WordCamp San Francisco 2010 Recap


WordCamp San Francisco has come and gone and here I am a month later writing a recap about it. I had an awesome time in San Francisco, not only for WordCamp, but also hanging out in California for a week!

WordCamp Day 1 was held at the Mission Bay Conference Center in San Francisco. The location was really nice and had plenty of room for all 700+ attendees at the event. I attended a few sessions throughout the day, but spent most of my time (as I usually do) chatting with fellow WordPress junkies in the hallways and outside.

For lunch we had an amazing BBQ buffet and some live jazz to enjoy while we ate outside. At the end of the day Matt Mullenweg gave his annual State of the Word address. However the best part was yet to come, and that was the afterparty!

The WordCamp after party was held at the Automattic lounge on Pier 38. After passing through security (yes security) we were treated to an open bar and a nice assortment of snacks including fresh made crepes! I knew we were in trouble when the drinks were being made at about a 90% alcohol and 10% mixer ratio.

I would share all of the photos from that night, but it would look more like the credits from The Hangover, so instead I picked my favorites of the bunch to share:

Photo credits to Chris Cochran

WordCamp San Francisco This Weekend!


In case you live in a hole and haven’t heard WordCamp San Francisco is this weekend! I’ll be attending the event with the WDS crew as usual!
WordCamp SF Logo
It’s been about 3 months since my last WordCamp so I’m extremely excited for this event! It will be great seeing all of my WordPress friends and also making new friends. WordCamps are really all about the networking so if this is your first WordCamp be sure to hit the after parties and socialize!

This is also the first WordCamp since the release of Professional WordPress! I plan on bringing some copies of my new book to giveaway! If you are interested in getting a free copy make sure to track me down at the event to find out how you can do so. I will also have plenty of WDS schwag to hand out. I’ll be sure to write a recap of the event when I return next week.

If for some reason I don’t return next week it means I have decided to stay in California permanently. :)

WordCamp Boston Here I Come!


Tomorrow I’ll be attending WordCamp Boston! I’ll be speaking about WordPress Security. I’m also giving an Ignite presentation on the top 20 WordPress plugins you’ve never heard of.

I'm speaking at WC BostonI’m looking forward to seeing many of my WordPress friends that I haven’t seen since WordCamp NYC. I’m also looking forward to meeting new people in the community, many of whom I’ve only spoken with over Twitter. One of the best things about working with WordPress is the community behind it and WordCamp is the best place to meet new friends and see old ones.

This will be my first trip to Boston since I was a little kid so I’m really looking forward to it. I’m also looking forward to watching the Colts win the AFC Championship in a Boston bar surrounded by Patriots fans. Hopefully I make it back alive! I’ll be sure to post both of my presentations from WordCamp Boston in my recap post when I return.

WordCamp NYC 2009 Recap


I just returned from an awesome weekend at WordCamp NYC 2009! This years event was massive, with 8 tracks of WordPress related sessions and over 700 attendees, all gathered for the love of one software package: WordPress
wcnyc
This year I attended with Matt Martz, Jeff Chandler, Travis Ballard, and the entire WebDevStudios crew. We had an awesome time bouncing around the various sessions.

I gave a presentation on WordPress Security during the event. My presentation was so well received that I was voted to present during the ultra-fast 5 minute ignite round on day two. WebDevStudios also entered two plugins into the plugin/theme competition: WP Manage Plugins and BuddyPress Registration Options. Although we didn’t win the competition our plugins were very well received and we received plenty of compliments. In fact Mark Jaquith stated our plugin was the only one in the competition with no security holes, which equals a win in my book!

The best part of any WordCamp is networking and finally getting to meet people that I’ve talked to online but never actually met. It was great seeing some familiar faces like Lisa Sabin-Wilson and her husband Chris, Mark Jaquith, Matt Mullenweg, Andy Peatling, Aaron Brazell, Jeremy Clarke, Jane Wells, Steve Bruner, Keith Casey, Margaret Roach, and Ken Smith. I also finally got to meet Brian Gardner and Craig Tuller of StudioPress, Jonathan Dingman, Andrea and Ron, Dan Milward, Shane F, Syed Balkhi of WPBeginner.com, Todd and Darin from Inmotion hosting, Beau Lebens, Daryl Koopersmith, Elisha Dang, and Daisy Olsen. If we met and I missed you on the list please ping me on Twitter. I talked with so many people it was tough keeping it all straight!

