Category Archives: Blog

Speaker Focus: Marcin Kilarski

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We asked our speaker Marcin Kilarski, who runs his company Web Innovation in Cork Ireland, a few questions about WordPress and WordCamps.

How are you currently using WordPress?
Opening a digital window for business owners.

What role are you using WordPress as?
SEO Strategist and Front End Developer

How do you think WordPress has evolved over its 13 years?
It has become much more flexible and powerful, allowing us to create some pretty awesome stuff.

Would you like to see anything different in how WordPress has evolved?
Not really. In my opinion, it went in the right direction.

What excites you most about WordPress?
That we have such a strong and active community. Developers are constantly coming up with features and plugins, making new things possible or easier to do online.

Have you been to other WordCamps? If so which ones or how many?
Yes, I attended WordCamp Europe this year, and it was my first WordCamp.

Would you consider yourself to be active within the WordPress Community?
I am trying to stay active in the community and help others who are just coming in, however I can.

If you currently contribute to the WordPress Community, in what way?
Co-organising local meetups, promoting and teaching WordPress to local startups and SMEs.

What made you want to get involved with WordCamp Belfast?
Passion for WordPress and the fantastic community.

What are you most looking forward to at WordCamp Belfast?
Getting to know other attendees, and chatting about business.

Sponsor Focus: Heart Internet

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We asked Heart Internet’s Kate Bolin a few questions on WordPress and WordCamps…

How are you currently using WordPress?
We currently have WordPress as one of the major one-click installers on our hosting packages, as well as using WordPress for the Heart Internet blog (https://www.heartinternet.uk/blog).

What role are you using WordPress as?
Along with running WordPress on our site, we also support our customers who use WordPress, whether they are design agencies hosting dozens of WordPress sites on their Reseller Pro package, or running a single popular WordPress blog on a Home Pro package.

How do you think WordPress has evolved over its 13 years?
WordPress has moved from one in a crowd of blogging software packages to a real powerhouse – useful not just for running a blog, but for building sites quickly, fairly easily, and with the versatility people need.

Would you like to see anything different in how WordPress has evolved? 
If there was anything we would like to see different, it would be the level of security built-in. While we can point our customers towards the excellent plug-ins and security features, it would be lovely if it was built right in from scratch.

What excites you most about WordPress?
The versatility available. You can run practically any website on WordPress and it’ll just work.

Have you been to other WordCamps? If so which ones or how many?
We’re making a concerted effort to support WordCamps all over the UK. You might have seen us at WordCamp London and Brighton this year, and next year, we plan to splash out for WordCamp Europe!

Would you consider yourself to be active within the WordPress Community?
We prefer to not be an active member of the community, but a fierce supporter of the community. Along with supporting our customers with their hosting, we’re happy to support WordPress events and groups!

What made you want to get involved with WordCamp Belfast?
We like to support WordCamps all over the UK, and Belfast sounded like it was going to be a blast!

What are you most looking forward to at WordCamp Belfast?
Meeting people who are big fans of WordCamp and picking up as many Wapuu of the North stickers as we can!

Anything else you would like to mention?
If you’re thinking of running a WordCamp in your city, talk to us!

Take a couple off days of work, and go to WordCamp

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Fancy going to WordCamp Belfast, but don’t want to lose your days off?
Then we’ve got your back… just ask your boss for a couple of days off in lieu.

With our WordCamp being held over a Saturday and Sunday, there’s no doubt that it would make for long working week if you are working Monday to Friday, only to attend a WordCamp conference at the weekend. Followed by going back into work on Monday morning again.

So with that in mind, we have prepared this letter for you to convince your boss to give you a couple off days of in lieu.
What’s more, we have even sweetened the deal for your boss if he allows three or more of his staff time of to go to WordCamp.

To make producing and printing of this letter even easier, it has been saved on Google Drive for you to copy or download and edit as required.
View the letter on google drive.

Dear [MANAGER’S NAME],

In the interest of employee education, networking and increasing my skill set, I would like to attend WordCamp Belfast on 1st & 2nd October 2016.

WordCamps are conferences that focus on everything WordPress – there are hundreds held all over the world throughout the year, they are informal, community-organised events that are put together by the local WordPress users. Everyone from casual users to core WordPress developers participate in them to share ideas and get to know each other.

