Monthly Archives: October 2017

Video Sponsor Interview: Nicole Kohler – Jetpack

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Jetpack is a powerful WordPress plugin packed with truly useful features to help users create content, secure their sites and design their sites. They’ve sponsored WordCamp Ann Arbor every year since we started and for that we are so grateful.

Growth Marketer Nicole Kohler used to work on the WooCommerce team at Automattic before transitioning to her current role on the Jetpack team. In this conversation we talk about what her and the rest of the Jetpack team are working on, answer questions people sometimes have about Jetpack and chat a little about WordCamps.

Be sure to stop by the Jetpack and WooCommerce tables this weekend to say thanks for sponsoring and learn more about these great plugins!

Video Sponsor Interview: Josh Ward – Nexcess

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Nexcess is a Michigan based web hosting company which has been supporting WordCamp Ann Arbor since day 1. This year they are both a Lake Superior sponsor as well as the sole sponsor for the after party.

Josh Ward is the VP of Sales at Nexcess and in this video, spends some time with me talking about his story, what Nexcess is doing for WordPress customers these days and what he’s looking forward to at WCA2.

Ross Johnson, He’s Not Afraid of Clowns

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If there was one thing I could say about Ross Johnson it’s that he’s not afraid of clowns. Not even a little bit. Is there more to know about him? Let’s find out.

What drives you to speak at WordCamps?

I love learning. It gives me an opportunity to improve my understanding of a topic (if you want to know something deeply, teach it) and share what I’ve learned with others.

What is your session about?

Differentiating yourself in a crowded market using design.

Where can people find more about you?

You can find my design agency here and my project management plugin here.

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

I’d like to see an improved admin experience. For a long time WordPress was considered the easiest CMS to learn and understand but I no longer think that’s the case. The admin interface hasn’t changed in a long time and could benefit from rethinking.

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

I’m going to say children because they rarely come up in these conversations yet the younger generations will start building websites at a much earlier age than we all did.

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

I only work on easy projects. I did build a bid management system that allowed a general contractor to post jobs to a network of sub-contractors who would submit their credentials and proposals. I also worked on a custom BuddyPress implementation for a niche Instagram like social network hosted on WordPress VIP.

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

We built a custom proposal plugin that allows us to create proposals for clients within WordPress and track views to the proposal, which sections were viewed the most / longest and a form to approve the proposal at the end. It was a simple mash-up of custom post types, advanced custom fields and gravity forms.

Brian Richards the “Bug Man”

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Brian is a designer, developer, photographer, educator and finder eradicator of bugs. I suspect he only addresses bugs in software but I’ve never asked him… he might also hunt live bugs. Let’s get to know him better.

What drives you to speak at WordCamps?

I love helping others be more effective and efficient in what they do.

What is your session about?

Adding testing and continuous integration to an every-day workflow

Where can people find more about you?

WPSessions.com

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

I would like to see better onboarding experiences become standard. I would also love to see less and simpler UI. Both of these are extremely difficult and have been the forefront focus of many people, so I believe we’ll get there and I’ve been excited to watch them with each minor breakthrough.

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

Non-English speaking users far outnumber all other user groups, but I think they are both underrepresented and underserved.

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

I worked on a team that built an incredible blend of WordPress and Laravel used for managing hundreds of thousands of pieces of content and media, each with unique, cascading visibility rules. It was a project that took more than a year to build and nearly as long to plan and scope. The effort that the team put into the project was a serious sight to behold and the fruit of their labor is unlike any other WordPress project I’ve seen before or since.

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

Most recently I helped build the functionality to surface nearby clubs groups for a university’s alumni on their new WordPress site. Each group has an address (most of them partial and incomplete) which is geocoded. The site then uses geolocation to locate the visitor and turn up group posts within the geofenced area. It was a lot of fun to build and gave me a reason to learn several new things along the way.

LearnDash Sponsor Interview

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LearnDashDescribe your company in one sentence?
LearnDash is the WordPress learning management system of choice for Fortune 500 companies, major universities, training organizations, and entrepreneurs worldwide for creating (and selling) their online courses.

Why did you choose to sponsor WordCamp Ann Arbor?
Besides being based out of Ann Arbor one way that we support the community is by sponsoring WordCamps.

What is your favorite WordPress-related resource?
wordpress.org/plugins

What kind of people do you like to meet at WordCamp?
Anyone who wants to create or sell an online course!

What do you find inspiring about the WordPress community?
How giving people are of their time and talents.

What would you tell someone to convince them to attend a WordCamp?
No other conference will give you the ROI of a WordCamp – both for your time and the price of the ticket.

Tell us something awesome about your company that is not WordPress related?
We were mentioned in Forbes magazine 🙂

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