HOW I LEARNED TO STOP OVERTHINKING AND HIT PUBLISH Lynne Rutledge WordCamp Montreal July 23, 2016
HOW I LEARNED TO STOP OVERTHINKING AND HIT
PUBLISH
Lynne RutledgeWordCamp Montreal
July 23, 2016
I am a classic over-thinker.
Ways I like to Fool Myself“Oh, I’ll just buy a book on it”
Sticking in student mode
Toughing it out on my own
• Information literacy can help you move forward confidently
• The WordPress community is there, and you just have to ask
The Information Literate Person can:Determine the extent of information needed
Access information effectively and efficiently
Critically evaluate information and sources
Blend new information into your existing knowledge base
Use info effectively to accomplish a purpose
The Association of College & Research Libraries
Just a Quick Search…..• 2016-07-10 searching WordPress on Google.ca = 457 000 000 results
• Adding tutorial took it down to 16 900 000
• You are getting:• ads • questionable quality• Irrelevant results
Laser Focused ResultsKeywords
Boolean operators
Search modifiers
Keywords are the key• Keywords are the starting points of searching
• Be specific, but not too specific
• Having trouble with keywords?• Make a statement about what you want to find
Example Keywords• I want to learn how to make my own child theme in WordPress.
• Keywords could be:• Child theme• WordPress• tutorial
Boolean OperatorsAND, OR, NOT
Help to focus and exempt irrelevant results
Generally typed in all capitals
AND• Will limit results
•Requires results to meet both conditions
•Some search engines use AND or + symbol interchangeably.
•WordCat AND Montreal is going to return information on what’s going on with all the cat slides.
OR•Expands results
•Either condition can be true
•The pipe symbol | functions much like OR
• Felines OR cats is a search that will return information on that uses cat or feline
NOT• Limits results
•Excellent for weeding out irrelevant results
•Minus symbol – functions like not
•Keyword search NOT SEO will help me weed out results that are about SEO keywords
Search Modifiers• “quotes” will let you find an exact phrase or combination of words
• * used as a wildcard, great for finding unknowns
• ~ will include synonyms in results
• (parenthesis) similar to they way they were used in math class
Because it’s WordCat 2016Modify your results to get cat gifs!
Add < &tbm=isch&tbs=isz:m,itp:animated >to your results URL
- From @riaface on supple.com.au
Evaluate the ResultsScope of the information
Is this an overview? Niche article? Are you the right audience for this?
AgeWhen was the info published?
AuthorWho are they? Are they objective?
Evaluating cont’d
Publisher
Who is the publisher? Do they have a particular agenda?
Reviews
What are people saying about this source?
Content
Who is linking to them? Who do they link to?
Is the site in generally good shape?
Community• Our friendly neighborhood WordPress
group• On Facebook• Website
• WordPress.com resources• Daily Post• Blogging U
• Check out who your sources follow and like
Jumping In•Lurk
•Search
•Post thoughtfully
•Contribute
A Nice Neat Package•Search smarter not harder
•Be critical
•Take it to the community