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Blogo 2 brings a native WordPress app to OS X
For those who use the popular WordPress content management system for blogging, there are a lot of iOS tools. In the OS X world, however, you're generally content to use a Markdown tool that also happens to upload content to WordPress blogs. Blogo 2.0 (US$29.99, available at introductory price of $14.99) has been designed from the ground up as a native OS X WordPress app. The app will soon support Tumblr and Blogger as well according to the developer. Once Blogo has been purchased and installed from the Mac App Store, about the only thing you need to do to get started is to add the addresses and login credentials for any WordPress blogs that you write on. As soon as that is done, you're asked if you want to install a Safari (or other browser) extension to make it easier to insert content from other sites. I primarily use Safari, so I chose to add the extension. Most bloggers are probably going to choose to create a new post at this time. Instead, i went into my personal blog and used Post List (Command-2) to see all of the posts and pages I've created. I wanted to add a reminder to PR types not to pitch products to me via my personal site, so I selected my contact page and was greeted by the text and form codes. With a quick click and a little bit of typing, I had added a line to the page and formatted it. Before I published the revised page, I decided to preview it. The first time Blogo 2 prepares a preview, it needs to actually create and destroy a bogus post in order to get some information. While that's usually not going to cause any issues, I have some auto-tweets set up and started getting puzzled tweets from followers when the app sent out a tweet under my name that said %%TITLE%% along with a URL. That was really my fault -- I should have turned off the auto-tweeting feature. One thing you'll notice when you bring connect Blogo 2 to an existing WordPress site with a lot of content is that images are replaced with a placeholder icon and that your formatting -- while still OK on the actual site -- may not come across properly. For example, the post seen in the screenshot at the top of this post has a lot of paragraph breaks in it that don't appear in Blogo, and I'd really like to be able to see my actual images in the posts instead of that image icon. On the plus side, if you click on the place holder, it will show you your image and provide a way to quickly align it with a click. Next, I decided to create a new post just to see how easy it was to do it using Blogo. At the top of the left toolbar is a "New Post" button that -- unsurprisingly -- brings up an empty page. There are spots for a title and your content, a calendar icon for scheduling the post, and an edit field for categories and tags. A settings "gear" button at the bottom brings up the options pane shown above, and if your WordPress template uses featured images, you can add one here. Posts are saved in draft until you click Publish to set them free on the world -- and it should be noted that you'll be able to do your blogging offline, then publish when you're connected to a network. Adding text is just a matter of typing, and adding categories and tags is easy -- just type in the categories, and tags are added by prefacing them with a pound sign (#). There's a great image insertion tool -- Command-D brings it up (I personally wish they'd add a small image button that could be click), and the tool lets you select or drag-and-drop an image. Once the photo is in the image tool, you can set the size of the thumbnail or full-size image, add captions and alt text, crop it, make adjustments to brightness, contrast, and color temperature, even add filters. This is perhaps my favorite part of Blogo, since it removes the need to use multiple applications -- Safari, Preview, maybe an app like Pixelmator or SnapHeal -- to prepare images for upload to WordPress. Once you click the "Done" button after making changes to your image, it's uploaded to the server and a placeholder is inserted into your draft post. One oddity: when uploading a second photo to a post, it is placed at the top of the post by default, leaving you to drag it down to the proper location later. I also found that the preview did some weird things -- at least with the theme I use for WordPress. It showed the post over the background of the page, then displayed it a second time correctly. The Safari extension worked very well -- I tested it with both Vimeo and YouTube videos, and it let me add either links or full embeds with the click of a button. I tested the scheduling features of Blogo and it worked just fine; that should be a useful feature to those who blog professionally and need to get posts timed to an editorial timetable. Some other features to consider are the comment moderation capability and Evernote integration. The latter feature lets you save all of your drafts out on Evernote. All in all, I was quite impressed with Blogo 2. To me, it makes a lot more sense to use the app for writing and publishing to WordPress blogs than using the traditional web-based editor, primarily because of the well-designed image insertion and editing tools. There are still a few bugs in the app that the developers are painfully aware of, but Blogo is definitely worthwhile -- especially at the introductory price.
