WordPress says let's go to the video (tutorial)

I love online video tutorials for tech-related tasks. Not for resolving those hair-pulling, silent-scream problems, but for the minor mysteries.

In addition to the obvious show-and-tell benefits -- you watch the cursor do its thing in the code or CMS environment -- you also get to fast-forward past the obvious stuff.

I'm always multitasking until the teacher gets to whatever is throwing me. Maybe just sort-of listening with the video screen buried under the usual sea of open windows.

WordPress.org (the self-hosted platform) has more than its share of mysteries, so stand by for good news: the how-to archive WordPress TV is now on the air.

So far, most of the topics seem geared to WP newbies and the citizens over on wordpress.com, but no doubt you'll find something interesting in the tutorial directories. There's one section for WordPress.org and another for the plug-and-play WordPress.com, although some topics apply to both formats. In some cases, there are videos on the same topic for each "flavor."

Here are some of the basic videos in the WordPress.org category :

• Adding a widget to your sidebar.


• Adding an About Me or other page.


• Publishing a post at a later time.

Here are a few of the more advanced topics:

• SEO and optimization for WordPress ( a lecture)
.

• The Gravatar plugin setup.


• Add a PayPal button.