Managing Data Over Time
What we have found is storing data on external disks takes a lot of time, must be backed up. Furthermore, disks have a tendency to go bad and they take a of effort to maintain. In our view, data management is best left to people that specialize in it.

Hosts?
As for hosts, most hosts do not provide that much space for data storage, and they are not free, so if your payment lapses, you can lose your data.

The Alternatives
Two alternatives not ordinarily considered for data management are GMail and WordPress. GMail provides 7 gig (and growing of space) and WordPress provides 3 gig – which will probably grow.

Client
However, both need software to enable using them for data storage. With GMail there is an add in for Firefox that turns it into a drive. With WordPress, new software called Blogo, allows you to attach files more efficiently than using the WordPress web interface, but it only works for pictures. WordPress does not allow other file types aside from PPT, PDF, JPEG and a few others. Obviously WordPress does not want to be a file storage company. However, they may want to reconsider. WordPress allows a degree of organization and interrelationship with content, that is unsurpassed. Also, their space is very well priced.

25 GB currently can be had for $90 per year, which is $7.5 per month. So they seem to be warming to the concept. However, the trick is finding a client that allows bulk uploads to WordPress. Here is the list copied from WordPress’ website. (these are the Mac editors)

* Blogo – Also supports Twitter and Ping.fm, 21-day trial
* Ecto
* Flock
* JBlogEditor
* Journler (however blogging is being dropped soon from Journler)
* MacJournal
* MarsEdit
* QTM
* Qumana
* ScribeFire (formerly Performancing)
* TextMate
* WriteToMyBlog – web based

Here is a review of several

http://onecoolsite.wordpress.com/2007/10/26/offline-blog-editors-reviews/

These may be great clients, but none of them have drag and drop capability or mass media upload capability. Also, at this point, WordPress’ allowed files are too limited.

So for right now, GMail is the best solution that we see — with of course the addition of the GSpace plug-in. However, the interface is clunky.

Paid Service
The best paid service, which is very effective to use is called Box.net. We currently use the 5gb service, but are thinking of upgrading for $15 per month and getting 30GB of space.

One of  the issues we will be testing in the near future is DabbleDB. DabbleDB is a distributed database application and is used for creating databases and data heavy applications on line.

Looking for the Best Way to Integrate Tabular Data With WordPress

One of the issues we have been analyzing as of late is integrating Google Docs spreadsheets into WordPress by using a WordPress plug in. This would allow for the spreadsheets to be centrally administered and then pushed out to different blog posts. However, that is one way of integrating data with WordPress. Another way is to place a link between the post and the post. Its not integrated, however, the functionality is higher than simply displaying a spreadsheet as there area variety of views and filters than can be saved and then displayed on a single set of data. Here is one such view from DabbleDB.

We do not think that this will be a once size fits all. Our initial impression is that while Google Docs is easier, using DabbleDB is more powerful. However, DabbleDB requires actual developer (although not code writing) capability. There is much more analysis to be performed and we will update this post as we find out new information.

Embedding Test

Select the link to see our test graph. We have not been successful in embedding the graph into the post for some reason. However, you can view the graph by selecting the link. You can also do a search, which appears so far to be more flexible than using Google Docs.

https://symmetricalcontent.dabbledb.com/page/symmetricalcontent/vcEghzOZ

Even if you do embed into WordPress, you essentially lose all of the functionality of the data — that is it becomes static. A good example of this is listed below. Click the map and notice the difference.

http://blog.jonudell.net/2008/11/09/where-the-oil-comes-from-not-from-where-i-thought/

You can do a full export of WordPress which saves a good portion of the entire config of a blog. You can  then upload the export. This is a remarkably fast process.

You can then perform the import just as easily.

Data management is and hugely misunderstood area.

For years data has been stored in two basic structures…the spreadsheet and the relational database system. The vast majority of users are using a directory structure to maintain their data which has as its front-end a file manager and some type of desktop search like Spotlight or Google Desktop Search.

