Monthly Archives: September 2017

The Multi Talented Rebecca Gill

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You can find Rebecca speaking at conferences all around the U.S. and she has been speaking at WordCamp Ann Arbor since our first year. She’s an expert in SEO, WordPress, user experience and marketing. Let’s learn more about her!

What drives you to speak at WordCamps?

I speak at WordCamps for two main reasons. First, I like to give back to the community and speaking is a great way to accomplish this task. Second, I’m a firm believer in the power of SEO and that anyone can perform quality SEO if they have the right education and desire. I speak about SEO at conferences so I can get people excited about SEO, let them see the possibilities SEO offers, and show them how to take the steps necessary to learn and execute quality SEO.

What is your session about?

In my session we’ll be exploring three core SEO tactics for creating search engine friendly websites and blogs. We’ll deep dive into setting up content silos, the pros and cons of content depth, and super powers found in internal links.

What would you like to see change about the WordPress platform in the next 5-10 years?

I would love to the active WordPress community to better reach those who are not active. The majority of WordPress users are unaware of the robust community, the willingness to help, and the amazing conferences that are available.

Who do you think is under represented in the WordPress community?

End users because they simply don’t know enough about what is happening in WordPress and how they can get involved.

What was the most challenging WordPress project you’ve worked on?

A large project that integrated WordPress, LearnDash, WooCommerce, and an outside forum into one learning platform. It involved a number of companies working together to produce a solution set for the client.

Where can people find more about you?

https://www.rebeccagill.com

Surelutions Sponsor Interview

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Surelutions

Describe your company in one sentence?
Surelutions offers WordPress web design, consulting, and ongoing management for locally owned small business and nonprofits.

Why did you choose to sponsor WordCamp Ann Arbor?
WordCamp Ann Arbor is great! It’s big enough to bring in WordPress gurus from around the country, but small enough to feel personable and welcoming to newbies. I’m only slightly biased, having lived and worked in the Ann Arbor area for a very (very!) long time :).

What is your favorite WordPress-related resource?
Tools-wise, I’m a big fan of iThemes suite of plugins – BackupBuddy, iThemes Sync, and iThemes Security. They are the first plugins I add to every new website build. WordPress business-wise, I can’t say enough good things about the training, resources, and members at WP Elevation. WordPress people in general tend to be a good lot, but the folks at WP Elevation take it to a whole ‘nuther level of awesomeness.

What kind of people do you like to meet at WordCamp?
I love to meet people who I can help. It’s nice to give back after learning so much from others at WordCamps over the years.

What do you find inspiring about the WordPress community?
The generosity of knowledge and willingness to help other people — strangers, for the most part! — is pervasive. I’m really proud to be part of such a giving community of people.

What would you tell someone to convince them to attend a WordCamp?
WordCamp is so affordable and such a huge value, that if you use WordPress, it’s crazy NOT to go. Whether you think you know nothing, or think you know everything, you’ll find something to learn, or a new person to meet, or an interesting new technique or tool to try out.

Tell us something awesome about your company that is not WordPress related?
Surelutions was the first business of its kind to win “Small Business Leadership Award” from the Chelsea Area Chamber of Commerce.

Where can WCA2 attendees follow your company online?
surelutions.com
fb.com/surelutions
twitter.com/@surelutions

Ian Wilson – Designer, Developer, Dancer

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Ian Wilson is an incredibly talented designer, developer and break dancer. How do those skills relate? Trust me they do. I never miss a chance to see Ian talk, he delivers brilliant insights with the perfect about of wit. You should also listen to his podcast. Let’s learn more about him.

What drives you to speak at WordCamps?

The look on peoples’ faces as they agree, disagree, or maybe start to see things in a new light, and that is a magical thing. Getting feedback, as well as simply gaining more experience as a speaker is incredibly valuable and insightful.

What would you like to see change about the WordPress platform in the next 5-10 years?

I would love to see the core become more opinionated, more honed and carefully curated— efficient and lightweight. Continue to be a rock solid foundation and let the development economy thrive in providing different flavors of platform extension- eCommerce, eLearning, visual website builders, etc.

Who do you think is under represented in the WordPress community?

I can’t say that anything jumps to mind, the WordPress community in my experience has been inclusive and diverse.

What was the most challenging WordPress project you’ve worked on?

