WOW … (speechless)
Sorry for the weird title, but I can’t describe this site with words. You have to see it for yourself.
Digest
It’s been quite a while since I’ve posted here at NathanRice.net, so I just wanted to give a quick digest of the things that have been going on around the net and here at home.
- Small Potato is selling WPDesigner.com. SP is probably one of the most respected names in the WordPress theme game, and it will be sad to see him go.
- NathanRice.net is getting a makeover! Although it is still in development, the new look is coming along nicely. A new logo will top off the design when we finally launch.
- And with the new design will come a flood of new content. I’ve been bookmarking and brainstorming tons of ideas for tips and tutorials for you WordPress eggheads looking to learn more about how to make WordPress do whatever you want.
- Cory Miller asked me to do some work for him over at iThemes.com recently, and it’s been a blast cranking out some of the most beautiful themes I’ve ever seen. If you haven’t already, go check out the themes at iThemes.com (I recommend Deep Order and Biz Card).
- Ian Stewart asked me to contribute to his post “The Future of WordPress Themes” recently. I’m lucky to be in such good company, but I honestly feel like my assessment of the future is the most accurate. Several of the WordPress guru’s included in that post have written and told me that they believe I was spot on.
- Speaking of WordPress themes, I’ve been letting an idea stew for a while, and it’s about time to get started on it. I didn’t include this particular business model for Ian to include in his post, but I believe it has the potential to shake up the Premium market like never before. I just hope someone else doesn’t think of it and pull it off first. Seriously, it’s going to rock!
- I’ll be attending WordCamp Dallas this year. If you’re going to be there, and want to meet up and chat, give me a hollar and we’ll see what we can do.
- I’m getting married in June 🙂
That’s about it for now. Stay tuned to the blog for more updates as things draw near. The future is VERY bright!
Respect Requires Altruism
I’ve been noticing a trend as of late with some of my fellow WordPress developers. Many of them have all but abandoned the idea of releasing free WordPress themes to the community.
As I mentioned a few weeks ago, sometimes money can make you forget about innovation. I think it also makes you forget that WordPress is, at its core, a community program … driven by the community … supported by the community … and sustained by the community.
So how is it that we sometimes forget to give back to the community? Read More
Talking WordPress: Not Bad At All!
As I’ve expressed before, I’m disappointed with the quantity of good podcasts out there that talk about WordPress. Obviously, with only one podcast out there, it’s hard to get good quality content in podcast format on the topic of WordPress.
But I recently discovered a podcast that looks like it has some serious potential to be a hit.
TalkingWordPress.com is host to a great little podcast! I listened to all 3 episodes so far in a single sitting, and I REALLY liked what I heard. Read More
Do You Value a Good Designer?
A few weeks ago, I was fortunate enough to participate in a group chat with Darren Rowse of Problogger.net. I got to watch as bloggers from all over the place asked him questions about blogging and making money online with their blogs.
Although I asked him a few questions, I asked him a question that particularly interested me … did he think it was worth it to pay for his recent redesign???
His answer really made me happy … not just because I’m a WordPress designer, but because I have seen way too many people devalue the work people like me actually do. He raved on Ben, and made it clear that he did not overpay for his design, but he didn’t get a steal either. But overwhelmingly, his redesign was worth the money.
But this is not the case with a small percentage of the potential clients who contact me. Read More
Make Money, Get Busy, and Forget to Innovate
I just got an email from Brian telling me that he just got listed on Automattic’s WordPress Consultant’s list. Congratulations to him for this, for sure!
But one of the things that disappointed me about this list was the fact that most of these sites, individuals, and companies, despite being on Automattic’s approved list, rarely, if ever truly innovate in the field of WordPress development.
For most of us who started out in the theming business, it was a hobby … something we did in our down time to get some traffic, and offer something back to the community that helped us start our own blogs. Innocent enough. Read More