A mashup of Matt Cutts webmaster videos on how to rank number #1 in Google! Love it!

Why did I build my own desk for the office?

The problem I found with the majority of desks is that they are not very deep, around 60 cms. Great if you are looking to have the blood circulation cut off in your arms and fingers, but not really ergonomic if you want to be comfortable.

It was time to build a real desk for my workspace!

Check it out!

Everything is from Bunnings and cost a total of $160.

The top was actually cut down from 1.9m to 1.5m wide, but the major feature is the depth, 90 cms – awesome!

Next will be to build another desk to sit next to me, replace the rug with one that is easier to remove dog hair from and replace the vintage vertical blinds.

This goes out to anyone that has worked in a customer service role and especially in a Help Desk position. What would the role of a Help Desk Technician have been like in the Medieval Times when technology was not a major factor? Check out the video!

How to Fix the Error Establishing a Database Connection in WordPress

The database error can send anyone in to a mild panic attack, but there are solutions and often they are simple ones. The good people at wpbeginner have compiled a collection of possible solutions. I think a major point to take from the beginning of the article is to have a backup. You would be surprised how many businesses don’t have a simple scheduled backup.

Read the full article at wpbeginner.

The Top 90 Must Follow WordPress Experts on Twitter

Twitter is a great tool to stay on top of industry news and that is how I find a lot of WordPress news, articles and tutorials, hence why I have mentioned this article. David has put together a list of 90 WordPress experts to follow! I will be adding a few more to my twitter list.

Read the full article at David Wells.tv

Daily Tip: Add Pinterest to the NextGEN Gallery Plugin

Pinterest has exploded in the last few months and it is a great tool to drive traffic to your website through images so it was only a matter of time before it was integrated with the NextGen Gallery plugin.
Read the full article at wpmu.org

Mini Guide to Contact Form 7

One of the most popular contact forms in the WordPress community is Contact Form 7 due to its easy to use, flexible and you can do some cool stuff with it.

Read the full article at wp tuts+

How to Add Custom Image Sizes to WordPress Uploader

Adding images to a WordPress post or page to match a specific design requirements can sometimes be tricky for your clients. With WordPress 3.3 hitting the streets and a few lines of code you will be getting some extra love from your client by being able to add a specific size and name to the upload/insert process!

Read the full article at WP Mayor

I had to share this video I found over on Search Engine Watch. The video was made as part of a competition but I think everyone that has worked in SEO has been in a meeting like this at some point.

My personal favorite line that I have had the joy of hearing from a potential clients is:

We just want you to call Google and replace their listing with ours! Why is that so hard for you? The other company we talked to said they could do it!

Enjoy the video!

The Client From Hell from Linkdex on Vimeo.

If you liked the video, you can see a few more from the Lindex competition at Search Engine Watch.

I don’t mind the odd drop or two of coffee and Nook Espresso in Burleigh Heads is a nice place to pick up a coffee and watch the world go past! Oh and I also developed their website using WordPress.

A shout out to Frank from Frank Marketing for asking me to build his design!

Nook Espress

One of the great things about working for yourself and from home is the ability to pack your laptop, take it to another country, work and enjoy yourlife!

This is currently the view from our bedroom window for the next 6 weeks. But to be honest, you don’t get breaks in the weather for that long so it will not always be looking this spiffy!

While in Niseko I will be putting a lot of effort into working on Niseko Webzine and the direction I want to take it over the following years.

This is the view out of my window at the moment, just a small 8 foot toothpick hanging from the roof!

If you find yourself in the middle of the red light district of Shinjuku Tokyo and have the sudden craving for ramen, I would highly recommend you check out Tonchin Ramen!

At Tonchin, like many Japanese restaurants, you order via a vending machine, the average ramen dish is ¥680, but of course you need to upsize that bad boy with some extras like, more pork and onsen eggs (like a slow boiled egg) etc. To help with “digestion” you will also need a Japanese beer, Asahi Dry to the rescue!

While you are sitting down enjoying your ramen, do a little people watching, after all you are in the red light district! The clientele are your typical Japanese business man and young guys out enjoying their youth so it is no surprise if they are talking a little loud, laughing or just looking hammered while slurping the noodle goodness down.

Chashu Ramen + Beer = Delicious!

More Tonchin Ramen

Tonchin Ramen

Tonchin Ramen Location Map

Better late than never right?

I honestly cannot believe how quick the time has gone from attending WordCamp Gold Coast to sitting down to write, finish, realising I had this post scheduled for 2012 – fail! :/

So here it is WordPress homies!

WordCamp Gold Coast 2011 was my first WordCamp, or any web industry event for that matter. Needless to say I was a little excited, yet nervous as I did not know what to expect!

The event was held at Bond Uni and I don’t think the organisers could have picked a better location on the coast. Comfortable lecture theaters (well, more comfortable than Griffith Uni) and the catering, OH THE CATERING, sweet mother of god I could eat those Smoked Salmon sandwiches everyday!

Pre WordCamp Stretch Up

Before attending a WordCamp, take a few minutes to stretch up and read the post by The Web Princess (@thewebprinces) – Maximising WordCamp Gold Coast – Three keys. Honestly, I wish I had found the post before the event and gave myself a few “goals” to achieve from the networking side of the shindig.

My WordCamp Takeaways

• The WordPress community is flippin’ awesome!
• Regardless of your WordPress experience, use or abilities, you will find attending a WordCamp is the gravy!
• John Ford (@iamjohnford) (looks a little like Neil Patrick Harris) and will have you wanting to work for Automattic within minutes. DAMN YOU JOHN FORD!! Check em out, you know you want it - Automattic – Work With Us
• Meeting people from your online world is not as intimidating as I thought, so make sure you introduce yourself!
• Follow attendees and speakers on Twitter. From my point of view it has been extremely educational and has introduced me to other resources to increase my WordPress knowledge – much love for sharing the goods!
• WordPress can be used in ways you had not imagined! Kate Swaffer’s talk was great and it’s amazing how she uses WordPress to help combat dementia and now is helping others.
• Other business owners and freelancers have and do experience the same type of hurdles. Knowing that is a massive confidence builder. Thanks @Youdaman and @tontodigital
• Put time in to securing your WP site – prevention is better than recovering. Thanks for the chat Vlad – @VladLasky
• Japh (@Japh), a WordPress Super Hero at Envato, outlined why you need to invest in your coding skills, not just for yourself, but for your clients as well. As a self taught WordPress, CSS, HTML with a touch of PHP type of guy I have started the search to formally up my skill level. Update: A shout out to Bronson Quick (@bronsonquick) for the Twitter feedback.

Post WordCamp

Once you have recovered from the event, you will realise that you now have a WordPress addiction! You will need support from family, friends and I highly recommend you seek the support of a specialty group that knows what you are going through.

These groups should help:

• WordPress.Org Support Forum
• WP Candy

Other Wordcamp Readings:

• Maximising WordCamp Gold Coast – Three Keys by The Web Princess
• WordCamp Gold Coast 2011 #wcgold by Maddison Designs
• Presentations on SlideShare  - WordCamp Slides
• WordCamp Twitter list by @brad_j_davis (that’s me) – view list