WordCamp Toronto 2009 convinced me I have a lot to learn about using WordPress as an authoring platform for a website.
I am committed to being hands-on as much as I can when it comes to technology; although I will admit WordCamp was a sobering event! To begin with, WordPress is complicated. It is not a self-contained program but a platform that absorbs external visual themes, plugins, widgets, and user tweaks. Hopefully what I learned will become apparent when the zenPeak website delivers a better experience to more and more client technology companies, and job candidates in Toronto, Ontario and throughout Canada.
Lorelle VanFossen showcased woopra which is a great real-time analytics tool for WordPress websites. While Lorelle VanFossen set me up with a beta woopra account, she told me at least 2 dozen things that needed urgent repair on the zenPeak website – ouch! First step was buying her book!
I enjoyed the talk Rob Campbell gave on Internet Marketing from SMOJOE as well as the keynote talk from Nick La on custom fields and conditional tags etc….. Not that I could absorb it all that fast!
Met some interesting people along the way too. Overall I’d give the WordCamp Toronto 2009 experience a 7.5 with marks off for the temperature = COLD, the chronic late start times, the choppy Wi-Fi connectivity, and the lack of explanation in advance of what each session was about. But its a lot of work to put on an event like this (as volunteers!), and the content was good, so it was a worthwhile weekend and appreciated!
Tags: business, internet, technology, Web/Tech, Weblogs, WordCamp Toronto, WordPress
Fix link.
Smojoe.com/blog
I took the first test. Is there a second one? I wonder how I will score? There are a few things I noted – the fact that I like ‘rubbish heaps’, so I scored that option rather high because you know, I’m a Dumpdigger and I love accomplishing things even more than new born babies… that can’t be good.
WordCamp Toronto was the first tech event ever in that space, and while there were issues (too warm the first day, too cold the second but the weather had a lot to do with that), it was a great space and really flexible, which made it nice for all the different tracks they were running. I agree on the rest, but they know that.
Isn’t it amazing what you learn from meeting with the best of the best in WordPress? Wow! I walked away with my head stuffed with new ideas and things to do. I loved it.
Thanks for being such a special part of my participation in that three day event!