Author: Abha Thakor

Abha Thakor is an experienced communicator, senior journalist and digital media and research professional working in a variety of sectors, with a speciality in content development and communities, web CMS, voice tech, and site building. She volunteers her contribution to the WordPress project as part of her wider contribution to Inclusion, and Tech opportunities for all. She is a long term active and significant contributor on several releases and has co-led areas of work. Her team contributions include Core, the Learn WordPress / Training, Community, and Documentation. She is also a component maintainer in core, and Team Rep for 2023. She has served on the Marketing Team since 2018, was a Marketing Team Rep from 2020 to February 2022. She continues to support contributors in this area and with using GitHub. Her professional interests include: - new technologies and research - communications and IT training - event organising and administration / project management - supporting the communications and tech organizations communities - community building and stakeholder engagement, particularly around digital and websites, and citizenship Promoting adult learning, development and accessibility through a range of community events including WordCamps, digital communications groups and tech-based Meetups. - member of a number of Make WordPress teams including core, marketing, training and WordPress.tv - champions Continuing Professional Development for her professional institutes Abha is a speaker and researcher on tech and communications, accessibility and innovation topics including AI.
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Happy #WP15 from Belfast

Belfast was determined to play its role in the celebrations being the only WordCamp in the world on the 15th anniversary of WordPress.

The event has received particular acclaim from attendees and those connecting with it through social channels, live feeds and competitions.

Tweet featuring WP15 swag and encouraging messages of friendship to be sharedIn the run up and during the three day WordCamp Belfast, messages of friendship were invited and sent to WordCamps across the world.

white icing cake with blue writing saying 15 anniversary

And, of course, there was cake. Well in fact, lots of it with all dietary requirements catered for of course.

 

 

WP15 balloons being blown up by some of the organising team

 

Some of the organisers nearly lost their heads to the balloons.

 

 

 

You can see below how excited the attendees got at the idea of cake and balloons!

Group picture in the garden of some of the participants at WCBELFAST 2018 with a special WordPress 15 years cake

Wapuu of the north pictured in a tweetThen there was the chance to have an anniversary picture taken with the Wapuu of the North.

What the attendees and speakers thought

Colette Casey, one of the attendees at this year’s event, said: “A quick note to say how fantastic I found the weekend at WordCamp Belfast. Thanks to you, all the community members and volunteers who brought this event to Belfast. I found the event enjoyable and educational. It was inspirational, informative and invaluable.

“The speakers were great and I’m looking forward to catching up on some talks from the other track on WordCamp.TV. There were a few times it was tough to decide which track I wanted to go to most!

“Thanks and I hope to see you all again at another WordCamp.”

Mike Rynart, a front-end developer who came to Belfast from Rotterdam to speak at the event, said: “Thank you for the wonderful time at WCBELFAST. The organising team did a fantastic job organising the event.”

Corey Maas, a full-stack web developer, was one of the speakers who flew in from the USA. He said: “I wanted to compliment you all on putting on a great camp. Good crowd, good people. Well done!”

Lupchlan Cristi, a WordPress designer in Ireland, said: “Congratulations to the WCBELFAST organizers for what was a great event, amazing talks, amazing people.”

A picture of the tweet by speaker Raffaella saying how much she enjoyed WCBELFAST

Raffaella Isidori,
a communications designer based in Italy and one of the speakers, said in an interview: “Praise for the amazing organizers of WordCamp Belfast for a professional, well-run event with a relaxed atmosphere. This was a super job and welcomed us like family in your beautiful town. I could live here, Northern Ireland is so beautiful! Thank you to Yoast for their diversity sponsorship which meant I could experience this wonderful event and place.”

Dave Potter, IT consultant and project manager, “Thanks to all the crew at WordCamp Belfast for a great weekend. What a tremendously welcoming and supportive bunch.”

He added: “This was well-executed event. It showed what can be achieved. With the WordPress community across the world watching Belfast for the anniversary, it did it proud and kept the atmosphere relaxed and happy.”