Steve Sande08.20.2014
New photo app is all Selfies, all the time
We know what you're thinking, but a new app called Selfies is actually kind of fun, considering that it's a barely-promoted one-off from Automattic (the company responsible for WordPress). It told TechCrunch that Selfies was in development for eight weeks or so as part of the Gravatar universal avatar app before it became a separate thing. Trying the app showed that its basic-ness is part of the kick, since it let us post our own pic right after logging on. (We also found it to be a little rough around the edges with a few crashes.) Right now, there's just a single public feed showing ever photo, but the company has plans to filter the best content soon. You can try it now for yourself, but only on Android -- the company narrowly picked that platform to launch it first thanks to a user poll.
Steve Dent07.28.2014
Google Glass gets unofficial WordPress support
Google Glass may never be able to give you X-ray vision, but its list of supported features continues to grow. PR firm, Weber Shandwick, has released an unofficial plugin for the futuristic eyewear that allows owners to publish content to any WordPress-hosted blog with simple verbal commands. The lucky few with a headset of their own can snap a photo or video, dictate an associated caption and upload their entry, all in less than a minute. Posting long-form content, like your mother-in-law's buffalo chicken dip recipe, is also possible -- but there's a learning curve. Weber Shandwick's SVP of technology innovation, Ozzy Farman, told us that Google's built-in voice-to-text functionality takes a bit of getting used to.
Andy Bowen12.09.2013
Feedly turns to Google+, Twitter and Facebook for easier logins and sharing
After leaning heavily on Google authentication to transition millions of users from Google Reader, Feedly wants to make it even easier to log into its RSS reader. In an official blog post, the company says it will soon transition from Google OAuth to Google+, simplifying access across different devices and laying the foundation for improved social sharing. Feedly says it has also been testing Twitter, Facebook and Wordpress login options and plans to roll them out "over the next seven weeks." Don't expect to wait too long for the new Google features to take effect though: they're coming to the Feedly website today and will be added to its iOS and Android apps in "a couple of weeks."
Matt Brian11.08.2013
MMO bloggers band together to encourage new writers
Have you heard of the Newbie Blogger Initiative? It's only the latest and greatest craze to hit the MMO circuit. Basically, several experienced MMO bloggers decided to band together to encourage and support players in trying their hand at starting up a new blog. During the month of October, the NBI will be raging across blogs, on its website, and especially on its forums. Veteran MMO bloggers have gathered to offer advice through posts, mentoring, Q&A sessions, and promoting start-up blogs. Yours truly will be a part of this, as will Storybricks' Brian Green. If you've thought about starting up an MMO blog, then this is the perfect month to do so. Sign in, peruse the forums, get posting, and enjoy the resources that the blogging community is setting up to give you the best possible beginning! The NBI should interest all MMO players, as it's a great central location to find interesting and entertaining blogs both new and old.
Justin Olivetti10.01.2013
iOS 7 app update roundup: it's a flat, flat, flat world
Even if you don't feel like coughing up the cash for either the iPhone 5c or iPhone 5s, those eligible for an update (that's if you own an iPhone 4 or up, or an iPad 2 onward) can at least console themselves with iOS 7, which debuts today. Gone is the skeuomorphic design of the Forstall era, and in its place is a flatter interface that promises an entirely new experience for iOS devotees. As such, developers everywhere have been scrambling to get their apps redesigned to match the new mobile OS out of Cupertino. While we can't possibly cover every update, we've compiled a quick list after the break of the more substantial app revamps that have come our way.
Nicole Lee09.18.2013
Website building portal Jimdo creates websites using just an iPhone/iPad
Building a personal website used to be a long ordeal. Prior to the advent of highly customizable blogging platforms like Tumblr and WordPress, building a site required learning code or hiring someone to do all the heavy lifting for you. These days you can build a basic site in minutes at your home computer ... and now you can do it from your iOS device. Jimdo, an online website-creation company, has launched a new iOS app that allows users to create websites from the palms of their hands without messing with coding. Starting with a basic template, the app then allows users to drag and drop site elements to customize the look of the site. There are three tiers of pricing available, each offering expanded levels of support. Beyond the basic free sites, there is a US$90-a-year premium plan that offers expanded design and control options, and a $240-a-year business plan. The business plan provides an online store, an optimized mobile version of your site, improved security and more. Jimdo is available in the App Store right now.
