Other Stuff I Dig Archives - Page 3 of 6 - Affiliate Marketing with Missy Ward, Affiliate Summit Co-Founder & Co-CEO

Thesis 1.4 Theme for WordPress is Live

by Missy Ward

Update: 1/31/09 — *Upgraded to Thesis 1.4 today. It took 1/2 an hour which included updating all my plugins. I'll be tasting all the new yummy goodies included with this release over the next week. I'll save those comments for another post.

Around 5:15am EST this morning, while I was working (yes, I'm battling with insomnia again), Chris Pearson's tweet below hit my Twhirl and I couldn't wait to find out more.

Thesis 1.4 for WordPress Launches

I have MissyWard.com and GeekCast.fm running on Thesis v1.3 now and I adore it. It's super-flexible, easy to customize and SEO-optimized.

I'd read about the highly-anticipated upgrade about to happen, but, I really didn't think I needed anything else. 😉

Well, from the looks of it, Thesis v1.4 does not disappoint. Here's a list of some of the new features:

A new multiple-instance sidebar widget that allows you to display posts from any category.

All-new post editing options that replace the need to use cumbersome custom fields. Also, inline documentation and tips make these new options intuitive and easy to use.

Post images and thumbnails, two new image-based features that add an unbelievable amount of visual flexibility to your site.

Reorganized and improved options pages that are more usable, more information-rich, and more intuitive than ever before.

A feature box, which is a hookable element that you can position in various places around your layout.

A fantastic new home page layout called Features & Teasers. Features are displayed just like normal blog posts, but teasers are a completely new and customizable way to display your posts.

and more.

I'll be setting some time aside this week to upgrade — likely somewhere between 4am and 5am until I crack the nut on this insomnia 😉

Congratulations Chris, on the new baby girl. She's beautiful.

On a side note, Thesis also offers an affiliate program here. I am a new affiliate of the program. The money that I earn from the sales of this program is being donated directly to the National Breast Cancer Foundation.

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AC/DC Black Ice Tour – Live from Tampa!

by Missy Ward

The last time I saw AC/DC was eight years ago. I remember it like it was yesterday. I thought it was the best concert that I had ever been to.

That has now changed.

The AC/DC Black Ice tour came to Tampa yesterday and I had the pleasure of sitting only 11 rows from the stage. While my ears are still ringing and my head it still pounding, I wouldn't trade it for the world.

The boyz still have it — and they may be even better than they ever were.

The only thing that sucked was that they didn't allow cameras into the venue. So, the pictures that I did manage to sneak were not taken with a flash (so as to avoid being busted and thrown out).

Enjoy!

Click photo to view album

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Izea Advisory Board Meeting, December 2008

by Missy Ward

Entrepreneurs and anyone who has worked for a startup, can sense it happening.

It is that moment in time where you become aware that a catalyst has been unleashed. Your company, that you’ve put your heart and soul in, is about to transform.

And, you know exactly what’s in store for you.

I know this phenomenon very well as I’ve had the good fortune of working for a few startups that have undergone this curiosity. I’ve also witnessed it in my own company.

In many cases, it was a singular event that sparked the metamorphosis – a tipping point, if you will.

To be a part of the aftermath is extraordinary.

This is how I felt during the Izea Advisory Board meeting this past weekend.

Ted Murphy, CEO of Izea has assembled a powerhouse of a board, including Michael Brito, Chris Brogan, Brian Clark, Jim Kukral, Neil Patel, Wendy Piersall and Jeremy Schoemaker.

One could almost feel the energy in the Izea Conference Room from the collective brainpower behind the barrage of ideas being hurled at Ted. I am humbled to be part of such a great team and hope that my contribution vis-à-vis affiliate marketing proves beneficial.

Getting a thorough understanding of where Ted wants to take SocialSpark.com was exciting. It is evident that they are at the threshold of being unstoppable when it comes to monetizing social media.

Their recent Kmart campaign is proof-positive that SocialSpark’s online marketplace can clearly connect advertisers with bloggers and create buzz. I'm looking forward to the other great brands that are being brought on board.

If you haven’t checked out SocialSpark.com, now is the time to take notice as they are undoubtedly onto something extraordinary.

Here are some pictures of the Izea Advisory Board Meeting and Dinner which was at Taverna Opa – the place to go to in Orlando for Greek food and fun.

And really… what is Ted Murphy, if not fun?

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Intel Launches Core i7 Processor, Mass Animation and Digital…

by Missy Ward

The Intel Core i7 launched this week and is getting some great reviews. This processor uses the Intel Nehalem microarchitecture and apparently has many advantages over its predecessors.

I am not a tech blogger, so I will direct you to these reviews (ExtremeTech and HotHardware) so as to not mess with the cosmic forces involved in the geekery of it all.

In speaking with Michael Brito via email earlier, he alerted me to two new social media projects that Intel also set in motion this week:

Mass Animation – a Facebook application that brings together animators from around the world to work collaboratively in the creation of a professional 3-D quality animated film, titled “Live Music”. There is also a Mass Animation Fan Page on Facebook which provides even more current information.

According to Michael, “Basically, the way it works is that animators can choose to download different scenes “or shots” that are categorized as being easy, medium or hard. Then, they have to download Maya software, animate their shots, upload back to the application where the community can vote.

Each week during the animation, which officially launches tomorrow November 17th, Dell will be giving away a new DELL Studio XPS™ desktop computer powered by the Intel® Core™ i7 processor to the animator with the most votes. For the Grand Prize winners, each animator whose shot gets selected by the director to be in the final short will receive an on-screen credit and $500.”

Read the full Press Release.

Digital Drag Race (DDR) – Now this is cool! Pre-selected leading designers are given the same computers, loaded with the same software and race against the clock for the assigned design challenge. The winner is selected by a panel of three judges.

There's a video up that shows a Digital Drag Race taking place and I already have my favorite 🙂

Busy week for Intel. Not sure how they can get all of this accomplished at one time. I'm still trying to work on my simultaneous Tweeting and Walking skills. (Yes, I still haven't learned my lesson.)

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