Biases of Different Data Forms

Both spreadsheets and RDBMSs have their own biases which show the problems they were originally designed to solve. Spreadsheets are excellent for one off analysis, while relational databases are good as the backend of applications, and for dealing with high amounts of highly structured data which inter-relates. When we speak of relational databases, we are referring to just the databases themselves (Oracle, MySQL, Access, etc..) not the layer that can be placed above it. WordPress, runs on top of a relational structure, but the WordPress application intermediates between the user and the RDBMS. When you work directly with MySQL or Oracle, you are very much in the RDBMS structure. However, not all data fits neatly into the structure of a spreadsheet or a non-frontended RDBMS. Furthermore, both spreadsheets and RDBMSs really lack the ability to easily integrate data from different sources.

RDBMS Front End

Without some type of inter-mediating software RDBMS’s are difficult to use. This is a RDBMS which is straightforward to use called Bento 2 which is pictured below. Bento 2 is excellent at integrating data from different sources.

Bento

Bento Limitations

However, Bento is really RDBMS light (its runs on SQLLite) However while it is easy to use, it is not web based. We have serious concerns about a database that can not be accessed by the internet. This both greatly reduces its distributability, but is a data protection concern, as the database is tied to one computer (although you can perform backups). For this reason, we think Bento should be migrated to an online application, where Bento can either host your information, you can host Bento at the web host of your choice.

WordPress

So far, we have had the most success using WordPress as a database. However, WordPress lacks the tabular data capability that we would like. We hope to address this limitation by integrating WordPress with Google Docs, where Google Docs serves as the data repsitory, and WordPress servers as the presentation layer. We will be writing more on this topic.

Application Replacement

The number of applications that WordPress seems to replace is growing. The more we use it, the more flexible it appears. It is a “killer app” for the network becoming the computer.

One of the issue with data integration is that of office documents. MS Office was definitely not designed to be shared. Instead they are emailed to one another. Now, with Google Apps, data can be effectively shared and integrated into web pages which is now the main presentation method.

An important way to integrate web data with with the RSS feed. This is because the feed is highly flexible, and stripped of anything but the link and the text. In fact a good website could be simply a combination of RSS feeds.

http://sapplanning.wordpress.com/feed/

RSS is a great way to integrate blogs. First you need to find the feed URL on the web page and then right mouse click and select copy the link.

Then add an RSS widget in WordPress.

Then paste the link, name it and save.

Now go and check the feed link you just created.

This is a great way to beef up a blog if it is just getting started. Its also a good way to cross link your sites.

We received this error when attempting to setup blogs in MacJournal.

It turns out this means that this setting must be altered in WordPress.

http://codex.wordpress.org/WordPress_Backups

WordPress actually has an autoupdate. This means that you never have to upload a new version of WordPress to you server.

http://blog.themeforest.net/wordpress/the-flexibility-of-wordpress/

Top plug-ins that make WordPress a CMS.

http://blogof.francescomugnai.com/2008/10/the-top-20-plugins-to-transform-wordpress-in-a-cms/

Some of the pros and cons as listed by Michael Martine.

“Pros

• Stoo-pud-ly easy to create and manage site content. How easy? If you can write an email, you can do it.
• Blog and site look the same, because they ARE the same.
• Same SEO (search engine optimization) benefits are accrued by WordPress pages that posts enjoy.
• WordPress pages can have “parents.” That is, a parent page is like a section that has sub-pages in it.
• Tons of plugins that extend and enhance the functionality of WordPress. Other larger CMSs have something similar, but again, WordPress is so easy a decapitated cockroach could work with it (well, for up to 10 days anyways, which is how long cockroaches can live without their heads–not that you really wanted to know that).

Cons

• You could easily outgrow it if your needs grow beyond what WordPress can do.
• Not the most secure CMS out there.
• Not great for ecommerce.
• Not great for very large amounts (hundreds or thousands) of page (rather than post) content.
• Not great for in-depth learning or ebook type content” – http://michaelmartine.com/2008/02/13/pros-and-cons-of-using-a-wordpress-blog-as-your-entire-business-site/