For the last two weeks I have been looking for a program that could run multiple WordPress accounts. I just wanted a place to manage all of my sites without having to log in and out of a bunch of Admin Panels. I ran across about 20 different software programs or web based programs that wanted to charge up to $2,000 (can you believe that). Nothing was really what I was looking for, and the last thing I wanted to do was waste money on something that wasn’t quite what I was looking for. This brings us to Zoundry Raven.

Zoundry Raven is a Windows based program that allows you to add in all of you blog account WordPress, and the best part is that it’s free. I quickly added in all of my accounts and configured them to be able to remote post with the help of the xmlrpc.php function of WordPress. If you are running WordPress 2.5 or newer, you need to enable this function manually in the settings tab of your Admin Panel. When you write your post or edit an existing post, it looks and feels just like Microsoft Outlook.

As far as I know, there are very few limitations to the software other than if you are running some extra plugins that require your input. Otherwise you are about to quickly and efficiently edit and post to multiple blog accounts in a matter of minutes, or as long as it takes you to bang out some posts. You are still able to insert all of the pictures, html, links and peview before publishing. If you are running more than one blog, it is definately worth checking out.

Next on the tools every blogger must have is the Seagate FreeAgent Go. The FreeAgent Go is a portable hard drive that does more than just store your files. It allows you to run and sync all your home computer files so that while traveling you have all the software and features you are used to having at home. For example, I run my Zoundry, Skype, FireFox, Word, Excel and just about any other program you can imagine. The version I got holds 160 GB and they make 250 GB version as well. (Link to Seagate FreeAgent Go on Amazon non-affiliate).

The main advantage is the ability to have all the comforts of your home computer at your disposal while only having to carry something the size of a deck of UNO cards. The second you unplug the devise from your computer or a remote computer, all of the cache is erased and everything is cleared as if you weren’t there at all. One of the biggest advantages I could see would be the ability to use your own version of FireFox. If you allow some of your passwords to be stored in FireFox when you visit those sites, you don’t have to manually type them, thus preventing any keyboard takers from recording your passwords in any public places. I always make sure to use the encryption mode so that I am the only one able to use the device. If you travel at all and hate lugging around your laptop and cables for just a night or two you can simply bring your Seagate and have everything you would normally have, anywhere.

(P.S. this post was written with the help of Zoundry and Seagate while traveling.)

First I would like to say thanks for bearing with me on this slow posting week. I left Fargo on Monday and headed to northern California to stay with and help some family. I will be in California for about another week until I depart for Washington state. I am making the most out of this trip and visiting my mom in Ephrata, WA, for a couple days on my way back to Fargo.

HOT!

Everyone knows California gets a lot of sun (at least in most areas), but 94 degrees in the middle of May? Due to the lack of air conditioning where I’m staying, not much gets accomplished in that kind of heat. I did manage to build a shelving unit before noon and called it quits. The temperature is dropping slowly, so the next week should be nice. Here are a couple of pictures.

(This is the view from my grandparents’ front porch in Weed, CA)

RSS Feed

Last week I did a blog review of Marcus Hochstadt and mentioned how he doesn’t rely on FeedBurner because at any moment they could delete your RSS feed and all of those who were subscribed. About two days later my FeedBurner wasn’t showing the email subscribers I have. So my number for a couple days was down below 100 . I was about to get worried and then the email numbers kicked back in and were much higher than before . After last months unsuccessful attempt of acquiring a specific number of subscribers, I lowered my expectations for this month to 170. Then yesterday I was at 173 with a lot of May left to go. Serves me right. I try and meet my goals right at the end of the month knowing they were just high enough for me to reach.

Also if you subscribed to my RSS feed by email and want the 300 Entrecard credits I advertised, you need to tell me either by message at Entrecard or email me at: Josh@JoshWhitford.com so that I can get you your credits. Otherwise I have no way of knowing you subscribed.

Review of Marketing Blogs

I really enjoyed reviewing different marketing blogs and probably will continue to do so every now and then. If you want me to review your blog or marketing blog, either comment or send me an email, and I will try to do so shortly. Here are the reviews I’ve done so far:

• Internet Business Guide by Marcus Hochstadt
• Marketing Deviant on Marketing Strategies
• Make and save money with Moremerchant.com
• Talking about 1 Million Readers in 365 Days

What a great week. The sun has been shining for at least half the week and we haven’t received any snow. Yes, believe it or not, last night it snowed an hour from here. I swear this winter lasted about 7 months. I just wonder how the rest of the seasons fit into the year.

Happy Mothers Day
Face it, without mothers, none of us would be here. I would like to say and give a special thanks to my mother for surviving the Las Vegas heat in summer to put up with me. Thanks, Mom. I hope that I do not have to remind anyone to call or do something special, but just in case. What are you waiting for? Go now and do it.

Traveling
On Monday I will be traveling to the great state of California for a couple weeks where I am going to be helping out some family members. Before you start dreaming of the ocean and sand, I will remind you that I will be in the far north area of California near Mt. Shasta. I have been looking forward to my trip and visiting family. Hopefully I can post some nice pictures next week.

Tools
I finally caved and bought an MP3 player last week. In particular, a Sansa View. I recently did an interview and had the chance to record some of the conversation with a Sansa I borrowed. I was completely blown away by how well it recorded and sounded, not to mention all the other features included. I really wanted to get a decent digital voice recorder. I quickly realized they were about $100 and for a little more I could get a device that sounds just as good recording but also plays music and movies. It seemed like a no brainer.
Alexa
I shaved off 25k from my Alexa stats for this blog. That is a good thing. I really don’t know how much weight I give Alexa anymore. Alexa even admitted that in the last two years it was completely wrong in how it valued websites and now somehow magically it is better. In the end, is your blog expanding or contracting? Do you have more readers this month than last? Do you have more comments and linkbacks? That is what really matters.