A curated list of things I’ve seen, read, used, and loved lately.
Before I share my latest favorites, I want to tell you about a blog update and the background story:
As you can see, the blog had a little makeover. I’d love to say it was a thoughtful and totally voluntary decision, but the reality is a bit more complex (and sad). True, I’ve been thinking about a new design for some time. I loved my previous theme, but it wasn’t perfect. After blogging for some time, I kinda had an idea what features were missing from the previous design and what should be improved. Most importantly, I wanted a much better navigational system for the archives/categories. I also wanted an even more minimal look. So, the intent was there, I knew what I wanted to change, and I scheduled this to be a summer project. But then life intervened, and I had to move the redesign to the top of my to-do list.
The reason?
Pipdig.
If you’re a Europe/UK-based blogger, you probably know what happened. If you don’t, here’s the short story (it’s kinda important to know, even if you’re not affected).
Pipdig is a popular theme developer, known for their stylish minimal themes. A couple of weeks ago, news started to circulate on Twitter that there was something wrong with their themes. The main accusations were that they had suspicious code in them (technically, in the plugin that came with the theme). The code, among other things, violated GDPR, had the ability to change links, slow down your blog, access (and erase) databases, and, most seriously, seems to have used blogs to attack a Pipdig competitor’s page (performing a DDoS attack).
The news was simultaneously broken by a blogger developer and Wordfence, one of the most trustworthy WordPress security expert sites. In time, more and more developers and security experts backed these claims.
If you want to learn more, here’s an article that explains everything in layman’s terms. If you’re more skilled then me and enjoy reading codes, check out the following articles:
- Security alert: pipdig insecure, DDoSing competitors
- Peculiar PHP Present In Popular Pipdig Power Pack (P3) Plugin
- Pipdig Update: Dishonest Denials, Erased Evidence, and Ongoing Offenses
To be honest, I have zero coding knowledge, most of what they say is totally alien to me, so I waited a couple of days and monitored the situation. Initially, a lot of bloggers sided with Pipdig, who are known to provide excellent customer service. In a way, I can understand this – it IS difficult to understand why someone would do this and accept that they have violated our trust. But in the end, I decided I cannot ignore the expert advice and I should better be safe than sorry, so I pulled the plug on my old theme and chose a new one (The fact that Pipdig erased their old database and have been hiding ever since solidified this decision).
The reason I share this is that even if you’re not affected, there are important lessons for all of us. Especially, as the Pipdig scandal was not the only security problem lately: popular plugin Social Warfare and Jetpack had vulnerability/wrongdoing issues on their own.
We’re so accustomed to easy shopping on the Internet that sometimes we forget the risks. Especially in cases like this, when a lot of special technical knowledge is involved.
Let’s be honest, most of us have absolutely no idea what’s going on at the backend of our blog. We have no expert knowledge to check everything, so we put our trust in the hands of others. And, sadly, some people violate that trust.
If at this point, you’re starting to panic about the state of your site and whether it’s secure – well, welcome to the club. I’d love to share some reassuring thoughts or useful advice, but in fact, I can’t.
We are vulnerable. But at least, we are now aware of how vulnerable we really are. This doesn’t mean we have to panic, shut down everything, learn to code (though it kinda made me want to learn at least a bit more about this), or hire a security expert, but it does mean we should all probably pay attention to these things. Be a bit more guarded and a bit more alert. I’m definitely bookmarking the Wordfence site and following them and some other security experts on Twitter in order to be up-to-date.
On the plus side, it was great to witness how the security community came to the help of bloggers. A lot of people gave advice, explained everything, and were generally incredibly helpful and kind. All hope is not lost in the world.
In the end, I chose a theme by Georgia Lou Studios. I really liked the theme aesthetic and even more the extensive customization options and the exceptional documentation and tutorials it came with. Heather, the owner was also incredibly helpful – she answered my questions in detail, explained everything and helped me with things way beyond what support should cover. I can really recommend her shop.
The website is not completely ready yet – I still have a couple of new features I want to add, some things I want to change. But for once, I’ve decided to follow my own advice (stop waiting for tomorrow) and adopted the launch fast mentality. Because I have a tendency to get trapped in a never-ending chase for perfection and thus delay things for a long time – this was a big personal development success for me.
All in all, everything turned out for the better.
Now, on to some recent favorites.
There’s no such thing as a ‘Real’ woman – it’s just another beauty marketing buzzword | The Atlantic
This is one of the most interesting articles I’ve read recently; mainly because it’s about a topic I’ve never really thought about – the temporary nature of Internet content. We think everything on the Internet is there for all eternity, but actually, just the opposite might be happening and it can lead to serious consequences. | BBC
Loved this ITG interview with Alyssa Mastromonaco, former WH Deputy Chief Of Staff of President Obama. It was fun and refreshing, something different from the usual Top Shelf interviews (that I still enjoy nevertheless).
SPF for your eyelids and hair? It makes a lot of sense and I’m totally on board | Fashionista
Missed Milan Design Week? Here are the 10 best indoor and outdoor installations (my fave is this one) | Designboom
This is such a useful and interesting take on procrastination | New York Times
In love with this dining table
Eco-friendly DIY Easter decoration: naturally dyed blue, pastel, and jewel-toned eggs | Reading My Tea Leaves
How to embrace failure | Lizzified (and while you’re there, do check out Lizzy’s other writings, she has such thoughtful, well-written content)
