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Introducing ArtistDataPress 0.5!

November 27, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Its been a while since ADP was updated and I know lots of people haven’t cared for the previous update that, in some cases, took away their ability to view their plugin settings. That should be resolved with this 0.5 update.

Previously, ADP was using a PHP library called cURL to fetch the XML feed (the raw shows data) from ArtistData. Fortunately, there’s a nice built-in WordPress function called wp_remote_get that uses HTTP’s GET method to fetch an external URL. This means, your server settings really shouldn’t matter because every server supports HTTP. Hopefully, that’s the last we hear of issues getting the XML feed. :)

I also perused the support forums on WP.org and found several requests for features. I’ve added some great new features that have been highly requested:

You can now have multiple instances of ADP by using the [artistdatapress] shortcode to specify how many show you want to display and from which url. Use it like this:


[artistdatapress maxshows=20 feedurl=http://feeds.artistdata.com/xml.shows/artist/AR-8FAD4948ACC579CB/xml/future]

The values in the shortcode will override the plugin settings.

I also added the iCal layout for the widget and you choose that on the widget’s settings.

Overall, I streamlined the code and improved the logic and a bunch of other stuff under the hood that should make it easier to update later. Hope you enjoy!

Filed Under: ArtistDataPress, Blog, Plugins, Version Update

BP Profile Video Widget for BuddyPress updated to 0.3

July 17, 2012 by 5 Comments

I released the 0.3 update for BP Profile Video Widget earlier today.  This update includes one big change: the elimination of the Service profile field.  The plugin will auto-detect the service being used based on the video’s URL.  I also included support for the new Youtube short URLs and embedding of Facebook videos.  I’d happily include other video services, but I’ll need some feedback as to which ones, so if you have uggestions, let me know in the comments!  Otherwise, happy updating!

Filed Under: Blog, BP Profile Video Widget, Plugins, Version Update

BuddyPress

March 4, 2010 by 1 Comment

Last May, I read about BuddyPress, a new plugin from Automattic, which also produces WordPress, that would bring social networking to WordPress blogs.  I immediately began dreaming up ways to create a community of my music’s fans.  Then I read up on it.  It required WordPress MU, which allows you to create blog networks (like for a school, company, etc).  Since I wasn’t running MU, and didn’t know any bands that were, I forgot about it.

BuddyPress 1.2 was released Friday, February 26th and can be used with a single WordPress install, so we can all have social networks related to our band blogs!  However, I’m a little hesitant: do our fans need yet another social network?  While I’m sure there are bands that could easily support their own (think: Phish, Dave Matthews Band, or KISS to name a few), most of us don’t have enough fans to justify it.  We’re better off with sticking to Myspace, Facebook, and Twitter because our fans are already on those sites.

Before you think I’m just being pessimistic, I’m in favor of using this plugin.  I just wonder how effective it will be for most artists.  If you have a community created around your band already, this will work well to help you unite them.  For the rest of us, it could assist you in building that community around your music.  Either way, this is a good step for this plugin and I hope to start working it into some artist blogs to see if it’s helpful or just another useless social network.  Once I have some first-hand knowledge, I’ll write some more (but I’ll bet you see this plugin in the next version of my book).

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