I have been working on this blog for quite some time and there are some plugins that I think that no one can live without. And so here are my favorites.

1. FD Feedburner Plugin
   If you are going to have a successful blog then you will need to have an RSS feed for people to subscribe to. Feedburner offers a lot of statistics that you simply wouldn’t get with using the build in RSS generator from WordPress. This plugin will set all your feed buttons to the feed that you specify. You will have to set up your Feedburner account for this to work.
2. Google Analytics
   Google Analytics is a great service provided by Google for site statistics. Get visitor counts, referring page lists, search word results, etc. This plugin will connect your blog to your Google Analytics account with ease.
3. Google XML Sitemaps
   When you create a sitemap it will allow Google and various other bots to scan your site for content so that they can use that in their search engine. Even though this is labeled as a Google product it makes a sitemaps.org file that is compatible with Yahoo, Ask.com as well as others.
4. WordPress PDA & iPhone
   If you want your site to look half decent on a mobile device then I suggest taking action. I chose to use this plugin and I am very happy I did. It was very simple to install and offers quite a nice interface on all of the phones I have tested it on.
5. WassUp
   This is a nice plugin for real time stats. The Analytics method is very nice to have for a daily email report and it nicely laid out but doesn’t offer any real time information. Step in WassUp to fill that void. This plugin is highly configurable to display exactly what you are looking for. You can remove the scanning bots and the spamming bots to show real user traffic. (requires VStats plugin to gather data)
6. WP Super Edit
   If you feel that the standard WYSIWYG editor is lacking some features then this is for you. It allows for a few more formatting features built right into the editor. Great addition and useful for making your posts seem a little more fancy.
7. TweetMeme Button
   TweetMeme is a Digg.com (I can’t imagine they like that description but it is a good way for you to understand what they are doing) like site that allows people to submit articles or websites to their service by Tweeting them. It them tracks how many times they have been submitted and then ranks them on their page. Great little site and they have this handy plugin that will put an icon at the top of every post for easy Tweeting by your readers. This is a good way to publicize your articles and a nice way for your readers to give you a nod.
8. OpenID
   I think that the OpenID is a good movement and having support for it on your site makes it easier for users to set up an account and login on a regular basis. This plugin enabled support for OpenID right on your login page and is very easy to setup.
9. Bad Behavior
   When I first started The Sleepy Geek last year I was greener than green (embarrassing!). I am a huge geek, that’s obvious – but I didn’t really know a heck of a lot about blogging and setting up a WordPress installation. After a short period of time I started to experience a lot of comments that were just links back to my content. This irked me and so I went searching for a solution. Out comes Bad Behavior to save me.
10. BackUpWordPress
    This is last but certainly not least. This is an important one in my books and this or something like it should be installed for sure. You need a way to back up your site so that if there is a failure or an error you are able to recoup you data. This plugin allows for a backup on a schedule. It is able to save it to different locations and also will email you a file if it is not too large. I like this plugin but do your home work on this one. First make sure to know what you want to backup then find a plugin to meet that criteria.

I hope you found some gems in this list. I have enjoyed using them and wanted to give them a mention.

One of the coolest things that I have started using in the newest versions of WordPress is the ability to search and add a new plugin directly from the Admin interface. Simply click on Plugin -> Add New and use the wizard to search and install your desired plugin. Have fun with your blog and happy posting!

Geek on :)