Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
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WPAudio MP3 Player
—If you're disappointed with the standard Flash-based WordPress audio
player, you might want to upgrade to this relatively new player. It claims better sound, perfor-
mance, and continuing development.
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Podcasting
—If you prefer to talk into a microphone than write your blog, podcasting is the way
to go. This plug-in helps get your podcast distributed through podcast network sites. Post the
URL of your podcast file, and this plug-in will wrap it in an iTunes-compatible feed. Plus, it will
slap an appropriate audio or video player on your site for your visitors to use.
Social Networks
Some people think traditional blogging is being displaced by the 140-character microblog, like
Twitter. These plugins show that the two formats aren't necessarily at odds; use them to link your
blog to various social networks.
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WP FollowMe
—This is a simple plug-in that allows visitors to connect with your Twitter
account. We'll take a closer look at this plug-in in Chapter 15, “PHP Basics: Themes and
Plug-Ins.”
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Lifestream
—Consolidate your social networking and microblogging activity in WordPress with
this plug-in. Lifestream collects RSS feeds from all of your networks and puts them in one place.
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WP Greet Box
—You've probably been to a site that welcomed you with a warm greeting, “Hi,
looks like you came here from Google. Hope you found what you were looking for. If you like this
post, maybe you'd like to subscribe to my RSS feed.” Although the more paranoid might wonder
how you knew where they came from, many more people probably recognize the warm fuzzy
feeling you were trying to generate. This plug-in will generate just such a message.
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Twitter Tools
—This is Alex King's umbrella for an entire ecosystem of microblogging connec-
tions to WordPress. Twitter Tools by itself “allows you to pull your tweets into your blog (as
posts and digests) and create new tweets on blog posts and from within WordPress.” If you're
big into the bird (even if you're not so crazy about the Fail Whale), check this out, and then
search the directory for “twitter tools” to discover what other developers have done with this
framework.