WordPress Edinburgh's Ahmed with a picture of the back of some of the WCBELFAST crew's t-shirts as they listened to a talk

Lead Organiser of the forthcoming WordCamp Edinburgh team and speaker, Ahmed Khalifa, took an opportunity to capture some of the WCBELFAST team as they listened to a talk by Abha Thakor @NonStopNewsUK. Later this year, Ahmed and the team will be publishing details of the 2018 WordCamp Edinburgh planned for November.

Heather Burns, a digital law and tech policy specialist who spoke at the conference on GDPR and privacy notices, said: “Hats off to the WordCamp Belfast organising team for another superb conference.”

Fellyph Cintra, a front-end web developer based in Ireland who also spoke at the event, said: “Thanks WordCamp Belfast for the amazing time!”

Mark Smallman, Lead organiser WCBELFAST, said: “Massive thank you to all the sponsors, speakers, volunteers and amazing co-organisers who made WordCamp Belfast fun, educational and possible.”

Picture credits
The group picture above has been reproduced with the permission of the photographer Dermot McElduff, duffproductions.co.uk. Thanks also to Abha Thakor, Ahmed Khalifa and Lesley Quinn for the use of the other pictures on this page.

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#WP15 anniversary word search

To celebrate the 15th anniversary of WordPress, we have a specially-designed word search.

As our attendees start to make their way to the beautiful city of Belfast for this year’s conference, we are launching this competition. Even if you decide not to enter your final answers, we hope it will keep you entertained during your travels. The competition will close on the 15th anniversary itself, Sunday 27 May 2018 morning at 11am BST.

If you are not able to make WordCamp Belfast 2018, follow all the news at #WCBELFAST on Twitter.

We will be announcing two winners of this competition in the closing remarks on Sunday: one will be an attendee at the WordCamp and another to be drawn from the entries submitted from members of the WordPress community following the event on Twitter or our website. You can send your entries to us by email – please include the text ‘word search entry’ in the subject to help us find your submission.

Enjoy!

You can download a copy of the word search as a PDF to edit electronically or print.

> WCBELFAST&WP15_WordSearch (PDF)

Or you can download a copy of the word search in MS Word format.

> WCBELFAST&WP15_WordSearch (MS Word)

Discover WordPress terms with the jargon-busting glossary produced by the volunteer Marketing Team. This is an evolving document.

> WordPress Jargon Glossary 

Let the games begin

For those attending WordCamp Belfast 2018, we will have more word games for you, We will also have a variety of board games for you to play as part of our WordPress anniversary celebrations and After Party.

We want to involve the wider WordPress community in our celebrations and to reinforce friendships and connections across the world. Here are some of the ways you can join us.

> Video-selfies invited from the WordPress community

> WordPressers and their dogs – send us your pics for our campaign which launches on the 15th anniversary (the information can be found half way down the page)

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WordCampBelfast Contributor Event – final details

We are looking forward to welcoming you to the Contributor Event this Friday (25 May 2018) at Farset Labs, Belfast.

The event will start at 2pm and run till approximately 5pm. You can arrive at the venue from 1.30pm. Please note there are workshop and other events in the venue prior to our Contributor Event. This is a ticket-only event. There are a few places still available at the time of publishing this blog.

This will be a relaxed, informal way of working alongside other WordPressers, discovering how you can get involved and feeling inspired to continue your existing volunteering or even take it a step further. You could try your hand at a new area of the WordPress project, share knowledge or show others how each contribution is valuable.

A reminder of what you need to bring with you:

  • a wifi-enabled laptop and power supply. It can be useful to have your laptop already charged
  • pen and paper/ notepad
  • if you already have a WordPress.org account, Slack username for the UK WordPress community, you will need these and the passwords
  • for those wanting to work on theme review, please bring your access details
  • if you have not already got accounts set up on WordPress.org, Slack, GitHub and Trello, you can either set these up beforehand or we can help you with this as long as you have access to an email account
  • if you plan to join the WordPress.TV group on the day, you will need to bring headphones.

Format of the event

A general introduction to contributing to the WordPress project and being part of this worldwide community. We will explore the main tools and then divide into groups. There will be lots of help available for people new to contributing.