The event itself will run over two days in Queens University, Belfast. With the first day being a series of talks. These talks cover such topics as content creation, social media, SEO, Google Organic Search, the WordPress community, privacy laws, plugin development, and also the WordPress Rest API.

And that’s just day one…

Plans for the second day include charity website builds, a WordPress happiness bar and workshops on site security and SEO.

During all of this I/we will have the chance to get to know a huge amount of individuals from both the local and international WordPress communities. There will be plenty of opportunity to network and connect with influential people, with whom we can collaborate and leverage our skill sets to mutually benefit each other.

The incredible thing is, that all of this costs a mere £27.50 (for both days). At that price I can guarantee you that the things I/we learn, and the connections we make at WordCamp will more than pay for themselves as our business continues to expand.

If we send 3 or more of our staff, we can get a 20% discount on each ticket – you just need to contact the conference organisers on wordcampbelfast@gmail.com to be sent the coupon code. Just tell them the name of our company and how many of us will be attending.

Alternatively, we could sponsor the event and get free tickets.

Since WordCamp Belfast will require me to give up my weekend to attend, for the greater good of our company. I ask that the two days can be taken at another (suitable) time – subject to our workload.

You can read more about the conference at https://2016.belfast.wordcamp.org and I’d be happy to answer any further questions you may have.

Looking forward to your response.

Regards,
[YOUR NAME]

We have a winner!!

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This evening #WCBelfast featured on a local Twitter networking event held by #BelfastHour
For the event we offered up a free ticket to WordCamp Belfast.
The winner, chosen by the folks at #BelfastHour was a very deserving Lindsey Olliver. Lindsey is actually in the process of creating her first WordPress site, so it’s fantastic timing for her.

Congrats Lindsey, and we look forward to welcoming you to WordCamp Belfast. We hope you find the event very informative and enjoyable!

#Belfasthour is a hashtag set up to help businesses from all over NI promote each other & connect. Every Thursday on Twitter 9pm – 10pm hosted by @Edwardsandco_

WCBelfast Contributor Event

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Everyone can contribute to WordPress, no matter what your skill level

As part of WordCamp Belfast we will be holding Northern Ireland’s very first WordPress Contributor event on Sunday 2nd October, be sure to come along on the Sunday and see how you can make a real difference to WordPress.

WCEU13 Contributor Day: Image by Florian Ziegler

WCEU13 Contributor Day: Image by Florian Ziegler

We will have limited spaces available, and details on how to apply for a space will be published soon.

Whether you’re a budding developer, a pixel-pushing-perfect designer, or just like helping out, we’re always looking for people to help make WordPress even better.

WordPress.org

It really doesn’t matter what your skill level with WordPress is, and you don’t need to be a developer or coder to be involved. There will be plenty of people on hand to help you get started and there are a number of areas where you can make a difference.

Core You can write code, fix bugs, debate decisions, and help with WordPress development. You will need to have a local development tool set up on your laptop.

UI The UI group is focused on the designing and developing the user interface. It’s a home for designers and UXers alike.

Accessibility Make sure that WordPress core and all of WordPress’ resources are accessible. You will need to have a local development tool set up on your laptop.

Mobile Help with the iOS, Android, Windows, and Blackberry apps. They need designers, UX experts, and testers to give users a smooth experience on every device.

Support Answering a question in the support forums is one of the easiest ways to start contributing. Everyone knows the answer to something! You may need to have access to a test WordPress site (to be able to reproduce problems people mention).

Polyglots WordPress is used all over the world and in many different languages. If you’re a polyglot, contribute by translating WordPress into your own language.

Themes Reviewing Themes sharpens your own Theme development skills. You can help out and join the discussion on the blog. You will need to have a local development tool set up on your Laptop.

Documentation Helping people help themselves when they get stuck.

Community Working to support events, to create outreach and training programs, and generally support the community.

Meta The Meta team makes WordPress.org, provides support, and builds tools for use by all the contributor groups.

For more information on all these areas go to http://make.wordpress.org.

WordCamp Belfast Contributor Event 2016

Contributor Day will be held on Sunday 2nd October in the same building (Peter Forggatt Centre) as the main talks on the Saturday.