Easily answered! Managing a transition of over 70k SKU’s from different vendors into WooCommerce. The post_meta table hit over 2.3 million rows. Let me tell you, importing that many products on a weekly basis for managing inventory, remapping fields to better organize products, removing discontinued products, etc is pure insanity. It’s easily the most challenging project I’ve worked on and there are still product attributes that must be managed by hand.

Where can people find more about you?

buildcreate.com/about or on Twitter @wilsonography. Some day I’ll actually have a personal site…

Know the Code Sponsor Interview

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know the code logoDescribe your company in one sentence?
Know the Code empowers WordPress Developers to grow, innovate, and prosper by teaching the professional web development.

Why did you choose to sponsor WordCamp Ann Arbor?
I want to support WordCamps that are near where I live.

What is your favorite WordPress-related resource?
I read and refer to many different resources including Torque, WP Tavern, Post Status, Codex, and the source code.

What kind of people do you like to meet at WordCamp?
I really enjoy meeting the “makers”, those who design, build, and maintain the online experiences.

What do you find inspiring about the WordPress community?
I’m inspired by (1) the community’s generosity and (2) the entry point that makes it easy for anyone of any skill level to contribute.

What would you tell someone to convince them to attend a WordCamp?
Do it. Typically, we work and communicate in a virtual space. A WordCamp is your opportunity to get out and meet others in the community. It’s casual, non-intimidating, and fun. It’s also your opportunity to learn and grow in all aspects of how to use, promote, distribute, design, and develop websites. If you are so inclined, you can share your story, insights, or experiences to help others in the community.

Tell us something awesome about your company that is not WordPress related?
Beyond WordPress, you’ll find me in other web development communities and educational spaces contributing where I can help aspiring and professional developers be more awesome.

Where can WCA2 attendees follow your company online?
 Come learn something new at:
Website: knowthecode.io
Twitter: @KnowTheCodePro
Facebook: @KnowTheCodePro

Christie Chirinos an expert on web forms

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Christie knows a thing or two about web forms, just ask her about what Caldera Forms is doing these days! Let’s get to know her better.

What drives you to speak at WordCamps?

Community participation.

What is your session about?

Contact forms of great victory.

Who do you think is under represented in the WordPress community?

Young women

What was the most challenging WordPress project you’ve worked on?

Growing Caldera Forms!

What’s a problem you recently solved creatively using WordPress?

Voterunlead.org was a nonprofit I worked with and we implemented a creative solution with WordPress for them to be flexible in the political environment in the US

Where can people find more about you?

Calderalabs.org/team

Mike Hale – Man of Mystery… and WordPress

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Let’s get to know well known speaker Mike Hale!

What drives you to speak at WordCamps?

I like to give back and share things I’ve learned with other WordPress folks!

What would you like to see change about the WordPress platform in the next 5-10 years?

I think WordPress is moving to being an application platform rather then just a CMS. I’d like to see more database options and a better way of storing data than the current Post Meta system.

Who do you think is under represented in the WordPress community?

I think the people that work day to day in WordPress but don’t sell a theme or plugin, or contribute to WordPress aren’t seen as much as those that are more active in the community.

What was the most challenging WordPress project you’ve worked on?

Using WordPress as a basis for the Rainmaker Platform was the largest WordPress project I’ve ever worked on.

What’s a problem you recently solved creatively using WordPress?

Building an interactive admin plugin using React.

Where can people find more about you?

I hang out on Twitter mostly @mikehale or you can read my neglected blog at mikehale.me

Getting to know our keynote speaker, John James Jacoby

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We’re fortunate this year to have none other than John James Jacoby (otherwise known as JJJ or Trip-J,) the creator of BuddyPress as our keynote speaker this year. Let’s get to know him!

What drives you to speak at WordCamps?

My 2013 Subaru BRZ. Oh, you didn’t mean that literally? Well… it’s definitely all about people, but mostly I want to help everyone be their best, and usually I do that by telling stories about how I’ve screwed up.

What would you like to see change about the WordPress platform in the next 5-10 years?

I’d like for the threat of net neutrality going away to end, as without it, WordPress will continue to have a very uncertain future ahead of it.

Who do you think is under represented in the WordPress community?

The obvious answer here is everyone who isn’t a white-dude. Because this is pretty much the answer everywhere, I think it’s losing it’s importance. Instead, I’ll emphasize that database technicians are underrepresented, because everyone is afraid to change the database schema, most qualified MySQL technicians don’t even consider it anymore. There’s just so many problems that need solving in that area, and not enough minds to actively participate in the discussions that need having.

