Category: Geek Speak

Using WordPress to Manage Your Website – Free Workshop – April 29, 2009

FREE WORKSHOP

“Using WordPress to Manage Your Website”
Wednesday, April 29, 2009 at 6:30 p.m.
at the Ellsworth Public Library

The Downeast Learning Cooperative will present a workshop on “Using WordPress to Manage Your Website” at the Ellsworth Public Library in the Riverside Room on Wednesday April 29, 2009 from 6:30 – 8:30 PM.

This two hour summary, demo and Q&A session will focus on using the free, open-source software, WordPress (http://wordpress.org), to easily deploy & maintain professional websites. While this software was originally used for blogs, it has grown into a robust internet publishing tool and can be used to run fast, organized and dynamic multi-author websites.

This class will cover installation, setup, common uses, adding custom plugins & design themes, and search engine optimization. No prior knowledge of html, web publishing, or ownership of an existing website is required. Copies of the presentation slides will be made available on the web after the class and will contain links to free web tutorials and videos.

The workshop will use a projector and the library’s free wifi to show live examples of sites currently running WordPress, and how WordPress is used to update and manage those sites. Participants are welcome to bring their own laptops to the workshop.

This workshop will be presented by Matthew Baya, the manager of Svaha LLC, a web hosting, design and consulting business located in Ellsworth, ME. He has been designing websites for over 15 years and has been using WordPress to deploy and manage a wide variety of websites since mid-2005.

There is no cost for this workshop although there will be a donation jar available to help pay for room rental and other expenses. No reservation is required.

The purpose of the Downeast Learning Cooperative is to enable its members, who are interested in technology, both digital and mechanical, to learn from one another and share what they have learned with the wider public. This is the third presentation in a series by Coop members that will continue over the coming months. For more information visit http://downeastlearning.org/

What happened to Downeast.net (and Jordan Networks) ?

Several friends up here in Maine have been left without an ISP when downeast.net apparently shut down a few days ago. They disconnected their servers and phones and disappeared. Years ago they were run by 2 local very cool people ‘Merlin’ (Don) and ‘Morgana’ (Jean) but I heard they sold the ISP part of things and were just doing web hosting now (http://downeasthost.com/ and a great local host for non-profits, ellsworthme.org). These sites are still running and I’d highly recommend them.

The dialup service… even if it comes back, seems to be a mess now.

After hearing the ISP was down I suggested one person call to see what they knew but they were apparently in the dark too.

I’ve spent a while tonight practicing my google fu and here’s what I’ve found. Warning, this is long and boring and I really only did for downeast.net customers who might want someone to call to find out what they hell is going on (and when they are getting their money back)

Continue reading What happened to Downeast.net (and Jordan Networks) ?