John-Michael Bond08.22.2013
WordPress app update adds new Native Reader and improved account management
Wordpress has updated its iOS app to version 3.7 to provide readers with an improved browsing experience. The app's new Reader is designed to enhance the user experience by being rebuilt from the ground up with 100 percent native code, an improvement from the original Reader's blend of JavaScript and native code. Account management has also been improved, although it may take some users a while to notice as the improvements are entirely under-the-hood. Visually, the app looks the same, but WordPress owners Automattic have improved how the app connects to the various services used to manage WP sites. The iOS app now does a better job of connecting to Jetpack, the online Reader and notification features. In addition to these improvements and the usual bug fixes, version 3.7 changes how the View Admin feature works, at it now opens a page in Safari instead of inside the app. Finally, the update is rounded out with the addition of Thai language support. WordPress is already working on the iOS 7 version of the app, and has launched a new blog for fans to follow the progress of their mobile development. You can find version 3.7 of the WordPress app now in the iTunes store.
John-Michael Bond08.14.2013
Path expands API access, now supports WordPress and other hand-picked apps
Path has previously limited its third-party app integration to the Nike+ platform, but the company just opened its doors a little wider. App developers can now ask for permission to use Path's sharing API, which they'll get if Path sees such apps as a logical fit. To get the ball rolling, the social network has already granted access to 13 partners that include WordPress, Strava Cycling and a bevy of smaller image services. Only some of these developers can send app content to Path as of this writing, but the rest should support the API in the weeks ahead.
Jon Fingas08.12.2013
Path opens up its API to a baker's dozen of partners
The Path (free, with many in-app purchases for stickers and whatnot) social network has opened the doors to 13 new API partners that will now sport a "Share on Path" button in their apps. Path's integration initially started with Nike, giving users a way to share their runs and fitness levels through Path. VP of Business Development for Path Matt Van Horn told our sister site, TechCrunch, that the company curated the list of partners to fit its goal of being a more personal and almost private social network. The company found that users felt more comfortable sharing the Nike fitness information with their smaller friend group on Path than they did sharing the same data on Facebook or Twitter. The range of new partners is quite broad, including social video network Viddy, collage app Pic Stitch and personal fitness app Strava. The Bible app was added after Path found that a number of users were copying and sharing verses with their Path friends; now it takes just a simple tap on the app's share sheet. Other photography apps that now feature Path API integration include Over, PicMix, Papelook, Otaku, Mill Colour, Manga Camera and PicFrame. WordPress bloggers will also find that it's now easy to share their most recent posts on Path, thanks to API integration in the popular blogging app.
Steve Sande08.12.2013
Automattic buys third-party Wordpress app Poster to improve its own mobile apps
Automattic, the company behind Wordpress, has purchased the iOS Wordpress client Poster. Developer Tom Witkin is joining Wordpress' mobile team with the aim of bringing his app's unique features to Wordpress' own app. Sadly, progress for Wordpress means Poster is no longer available in the app store, but there's a bright spot for those who've already picked it up. Users who already own the app will be able to re-download it from their accounts and Witkin has announced that he will continue to provide support. Poster brought a number of features not found in the company's own apps to Wordpress users, including Dropbox integration for importing articles from the cloud, support for Markdown and the ability to choose your own URL slug for posts. While it's sad to see Poster leave the App Store, it's nice to know Wordpress' own apps will most likely be seeing these improvements in the future.
John-Michael Bond06.17.2013
Wordpress for iOS gets a new user interface
The Wordpress app for iOS has been updated again, and it features a brand-new interface for browsing, writing and editing posts on the popular blogging platform. As you can see above, the new interface apes Facebook's "side menu" (as have a few other big apps lately), and the update also fixes some other bugs, and adds some performance improvements in regards to emoticons and notifications in general. Wordpress for iOS is an open-source project, and thus you can download it straight from the App Store any time for free.
Mike Schramm06.03.2013
WordPress founder claims 72,000 posts defected from Tumblr after Yahoo acquisition news
WordPress founder Matt Mullenweg has spoken out in an attempt to capitalize on Yahoo's rumored $1.1 billion acquisition of rival blogging service Tumblr. He claims that once the news broke on Sunday, blog post transfers from Tumblr to his own site rose from 400 to 600 per hour to over 72,000 -- which presumably included users put off by Yahoo's track record of shutting down its acquisitions (like Del.icio.us, Geocities and Broadcast.com). If that figure is true, then Marissa Mayer's probably going to have to answer some rather awkward questions in a few hours.
