Laconica 0.7.2.1 - talk about the easy installation
Laconi.ca and identi.ca offer many advantages as a microblogging platform.
The single biggest advantage over competitors is often overlooked though.
Each and every release of the Laconi.ca project is Open Source - yeah, yeah, eveyone knows that - no what I was going to say was that each and every release of the Laconi.ca project is codenamed after a song by the wonderful R.E.M.
For example, the latest release to hit the streets (0.7.2.1) is named ‘Talk About The Passion’.
I routinely tend to install Laconi.ca releases not necessarily because I intend to use them but just for something to do.
So I was intrigued to read that 0.7.2.1 includes a Web based installer so I thought I’d give it a spin.
I think this is a major, significant development for Laconi.ca (and OpenMicroBlogging) as it completely opens up the prospect of installing Laconi.ca to casual users who are comfortable installing WordPress and other PHP based packages that use a MySQL database. Curiously, this feature seemed to almost go unnoticed (even on identi.ca).
Download the Laconi.ca 0.7.2.1 tarball. FTP to Bluehost and unpack as usual.
I eagerly and impetuously visit http:/mysite.com/laconica only to get a pesky error message
10 seconds hunting reveals that the Laconi.ca installer actually lives at ‘http:/mysite.com/laconica/install.php’ which looks much more promising
Simply enter your approriate details for the database, credentials etc and hit ‘Submit’.
Success !
Now it is time to visit ‘http:/mysite.com/laconica’ where you are greeted by your new shiny Laconi.ca installation.
Feel free to create an account for yourself. After all, you’ve earned it. You have created your own microblogging platform in 18.6 seconds flat.
You have now successfully created your Laconi.ca account. And you never had to make those tiresome edits to ‘config.php’. Congratulations
The temptation to actually post to your Laconica (unlike Scoble) overwhelms you.
That’s it. You’re finished.
[If you find yourself squinting at the screenshots, click through and squint less.]
