you know that I am a fairly competent speaker, engager and story teller. I like sharing new ideas and innovation (you would know that if you ever read my profile). So, if you want to help me with this project of raising money, I want to help you with getting the word out about your product or service. I will be offering my consulting services and audience reach at no cost to those that help me raise funds and meet my modest goal of $50,000.

So what are you waiting for? If you want to join in, be sure to join my team on Crowd Rise: http://www.crowdrise.com/mcdermott/

Only $50,000 to Go!

How to Find Almost Anything on Google

It’s great to see that Google’s marketing team is starting to reach out to the non-geeks of the world and show them how to use features that more seasoned users like me already know how to use.

Sometimes you need to put things in context and remember that your aptitude in utilizing the Internet might be light years ahead of your friends and family. This quick video shows people that aren’t as technical as most of the people active in social media how to utilize some great time-saving features.

Continue reading How to Find Almost Anything on Google

Top Ten Mistakes Bloggers Make

Stop Sign
Image Source: FreeFoto.com

If you’re just starting a blog or trying to learn how to be a successful blogger on the Internet you have probably read a lot about what you should be doing. Have you considered thinking about what you shouldn’t be doing?

I polled my network of experts on Google+ and got some great responses on this topic. I wanted to feature +C Bret Campbell‘s thoughts as a guest post. Here’s his top ten list of mistakes that bloggers commonly make:

Top 10 No-No’s:

Continue reading Top Ten Mistakes Bloggers Make

Pages: Page 1, Page 2

Does Teamwork Work in Social Media?

Teamwork
Have We Forgotten Teamwork?

So, tonight, after attending a meeting for speakers interested in +PodCamp Nashville, I went out to dinner with the lovely +D’nelle Throneberry and talked about teamwork and how it relates to social media as a business strategy.

The first thing we talked about is something that “social media experts” are afraid to admit. Social media has grown so much that it is no longer under one umbrella. There are so many aspects of new media that one person can not simply master them all.

Currently the game is being played on a no-frills referral basis in this market. If you’re looking for WordPress, there’s someone for that. If you want to do a Twitter campaign, I can point you in the right direction. Looking for Drupal? There’s a couple of guys in town that do that…

Clearly, what I learned from our conversation and observing the relationships and businesses in this market, I know that everyone is really excited about social media. Especially the people that do it for a living. They are all working independently and love it. Why?

I can understand leaving your M-F 9-5 to become an independent entrepreneur and do what you love, but why do it alone when there is a team of people there all passionate about the same thing?

As this space continues to evolve, more technologies and networks start popping up, we are going to need more than just a few experts. Regardless, though, of how much it grows and changes, all of these things that propagate are all related. There is no reason we should work in silos. That’s why we left Corporate America in the first place, right?

I think that if a group of people with a diversified range of talents band together they will be much more successful than a bunch of people all out doing it on their own.

I don’t care how wide or great your referral network is, there is strength in numbers and if you band together, you can do amazing things. Teamwork is where it’s at.

How Much is Convenience Worth?

The Consumerist recently posted about two articles, one from +CNBC and the other from +The New York Times about the price of single-serving coffee packages.

I, for one, own a single-serving brewing system. I am a fan of the device (a Keurig) because it removes a lot of barriers from me brewing my own coffee. The most important of these barriers in time.

Before owning my Keurig, it took a lot of effort to brew a cup of coffee. More often than not, when I would brew a “pot” of coffee in the morning, most of it would go to waste. So, between cleaning the pot, cleaning the basket and measuring the cofee each morning I was spending a lot of time. Even after all of the preparation I would have to wait several minutes for the stuff to brew.

Now I find myself flying down the stairs with an extra 15 minutes of sleep, ready to press a button while I grab my banana and have my coffee in my thermos, the exact amount, the right temperature, perfectly fresh and all ready to go. I realize that on a “cost-per-pound” basis, this is way more than I would ever consider paying for high end coffee.

photo by rudolf_schuba on Flickr

+Starbucks Coffee offers select roasts for $13.95/lb and I’m paying somewhere in the neighborhood of $25-$30. Surely, this is way more expensive using my perfered method when viewed in a cost-per-pound perspective. However, if you look at the amount of coffee that is wasted and the amount of time spent brewing a “pot” of coffee each morning, I think I’m actually saving a lot more time and money than I would with the traditional method.

So, what’s your bottom line? What do you think the convenience is worth? Just because it costs more per pound does that mean you’re spending more overall? How do you do your coffee in the morning?

How Two Nights in New York Changed Our World

My Window's Vista

We just finished our last night of the #NYCHIRL and all I can say is…WOW! That was one of the most incredible experiences I have had in my life.
If you are new to G+ or trying to get people interested in joining, just tell them to search for hastag NYCHIRL and see the ridiculous amount of fun that a bunch of people that met over the Internet were able to have over one weekend in New York City.

Continue reading How Two Nights in New York Changed Our World

Blogging from 30,000 Feet: From Nashville to New York

“Each man reads his own meaning into New York.” – Meyer Berger

Over 50 people from all over the world are going to meet in the center of the biggest city in the United States this weekend. Why?

Because they connected with each other.  Continue reading Blogging from 30,000 Feet: From Nashville to New York

Follow-Up Interview with +Jennifer Wedel from +The White House Hangout

+Jennifer Wedel disclosed to us today that the Deputy Chief of Staff from+The White House called her home to inform her that the President wanted to ensure that her unemployed husband’s resume was send to key contacts in the Dallas Fort Worth area.

During our second hangout interview with Jennifer she explained the news of the phone call and why she shared it with us first. Continue reading Follow-Up Interview with +Jennifer Wedel from +The White House Hangout