9:00am Arrival and Registration
10:00am Opening Remarks
10:15am Session 1
11:15am Break
11:30am Session 2
12:30pm Lunch
1:30pm Session 3 & 4
3:30pm Closing Remarks
Food and Drink

We will be providing advice, encouragement, tea/coffee, as well as lunch to help keep you going through the day.

Get your tickets before Friday 16th September!

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As well as getting two days of WordPress goodness and awesomeness for buying your ticket for WordCamp Belfast, you will also get lunch (both days) and also a WordCamp Belfast t-shirt to commemorate this being the first ever WordCamp to take place in Northern Ireland.

But only if you buy your ticket before Friday 16th September!
After that cut-off date, we may not be able to supply you with a t-shirt. As we have to place the order with our supplier that day.

So, what are you waiting for? Go get your ticket, and be sure to select your t-shirt size during checkout.

WordCamp Tshirt mockup

WordCamp T-shirt mockup (not actual design)

 

Call for volunteers

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Our call for volunteers has now closed, huge thanks to all who offered their help.

Do you want to be part of the amazing team of people making WordCamp Belfast a success? Discover even more of what WordCamp Belfast has to offer by signing up to be one of the crucial volunteers making it all happen.

There are a variety of volunteer opportunities available. Each with different time commitments, experience requirements, and logistics. The only two requirements for all volunteers are to be reliable and friendly. If that sounds like you, fill out the volunteer application form to express your interest and our volunteer co-ordinators will get back to you to discuss requirements, roles and making it happen.

Want to know more about what volunteer roles are available, and what’s involved? Check out the list below to see more details about the different volunteer opportunities:

Registration & T-shirts – Check in registered attendees and hand out name tags. In the afternoon the registration desk converts to the t-shirt handout station. (Both Days)

Happiness Bar – Help other WordPress users with their sites. (Sunday only)

Emcee & Time Keeper -Introduce speakers/sessions and keep things running on time. Keep an eye on the clock and give speakers a countdown when they are down to their last 10, 5, 2 and 1 minutes remaining. When time is available emcee questions from the room. Brevity and wit a must.

Room Moderator  – Work with the emcees, video people, speakers, and everyone else working in the room to keep things running smoothly and on time! (Both Days)

Mic Runner – During Q&As run the mics around the room to wherever the next question is. (Both Days)

Photographers – We’d love to get some beautiful photos of WordCamp Belfast that we can share on our blog and use in posts and articles about the event afterwards. Images will also be shared to the WordCamp Flickr. Of course, if there is another WordCamp Belfast in the future, the images will help us greatly with promotion and designs. All images will include image credits back to the photographers. (Both Days)

Videographers – We hope to be able to record all of the talks as well as the other events happening over the weekend of WordCamp Belfast. Footage will be uploaded to WordPress.tv for everyone around the world to enjoy. And of course, if there’s another WCBelfast, the footage will help promote the event. (Both Days)

Green Room Guard – Keep a watch over the room where speakers and volunteers leave their stuff. (Saturday only)

Hall Monitor – Answer attendees’ questions about the schedule, the venue, etc, and help direct traffic to the various conference rooms. (Both Days)

Room Runners – Work with the emcees, video people, speakers, and everyone else working in the room to keep things running smoothly. Make sure there’s water for speakers, and provide support as needed for other event staff. Also ensure people entering and leaving rooms while talks are in progress, do so quietly (prevent banging doors).

Airport Pickups – Some speakers and sponsors will be flying into Belfast and will need to get from the airport to a their hotel or the venue. While many will just take bus, train or taxi, for some a ride from a friendly community member would be a nicer way to begin their WCBelfast weekend. If you have a car and don’t mind doing an airport run or two, awesome.

Miscellaneous Help – For everything else that doesn’t have a category, just be on hand for when help is needed.

As a thank you to the folks who fill these crucial jobs, WordCamp Belfast tickets will be free to anyone who volunteers for 4 or more hours, and all volunteers will receive a free, volunteer t-shirt. If you’re interested please don’t delay, fill out the volunteer application form today. Thank you everyone; we could not run our WordCamp without you and we can’t wait to see you there.

Our call for volunteers has now closed, huge thanks to all who offered their help.

Thank you for your interest in helping making WordCamp Belfast a success!
If you have filled in the form to apply as a volunteers, we will be in touch with you soon.

