Is it just me?
I was reading a post on Pro Blog Design, and it says that many bloggers forget to update the “year” in the copyright notice. It you want to solve this problem forever, you can use the following code snippet:
© < ?php echo date("Y"); ?> Blog Name
The PHP code above echos the current year, so you’ll never have to update your copyright notice again. This is an excellent tip for WordPress theme designers, never hard code the year into your copyright.
As a frequent user of Digg, I love observing the psychology of Diggers. One thing I love about Digg is the comment system. No, not the functionality part of it… but what people post. For the most part, Digg users have similar mentalities of different situations. Most people read the most positively rated comments, but I, on the other hand, read the most negative comments. Over the months, I have collected a list of things that really piss off the true Diggers.
- Diggers hate Hitlery: If there is one politician all diggers hate, it’s that boyish looking woman named Hitlery. Everything negative about her will be promoted, and positives, not that she has any, will be buried.
- Leaving Lame Comments: Don’t say “wow” or “good article” or “thanks” in the comments. You just end up looking like an idiot, and that’s why we dig you down. It’s known as comment spam. Don’t leave your signature on after your comment. We all know what happened the last time somebody did that.
- Blog Spam: Taking a short paragraph from the original article, posting it to your blog is not only lame, but also idiotic. Digg original articles, not blog spam.
- Annoying Ads: I don’t know what Kevin Rose was smoking when he decided to accept “Congratulations! You’ve won an ipod” ads. Don’t you just hate that annoying little high pitched voice? Also, don’t submit websites with annoying ads, no matter how good your article is, we’ll bury it!
- Religious Enthusiasts: No we don’t want to hear what your religion has to offer. Most Diggers are atheists. If not that, then they are not interested in your religion advertisement. So, you’ll never see any kind of religious story.
- Misinformation: Do a fact check before you posts anything. Diggers aren’t stupid, they’ll spot out any false information. This isn’t Fox News, these are Diggers who do fact checks.
- Stories about Digg: We don’t like articles about Digg. It just seems like they write these articles just to get on the front page of Digg.
- Top 10 Lists: That’s exactly what the internet needs: another top ten list. It just seems like after half way down, they are just making up stuff so they can get 10 things on the list. Lame.
- Making Assumptions About Diggers: Don’t go off and write lists about what diggers are and aren’t. Every Digger is unique in their own way. Diggers really hate when they are judged based on some stupid list written by some stupid jerk with a blog.
I am sure there are plenty more. Are they are any that you’d like to share?
Your favorite juice company gets a new look. I like it. It’s refreshing considering the old logo was around for quite a few decades. You can read more about it at Brand New.
It seems to me that everyone is jumping into the “News/Magazine” themes. It’s great to see it, it definitely brings out the creativity from the people. By making it premium, they supposedly put a little more effort into it. It’s good, as a matter of fact, it’s great! The thing is… does the cost justify the ownership of the theme? This post is actually for the Premium Theme buyers and makers.
Couple weeks ago, I talked about how Brian Gardner banked at least $5,000 from a single theme. He didn’t create the idea of selling themes, but he sure “revolutionized” it. He inspired many to create and sell their own “news / magazine” themes. Microsoft didn’t invent operating systems, but they sure revolutionized it… just like how Digg didn’t invent social bookmarking and YouTube didn’t invent video services. The point I am making is who do you look at your competition when you’re setting a price for your theme?
It’s like selling a car. Why does a Ferrari cost $200,000+ and a Honda civic cost $20,000? They both get you from point A to B. Do they set the prices based on how they LOOK? It’s all about the mechanism, that’s actually what you’re paying for, not the aluminum body. People pay for the mechanics. If they sold Ferraris for $20,000 instead of $200,000… it wouldn’t be special anymore, it wouldn’t be a Ferrari anymore. Makers of Ferraris aren’t only selling cars, they are selling status, fame, a feeling of being proud. Now… let’s take this idea to WordPress Themes.
Do you want to buy a premium theme? First, ask yourself this question… WHY? Do you need it or do you want it? If you can distinguish between these, then ask yourself this question. Do you want a Honda Civic or do you want a Ferrari? They both do the job of getting you from point A to point B. How exclusive do you want to be, should be the question you should ask. When you’re buying premium themes.
Now the question for themers, how do you set a price? Do you look at the compition and adjust your price or do you simply charge for what you think is the right price?
What do you look for when you’re buying themes? What do you look for when you’re creating a premium theme? I’ll leave this to an open discussion.
It’s been six months and I am already talking about the third redesign, I must be crazy! I’ve already began working on the new design for this site and hopefully get it up as soon as I get done with our contest winner Mark’s website. There’s over 100 subscribers to this site, which I guess is a good sign? I haven’t promoted much besides commenting on my favorite blogs.
Ok, ok… enough talk! Here’s the sneak preview of the third revision to this website:
It’s still in works, the design is almost complete and coding will begin soon. But, what do you think so far?
Here are some things coming up:
- My first theme, DM-Bloodless, will get some major coding revisions… I will correct few of my mistakes and also make it WP 2.3 compliant.
- My Green / Brown theme will be launched for free also WP 2.3 compliant.
- This current theme called, DM-Dead Poet, will be launched for free also WP 2.3 compliant.
- I am in a process of writing a post about why you need a professional looking blog if you want to be taken seriously.
- I am also working on a premium newspaper / magazine styled theme. Don’t worry, it’ll be affordable to the majority.
Lots of things happening. Stay tuned.
