Whatever you do, make it a point to build your blog. Think of it as water to a plant. The plant will grow when you water it and this is something that must be done on a regular basis. Also, don’t forget to check out other fellow Bitwik bloggers as they strut their stuff on the net. You can learn a ton of great ideas or techniques by doing this. For those of you that have a blog but are a little concerned as to what to do or how to do it, it’s not a problem. Because now you know that with a little preparation and a couple minutes every couple of days, you will have your blog full of wonderful ideas and content for the whole world to see. Do you have a blog? With the help of some posts and the creativity of Bitwik you will be able to make it grow!

The same ill feeling has taken over many as they deal with a server that has failed or one that may have lost a hard drive that holds their blog data. Did you make a backup of your blog before this happened? How long ago was the backup made? These are serious questions! Do you even know how to back up your data? Well, some reading this may think they have done a good job backing things up, nothing compares to the 30 minute backup service that some hosting companies are now offering. Bitwik, for example, offers full server backups every 30 minutes making it possible to retrieve data that has just recently been accidentally deleted from your blog. This service is fee of charge for most clients. Imagine, the whole account has accidentally been deleted, database full of information from years and years of posting, gone! No problem, because all you have to do is login and retrieve your data from only 30 minutes ago.

This has happened just recently to a customer who just moved to Bitwik. Before the move was completed, the old hosting company corrupted the database and no good or healthy backups where ever made. The customer would’ve just lost 9 years worth of data if not for the knowledgeable blog team at Bitwik, who were able to successfully fix the database and recover 9 years worth of blog posts. Needless to say, a backup could have saved this customer from the worst possible event of account deletion or database corruption. Our customer is extremely happy with the outcome of such a tragic event. They are also taking advantage of Bitwik’s free 30 minute backup services to the full so as to never lose their data again. Backups are so important to the life of the blog!

How about for smart-phone users? Yes, you too have a data safety net that you can take full advantage of. Many have used Google Sync while others like the services of SMRTGUARD. In either case, these tools will keep your contacts, emails, sms, chats, etc… backed up. Remember that, water damage, theft, or simple failures can reek havoc on your life when these plague your smart-phone data. However, by taking steps now you will be well prepared to handle these challenges to your data when they do arise, and one or more of these things are lurking around the corner even as you read this post. Please take steps now so as to protect your data.

Some companies have not been blocked and are going strong even under such strong attempts to control the media. One of these companies is Bitwik Blog Hosting. So far, many in China have been able to blog freely using Bitwik’s servers and are doing so with vigor. This is exactly what bloggers need right now in the current state of affairs, a way to express their thoughts with such conviction! Bitwik has been able to successfully fly under the Chinese government’s radar for quite some time now. It is wonderful to see that blogging is still alive and kicking in China. As long as Bitwik keeps up their good work maintaining your blog’s freedom, you can keep proclaiming your’s, even from China.

You can add photos and videos directly from the BlackBerry phone itself, from your media library, or from an SD card. Managing your comments has never been easier. You can manage one comment at a time or in bulk with many options available. In a nutshell, WordPress for BlackBerry is a must for all who wish to have full management of their WordPress powered blog. BlackBerry is now a major competitor in the blog-on-the-fly world making it a great option for those who are pondering the thought of getting one for themselves. Check out the video for a breakdown of many of the features now available in WordPress for BlackBerry!

Some MT5 fans have been a little agitated by the delay, saying that it would’ve been better to not announce a release date and then put it off. Although true that it is a tad frustrating, the developers have every intention on making this release unlike any other. They also tell us that there are many features that are gong to be included in MT5 that will make this “delay” a thing of the past, not to be remembered. So, let’s patiently await the release of MT5 and all of it’s features, which is scheduled to launch on January 5th 2010.

Even after the launch in January, it is always recommended to wait before upgrading your blog to the latest version until all bugs have been fixed. This is for a good reason as the wonderful folks from SixApart tell us, “We’ve determined that there are a few issues we need to resolve in Movable Type 5 before the official worldwide launch.” However, this is not a bad thing, because as we well know, good things come to those that wait.

WordPress 2.9 also sports image editing, a new release of TinyMCE, and improvements in media embedding. Comments for pages have been added to the default “Kubrick” theme, so blogs can now have comments on pages as well as posts. When setting up new blogs, the default first post will be more informative about how to use WordPress as opposed to the old-style “Hello World” post which gave you no information on how to use WordPress. This feature is great for those that are very new to the platform or are just getting started with blogs in general.

WordPress 2.9 also includes a slew of changes for WordPress developers, with 84 changes listed on the Codex. Changes range from improved documentation for the WP File System to support for new post types and limiting checks for “blog by email” to every five minutes. Plugin users can now report on the Plugin Directory whether plugins are compatible with a version. This data will be used with the WordPress compatibility checker so users can get a sense whether a plugin is compatible with their release of WordPress or not.

Assuming no major bugs are found, WordPress 2.9 should be released “before the end of the week.” The release candidate download is now available for those that are interested in giving it a test drive. However, we will be patiently awaiting the full release which is only days away from being launched!

Updating to WordPress 2.9 will be a piece of cake since the automation tools within WordPress does most of the work for you. So, whether you are new or experienced in the world of WordPress, you will be excited to know that the features and usability of WordPress 2.9 has made the blogging experience an even better one! Feel free to let us know what you think of version 2.9 as we near it’s release soon.

Simply sign up for your new Bitwik Blog Hosting account with the coupon code: “25OFF2009″ (without the quotes)

NOTE: This promotion is good for the following plans only: HOBBY, PROFESSIONAL, STUDENT, TEACHER.

You can already take advantage of the mobile version of Bitwik on your iPhone or BlackBerry phone right now! But very soon, you will be able to maintain your entire WordPress blog from your iPhone! Also, WordPress is secretly working on the BlackBerry version of their famous application. So all you BlackBerry users, the wait is short. We will keep you posted on the progress and will keep you in the “know” regarding the new WordPress application that is being built for iPhone.

With the new “theme browser” you can search the thousands of WordPress blog themes with ease. By using the search feature in the “theme browser”, you can search for the right theme for you. Choose from different colors, number of columns and fixed or flexible width. WordPress even gives you the opportunity to choose your themes by searching for special features like: custom colors, custom header, theme options, threaded comments, sticky post and microformats. You can even take it a step further by choosing a theme based on a specific subject, like holiday, photoblogging and seasonal. WordPress made theme searching a dream come true!

Now that WordPress has made theme searching easy, what about the typical installation methods and activation? Check this out! You no longer have to manually download and upload your theme files to your blog hosting account. The “theme browser” makes it possible for you to preview and activate your theme directly from the WordPress Dashboard! Although this is only one of the fine features added by WordPress, it is definitely worth looking into. If you haven’t already done so, upgrade your WordPress blog to 2.8 and take advantage of the many benefits. If you don’t have a blog yet, hurry up and get one started today, before we run out! Once again, WordPress is making it easier to have some fun and blog about it!