So I've gotten Popular Delusions transferred over to a new host, and I used WordPress Direct to install a WP blog to the domain. I finally got to use the "old paper" theme that I love so much!  I changed the index to display a static page, and put the blog over in /blog; I decided on my four main categories (Mens Toys Exposed!, Movies, Multiverse, and the Madness of Crowds -- talking about cool toys, our teeny (600+) movie collection, the different worlds that we like to spend time in, and the various resources I can cook up that appeal to weirdos like us). I've set those up as static pages as well as blog categories -- the idea being to have a "home page" for each category showing both blog posts and static subpages on the topic, maybe a news feed if I can find one. I need to figure out how to add plug-ins to static pages so that those things can show.

Let's take an example of a static pages on a particular spot in the Multiverse -- Babylon 5 springs to mind. (I'm not predictable, really I'm not . . .) It kinda works out to a Squidoo-type page: a rant about how wonderful B5 is, a list of neat places to check out, some inserts with stuff to buy (movies, books, toys . . .), and a place for people to post comments. If I can find the right plug-in, I really want people to be able to recommend links to be added to the resource list (but I'm gonna check 'em out first!). Multiverse pages will be on places we like to hang out; the Madness of Crowds will focus on Popular Delusions like cats, religion, comedy, and other things that weirdos are into (with appropriate recommendations on where people can spend their money, of course). Movies posts will either be referred to by the Multiverse pages or wind up in the Movies section (which might just get a rep for weirdness if I do it right). I have long lists of links that I collected during the last six months I was working; I might just start with link lists and apologies and fill the pages out over time.

The process goal is to concentrate on the basics -- get the structure up -- and then concentrate on one thing at a time, get it working and attracting visitors, then move to another, give it some more web 2.0 love, get it growing, then turn to the next, until Popular Delusions is a hub of pages that attracts people for one thing, then they stick around to take a look about, and wind up hooked. Why should all of our dreams be little ones?

But I've got to quit trying to find "WordPress as CMS" literature -- it just turned into my latest reason to avoid good, honest work. Let me see what I can find in the WP plugins for adding links and tacking on a forum (some good recommendations for that in the 30DC forum -- ForumSimple seems to be the winner). I've got to quit stalling!

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