Category Archives: Blog Updates / News

Google Plus Shows Recommended Posts

Posted by Mhel Ignacio on July 23, 2012

I’m using various plugins on my WordPress blogs to display my recommended posts. I also have plugins specially for social sharing. Just a few minutes ago, after publishing a new review on my blog Pinay Reviewer, I was about to give it a +1 when I saw this new popup screen with Recommended Posts from Google Plus.

Google Plus now shows Recommended Posts on their button

This is the first time I saw this. From my research, the posts that’ll be listed on there will be ranked based on +1s, traffic or visits, and comments. However, I noticed that the posts that are showing up are the most recent ones and are almost in the same category as the currently displayed post.

I love that Google+ has added this because it can help increase traffic to other posts that the viewer might also be interested in. Once they hover their mouse on the G+ button, they’d see that recommended posts bar.

The only downside to this is the reader has to be logged in to Google+ for them to see this. I tried it in an incognito window of Google Chrome and I only saw this message:

Publicly recommend on Google plus

And then it’ll prompt you to login. I wish it’ll still show the recommended posts even when the visitor is not logged in to Google because I know there are many people who usually just come and go without finding the need to login to their Google account.

I don’t remember seeing this Recommended Posts screen on Google Plus. Have you seen it?

Categories: Blog Updates / News, Blogging, Social Media, Social Media News, Social Networking, Tech News, Wordpress

Changes in WordPress 3.4 : Upgrade Now!

Posted by Mhel Ignacio on June 14, 2012

I just upgraded my blogs to the new version of WordPress, and I’ve already observed and tinkered with a few of the improvements and additional features of WordPress 3.4 ‘Green‘. I highly recommend you upgrade now, BUT make sure you’ve made a backup of your blog and database first.

Wordpress 3.4 Green

Here are some of the new features of WordPress 3.4 and my feedback:

 

Live Inactive Theme Preview

If you’re planning on switching to a new theme, it’s now easier with WordPress 3.4. It now lets you preview and edit installed themes before you even activate them.

Live Preview of inactive themes

This way, you can design or make changes in the background without visitors seeing any of it. It’s like using plugins like Theme Test Drive.

Live Theme Preview on WordPress 3.4

You can change the main colors, header, background image and basic layout right on the Live Theme Preview page.

The header’s dimensions can also be adjusted depending on your theme. Plus, you can also choose from the default headers that your theme came with or images you already have in your media library.

Change header image on Live Theme Preview page

Every change you make will automatically be applied on the preview on the right. However, in my observation, there’s a slight delay with the changes being applied to the preview, so be patient.

… Continue Reading

Categories: Blog Updates / News, Blogging, Blogging Tools, Product Launch, Announcements, News, Social Media, Tips & Guides, Wordpress

Upcoming Blog Updates

Posted by Mhel Ignacio on June 3, 2012

This blog was supposedly a place for my technology geek side to flourish. However, because of how OC I get when writing tutorials, tech reviews or when I talk about my concepts in design, I’ve spent less time writing about what this blog is supposed to be about. In a couple of weeks, I promise to finally accomplish what I’ve planned for this blog all along.

With that said, I’ll be updating this blog’s theme to accommodate everything I’ve got planned to make this blog better. I’ve already set up a separate site (a subdomain) to house my portfolio as a designer – design.blankpixels.com, which is still under construction.

My design portfolio is still under construction

Last January, I landed a job in Social Media Management / Marketing (SMM). I was blessed to be accepted for the job even with my intermediate knowledge of social media. Since then, I have learned a lot and since it’s one of the things I’ve been geeking about the past weeks, I want to share some of what I’ve learned here so far. All articles will be written in the same personal style most of my blog’s followers are used to.

I’ll also be putting up my own photo gallery here as I take my photography hobby and skills to the next level. :)So, stay tuned for these blog updates right here or follow my Twitter account @blankPixels as I share a lot of interesting contents on there too.

Categories: Blog Updates / News, Random Posts