Speaker Spotlight: Syed Balkhi of WPBeginner

Posted on October 11, 2012 by Michael Torbert

Syed Balkhi

Syed Balkhi is the founder of WPBeginner. He is known for his aggressive marketing skills, creative designs, and expertise in SEO. Syed has been in the industry for over eight years, and he has worked with some of the top brands in the industry.

A serial online entrepreneur and professional blogger, Syed will share his practical tips and tricks that will help you create a passive income out of your blog in his session How to Monetize Your Blog (A Crash Course for Beginners). This presentation will go in-depth about the available tools and plug-ins for WordPress which can help a blogger generate a passive income through their blog.

“I think the user-interface of WordPress is fairly easy to use and understand. It is superior to anything else that exists,” says Syed. “Aside from ease of use, the WordPress community is the driving force for the fast growth of this platform. With tons of amazing plug-ins and more coming out every day, this is a platform of choice for us.”

Because it can cut so much of the development time in creating a website, Syed loves the amazing plug-ins that can be leveraged with WordPress.

“Attendees will get practical advice on how to monetize their blog or any other online business by using the best available tools and plug-ins.” Syed plans to share his own business tactics and how he has managed them successfully.

Attend this session and get even more WordPress awesomeness at WordCamp Raleigh 2012 on Nov 3-4. Tickets are only $40 and you can register online now!

Speaker Spotlight: Andy Stratton

Posted on October 4, 2012 by Michael Torbert

Andy Stratton, an animal and arts loving dude from Maryland, is an intense web builder who specializes in WordPress and other front-end developments. He has transformed a diverse variety of business sites into cutting-edge impressions on the web. In his presentation on 50 Shades of WordPress, Andy opens discussion on the dark truths of their product, zeros in on what issues can potentially arise, and gives advice on how to interact within the community.

WordPress is the best platform, says Andy because “[it] has the best community, hands down. Tons of eyes on every aspect: user-experience, security, design, functionality. It’s an extremely clean, basic piece of software that is focused on being extended by its community. It’s built to be flexible for its users. I can’t think of a project for which I wouldn’t use WordPress.”

One of Andy’s favorite aspects of WordPress is “being able to leverage the administrative UI to quickly build strong, stable, extendable custom features for my clients.” Says the web developer with an expert eye, “I’ve been able to use core API’s to quickly build and extend functionality with a better, more familiar experience than I could with any other software I’ve worked with.”

In his session on WordPress, Andy will reveal the different shades of its community/marketplace(s), some of which he says can be scary. He will then enlighten you on how to stay aware and to be loud within the growing world of WordPress.

Attend this session and get even more WordPress awesomeness at WordCamp Raleigh 2012 on Nov 3-4. Tickets are only $40 and you can register online now!

Written by Anna Pollack

Speaker Spotlight: Douglas Hanna of A Small Orange

Posted on September 26, 2012 by Michael Torbert

Douglas Hanna

If you’re in the market for a web hosting provider (or frustrated with your current one) don’t miss Douglas Hanna’s session, The Secrets of Web Hosting without the BS. A returning speaker to WordCamp Raleigh, Douglas knows the world of hosting. He’s the CEO of A Small Orange, a hosting company that makes customer service a priority.

Finding a good hosting provider is about more than just looking at their reviews online and picking someone who sounds good. It’s about understanding the goals for your site and how that provider can support you along the way. Douglas will cover topics like how to choose a quality host and choosing the right package to fit your needs. He’ll also demystify some industry jargon and dispel common myths about hosting.

When it comes to WordPress, Douglas likes the extensibility. “If WordPress core doesn’t do what you need, chances are there’s a plugin that does,” he said. “Very few platforms can combine the ease of use that WordPress offers out of the box with the tremendous extensibility that’s easily within reach.”

One of Douglas’ favorite WordPress features are the iPad and iPhone apps. “The blog I use the most is written by several different people, so I use the iPhone and iPad apps all the time to make quick edits to new posts published by others,” he said.

The most important thing you’ll get from attending Douglas’ session at WordCamp Raleigh is how to choose the right plan at the right web hosting company. Douglas feels that “A web host is essential to keeping your site online, and I want to help attendees make the right choice.”

Attend this session and get even more WordPress awesomeness at WordCamp Raleigh 2012 on Nov 3-4. Tickets are only $40 and you can register online now!

Written by Kelly Phillips

WordCamp Raleigh 2010 Pictures – Part 1

Posted on May 27, 2010 by Michael Torbert

The first batch of pictures from WordCamp Raleigh 2010 are out. If you don’t see any of you just hold tight. We have plenty more photo posts coming soon.

Don’t forget to let us know about any great pictures you took also!

Are you a photographer?

Posted on May 15, 2010 by Michael Torbert

We’re almost a week away from this year’s WordCamp Raleigh. Preparations are coming together nicely, the schedule of speakers is full, the venue is ready to go, and masses of WordPress enthusiasts have bought tickets.

However, we are still in need of a guest photographer to donate their time and camera skills to the event this weekend. If you or anyone you know is excellent with their DSLR and wants to be the Official WordCamp Raleigh 2010 Photographer, let us know today.