December 12, 2015 — It’s 2020 and the majority of Internet traffic is mobile. Billions of the world Internet users have never owned, touched, or seen a computer larger than their pocket. Just as we were inquisitive kids, tinkering with Kid Pix and Geocities themes, the digital natives of today will be builders on the same platforms they use for consumption. Can you install and configure WordPress via your phone? Theme it? Create custom plugins? Launch it? Spoiler: I did, and I’ll show you how.

This talk is both a trend forecast thought piece and a proof-of-concept demo. I’ll share some technical learnings, discuss why they matter to our profession, and hopefully inspire you to attempt something just as crazy.

December 12, 2015 — This session covers the basics of the WordPress HTTP API. More often than not, custom code uses clunky cURL functions to make remote requests. WordPress has a built in API to make this much simpler. Why not use it?

December 12, 2015 — Digital Project Management is one of the fastest growing career fields in tech today. While it doesn’t require the ability to push change to a code base, it does require a high level of technical proficiency. This talk will cover tools and best practices for 21st century digital project management and would be appropriate for a business track.

December 11, 2015 — WordPress is coming of age as an application platform. Plugins like WP-API 2.0 and the JSON REST API have arrived, opening up new opportunities for how websites and applications are constructed with WordPress as a CMS. More and more developers are discovering the benefits of “decoupled” development for websites and applications, where the front-end client (website, native mobile, desktop) is built as a separate system from the CMS itself.

December 11, 2015 — Council meetings sit empty until a road closes, a subway schedule changes, or property taxes increase. Suddenly, meetings are packed with concerned residents. It’s often too late by that time. Use WordPress.com as an interactive digital communication tool to engage the public before meetings are crowded. Incorporate the public’s voice in your local planning process with simple steps outlined in this session.

December 11, 2015 — Every technically minded person needs to know how to communicate technical knowledge clearly and effectively. This talk examines the fundamentals of “explaining hard things to humans,” including:

What makes technical communication uniquely difficult, and uniquely important.
Avoiding two major impediments to technical communication: arrogance (relating to gaps in knowledge as a hassle or irritation) and breeziness (attempting to ignore gaps in knowledge altogether).
How and why to make technical communication both audience-aware and strategic: tailored to both the knowledge level of the audience and the goal of the communication.
The value of analogies in technical communication.
Principles of clear technical writing.
You’ll leave the talk better able to communicate what you know, and to diagnose and work with common failures in technical communication.

December 11, 2015 — React has taken the JavaScript community by storm and is changing how we build UIs and write JavaScript. What are some cool things that you can do with React? Why did Automattic chose to build the new WordPress.com UI (Calypso) using it? And, how can you start using React today in WordPress to enhance your themes and plugins? Let’s see what we can come up with and imagine a future filled with easy to reuse components.

December 11, 2015 — Do you think you don’t know enough about WordPress to help out someone else? Come with Kathryn Presner on my journey through the techie continuum – swinging through Self-Doubt Boulevard and taking a leisurely jaunt through Imposter Syndrome Alley.

Find out how she finally realized she knew enough to contribute – and how you can too.

December 11, 2015 — It’s easy to look at where you are and where you want to be and think, “I’ll never get there” and plateau with your current skill set.
Maybe you’re a developer who is looking to level up their career. Maybe you’re someone who wants to break into a development career for the first time.
Wherever you’re at, I want to teach you the same methods I use every single day to keep my skills sharp and to keep myself connected to interesting and rewarding projects and relationships.

Presentation Slides »

December 11, 2015 — Style Tiles are a simple and effective way to help clients separate design decisions from content, so you can make sweeping changes before they become time-consuming and expensive. If you design websites, or work with people that do, this presentation will explain how Style Tiles can promote buy-in and a sense of ownership from the client, helping them feel like the final design was their idea all along. You will learn how Style Tiles fit into the design process and development process. And to get you started, a Style Tile template and some basic survey questions will be available for download.

Presentation Slides »