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URL Shortening services like bit.ly and tinyurl are very popluar right now, why not have your own? In this episode i show you how to use a PHP script to create your own URL Shortening service.

To accomplish this I use the PHPURL script from: http://blondish.net/resources/scripts/phpurl/

It’s a pretty easy script to install.  First you download the file from the above URL, then extract the files using winzip or any other file compression software

Then you can FTP the files up to your web server.

Once you’ve done that, you need to create a database, and a user, and give that user access to the database.  I do this from the MYSQL command line, using the following commands:

• create database databasename;  (I used a database name of ‘tinyurl’)
• create username@localhost identified by ‘password’;
• grant all on databasename.* to username@localhost;

Once that’s done, you edit the config.php file and enter this information, as well as entering a admin username and password (make sure to change it from the default password of password!)

Then you run the install script at yourdomain.com/install.php

That’s it!  Once that is done you have a fully functioning URL Shortening service that anybody can use.  It works great.  Enjoy!

Download the episode here

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Wordpress security can be confusing and even a little bit scary. In this episode I show you some simple things that you can do to secure your wordpress blog and prevent it from being hacked.

First thing I cover is a article that talks about some great tips for securing your wordpress site: bit.ly/7sKOJE the most important thing from this article is choosing a secure password.

You can go to grc.com/pass to get a very secure randomly generated password, or if you choose to create your own, make sure it’s 8 characters or longer, with numbers and letters and some upper and lower case passwords.

Next up is the “Secure Wordpress” plugin which does several of the things shown in the article above, but in a convenient plugin.

Last but not least is the Login LockDown which automatically locks a IP address out if it tries to log in unsucsesfully 3 times within 5 minutes.

So that’s the end of the show, please check out the new discussion forums at teachmewp.ning.com, and be sure to fill out the listener survey if you haven’t yet, because it really helps out the podcast.

Thanks for watching!

032 – Wordpress Security

Well, featured under the Education:Training – Video Podcasts section, third row down far right, Secudond row, First in line! but still it’s pretty cool!

Finally, there is a teachmewp.com community.  I’ve set up a group for teachmewp.com at ning.com.  There is a discussion forum so you can talk with me, and with other members of the community.  Feel free to introduce yourself and give your blog or podcast a plug, and if you have any ideas or comments about the show you can post them here to.  If you have any wordpress questions feel free to post them there too, and I will do my best to answer them or find someone who can answer them.

Also, I use delicious.com to bookmark sites of interest and resources for the podcast, so if you want a preview of what next week’s episode might be about, check it out.

I’m still working on new episodes, trying to release a new episode each monday. Next week’s episode will be about wordpress security. A bit scary but something we all need to think about.

Dear reader, this is my mission for you. Both Chris Pirillo and Cali Lewis spoke at Wordcamp San Francisco 2009 – I was there and saw them both. Take the time to watch both videos – both Chris and Cali speak about building a community. Please let me know what you think about their presentations down in the comments.

Here’s what I got from their presentations: Chris – I built a strong vibrant community by being authentic, speaking from the heart and not pandering to my audience. Do what you love and the audience will love you. Cali – Pander to your audience, listen to what they say and change your show appropriately, but don’t take negative feedback too badly. Do what you’re told or your audience will punish you.

Your thoughts?

Enjoy this very ‘artsy’ video of Matt (creator of Wordpress) talking about what Wordpress is and the difference between wordpress.org and wordpress.com. Matt kind of looks like he’s been beat up. Between that and the washed out lighting, soft focus and camera angles, this is definitely a must see.

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Automattic just made it possible to post to Wordpress.com and read Wordpress.com blogs using the Twitter API. I show you how to configure Tweetie to post and read Wordpress.com, and talk a bit about the implications of this – which are huge! Enjoy.
Links from the show:
Matt’s blog entry – Post and Read via twitter API
API Root: https://twitter-api.wordpress.com/
And please fill out the listener survey.
031 – Post to Wordpress.com using the Twitter API

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The teachmewp.com podcast re-launches, better than ever. Wonder what Wordpress 2.9 is going to look like? In this episode I show you some of the features on a live wordpress installation. I show off the new media feature in Wordpress that lets you edit your images right from within wordpress, it’s very cool.
In this re-launch of the Teachmewp.com podcast, everything is better. The audio quality is upgraded, the screen capture software is better, and the file sizes are smaller – no more 600MB downloads! Plus I’m not just going to focus on Wordpress any more. I will be doing tutorials on other things like podcasting, social media, SEO and all other kinds of new media fun stuff.
Stay tuned, enjoy the show, and be sure to leave a review in the iTunes store!
030 – Wordpress 2.9 preview.mov