WordCamp NYC was the best WordCamp I’ve attended yet! Props to Jane and Steve for organizing, and all of the volunteers who helped pull it off. This is the fourth and final WordCamp I’ll be attending this year, but I’m already looking forward to more WordCamps next year! I hope to see you there!

WordPress Security from WordCamp Montreal


Over the weekend I had the pleasure of attending WordCamp Montreal. I gave a presentation on WordPress Security at the event. You can view my slideshow presentation below:

On My Way to WordCamp Montreal


I’m writing this blog post from an Amtrak train on my way to Montreal, Quebec for WordCamp Montreal!
amtrak-to-canada
As we cruise along the train tracks I’m working on the final touches to my WordPress Security presentation for the event. Taking the train really is the way to go. The ride is much longer (12 hours total from NJ), but this gives me plenty of time to work on some projects. It’s also much cheaper than flying and you get to enjoy the amazing scenary during the trip!

Amtrak doesn’t provide wireless internet onboard, but I’m equipped with an AT&T Air card so I’m able to get online. The train does provide power strips at all of the seats which is a lifesaver.

We should arrive in Montreal about 8pm EDT and ready to hit the city!

I’m Speaking at WordCamp Montreal!


Next stop on my WordCamp Tour is WordCamp Montreal! I will be giving a presentation on WordPress Security at the event.
WordCamp MontrealMy presentation will cover how to keep your WordPress powered website secure from hackers and exploits. I’ll show examples of hacked sites, share tips and plugins for keeping WordPress secure, and talk about my experiences with WordPress and security overall.

WordCamp Montreal will take place in Montreal, Quebec on July 11-12.

I’m taking the scenic train ride from NYC to Montreal (12 hours!) and also plan on attending the Jazz Festival while in town. WordCamps are awesome and so is traveling so I’m really looking forward to this event, aye!

I Survived WordCamp Chicago!


The WebDevStudios team survived WordCamp Chicago 2009! We flew in Friday night, after a much delayed flight, and arrived just in time for pizza and drinks at Lou Malnati’s. During dinner we met Lisa Sabin-Wilson (author of WordPress for Dummies), Jeff Chandler (WP Weekly host and WPTavern.com owner), and a few other WordPress enthusiasts.

Saturday morning came very early, after staying up until 2am the night before, but we managed to wake up and make it to WordCamp Chicago! I met a lot of great people at WordCamp including Matt Mullenweg (founder of WordPress), Jeremy Wright (CEO of b5media), David Peralty (co-host of WP Weekly), Dan Schulz (Advisor on SitePoint), Erin Blaskie, and lots of other WP Enthusiasts.

The presentations at WordCamp Chicago were great. I would have liked to seen more of a focus on WordPress, rather than blogging and branding presentations, but I understand that users outnumber designers and developers at these conferences. The presenters all did a really great job.

If you have never been to a WordCamp, GO! These events are awesome and I can already tell I am starting to get addicted to them.

Next up, WordCamp Montreal in July (which I am speaking at)!

WebDevStudios Team with Matt Mullenweg of WordPress

Advanced Thesis Techniques and Tricks


I recently gave a presentation on the WordPress Thesis theme at WordCamp Mid-Atlantic. I wanted to share that presentation with everyone so the slides are embedded below:

I’m Speaking at WordCamp Mid-Atlantic!


I’ve been given the opportunity to speak at WordCamp Mid-Atlantic 2009!

WordCamp Mid-Atlantic will take place in Baltimore, Maryland on May 16th from 8am to 5pm. I will be giving a presentation titled:

Advanced Thesis Techniques and Tricks

Thesis 1.5 was just released yesterday so I’m very excited to share some Thesis knowledge with other WordPress enthusiasts, including new features! If you are planning on attending WordCamp Mid-Atlantic drop me a line. See you in B-town!