Installing plugins in the latest version of Wordpress

Image via CrunchBase

(Warning: Jargon ahead. If you don't use WordPress, you won't get anything out of this)

I was impressed that the latest version of WordPress (which we use for iJump) let you install plugins from within your control panel.

Previously, I'd had to manually upload and extract plugins, which got pretty tedious.

But, the process doesn't work if you already have the WordPress Automatic Upgrade plugin activated. Something causes them to conflict.

The workaround is simple, just deactivate your Automatic Upgrade plugin, install your other plugins, and then activate them.

Don't forget to reactivate your Automatic Upgrade plugin again when you've finished. It's a good plugin, and I'm sure the developers of either the plugin or Wordpress itself will figure out a way to make them play nicely together.

Book Review "A Sense of Urgency" - iJumpTV #46

Click to Play

The most important factor in bringing about organisational change is a sense of urgency. In this book, John P Kotter shows you how to achieve that sense of urgency. Simon Young from iJump reviews this book, and ties it in with social media.

A Sense of Urgency, by John P Kotter, is published by Harvard Business Press.

Don't just follow the car in front

It's been a year of cautionary tales ... don't get sunburnt, don't start an online retail site with a huge marketing budget, and today, don't run a red light.

I did so in December, just before Christmas, and I did it because I was concentrating on the car in front of me, rather than the lights. That'll be $150, thanks!

But there's both a laugh and a lesson in it.

The laugh: the way the police infringement notice describes "running a red":

DROVE A VEHICLE ON Wellesley Street East AND DID FAIL TO COMPLY WITH THE INSTRUCTIONS GIVEN BY A STEADY RED SIGNAL IN THE FORM OF A DISC, BEING AN OFFENCE DETECTED BY APPROVED VEHICLE SURVEILLANCE EQUIPMENT.

I'm not sure who the person that wrote that was trying to impress, but it wasn't me. That kind of language is just funny and bizarre.

The lesson? It's in the title of this blog post - don't just let other people be your benchmark, for being good, for doing good, for following your dream. You're special. Follow your own green lights!

(Thanks for Creative-Commons licencing your photo, Dan Barak!)

Book Review: The Innovator's Guide to Growth - iJumpTV #45

Click to Play

How can big companies harness innovation and not be blindsided by it? This book offers a few clues. Part of our ongoing book review series focusing on innovation within organisations.

The Innovator's Guide to Growth is written by Scott D Anthony, Mark W Johnson, Joseph V Sinfield and Elizabeth J Altman, and is published by Harvard Business Press.

Ferrit, proof that advertising is the cost for not being remarkable

AdMedia's David Gapes started the year by asking his subscribers what they thought of Ferrit's demise.

Here's what I said:

Ferrit ... nobody I talked to was much surprised about the demise of Ferrit. A couple of reasons why:

• Site wasn't that usable or easy to navigate (that's hearsay from me, I don't think I ever visited there)
• Price premium when compared with retail, which makes sense for the
  business, but sure as hell doesn't make a compelling argument for the
  customer
• Not the knitting that Telecom should have been sticking to
• A big corporation trying to run what was essentially a startup ...
  hmmm. Culture clash? (that's a guess, but I'd hazard it's pretty
  accurate)

But my biggest pick on why Ferrit didn't work is:

• Who's it for? It seemed to be all things to all people, and
  therefore nothing to anyone. The ads were kind of cool, but they always
  seemed to be just a money-spending exercise.
  

Which again
comes back to a corporate not thinking like a startup. As Seth Godin or
someone else said, advertising is the price you pay for having an
unremarkable product. And as the chaos and noise gets louder, even the
well-funded will go under.


Here's what everyone else said, and why at least one person thinks there's life in the old dog yet!

(image filched from Ben.geek.nz)

Be careful

Be careful
Originally uploaded by Wilhelm Augustus Hohenzollern

Happy New Year!

Had a great few days away at Pakiri Beach with friends. Fantastic time, just a bit ruined by getting my feet sunburned. They're now swollen and it's pretty hard to walk.

So ... enjoy the sun, whatever you're doing ... but, be careful out there.

3-minute book review: Disrupting Class - iJumpTV $44

Click to Play

In our second holiday book review we look at Disrupting Class, a book that applies disruptive innovation to the classroom - and to the education system overall.

Happy New Year from us at iJump!