I’m a WordPress enthusiast and plugin scientist. I love building really cool, new things for people and their websites. I’ve been working at Real Big Marketing with Kyle Maurer for about 3 years now doing exactly that.
Oh, I also really love music and play in a gigging band!
Joel Worsham will be presenting the “Version Control Workshop” on Friday, October 14 at 9:30am in the Wolverine room.
Why do use WordPress?
Because it’s awesome. It’s incredibly modular, powerful, flexible, and highly supported. It also has the BIGGEST online community surrounding a piece of web building software (or perhaps any software!). This means that I can always have a place to go for help, because Stack Overflow is always teaming with new WordPress questions.
When and how did you start using WordPress?
Around 5 years ago when I began working for a friend’s business. He used WordPress and needed someone to manage the site. I hated WordPress at the time, “Isn’t that just for blogging? pffff”. Oh, young Joel, so many things I would tell you about.
Needless to say, I love it now and owe my exposure to that first site.
What would you tell someone to convince them to attend a WordCamp?
Free coffee.
Tell us about something awesome you’ve experienced at a WordCamp in the past.
Too many… I’ve met so many incredible people. The relationships and networks you build at these things are invaluable.
Give an example of a cool WordPress project you have worked on recently.
I built an integration that allows a Gravity Form to submit entries to Google Sheets 🙂 It’s nifty.
What is your favorite part of WordCamps?
The community.
What advice do you have for anyone looking to start or grow a WordPress based business?
Immerse yourself in this community. Trying it alone will never be fruitful. People really are the salt of the earth.
Tell us something awesome about yourself that is not WordPress related.
I’m in a gigging band as the drummer and I roast my own coffee! … and I brew beer! 🙂
Name someone in the WordPress community that inspires you.
Pippin Williamson
What has been your biggest WordPress related accomplishment to date?
Biggest? Hmm… I don’t know, so tough. So many things. Me and Kyle built a pretty neat free plugin called Client Dash, and it’s active on over 3000 sites, so that’s cool right?
How have WordCamps impacted you and your business in the past?
So. Many. Ways. As previously mentioned, the relationships and networks you build are so helpful. I’ve gone to others for help/advice so may times, and have also been able to offer the same in return.
Fill in the blank for other attendees: “If you ___________ then you should come talk to me at WordCamp.”
breathe
What should someone learn before attending your talk at WordCamp Ann Arbor?
It’s a workshop, so I’ll be starting from the ground up. So, I suppose at least familiarize yourself with the idea of version control and how it can help your projects.
What is your favorite WordPress related resource?
The Codex I suppose, if we’re going by how often I view it 😉