No more PUI (Posting Under the Influence)

Yesterday I thought I had written a great post about where I was going with my WordPress powered blog. In my minds eye I knew exactly what I was saying.  I thought I had written a complete post.  The problem was that I was Posting while Under the Influence.  It wasn’t under the influence of alcohol.  It was something totally unexpected.  First, I was sleep deprived;  I spent most of the early morning with my Venture Crew at Moffett Field.  We went to watch the LCROSS mission completion.  Second, I had taken some Night-Time Cold medicine.  The combination of these two factors impaired my judgment.  As you can probably guess, the Post had some issues.

PUI (Posting Under the Influence) Issues:

• Incomplete thoughts – some sentences were only half a thought, when I read them, I couldn’t figure out why they were there in the first place.
• Incomplete permalink – the permalink was gibberish

This morning, I went back and edited the post I had originally done.  I couldn’t just leave it half way done.  That would be embarrassing.

In order to avoid this kind of mistake in the future, I am implementing MrWes’ Blog Post Guidelines / Checklist.

MrWes’ Blog Post Guidelines / Checklist:

• NO PUI- No Posting Under the Influence
• Don’t hastily post – it is better to not post at all than to release an incomplete post
• Save your Draft Post – you’re getting ready to take a break
• Log out of WordPress – you’re going to take a break
• Take a break – Give yourself some time clear your head.  You don’t know if what you just wrote is clear or not
• Review & edit your Draft Post – You should have a fresh perspective on what you were writing about
• Check your spelling & grammar – those words underscored in red might be misspelled
• Check your permalink – it might not reflect the title like you thought it did
• Check your Tags & Categories – your post focus might have changed since your last edit
• Check your SEO details – your SEO details might have changed since your last edit
• Take a break – If you’ve made any changes, you need to give some more time between your last edit and your final post
• Proof-read – Have someone else read your work before you finally post.
• Final Post – Once you’re sure you’ve given some time between your last edit and reviewing your work, then Post it.

Following these guidelines should help avoid most blog post mistakes in the future.

Did I follow my own advice?  Yes, I edited it about 4 times today.  It definitely looks better than it did this morning when I was typing it in.