What was the most challenging WordPress project you’ve worked on?

This has to be BuddyPress. Challenging in a good way, as it’s also been the most educational project I’ve worked on in my entire career. Y’all should work on it too!

What’s a problem you recently solved creatively using WordPress?

I have 2. One is a secret (ask me about it in Ann Arbor!) and another was using WordPress and Homebridge together to send alerts to my home when events occur on my website. Some friends at Automattic got WordPress running on a Raspberry Pi, which really helped make that possible to prototype quickly.

Where can people find more about you?

https://jjj.blog

SiteGround

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sitegroundDescribe your company in one sentence?
Our mission is to be real craftsmen in what we do and since 2004 we’ve been mastering the craft of forging complex technologies into simple, usable web hosting solutions.

Why did you choose to sponsor WordCamp Ann Arbor?
SiteGround has been actively involved with the community speaking, supporting and attending various WordCamps around the world and by sponsoring WordCamp Ann Arbor we want to further contribute to the amazing WordPress community.

What is your favorite WordPress-related resource?
For us, nothing beats Post Status’s newsletter (https://poststatus.com/club/) if you want to be constantly in the know of all things WordPress-related.

What kind of people do you like to meet at WordCamp?
Each and everyone at WordCamp has an amazing story to share and something that you can take away, so we’re happy to meet everyone!

What do you find inspiring about the WordPress community?
The fact that wherever we go around the world – and we travel a lot for WordCamps and not only, there is always someone from the community to catch up with. Every WordCamp is like a family reunion, basically.

What would you tell someone to convince them to attend a WordCamp?
WordCamps are especially important, because by sharing knowledge and common issues, you’re actually helping move things forward for everyone, not just for yourself.

Tell us something awesome about your company that is not WordPress related?
We’ve always believed that the strong connection between happy and motivated teammates is the key to quality services – that is why we make some of the best team-buildings ever! You can read more at our blog here: https://www.siteground.com/blog/siteground-beach-fest/#more-10017

Where can WCA2 attendees follow your company online?
website: www.siteground.com
Twitter: @SiteGround
Facebook: SiteGround

CloudAccess.net

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Cloudaccess logo

Describe your company in one sentence?
We are a Managed WordPress hosting company primarily focused on the success of our clients.

Why did you choose to sponsor WordCamp Ann Arbor?
We sponsored WCA2 for a few different reasons. First, we thought it was a great event last year and decided to sponsor again this year. Second, it’s right in our own back yard (We are based in Traverse City, MI).

What is your favorite WordPress-related resource?
We are partial to our own WordPress knowledgebase and Getting Started Series (Video tutorials). If we were to pick an external resource, I’d say simply https://wordpress.org/support/

What kind of people do you like to meet at WordCamp?
Anyone from geek to guru! We are thrilled to meet all kinds of people at WordCamps, the people are what make these events so great.

What do you find inspiring about the WordPress community?
We are inspired by those who volunteer their time to put these conferences together. Kudos to all the WCA2 volunteers… you made this happen!

What would you tell someone to convince them to attend a WordCamp?
It’s a great learning/networking experience and surprisingly affordable too.

Tell us something awesome about your company that is not WordPress related?
We regularly do good-deed initiatives. This involves things like volunteering and donating to good causes. For example, a portion of our profits in October go towards Breast Cancer Awareness!

Where can WCA2 attendees follow your company online?
https://twitter.com/cloudaccess
https://facebook.com/cloudaccess

build/create studios

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Build/Create Logo

Describe your company in one sentence?
We build websites and grow them through digital marketing.

Why did you choose to sponsor WordCamp Ann Arbor?
WCA2 is awesome, a breeding ground for fresh ideas to make every WordCamp the best WordCamp.

What is your favorite WordPress-related resource?
The Codex/Developer documentation is still our favorite place to look up the parameters for the same 5 functions over and over and over again!

What kind of people do you like to meet at WordCamp?
People who feel like they’re stuck on a plateau in their work/career, so maybe we can shake them loose a lil’ bit.

What do you find inspiring about the WordPress community?
The way that users of every skill level mingle and share the knowledge.

What would you tell someone to convince them to attend a WordCamp?
If you don’t go, you’re going to be behind the curve 🙂

Tell us something awesome about your company that is not WordPress related?
We chat to each other on Slack even though most of us are in the same room.

Where can WCA2 attendees follow your company online?
twitter.com/buildcreate
facebook.com/buildcreate
buildcreate.com