WordCamp Recap, Part 1

Nathan Rice on March 31, 2008

I’m sitting in the airport, waiting for my flight, on my way back home from WordCamp Dallas, 2008. I finally got to meet a bunch of people that I respected and followed for a long time, as well as some friends, both long time and recent, that I’ve never met before. It was a very rewarding experience, without a doubt.

But the reason I wanted to post a recap of the weekend was to highlight all the cool stuff that was showcased at WordCamp this year. Read More

WordCamp Dallas, 2008

Nathan Rice on March 28, 2008

I’m currently in laid over in Memphis waiting for the next available flight to Dallas, on my way to WordCamp Dallas 2008!!!

If you’re going to be there, I want to meet ya! So here, the best way to hook up …

Follow me on Twitter and just send me @replies. That’s the best way to communicate, I think.

I’ll also be at the Dave & Buster’s meetup this evening with Cory Miller, so I look forward to seeing some of you there as well!

The Problem With “Theme Options”

Nathan Rice on March 25, 2008

Since the release of ElegantBlue in October of 2007, I’ve seen quite a few free and premium themes using the “theme options” code I included in that theme. But with the widespread adoption of “theme options” has come a tidal wave of complicated and unmanageable themes. Read More

Digest

Nathan Rice on March 12, 2008

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!

Comment Link in single.php

Nathan Rice on January 9, 2008

Ever noticed that the comments_popup_link function doesn’t actually output anything when viewing a single post?

I have … and until recently, I ended up just not including a link to the “comments” of a post when viewing a single post, and just hoping that either 1) no one noticed, or 2) no one would care, assuming they would just scroll down to the bottom of the post to see the number of comments.

But, I don’t like to assume. I like to think of the user as a person … a person that has normal expectations when using a theme.

Therefore, I decided to figure out a way (I’m sure I’m not the only one) to keep that darn link working … even when viewing a single post. Read More

Respect Requires Altruism

Nathan Rice on December 13, 2007

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