Get some WordPress Happiness at WordCamp Belfast

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The Happiness Bar is now a regular feature at almost all WordCamps the world over. It offers a place for attendees to have their WordPress questions answered by helpful volunteers.

However, unlike most WordCamps, where the Happiness Bar operates at the same time as the talks, in Belfast we thought we would shake this up slightly. Our Happiness Bar will only be available during the Sunday of our WordCamp in Belfast. This means that no-one will have to miss out on seeing any of our great speakers and talks on the Saturday of WordCamp Belfast.

Here are some great tips on how to make the most of the Happiness Bar:
  • Bring your devices! The Happiness Bar offers hands-on help, so please don’t hesitate to bring your laptop, tablet or phone.
  • There are no dumb questions We’ve all been there. The WordPress community is in the habit of questioning everything, so help us keep our Happiness Bar volunteers busy and don’t be afraid to ask them your question!
  • No problem is too small, but some solutions may be too big: At the Happiness Bar, our philosophy ensures that even if we don’t know the answer to your question, we can find someone who does. Sometimes the problem you’re having requires a big solution, which cannot be dealt with at the Happiness Bar. We’re always willing to help, but we know our limits and will be able to guide you in the right direction when looking for a solution to your problem.
  • Feel free to join us: If you see someone with a problem and know the solution? Then please feel free to jump right in and offer help, support and advice. You don’t have to be at the Happiness Bar to be on the Happiness Bar!

Display your support…

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Let everyone know you’re attending, volunteering, speaking or sponsoring WordCamp Belfast.
Simply ‘right-click’ the appropriate badge and choose ‘save as’ to download the image(s).
Then you can use them in a blog post about WordCamp Belfast, on your Facebook pages and profiles, LinkedIn, a pinned Tweet – anywhere you feel appropriate.
The images are all purposely large (800px square) to suit all manner of uses.

Norn Irish English

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To our friends at the WordCamp RI and in relation to their funny post “Rhode Island English”

Hello Rhode Island,

It’s great to hear from you! In Belfast, we might say ‘Bout ye? (What about you = How are you?). Ah sure it’s grand that we’re having our events on the same day and you’re only just down the road from us!

Yes, we’ve learned to use the remote for our tellies because as the folk in Belfast might say it’s ‘Ded Haundy’ (dead handy) and saves you from having to ‘skite’ across the living room!

If our RI friends come to NI and someone asks them if they want a poke or a 99, don’t be worried they are just being friendly and offering you an ice cream. And your cabinet sounds a lot like our Ice drink!

Here in NI, lunch time is dinner time and dinner time is dinner time… unless you’re a bit posh (or a news anchor) and then it’s ‘tea time’. Of course, you shouldn’t take all we say quite literally. ‘There I was sitting in the middle of me dinner and he came through the door!’ And champ isn’t the winner of a boxing match, it’s actually mashed potatoes with a little milk and scallions (spring onions) and your ‘mate’(meat) isn’t a friend, it’s your lunch! And after dinner every Irish man wants his mammy to make him a mug of tay (tea)!

Maybe after dinner ‘yer mate’ (no not your lunch, your buddy) might call around your house and enquire “Fancy a dander up the town for wee a quick half?.. ‘mon” (would you like to accompany me into the city centre for a drink?) .. of course, a visit to the pub for a quick ‘halfun’ (measure of spirits) or half pint is NEVER quick! But you find yourself a little short of funds, so you might want to go to the ‘Cash machine’ or ‘Drink Link’ (ATM!) for some ‘reddies’! Then afterwards a visit to the Chip shop or Chippie for a nice fish supper… that’s battered fried fish and chips.. yes, we know you have that too, but chips here are proper thick chips and not French fries! Or a visit to the ‘Chinese’ for a Chinese takeaway (which still can come with chips!). And by the way if you want chips (US chips) then you’ll need to ask for a packet of crisps otherwise they’ll send you to the chippie!

Northern Ireland (known lovingly as ‘Norn Iron’ or the ‘Province’ to its residents) is a wonderful wee place full of craic. No, not the illegal drug kind; Craic here means fun or having a good time. People you might bump into might ask you ‘What’s the craic?’ meaning what’s new with you or how are you doing?

So, in conclusion, we in Belfast hope the craic will be mighty in Rhode Island at WordCamp RI and that the crowds don’t ‘chicken out’ on you on the 30th September / 1st October. Keep her lit!