43 Folders

43 Folders feed subscription icon - Shiny!Time, Attention, and Creative Work. After 4 years and a lot of productivity pr0n, we’re shifting gears. Re-learn how to use 43 Folders. Then back to work. [»]

”What’s 43 Folders?”
43Folders.com is Merlin Mann’s website about finding the time and attention to do your best creative work.

Blowing up my pager

You can’t spell “success” without “suck.” A technology update full of laughter, tears, and Yosemite Sam-like hollerin’. And you might just learn something.

This is just to apologize both to you guys and to my very patient hosts, A2 Web Hosting for the assiness brought on by my perfect storm of events this past few days.

  • moved to the very fine Wordpress (bang bang bang went Señor CPU; thanks for saving my ass, WP-Cache!)
  • me dicking around with Mint, Pepper, and about a dozen random WP plugins (bang bang bang goes Señora SQL)
  • more than doubled page views per visit with the redesign (damn.)
  • an imperial assload of hand-crafted 301s (the equivalent of washing a barrel of rice one grain at a time)
  • NYT story
  • Digg link
  • moving a gig and a half of just html and graphic bandwidth each day
  • you magnificent bastards generally turning out in unusually high and wonderfully supportive numbers (you rule!)

So. Yeah. The server’s suicidal, and I’m hiding all the sharp stuff.

Anyhow, I’m working on upgrading to a whiz-bang new account that will afford the CPU, space, and bandwidth needed with maybe even a bit of room to grow.

Please accept my apologies—both retroactive and speculative—as 43 Folders grows into our awkward, pubescent frame.


A Transparent Plug

A2 Web Hosting has been nothing but great to me since the day I first decided to play with Ruby. They have Rails/PHP5/Fantastico, etc. accounts starting at $4.95/month and they apparently put up with choads like me. So there’s that.

Please consider patronizing them if you need a web host (plus I get a spiff if you use them, as well. Talk about win win!)


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Greg Burton's picture

When I shifted over to...

When I shifted over to WordPress, I got not only more page views per visit, but a substantially greater number of visits - and better search indexing. It didn’t whiten my teeth or surround me with beautiful women, howver.

Merlin Mann's picture

I was assured by Matt...

I was assured by Matt that this would make me irresistible to women.

I want my money back.

Greg Burton's picture

Well, I should say that...

Well, I should say that it might have surrounded me with beautiful women, but my pre-existing beautiful wife may have driven them off. With teeth (very white) and claws (a deep, beautiful red). Can’t blame Matt for that, but I do remember that promise.

Kat French's picture

I have changed my poor,...

I have changed my poor, obscure little blog’s CMS a grand total of (drumroll, please) FOUR times in the last year trying to find something I liked. (Yes, I suffer from ADD a bit.) Started out with Wordpress, switched to phpWebsite, then test drove Nucleus for a while, and eventually was wooed back home to WordPress.

The plugin availability is rich and stable, (particularly for Open Source) it’s incredibly flexible, and my whites have never been whiter.

PJ's picture

Merlin, Congratulations! Was wondering if...

Merlin,

Congratulations! Was wondering if you’d be willing to share how you settled on A2 for your needs? I’ve been researching possible homes for my own little soon-to-be WP project. Have been looking at Textdrive but given your experience with a high-demand site, am really curious how you made your decision.

thanks, pj

About Merlin Mann

Merlin Mann's picture

Bio

Merlin Mann is an independent writer, speaker, and broadcaster. He’s best known for being the guy who started the website you’re reading right now. He lives in San Francisco, does lots of public speaking, and helps make cool things like You Look Nice Today. Also? He looks like this, answers questions, and has something like a life.

Merlin’s favorite thing he’s written recently is a short essay called, “Better.”

 
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The Podcast Feed

Inbox Zero

The original 43 Folders series looking at the skills, tools, and attitude needed to empty your email inbox — and then keep it that way. Don’t miss the free video of Merlin’s Inbox Zero presentation.

Making Time

3-part series on attention management for artists and makers. Read Bad Correspondence, The Job You Think You Have, and One Clear Line.