Apr 22 2007

Recycling – not just for the environment

We all know that we need to recycle.  It’s sensible for the environment, it’s unselfish and practical.  But you can also recycle your blog posts.  Think about posts that you’ve done before and you’ve been proud of only to have it knocked from the top spot by your next post until eventually it disappears from the homepage altogether – banished only to be read by the curious and the odd googler?

Well if you are running WordPress there are a few plugins that can help breathe new life into your older articles and perhaps give your newer readers the chance to catch up on some of your priceless or even cringe worthy material.

Popularity Contest Plugin

The first plugin that I myself am going to install possibly on Crypt Hunter (which is overdue for a template upgrade) is the popularity contest plugin (beta) which apparently ranks each of your posts on views, comments, trackbacks etc.  You can then add a list of the most popular posts along the sidebar which means if you have a post that is getting a fair bit of attention, it doesn’t have to drop away just because you’re continuing to post.

Random Post Plugin

This little piece of code puts a link in your sidebar to a random post in your archive.  This way if a reader clicks on it they’ll be treated to random look into your sordid blogging past.  Random Post Plugin

Archivist

Archivist is a great plugin that has a lot of user controlled settings and it allows you to feature an archived post on the first page with a title like ‘from the archive’.  You can set it to be the second post on the page or the third etc.

Are there any other plugins that you guys particularly those of you who use blogger or other platforms use to recycle your old posts?  Let us know!

Lee writes for or edits:

Quit Your Day Job
Crypt Hunter
Pop Culture Heroines
Urban Cultivation (only because sleep is a luxury)

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    7 Comments on this post

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    1. Ed the Editor said:

      That’s interesting, sounds like WordPress has an abundance of plug ins.

      I use rapidweaver which is not so advanced for blogging, just yet. But it is very “open to suggestions”, ie In the sidebar I just installed a simple javascript based random link button that allows you to link to however many posts you want. It is By JavaScript Kit – http://javascriptkit.com and should work on any blog type.

      I was thinking that as the script allows you to link to any URL, I could link to posts on different sites too, maybe label the button My Faves or Hot Today or whatever takes your fancy. Another tweak for another day.

      April 22nd, 2007 at 10:36 pm
    2. Lee said:

      That’s what I love about this site – I always hear about something new – I must admit I hadn’t heard about rapidweaver and will now make it my business to read up about it!

      April 22nd, 2007 at 11:36 pm
    3. Ed the Editor said:

      Better get a few bucks ready for a nice new mac too!

      April 22nd, 2007 at 11:42 pm
    4. Lee said:

      LOL – anyone willing to send me an old apple iBook? I’d be willing to do a blog facelift for someone?

      April 23rd, 2007 at 2:12 am
    5. Chris said:

      WordPress plugins are excellent, that Random one is great and only took seconds to install.

      I think I’ll check out that Archivist one as well, thanks.

      April 23rd, 2007 at 4:30 am
    6. Lee said:

      Oh that’s great Chris – I checked out the button and it does work great – read what I think is a nice cross section of your blog posts! I especially liked your list of things to improve.

      April 23rd, 2007 at 5:19 am
    7. Missy said:

      Hi—-I wish blogger would get hip and do plug-ins as well. All my 4 blogs are hosted on blogger, and although i like them, i just really like alot of the WP plug-ins and extras. (just my 2 cents) Thanxs for the tip. Maybe just maybe when i have the time, i might transfer some of my blogs to WP. (maybe) Missy.

      June 1st, 2007 at 12:13 pm

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