Daniel Cooper05.20.2013
Dear Uncle TUAW: What's the best way to blog while backpacking?
Dear Uncle TUAW: Over the next two years my husband and I plan to hike El Camino de Santiago in Spain. I'd love to keep family and friends up to date on our trek by blogging on the trip, but since we want to keep our backpacks at less than 14 lbs. total weight, I'm not sure I want to carry an iPad and I know for sure that a laptop is going to be too heavy. Since weight and space are issues, what would you blog from if you were in my hiking boots? Your loving niece, Susan Dear Susan, I'm glad to hear that you're going to be out walking. Too many of you young whippersnappers spend all of your time on your keisters in front of those fancy HDTVs instead of getting good, clean exercise in the great outdoors. Your Aunt and I used to do a lot of hiking. Remind me to tell you about our experiences in Bhutan in 1958... Anyway, my first choice for lightweight blogging would be to grab an iPad mini and one of those newfangled keyboard cases, but if you're really trying to keep things light, why not just use that iPhone of yours as a small tablet? With that phone, you can not only grab great photos, but use them in your blog. While you're hiking, you can even talk to that Siri lady and she'll take down your notes like my old secretary Mabel used to do back at the munitions plant. Without the backtalk, of course. And the bad breath. But that's another story... When you get to wherever you're setting up camp for the night, you can while away the hours cleaning up her dictation. Yes, I had to clean up Mabel's dictation, too. Frankly, I'd take along a lightweight keyboard of some sort if I were you. Since you won't want to worry about charging batteries on a keyboard, one that's powered by the sun might be handy. Speaking of charging batteries, you can also take one of these crank-powered things with you on your hike to give your hands something to do. Charge up the battery pack by hand-cranking it, then use it to charge your iPhone while you're trying to sleep at night with all of those other pilgrims snoring around you. No need to look for a power outlet or carry along those pesky international power adapters. That's all I'll say about hardware, which referred to nuts and bolts in my earlier days, but what about blogging software? If you don't have a travel blog already, MapQuest's Travel Blog app is free and includes free hosting of your text and photos. Got one of those WordPress blogs? Their free app isn't too bad, either. You can be really smart and take all of your pictures with the iPhone so you don't have to carry a separate camera with all of its weight and bulk, and they'll go right into your blog. I'm rather fond of that Tumblr service for travel blogging myself, although please don't tell your Aunt about my "Tumblr After Dark" adventures in Amsterdam last year... Stay safe; watch out for blisters; and have a good trip! Hugs and kisses, Uncle TUAW
Steve Sande04.29.2013
WordPress 2.3 for Android gains Holo interface and menu drawer
Bloggers have been getting plenty of love on Android as of late, and if WordPress happens to be your platform of choice, you'll be glad to know that your time in the sun has arrived. Similar to Tumblr's recent overhaul, WordPress was just updated with a new Holo interface, and it's really quite the looker. First and foremost, you'll notice that WordPress now looks like a proper Android app, complete with an action bar for tasks such as creating posts and sharing to other apps. With a flick of the thumb, you'll also notice a menu drawer that's accessible from the left-hand side, which replaces the old school dashboard interface that was found in previous versions of WordPress for Android. We can't say the new features will help you overcome writer's block, but at least you'll have something pretty to look at while you ponder your next great post.
Zachary Lutz04.18.2013
Mozilla launches Open Badges 1.0, delivers virtual kudos for real skills
We've long missed the stickers and badges we could wear to show achievements in our childhood, whether it was an A+ in History or our campfire-making chops. Mozilla must miss those too, as it's launching Open Badges 1.0, a spec for proving skills on the web. The approach provides verifiable credentials that are stowed away in a virtual Mozilla backpack and shareable through a number of online avenues, starting with WordPress blogs and Twitter updates. You won't necessarily need to be a web scripting wizard to earn badges, either -- they're available or coming from 600-plus companies and educational institutions that include Disney-Pixar, NASA and the Smithsonian. We're a long way from only having to flash our Open Badges to land a job, but those symbols may be enough to let teachers and coworkers know we're up to snuff for key tasks.
