April 9, 2024

April 9, 2024 — Website accessibility is often the last thing we think about when creating a website, and sometimes it is not considered at all, but it is more than just ticking a box for compliance.

Studies show one in six people in the Asia-Pacific region lives with disability, and that this is likely to increase, so it is vitally important we are taking steps to give maximum accessibility to our web presence.

Come with me on a journey to discover why it is important to build accessible websites, when you should be implementing and thinking about it, and how to engage best practices going forward to make sure as many people as possible can see, interact and enjoy the beautiful sites you create.

April 9, 2024 — This would be a tale of a one-year journey to bring the power of AI assistants to WordPress site builders and owners, focusing on helping them become better at what they are passionate about.

Many raise concerns about AI-generated content potentially eroding the fabric of the web.

Instead, I want to offer the tale of an optimistic approach, where Ai removes all the tedious parts of our work so we can hone our craft and become better designers, better developers, and better writers.

April 9, 2024 — Do you get an aggressive, dismissive or defensive reaction from your design or development colleagues, your marketing department, your managers, or even from your full-service advertising agency as soon as you start talking about accessibility? Want to learn how to counter and motivate? Come to my talk, and you will go home with some great techniques and tactics to turn them around!

This talk is aimed at anyone already working in digital accessibility, in a leading / inspiring role. It’s a peer to peer boost, so to speak.

One of the worst things that can happen to people in creative professions is for them to feel castrated in their creativity, their tools, and their toys. Whether it’s in graphic design, content or code, it results in unproductive resentment.

But the reality is that it’s really not the rules and guidelines for digital accessibility that cause the resentment. It’s the assumptions and misconceptions around it.

In this session, I will share how I guide and inspire designers, developers, and content creators to want to rock accessibility.

Take aways:
1. You will take home some smashing analogies that will help you to win over your colleagues.
2. You will know how to calculate and present the hidden / unexpected and usually substantial financial consequences to stake holders who are financially driven.
3. You will get a list of ways to talk to your peers all over the world about this topic.

April 9, 2024 — In the whirlwind of our hyperconnected society, we’ve all been there – the incessant Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) that lures us into adding one more Slack channel, diving into yet another online discussion, or racing to attend one more event, all in the quest to catch that elusive something important or thrilling.

But what if we could flip the script and turn FOMO into the empowering Joy of Missing Out (JOMO)? Imagine a life where you relish moments of solitude, prioritize genuine connections, and savor the present without being tethered to the never-ending pursuit of the “next big thing.”

Join me in this whirlwind 10-minute journey at WordCamp as we unravel the FOMO-JOMO phenomenon in the context of remote work and beyond. Discover practical tips and strategies to strike the right balance between staying informed and finding tranquility in the digital chaos.

The talking points will be in this direction:

– Our community culture is often centered around FOMO (fear of missing out)
– FOMO is often not sustainable – we have limited time in our lives and need to prioritize.
– Create space to focus on what really matters to you by switching to JOMO (joy of missing out)
– What do you want to prioritize in your life? How do you figure that out?

April 9, 2024 — WordPress is used by 42% of the web, that means there is a lot of fishies out there using WordPress. Some of them are krill, some of them are clown fish, some of them are barracuda and some of them are sharks, but some of them aren’t even fish at all: some of them are whales.

In this presentation I’ll talk about some of the tactics that you can use to net yourself a whale. These are tactics that anyone can use, whether you’re a freelancer, an agency, or a big company. All you need is a small hook and the right technique and you could be netting your first enterprise client, where you’ll deliver WordPress at scale for some of the biggest companies in the world.

I’ll be sharing our experience at Human Made as well as the experiences of other people who have been catching big fish in the WordPress space.

April 9, 2024 — Personal branding is a vital asset for anyone who is seeking to thrive in an era of technological advancements like AI. It’s the process of shaping your professional identity and effectively utilizing social media platforms to your advantage.

It allows you to differentiate yourself in a competitive landscape. It highlights your unique skills, values, and personality traits, making you memorable and relatable to clients. This human touch is something AI lacks.

Having a personal brand helps you with networking as well. Engaging with your industry peers, potential clients, and thought leaders through platforms like LinkedIn can lead to collaborations and business opportunities that AI can’t replicate.

It also positions you as an adaptable professional in the AI age. By constantly learning, sharing industry insights, and demonstrating your ability to evolve with the technology, you ensure you’re not overshadowed by AI but rather seen as someone who can harness its power to benefit your clients.

April 9, 2024 — In today’s highly competitive job market, building a strong reputation is crucial to achieving your career goals. Whether you’re an entrepreneur, freelancer, or working in a corporate environment, your reputation can make or break your success.

In this talk, Aaron will share his insights on:

– How to build a positive reputation
– Establishing yourself as a thought leader in your industry
– Using your reputation to advance your career

You’ll learn practical strategies for:

– Cultivating a strong online presence
– Networking effectively
– Managing your personal brand

By the end of the talk, you’ll have a clear understanding of how to leverage your reputation to achieve your professional and personal goals – whether you’re just starting out or looking to take your career to the next level.

April 9, 2024 — The new chatbots are no longer just simple assistants that direct you to documents or FAQs. With the latest AI technologies such as OpenAI GPT and LainChain, chatbots can provide personalized experiences and help users perform more complex tasks. They can understand natural language and provide relevant information in real-time. This makes them more efficient and effective than ever before.

Therefore, using chatbots in WordPress is becoming increasingly important for all websites in the future. They can help businesses save time and money while providing better customer experiences.

April 9, 2024 — This plan explores WordPress vulnerabilities from a hacker’s perspective, highlighting risks in plugin development. Beginning with common WordPress functions, we unveil issues arising from misuse and share secure coding practices. We delve into a WordPress plugin source code parser’s journey, detailing how hackers decipher source code to find security flaws. This initiative enhances understanding of WordPress security for developers and users, promoting better protection against potential website threats.