Core

Our main helpers with this team are not able to join us and we are looking for some assistance to lead this group on the day.

Marketing

There will be items and projects to look at both offline and online. It is useful to let us know if you would like to contribute to this area and if you have access to the Marketing Slack Channel and Trello (not essential).
WordPress.TV

You will need a wifi-enabled laptop to go through examples and add to the projects planned for the contributor event. This project would also suit people new to contributing or who have an interest in marketing.

Community

This will give ideas for how to get involved with MeetUps, WordCamps and the Community team. We hope this session will enable people to share experiences, work out solutions to difficulties they are having using WordCamp and MeetUp tools.

Theme Review

This will include an introduction to how themes are reviewed and how to get involved in the team. There will be opportunities to examine some themes. You will need access to Slack.

> Contributor event at Belfast WordCamp 2018

Refreshments

We will providing some drinks and snacks in the break at this event.

In addition, there will be a limited supply of drinks and refreshments available from the venue with a honesty box system. There are also lots of places available locally to find some treats.

We ask attendees to kindly keep drinks away from the computers.

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WCBELFAST 2018 tickets – nearly all gone!

Three days left to the start of the WordCamp Belfast 2018 and we only have six tickets left!

We have managed to release a few extra few for all you lovely people trying to join us for this very special WordCamp, the only one on the 15th anniversary of WordPress.

Get your ticket now before the deadline the end of Wednesday 23 May 2018. T-shirts may not be available for those who booked after Monday this week.

We have sent out emails to all those who had volunteered and our speakers. If you have not received an email, please contact us urgently.

> Book your WCBELFAST 2018 tickets now!

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Get some tips on upgrading your website’s PHP

Not sure why it is important to upgrade your website’s PHP or want some advice on how to do this and other WordPress queries? Then talk to our volunteer support desk at WordCamp Belfast 2018.

On Sunday 27 May 2018, 1.15pm-2.15pm you will be able to bring your queries to our kind techie volunteers who will be pleased to try explore the upgrade issue with you. They will be able to help you find out what version of PHP you are running and some tips for upgrading it if you are not running a secure version. This session will also be open to everyone to drop-in as a general WordPress clinic.

During the programme for the weekend, we have a number of talks and workshops which will help you focus and improve your website security and knowledge.

The next WordPress release (v4.9.6) will include a prompt to all users about upgrading the version of PHP on which their website runs.

> Technical information about this update (WordPress core ticket)

> Information page on upgrading your PHP

 

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Your WordPress video-selfies

Video-selfie messages of friendship across the WordPress community

Share the birthday spirit and send us a short video-selfie we can use on WordPress’s 15th anniversary.

If you use WordPress as a professional, a hobbyist or have recently joined the worldwide community, we would like to share a quick message from you to our WordCamp Belfast attendees on 25-27 May 2018.

Help the WordPress community reach even more people!

Blue balloon with WordPress logo and 15 Anniversary printed in whiteWe believe we are the only WordCamp taking place in the world on the actual anniversary day, 27 May 2018. There’s no better way to celebrate than sharing how amazing the WordPress community is than by bringing together messages of friendship from across the world.

 

Here are just some of the ideas from the selfies we have had so far:

  • say ‘Hi’, where you are from and why you love WordPress
  • blue band with words 'poetry' and 'WordPress'tell us how to say ‘code is poetry’ in your native language or one of the languages you speak
  • include a hello or a voice over with a picture from your local WordPress MeetUp or WordCamp
  • send a special message of friendship to all those at WordCamp Belfast on the 15th anniversary of WordPress
  • record a message of friendship and say a little bit about your local WordPress community. We aim to record clips to send back to as many communities who send over a friendship video-selfie as we can (if you are coming to Belfast and can help with this – fill in our contact form).

How to submit a video message…

The easiest way is to upload your video to YouTube, and send the link to belfast@wordcamp.org and we will contact you.

Alternatively videos can be shared via Dropbox or Google Drive, then send the download link to the above email address.

We can then upload it to the WCBelfast YouTube Channel.