Jon Fingas03.14.2013
WordPress iOS app update brings new UI, features
Talk about timing! Just yesterday, Mike Rose and I were talking about blogging tools on TUAW TV Live and had a discussion about the WordPress iOS app. Today, the WordPress team shipped an update to the iOS app that changes the user interface and adds features that should help power users with multiple WP sites get more work done while mobile. Version 3.1 of the free WordPress app brings a new look to the universal application. There's a sidebar for quickly navigating through your site, and on the iPad, sliding panels make navigation a piece of cake. The app can now be used in landscape mode, which makes me quite happy as that's the way I prefer to type on the iPhone and iPad. There are allegedly "updated colors and graphics", but if so, they are almost invisible changes. The iPad has gained the WordPress.com blog reader and the ability to quick-add photos. Rather than needing to "write" a blank post and add an image to it, you can just snap a photo, give it a title and add it immediately to your blog as a photo entry. That's perfect vacation blogs where you want to add a photo and not write a book for every entry. %Gallery-162129% One more iPad feature is the "Friend Finder." If any of your friends are blogging on the free WordPress.com hosting system, you can follow their sites through the app. To search, you give the app temporary access to your Address Book, Twitter, Facebook or any email addresses matching a site on WordPress.com, you can add it to your "watch list". I guess nobody I know has a WordPress.com site, as it searched 672 names and returned no hits. Creating a new WordPress.com blog on the fly is a lot easier, with a button in the "Add a Blog" window opening a short form that you can use to set up your "Fishing for Flies" blog in seconds. I'm not sure that I'm overwhelmed with the way the dashboard was implemented. On both devices, it's essentially a window into the browser-based dashboard. A native iOS implementation with big, easily-tapped buttons would be more user-friendly. Performance seems to have improved as well. I found previous versions almost painfully slow, while 3.1 seems to update a lot faster. However, the app crashed on several occasions on the iPad and iPhone. If any TUAW readers are WordPress fans and have installed the WordPress 3.1 app update, I'd love to hear your opinion in the comments.
Steve Sande08.09.2012
WordPress iOS editing app gets styling buttons, full-screen mode
It's only fair and right that one of the world's most popular content management/blogging platforms should have a snazzy and capable iPhone app to go with it. The WordPress app has been updated to version 2.9, adding three new features for mobile users. The new version adds handy styling buttons right above the keyboard, so you no longer have to put in your markup manually for bold or italic text, links or lists. Full-screen editing gives you more real estate to view what you're working on, especially handy on the iPhone's screen. You can also now follow other subscribed Wordpress.com blogs directly in the app. WordPress for iOS is free on the App Store.
Michael Rose09.25.2011
Windows Phone Starter Kit for Wordpress hopes to lure developers, beef up marketplace offerings
There's nothing worse than that "womp womp" moment for Windows Phone users when they find out a favorite website doesn't have an optimized mobile app. Seriously. It's proven. Now, however, Wordpress aficionados can spread the love with the Windows Phone Starter Kit -- a package that promises quick and easy development for Microsoft's mobile marketplace. With the included skeleton code, admins only need to replace one line, insert the blog URL and tweak some settings in the CMS until presto -- the app's finito. Like other Wordpress dev kits, this one allows users to view posts and moderate comments. Hopefully, the promise of a super simple platform will be enough to entice developers to sit at Ballmer's table and fatten up the app store, particularly with Mango positioned as the next course.
Lydia Leavitt09.19.2011
TUAW TV Live at 5 PM EDT: Alternatives to iWeb demoed
A few days ago, I published a list of ways that iWeb users could host their content away from MobileMe or move to other alternatives. Today on TUAW TV Live, I'll be demonstrating some of those alternatives for the audience. Whether you're looking at RapidWeaver as a replacement for iWeb, want a WYSIWYG HTML editor to maintain an existing iWeb site, or are thinking about moving to a web-based content management system like WordPress, I'll cover it this afternoon. I've used a lot of these tools over the years, so I'll give you my take on each of the apps or services as well. As usual, I'll be starting the show at 5 PM EDT (2 PM PDT / 10 PM BST) sharp, and we'll take a few minutes to chat before the demos start. To join in on the chat and watch the live streaming video, drop by TUAW about five minutes before the start time to get your instructions on how to participate. If you're unable to join us for the show, remember that you can always subscribe to the video podcast and watch the show at your leisure in iTunes or any other favorite podcatching app. The past shows are also available on the TUAW YouTube channel.
Steve Sande06.15.2011