This Week @ WPUniversity: November 1, 2013

WordPress 3.8, Editorially, NaNoWriMo, Google+ Rankings

Candy Haul

October is now officially over, which means two things: candy is on sale (sugar for everyone!), and we’re going to be hit by an onslaught of holiday music and seasonal merchandise very soon.

What does that have to do with WordPress? Nothing, really – but discount candy is always a good thing. 🙂

Looking Ahead to WordPress 3.8

WordPress 3.8 UI Proposal

Despite WordPress 3.7 having just been released, we’re already looking ahead to WordPress 3.8.

While 3.7 focused on behind-the-scenes improvements, WordPress 3.8 (led by Matt Mullenweg) will be focusing on more user-facing features and updates. Of particular interest is the discussion around potentially introducing the MP6 plugin as the new administrator UI, a cleaner dashboard, more powerful search functionality, and lastly, a new theme called Twenty Fourteen. (You can check out a demo of the theme here on on WordPress.com.)

Keep in mind that these are proposals. Mullenweg is hosting a meeting on Monday to decide which features get folded into the core release. WordPress 3.8 is scheduled for release in December.

More coverage: WordPress 3.8 Development Heats Up With Discussion of New Core Features

Editorially adds WordPress Integration

Screenshot of Editorially exporting and integration.

Editorially is a web-based application focused entirely on content. Its purpose is to provide a distraction-free environment for collaborative writing. Editorially supports markdown syntax, version control, autosaving, inline commenting, and activity tracking. It works across all devices thanks to its responsive design and exports clean HTML. Needless to say, it’s pretty cool.

This week, Editorially announced that they’re supporting direct integration with WordPress (and Dropbox):

Once you’ve authorized a connection to your WordPress or Dropbox account, all it takes is one click to send your document over. You can hook up as many different WordPress blogs as you like. Posts are passed over in draft mode, so you can then preview on your site and publish when ready.

We’ve played with Editorially a bit at the office, and while it’s not a perfect fit for a WordPress-centric team like ourselves, we can definitely see how it’d appeal to other platform-agnostic content teams. Try Editorially out for yourself.

NaNoWriMo 2013 Starts Today!

National Novel Writing Month

Speaking of content: National Novel Writing Month, the 30-day challenge for aspiring novelists to produce a 50 000 word story, starts today. In our posts this week we shared some reasons why we think WordPress is a perfect match for NaNoWriMo out-of-the-box, and pointed out some tools and plugins that can make it even better.

You can follow the NaNoWriMo tag on WordPress.com for posts from the community.

Novels not your thing? Try NaBloPoMo

National Blog Posting Month 2013

From the WordPress.com blog:

If 50,000 words seem like 49,000 too many or you’re more interested in blogging than writing a book, NaBloPoMo — National Blog Posting Month — might be your speed: a challenge to post once every day for the entire month of November. No theme, no word count, no rules; just you, your blog, and 30 new posts.

NaBloPoMo doesn’t have the structure or formality of NaNoWriMo, but if blogging is more your cup of tea, it’s a challenge worth considering. As with National Novel Writing Month, there’s a tag you can follow on WordPress.com for community updates about National Blog Posting Month.

Using Google+ for Top Placement in Google Search Results

Moz Whiteboard Friday - November 1, 2013

In this week’s Whiteboard Friday video from Moz, Rand Fishkin explains how the Google+ integration with search can be used to position yourself at the top of Google’s search results. While this isn’t explicitly WordPress related, it’s an interesting bit of information for site owners.

That’s it for this week!

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