Tag Archives: WordCamp

Speaker Spotlight: Andy Stratton of Sizeable Interactive

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Andy is a Zend certified PHP 5 developer and WordPress “Rock Star“, front-end developer, organic search optimizer and entrepreneur. Lover of nature, music, animals, film, art and most things tangible. He runs Sizeable Interactive, a freelance co-op based in Baltimore and has one dance move: the robot.

Andy will be presenting on the topic of Diet Pills, SEO, Theme Frameworks and More: There are no magic bullets in the Power Users track.  Here’s an extract from what you can expect to hear from Andy:

That’s right. There’s no substitution for planning your work and working your plan. You’ve got to put some sweat in to get something great. Eat less and exercise to lose weight, put the time and effort in to build a truly extraordinary website.

Clients (and some newer WP designers/developers/SEOs/entrepreneurs) have been misled by marketing fluff, social media buzz and high hopes of low cost / high return websites.

This presentation will talk all about why you do or do not need a theme framework, purchased theme, purchased plugin, and more. Why using a WordPress theme framework or purchased theme/plugin may cost you more money and will most likely NOT put you at the top of Google’s SERP’s.

I will attempt to debunk the myths that some users and power users believe about out of the box WordPress extensions while still giving justifications for using them when the context justifies it.

It’s all about context, ladies and germs. Find out why buying out of the box and customizing may not get you cheaper costs and top rankings. Hear it from a seasoned web developer, WordPress Rock Star and top Google ranker (Google: “php wordpress developer”).

So register today for WordCamp Raleigh 2011 and come meet Andy.  Don’t forget to follow him on Twitter – @theandystratton

Follow @VisitRaleigh for up to the minute news while you’re at WordCamp Raleigh

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We are very pleased to be part of a great service being offered by the Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau.  The GRCVB run VisitRaleigh.com the Official Tourism site for Raleigh, North Carolina.  As part of the free services that are offered to visitors to our beautiful city they have an official Twitter account @visitRaleigh where they tweet up to the minute news about what’s happening in Raleigh.

Here’s a word from VisitRaleigh to explain:

Thank you for being the first convention group to participate in our new Convention Services Twitter service. We hope that you will find it useful while you are in Greater Raleigh and that it will enhance your convention experience.

While WordCamp Raleigh attendees are in town this week, make sure you are following @visitRaleigh on Twitter, the official Convention Services Twitter account for the Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau. By following @visitRaleigh you will be sure to get the most up-to-date information pertaining to things that are going on in the area. We will be tweeting regularly about things to do, daily specials and discounts, as well as about tips for getting around the downtown Raleigh area throughout the week.

The @visitRaleigh account is also a great resource for asking questions about the Raleigh area. All you have to do is tweet a question to @visitRaleigh with the hashtag #WCRaleigh and we will do our best to respond accordingly.

Best regards,
@visitRaleigh

This is a great service for WordCampers as we know how addicted you all are to your Twitter.  So spread the news, retweet this post and don’t forget to take advantage of the service while you’re in town this weekend!

Speaker Spotlight: Justin Seeley of iThemes

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Justin is a creative professional living in Murray, KY. Over the past few years he’s spent his time authoring software training titles on a variety of digital imaging topics. He’s also the creator/host of the Photoshop Quicktips Video Podcast, Founder of SeeleyTraining.com, an Apple Fanboy, and WordPress Junkie. Justin works for iThemes and WebDesign.com.

Justin will be presenting on the topic of Designing for the Social Web in the Users track.  Here’s an extract from what you can expect to hear from Justin:

With so many social networks out there that allow for profile customization/website integration, it’s hard to keep it all straight. However with some strategic branding concepts and design ideas, you can create a social media campaign that broadcasts an intriguing and unified message across all spaces.

Topics will include Mapping out your Social Strategy and deciding what your target networks will be, Creating a unified design to be used on those networks, Putting the plan into action: Twitter, Putting the plan into action: Facebook, The importance of “Social Cross Pollination”, and Integrating your social presence into your website/blog.

So register today for WordCamp Raleigh 2011 and come meet Justin.  Don’t forget to follow him on Twitter – @justinseeley

Speaker Spotlight: Justin Sainton of Zao Web Design

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Justin  is the founder of Zao Web Design, LLC, a web firm based in Portland, Oregon USA. Working exclusively with WordPress and an array of other open-source technologies, Justin and Zao have provided creative and effective solutions for a wide variety of companies and associations ranging from Targus to Pitney Bowes to the National Education Association to HTC. When not managing Zao or enjoying his beautiful wife and lovely one-year-old daughter, Justin can be found enjoying the finest coffee Oregon has to offer.

Justin will be presenting on the topic of WordPress e-Commerce & Group Deals in the Power Users track.  Here’s an extract from what you can expect to hear from Justin:

The story of Group Deals Plugin, the latest premium Plugin from Zao & GetShopped, is a classic example of the power of the WordPress community. While presenting on WordPress E-Commerce at WordCamp Philadelphia, someone in the audience asked if anyone had made a “Groupon” WordPress plugin. We hadn’t, but that was the spark for the WP Group Deals plugin.

First, I’ll be discussing some of the new features in the recently released WordPress E-Commerce 3.8. Then we’ll talk about the new Group Deals plugin, what people are doing with it and why WordPress make perfect sense for becoming a Groupon competitor.

So register today for WordCamp Raleigh 2011 and come meet Justin.  Don’t forget to follow him on Twitter – @JS_Zao

Announcing Cheap Dedicated Server as a sponsor of WordCamp Raleigh 2011

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We are very pleased to announce that Cheap Dedicated Server is sponsoring WordCamp Raleigh 2011.

The goal of cheap dedicated server is to find the best highest quality dedicated severs for the rock bottom lowest prices. The hosting market has become saturated, there are so many used car salesmen out there that know nothing about hosting. That is why we test out the competition and give you the top 5 hosts in the dedicated server market and suggest the best and the cheapest hosting.

When your site gets too big for shared hosting its time to get a dedicated server of your own, where you can run the latest version of PHP, modify your lamp stack till your heart’s content, but most importantly when you hit the front page of digg or redit your site weathers the storm and stays up. So give us a try, let us help you find the dedicated server you have needed for a while.

We are proud to be sponsors of WordCamp Raleigh, we love WordPress we use it and recommend it to everyone as both a blog and a CMS. We are also proud to help support the open source community.

Visit us on the web at http://cheapdedicatedserver.com