Check out the screenshots below to become familiar with this awesome extension that was recently featured by Google. If you have any comments or questions please use the comments form at the end of the article.

Using PostRank with Google Reader

1. Download and install the PostRank Chrome extension.

Make sure you reload the Google Reader page in order for PageRank to appear. If for whatever reason it is not loading, restart Chrome.

A. When you open Google Reader you will notice that all post titles in Google Reader will have a PostRank icon with a rank. Ranks are color coded and use a numbering scheme based on the rank of content listed.

B. The purpose of using this extension is getting to the content that matters so in order to cull out the least important content use the filter that appears to the right of the Refresh button. You will have four options:

• PR: All (1.0+)
• PR: Good (2.7+)
• PR: Great (5.4+)
• PR: Best (7.6+)

Notice that as you apply the filter, the content that does not meet the criteria fades into the background so that you can focus on the stories that matter most.

C. When you enable PostRank for other websites you will be able to visit Reddit and see the PostRank about the story with an embedded PR icon. When you place your cursor over the PR icon you will be able to see details about the PostRank.

D. The same applies to Google searches. Search results will list the PostRank along with information about engagement on different social networks.

Note: If you use Google Instant for searches you will need to reload the search results page for the PostRank to appear.

To enable this feature for Google search, Reddit, Digg, and more follow the instructions below.

How to Enable PostRank for Other Websites

1. Click on the Customize and Control icon.

2. Click on Tools from the menu.

3. Click on Extensions.

4. Locate the PostRank Extension from the list and click on Options.

5. Check the sites you wish to run the engagement script on.

6. Click Save.

Now you will be able to run the PostRank script on all of the websites you selected. Do you think you will be using this extension? Know of others with similar features? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.

In this tutorial we will focus on the deployment of WordPress on your Windows-based PC. The Web Platform Installer is free so make sure to check out the screenshots below to see how I setup a test WordPress installation on my computer. If you have any comments or questions please use the comments form at the end of the article.

In this article we will cover the following topics:

• Download and Install the Web Platform and WordPress
• Setup WordPress

Download and Install the Web Platform and WordPress

1. Go to the Microsoft Web App Gallery to download and install the Web Platform Installer.

Note: The link above will take you directly to the installer website.

Depending on your browser you will see a prompt asking you if you are sure you want to run Web Platform Installer from Microsoft Corporation.

If you see the message make sure to choose the option that allows the installer to run. In Internet Explorer 8, click on the yellow information bar and click on Run Add-on.

2. When the Web Platform Installer loads click on the Web Applications tab.

3. Then click on the Blogs tab.

4. Scroll down the list and check WordPress.

5. Click on the Install button.

6. Click I Accept. This is a list of the dependencies that will be installed in order for WordPress to run on your computer.

7. MySQL requires that you set an administrator password for your database. Enter the password and write it down as you will need it in upcoming steps.

8. Click Continue to proceed.

The installer will download the required applications and components and install them. This can take anywhere from 10 minutes to a couple of hours depending on your PC and the internet connection you are using.

8. To keep things simple,  choose Default Website from the Website drop-down and name the application.

Note: The name you enter will be used when accessing the site – http://localhost/application-name. If you want to have control over the path of the application, port number, and IP addresses make sure to use New Website from the Website drop-down.

9. Click Continue to proceed.

10. Enter the information for the application in the highlighted fields.

A. Choose MySQL for Database.

B. Unless you have an existing database you want to use choose New Database from the list. Use the administrator password from step 7 in the Database Administrator Password field.

Note: Do not modify the fields after Database Name.

11.Click Continue to proceed.

You will see a download and installation progress bar. Depending on your computer and the internet connection this process may take anywhere from a couple of minutes to a couple of hours.

12. Click Finish to complete setting up all of the components necessary to run WordPress on your PC.

Setup WordPress

1. Go to localhost/your-application-name/ in your browser and you should see the following screen:

2. In the WordPress installation page enter the information about the site you are creating:

Site Title – Enter the site’s name, this can changed at a later time.

Username – Choose this wisely because you cannot change it (easily) once it is set.

Password – Because you are running this locally you can use an easy password, although I always recommend to get in the habit of using difficult passwords.

Your E-mail – This is the email address associated with this installation.

3. When you are done, click on the Install WordPress button. Installation should be quick.

4. Once you are done, click on the Log In button to access your site’s Dashboard and you are set. You have successfully installed WordPress on your PC.

If you encounter any errors during the setup make sure you verify the steps above and that you used the correct passwords during the setup process. You can also leave your comments and questions in the comments field below.

If you’re using WordPress as your blog’s publishing platform and you have yet to enable Turbo, you’re missing out."The speed increase is most noticeable when Internet is slow or on high latency and makes everybody’s blogging experience more enjoyable." When enabled, Turbo essentially uses a local copy of the admin area of your WordPress installation in order to reduce the need for access of these files from your web server. This is great feature for slow/flaky connections or when server bandwidth is limited. The guide below will walk you through the process of enabling it on your browser. If you have any comments or questions please post them below.

Note: I used WordPress 2.71 and Firefox 3.0.10 for this guide.

Before proceeding with this tutorial make sure that you have Google Gears installed, follow this link to install. Once install proceed with the guide below.

1. Open your website’s WordPress Dashboard (http://www.yoursite.comwp-admin) and click on the Tools link located on the left pane.

2. When you click on Tools the first thing that will appear is Turbo: Gears Status, click on the Enable Gears button to enable Turbo.

NOTE: Do not enable Gears if this is a public computer. When Gears is enabled it copies files from your server locally for faster access.

3. A Gears Security Warning will open. In order for Gears to operate you must add a check to the I trust this site… check box. Make sure that your WordPress web site is the one listed. Click Allow to proceed.

4. WordPress Turbo will use Gears to copy files from your server locally. Allow it to proceed uninterrupted.

5. Once completed the Local storage status: should read Update completed. You’re done.

More information can be found on the WordPress Support Web site