Odds N’ Ends ~ Lisa Sabin-Wilson

One of the more exciting aspects of this past week was the much anticipated release of the newest version of WordPress - version 2.1 - Ella, named after jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald. Before being quick to hop on the upgrade bandwagon, take a moment to arm yourself with the latest information on what’s new, what’s changed and the ultimate question from my clients . .

Will my plugins work with 2.1?

A recommendation - wait until version 2.1.1 is released that fixes all the bugs reported from thousands of brave 2.1 users who upgraded right away. I do that with any piece of software that I depend on, on a regular basis, in my day to day life - - it’s never a bad thing to be cautious. That being said, I did upgrade my personal blog to 2.1 without any real major issues. I have attempted to upgrade this site (by making a copy of this site onto a subdomain for testing) and found that a few plugins that I depend on aren’t quite yet comptatible with 2.1 - so I shall wait until the plugin developer has a change to upgrade the plugin, or until I can find some time to diddle.

Speaking of time - there just isn’t enough of it in a day, is there? My waiting list continues and to answer any burning questions for you, I will be processing Januarys orders and requests after Feb 1. Why then? Feb. 1 is the first deadline I need to meet for my editor at Wiley Publishing for the “WordPress for Dummies” book I’m currently writing. As soon as I pass that deadline, I will be able to take on a few more projects that you have been patiently waiting for.

I also have quite a few active client projects I’m working on - - quite a few that I will be launching over the next week, so keep your eyes peeled here for those new site launches. I’ve had some real fun with these projects - - I got ahold of some real spicy ones this time around!

A small, but exciting bit of business news - - last week E.Webscapes turned into an LLC (Limited Liability Company) and, at least on paper, is now officially ‘E.Webscapes Design Studio, LLC’.

I am also in the process of interviewing/hiring an assistant to help me here with some of the more administrative tasks that also take up a lot of time. I have a few folks I’m talking to and have under consideration at this time, so I’m not accepting applicants currently. If that changes - I will surely post the job opening with details right here on this blog.

Finally, I wanted to post some information about image use - as it is something I have gotten a few emails about over the past several weeks. Specifically, imagery from istockphoto.com - which is a very popular place on the web to obtain stock photography and artwork/illustrations for use in your website and blog design. Quite a few of my clients use iStock as their resource for imagery - - including yours truly. The images of the happy jumping people you see on this site was purchased through iStock - I just love my happy jumpy people!

I recently had a conversation with a collegue, and a seperate conversation with a client, which told me that there was some helpful clarification that can provide some answers in terms of what CAN and CANNOT be done with the images you purchase from iStockphoto. Here is the basic run down:

You CAN

• Make one copy of the image file for your backups.
• Use the image in virtually any kind of promotional item : websites, advertising, packaging, personal projects, CD or DVD packaging, film and video presentations, multimedia presentations, commercials, books, etc…

You CANNOT

• Use images in templates for resale. (using the image in a template, and then reselling that template with that image over and over again for profit. Designers can, however, use an image that has been purchased use in one clients design project only - - but cannot reuse that image in any other design or promotional work).
• Display images larger than 800 * 600 on the web.
• Exceed the 500,000 print run restriction.
• Superficially modify the content, plunk it on a t–shirt, mug, poster, template or other item, and sell it to others for consumption, reproduction or re–sale. This requires an Extended License.
• Resell the images on “Print on Demand” products, such as Cafe Press products, posters, cards, etc.

That last bit answers a lot of questions that I recieve from clients when they want me to take the image they purchased and create graphics for use on Cafe Press products, and simliar type merchandise. Most of the issues listed above are terms you need to abide by when purchasing an image with iStock’s Standard Content License Agreement. However, you can also purchase the images under iStock’s Extended License Option in order to be able to extend some of the things you are limited to under their standard option.

On a similar note - I’ve been working with several artists and illustrators, over the years, who are freelancers and provide custom illustrations and artwork for my clients who are interested in purchasing their work. While it is an extra cost to consider - going that route is a really nice way to ensure that the artwork on your website is unique and individual to YOU and no one else in the world has it. I collaborate with these talented artists on the projects we work on together - however, my clients are not only a customer of mine - - but also a customer of the illustrator/artist they have chosen to work with.

If you fall into this category - please keep in mind that you need to find out from the artist you have chosen to work with what the terms of their licensing agreements are. Artists are like snowflakes - - no two are exactly the same, so make sure you dig a little and ask those important questions.

Hope everyone is having a GREAT weekend!