Adding A Social
‘Stache To WordPress
BuddyPress, bbPress and
Beyond
Sunday, November 6, 2011 1

Who Am I?
• Doug Stewart
• WordCamp Philly co-organizer
• Philly WordPress Meetup co-organizer
• @zamoose
Sunday, November 6, 2011 2

Thesis:
Like a good mustache, bbPress and
BuddyPress can add that missing spark to
your everyday blog
Sunday, November 6, 2011 3

Sunday, November 6, 2011 4

Why Social?
• Increases user engagement
• Encourages contribution
• Lowers barriers to entry for content
• Gives “freshness” to a site
• Increases a sense of ownership
• And Community
Sunday, November 6, 2011 5

bbPress
...That forum software
for WordPress that you
probably knew about
but completely forgot
exists
Sunday, November 6, 2011 6

bbPress
• WordPress-native forum
software
• Akin to phpBB,
vBulletin, etc.
• Utilizes core WP functions
to create and manage
forums
• Dead-simple to install
Sunday, November 6, 2011 7

Install
• Go to “Plugins” > “Add New” in your
Dashboard
• Type ‘bbpress” into the search field
• Click “Install Now”
• Click “Activate”
• Go to “Forums” > “New Forum”, create
a forum, and start posting
Sunday, November 6, 2011 8

Notable bbPress Installs
• WordPress.org support
forums
• WordPress.com support
forums
• Dropbox support forums
• Stephen Fry’s discussion
forums
Sunday, November 6, 2011 9

Extend bbPress
• Support forums
• (Selectively) use bbPress topics in lieu of
comments
• BBCode (no relation!)
• Signatures
• Attachments/images
• Email notifications!
Sunday, November 6, 2011 10

Coming in 2.1
• Fancy editor using TinyMCE in any WordPress theme
• BuddyPress 1.6 Group integration (multiple and
hierarchical forums)
• Setting of minimal role requirement for public/private/
hidden forums
• Topic & reply moderation using moderation_keys (from
commenting/Discussion Settings)
Sunday, November 6, 2011 11

Authenticity Matters
Sunday, November 6, 2011 12

BuddyPress
Okay, NOW we’re getting
somewhere!
Sunday, November 6, 2011 13

BuddyPress
• “Social networking in a box”
• Friends
• Private messaging
• Activity streams
• Groups
• Forums
Sunday, November 6, 2011 14

Whoah, whoah, whoah!
That sounds pretty complicated!
Sunday, November 6, 2011 15

Simplicity For You
• Plugin installer: do
what we did for
bbPress, only use
“buddypress” instead
• Walk through steps
presented by
BuddyPress installer
Sunday, November 6, 2011 16

(Make Sure You Install BP
Theme Compat Plugin)
There. That’s better.
Not quite right.
Sunday, November 6, 2011 17

Don’t Be This Guy
Sunday, November 6, 2011 18

Simplicity For Them
• Progressively introduce features at a pace that
makes sense
• Allow users to get used to site
• Extend functionality in ways that make sense
for your community/user base
Sunday, November 6, 2011 19

Huh?
You never want to see this face.
Sunday, November 6, 2011 20

Use Cases
• Document collaboration
• Classified ads
• Courseware
• Affinity group discussions
Sunday, November 6, 2011 21

Accessorize!
Sunday, November 6, 2011 22

BuddyPress.org Redesign
Shhhh. Don’t tell!
Sunday, November 6, 2011 23

Today.
Sunday, November 6, 2011 24

The future.
Sunday, November 6, 2011 25

Movember
Sunday, November 6, 2011 26

Mustavatar
Sunday, November 6, 2011 27

Links
Sunday, November 6, 2011 28

• BuddyPress
• http://buddypress.org
• bbPress
• http://bbpress.org
• Movember
• http://us.movember.com/
Sunday, November 6, 2011 29

• Get Shopped Support Forums
• http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/bbpress-vip-support-plugin/
• bbPress Topics for Posts
• http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/bbpress-post-topics/
• bbPress New Topic Notifications
• http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/bbpress-new-topic-notifications/
Sunday, November 6, 2011 30

• http://wordpress.org/support/
• http://en.forums.wordpress.com/
• http://forums.dropbox.com
• http://www.stephenfry.com/forum/
Sunday, November 6, 2011 31

• BuddyPress Classifieds
• http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/buddypress-classifieds/
• BuddyPress Docs
• http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/buddypress-docs/
• BuddyPress ScholarPress Courseware
• http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/buddypress-courseware/
Sunday, November 6, 2011 32

• Mustachify Me
• http://mustachify.me/
• Dougal Campbell’s Mustavatar plugin
• http://dougal.gunters.org/plugins/mustavatar/
Sunday, November 6, 2011 33

• Axe Cop
• http://axecop.com
• Your Canadian Boyfriend
• @sween / http://iamyourcanadianboyfriend.com/
Sunday, November 6, 2011 34

• Philly WordPress Meetup group
• http://meetup.com/
• Philly WordPress Community site
• http://phillywp.org
Sunday, November 6, 2011 35

Much thanks for to your attendance.
Remember to please make benefit glorious
charity Movember!
Sunday, November 6, 2011 36