As another alternative you can WhatsApp them to +44(0)7591087379

We aim to edit the videos into a collection and upload them to WordPress.tv as part of the anniversary celebrations. We are also working with the WordPress Marketing Team on a video interviews project.

Share your enthusiasm for WordPress and the community.

WordPressers and their pets

For a campaign launching at WordCamp Belfast 2018, we are collecting images of WordPressers (age 21+ only) with their favourite pet. We are particularly interested in pictures of WordPressers with their dogs to use in presentations during the weekend in the spirit of helping to break down barriers between different languages, web specialisms and countries.

We have been running surveys and interviews on WordPressers and their dogs (and cats) and discovering how conversations about pets can often help bring people together and break down conversation barriers especially if you are new to a community, speaking the language of the event for the first time or talking with attendees from different sectors of work.

So find your four-legged friend, with or without a bit of WordPress swag, and take that picture. We will using the photos on a Flickr gallery.

You can send your images (please check these are free for us to publish) here.

#WP15

> Discover what is happening to mark the WordPress 15th anniversary across the world

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Exciting lineup of speakers – Last few tickets available

wordpress logo in white and greyIt’s the last week to book for our awesome line-up of WordCamp speakers coming to Belfast for the WordPress 15th anniversary.

We have speakers coming from across the world. Book a ticket and come join us for a learning, knowledge-sharing and sheer fun event.

Here are just some of the wonderful speakers who will be helping us make this a very special WordCamp.

  • Corey Maass
    Corey is a full-stack web developer with a love for entrepreneurship and building web apps on WordPress. He currently lives in Saugerties, New York, USA. He will be giving a talk on ‘Building a Web App MVP with Little or No Code’ and a lightening presentation (shorter talk) ‘How I Overcame Six Months Without Progress’.
  • Tammie Lister
    Tammie is very well known in the WordPress Community. She is based in England and is an experienced designer who works for Automattic. Tammie works on the WordPress.org project and has spoken at WordCamps far and wide. Her talk for WordCamp Belfast is entitled ‘Building for Stress Cases’.
  • Mike Rynart
    Mike is a full-time Front-End Developer living in Rotterdam. He has been creating websites for more than 10 years. Over time, he has branched out his skills with responsive design, web development and an enthusiasm for website performance. Mike’s talk is entitled ‘How to Improve your Website Performance.’
  • Peter Meehan
    Peter is based in Belfast and has been running bigrockdesigns computer training consultants for almost 15 years. He includes WordPress in his firm’s digital marketing master course as a key element in digital marketing. Peter will be speaking on Sunday and his talk is entitled ‘In-bound Marketing – Integration with WordPress.’
  • Amanda Webb
    Amanda from Spiderworking in Kildare has been working in digital marketing since 2009. In 2017, her blog was named one of Social Media Examiner’s Top 10 Social Media Blogs. She also won two awards at the Blog Awards Ireland in 2017 including Gold for B2B Blog. She has written for some of the world’s leading social media websites including Jon Loomer, Social Media Examiner and RazorSocial. Amanda is also a regular contributor to the AgoraPulse blog.Her talk for WordCamp Dublin 2017 was highlighted in the feedback from delegates for its usefulness. We are pleased she will be able to join us in Belfast on the Saturday with a talk entitled ‘Supercharge It – How to Revitalise your Blog Content for More Exposure & Sales.’
  • Marissa Goldsmith
    Marissa is a digital analytics specialist from Washington DC, USA. She works with not-for-profit organisations, governments, and SMEs on auditing and implementing digital data collection strategies, helping them to use the information gleaned from analytics reports in a privacy-friendly way to maximise donations and resource allocation. When she’s not elbow-deep in spreadsheets, her side-passion is accessibility. Marissa’s talk at WordCamp Belfast will tell of her journey to become a passionate accessibility advocate.She will also join Heather Burns to discuss GDPR and Google Analytics.

This is just a selection of our speakers for WordCamp Belfast 2018.

> Discover our full list of speakers

> The WordCamp Belfast 2018 schedule

Don’t miss out on this amazing opportunity to meet other WordPress enthusiasts and immerse yourself in the world of WordPress for an entire weekend (grab some free swag, talk about anything but WordPress and dance at our amazing after-party!). See you there!

