To begin with, this session starts where the 5 minute install stops. There are plenty of tutorials out there that will help you set up your own WordPress blog, so I’m not going to bother repeating them. Instead I’m going to start covering topics that you’ll run into when you want to have your WordPress install do more than what it was originally designed to do.

Since the topics covered are very technical in nature, I will also take the time to demystify some of them. In other words, if you’re already a developer in your own right you might not get much out of this presentation, as I will be covering some basic PHP syntax, server redirects as well as an overview of modifying DNS records.

On the other hand, if you are a blogger who’d like to have a good introduction, or are curious about how WordPress might fit into your corporate environment, this will be an excellent overview.

Section 1: One Install, Many Blogs

11:00AM-11:20AM

If you’re an avid blogger and/or maintain more than one WordPress blog, consolidating all of your blogs onto one single WordPress install can help with everything from plugin management to upgrades. Most plugins, however, naturally assume that they exist on a solitary install, so if you want to use something like Google XML Sitemaps there are some additional steps you need to take. As such, this first part will cover the following topics:

1. Writing a Dynamic Configuration File (PHP)
2. Request Redirects with mod_rewrite
3. Configuring plugins for multi-site use

Section 2: WordPress^μ

11:20AM-11:40AM

In many corporate environments it’s often optimal to manage multiple blogs through one single administrative interface, which is where WordPress^μ (Multi-User) comes into play. Installs such as these are often tricky, because they require a bit more technical expertise to get them set up properly. As such, I will be covering the following:

1. A brief feature overview of WordPress^μ
2. Installing WordPress^μ.
3. Redirecting for subfolders (http://www.yourdomain.com/blogname).
4. Redirecting for subdomains (http://blogname.yourdomain.com/ ).
5. Updating CNAME DNS records for subdomains.

If we have time at the end of the session I will open the floor for any additional questions you might have about installation challenges you might have faced. I can’t promise a comprehensive answer to all of them, but between myself and the rest of the room we should be able to get you pointed in the right direction.

Large broad-swath life update coming in the next 48. I promise! I know I’m already a week late with it, but it’s kinda hard to find the time to write right now. I’m really enjoying my job, it’s presenting me not only with a challenge but also with an environment and a pace I’m used to without having to seek it out outside of work (read: It’s a little hectic, but it’s moving in a consistent, predictable direction). I also got a bit of a brainfuck question asked of me last night that threw me for a loop and needs quite a bit more thought before I put it down.

Plans today: Go to work, get far enough to check in everything, then transfer things to my laptop and hang out in Schiller park until the free Shakespeare starts (Maybe swing by the neat looking WHOLE BLOCK bookstore I found just north of there. Maybe get ice cream. Maybe go dancing instead, I don’t know yet. Tomorrow I’m going to find a good place to buy my CorporateWear (TM) from (which is surprisingly similar to my Dance Wear), find the bigass gaming store around here and see if they will take my used books, probably do some more work probably find the time to put another run on my skates in.

Oh, and for some reason, I dehydrate here a _lot_ easier. I guess the lack of rivers means I lose more moisture when I breathe, but when I got a stabbing dehydration headache this morning during my skating for the third time I realized something had to change. RIGHT! I also need to find a map of all the bike trails around here, there are _tons_ of them and I am convinced there’s an easy commute from my new apartment to work. And perhaps a farm co-op (if they still take subscriptions this late in the year).

Off to go work. Toodles!