> Sign-up for your ticket to WordCamp Belfast 2018

> Join us for a contributor event on Friday 25 May 2018 (free tickets)

 

 

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Have you signed up as a volunteer for WCBELFAST?

Sign-up now and be part of a global community.

Volunteers for WordCamps come from across the world, different backgrounds and all sharing one common purpose – to make this learning, knowledge-sharing and community event fun, accessible for all and a celebration of what can be achieved when people work together on open source projects.

If you are interested in developing a local WordPress MeetUp, hoping to be a future WordCamp organiser, wanting to be working amongst others to help guide you through your first WordCamp or just enjoy being involved in making this event special, we want to hear from you.

Thank you to all those who have volunteered already and if you are helping at the event itself you should have received your volunteer ticket booking codes by email.

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Doing the Business at WCBELFAST 2018

So, you know you are highly creative or perhaps technically skilled. But could your business skills do with a refuelling pitstop to boost your career progression ?

The eagerly anticipated programme for WordCamp Belfast 2018 features a strong list of business-based talks and workshops to help you appreciate, brush up or polish your business skills. The calibre of the international team of speakers means this is an opportunity not to be missed and remember it is available to you for the weekend attendance ticket price of just £25!

Here is a flavour of what is on offer.

  • Revisiting the Basics – Let’s Build a Website Together
    Kayleigh Thorpe
  • How You Can Come Up With Content Ideas For Any Website (Lightning Talk)
    Marcin Kilarski
  • Stuck in a Rut: How I Overcame Six Months Without Progress (Lightning Talk)
    Corey Maass
  • Getting the Balance Right: GDPR and Google Analytics
    Heather Burns, Marissa Goldsmith
  • Easing the Hurricane Called Team
    Ricardo Castelhano
  • Supercharge It – How to Revitalise your Blog Content for More Exposure & Sales
    Amanda Webb
  • Don’t Hesitate, Start your Blog Idea using WordPress Now!
    Matt Boyd
  • Making the Most Out of SEO to Grow your WordPress Plugins & Themes Business
    Ahmed Khalifa
  • Building for Stress Cases
    Tammie Lister
  • WordPress can help to save the media!
    Una Murphy
  • Follow the Data
    Dave Potter
  • How to Build a Business around WordPress
    Lincoln Islam

All the above sessions are subject to change in the event of unavoidable circumstances which run beyond our control.

> Schedule, WordCamp Belfast 2018

> Speakers at WordCamp Belfast 2018

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Get your ticket for WCBELFAST 2018

WordCamp followers of the world, set your sights on Belfast 2018! It has a fantastic programme, as befits the the 15th anniversary of WordPress. In fact, Belfast is the only WordCamp taking place anywhere on the actual anniversary itself, Sunday 27 May!

WordCamp Belfast has three packed days of opportunities for people interested in as a hobby or working in web, digital and WordPress, and will run from 25 to 27 May 2018.

We start with a Contributor Day on Friday 25 May 2018, followed by a series of presentations throughout the weekend.

The volunteer team behind the scenes has gathered-in suggestions and put together the detailed topics and speakers we know you want to hear. WordCamp Belfast 2018 is aiming high. We thank our speakers who are travelling from the local area, across Europe, the US, Asia and other places to make this a very special #WP15 anniversary WordCamp.

We realise not everyone coming will be on an expense account budget (including us!) so tickets to enable you to access presentations on either or both Saturday and Sunday can be had for just £25, and what is more, the Friday Contributor Day is free. The weekend ticket also includes entry to the after party celebrating WordPress’s 15th Anniversary on Saturday evening. The tickets for the event are kept so low thanks to the volunteers who work to create and develop WordCamps, the WordPress Foundation, sponsors and the WordPress community at large.

Micro-sponsorship opportunities are available and major potential sponsors are most welcome to contact the organisers to find out more.

Check it out and join WordCampers at this special WordCamp:      https://2018.belfast.wordcamp.org/

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