Catherine Cilcius “The Energy Is Incredible”

WordCamp RI September 22 and 23, 2017       For the third year, WordCamp RI will be held at the East Greenwich campus of New England Tech. The location works well with access to internet/ audio/  visual technology and food catering that makes lunchtime go smoothly.

Catherine Cilcius, Training and Events Coordinator for the Center for Technology and Industry shares some of her thoughts about WordCamp RI.

Q-
Cathy, the New England Institute of Technology is once again the host of WordCamp RI. It’s a great location for attendees: plenty of free parking, accessible by public transportation and a bright and cheerful venue. Why does NEIT like hosting this group?
A-
NEIT has established a great relationship with the amazing staff and volunteers from WordCamp RI and we thoroughly enjoy hosting this event each year! The energy that the attendees and speakers bring to the workshops is incredible and transforms the campus into a very dynamic place during the 2-day event.

Q-
How is WordPress used at New England Tech?
A-
We teach WordPress in our Graphics, Multimedia and Web department and our GMW students use WordPress to create their personal portfolios. Ajay Coletta, Assistant Professor of Graphics, Multimedia and Web teaches many of these classes throughout the year.

Q-
Do you have any advice or tips for attendees to get the most out of WordCamp RI?
A-
My advice to attendees is to go to the workshops that interest them and use this incredible opportunity to meet other users, share their experience, have a great lunch, learn and have fun! Personally, I don’t know of any other event that we host that is more enjoyable!

Q-
What are the advantages of the NEIT venue for attendees at WordCamp RI?
A-
Our East Greenwich campus offers a centrally located state-of-the-art facility with wifi, spacious classrooms, a beautiful Atrium, easy navigation for attendees, lots of spaces to meet and greet, free parking and a helpful staff. I like to think that’s why people keep coming back!

Q-
Attendees are going to notice some changes at your East Greenwich campus this year! Tell us about them.
A-
The campus has been under construction for some time as we prepare for the opening of our first residence hall this fall. Along with the residence hall, we will have a new Academic Center encompassing an expanded food area, bakery, grill, café, convenience store, sitting areas, as well as an 8,000 square foot fitness center and additional innovative classroom and laboratory space.   WordCamp RI will be one of the first occupants of some of these new classrooms for the event.

Q-
If someone is considering attending NEIT, what should they do to learn more?
A-
This is a very exciting time for NEIT as we grow and expand into our next phase. If anyone is interested in more information on NEIT and our programs, please contact our admissions office and they will be happy to assist them.

Learn more about the New England Institute of Technology at http://www.neit.edu/.
Follow New England Tech on Twitter: @NEInstituteTech

Woo for You: Customizing WooCommerce

WooCommerce powers a large percentage of online stores.  Speaker Gary Thayer will outline how to get the most out of this tool for your business at WordCamp RI.

This talk is designed for business owners and will help them configure WooCommerce to work best for their operation.

Tickets are available for WordCamp RI, being held September 22 and 23 at the East Greenwich campus of New England Tech.

WordCamp RI will cover all things WordPress for beginner to advanced users.  Admission covers two days of sessions, one-on-one help, lunch and the Friday night reception.

See you there!

Don’t Just Design and Build a Death Star, Maintain It Too

WordCamp RI tickets are available    GoDaddy’s Matthew Clancy has some advice for website maintenance.  His session is geared to WordPress beginners.  He’ll detail the maintenance steps you should take to keep your website in good working order.

Tickets to WordCamp RI give you admission to all talks and workshops, one-on-one help at the Happiness Bar (the WordPress-term for the Help Desk), networking during the included lunch and Friday night reception.

Once again this year we’ll be at the East Greenwich campus of New England Tech, September 22 and 23.

There are sessions for every level of WordPress website and blog user.

 

WordPress, Women, and Tech

There’s been a lot of talk about the lack of women working in technology.  Patch.com has an interesting article on both the current status of women in the tech workforce as well as opportunities that are available.  These opportunities include scholarships and institutions of learning with a good reputation for helping women advance.

Another fantastic opportunity for women (and men!) comes each year with WordCamp RI.  This two-day learning conference has sessions for beginners, intermediate techies, and advanced pros. There are workshops, seminars, one-on-one help at the Happiness Bar (aka Help Desk), along with networking opportunities during lunch breaks and at the Friday night reception.  All of this is included in your admission ticket.

There are many outstanding colleges and universities in our area and WordCamp RI is being held on the campus of one of them: New England Tech in East Greenwich. If you are considering furthering your education, you’ll have a chance to see NEIT’s classrooms and other facilities while attending WordCamp.

WordCamp RI will be held Friday and Saturday, September 22 and 23, at the East Greenwich campus of New England Tech.

Rise Above the Noise

WordCamp RI September 22 and 23, 2017    Did you know that in the 1970s the average person in the USA was exposed to 500 ads a day?  Now we are exposed to 5,000 ads a day, according to the University of Southern California.

You are not just competing with your direct competitors to be heard; you’re competing with every organization, company and group who joins you in being part of that 5,000.

One of the speakers at WordCamp RI is Susan Finn.  She’ll share strategies to help ensure the people who should know about you, do.

WordCamp RI is being held September 22 and 23 on the East Greenwich campus of New England Tech.  Admission gives you unlimited access to every talk and workshop, one-on-one help at the Happiness Bar (as the Help Desk is known), lunch, and the Friday night reception.

See you at WordCamp RI!

https://2017.rhodeisland.wordcamp.org/tickets/

5 Steps to Personal and Website Security

WordCamp RI September 22 and 23, 2017    Adam Warner will be outlining how to keep your website secure.  In fact the company he works for, Sitelock, has an interesting blog post on why you are NOT too small to be hacked. He’ll be outlining the steps you can take at WordCamp RI, being held at New England Tech in East Greenwich on September 22 and 23.

His session is geared to beginner and intermediate web users.

Your admission ticket covers all sessions, one-on-one help at the Happiness Bar (aka Help Desk), lunch and the Friday night reception.

We look forward to seeing you at WordCamp RI!

Little Things Make a Big Difference

WordCamp RI tickets are available    What approach should you take to make sure people read what you publish on your website or blog?  Here’s some advice that has stood the test of time, from the movie Taxi Driver. “You talkin’ to me?”

One of the speakers at WordCamp RI has strategies to figure out who you are talking to and then how to reach them.  Michelle Ames’ talk is “Little Things Make a Big Difference.”

WordCamp RI is two days of all things WordPress, held September 22 and 23 at the East Greenwich campus of New England Tech.

Tickets are on sale.  Admission gives you access to all the seminars, workshops, one-on-one help at the Happiness Bar (aka the Help Desk), lunch and the Friday night reception.  Hope to see you there!

Kaitlyn Pescatello “I Enjoy the Camaraderie”

WordCamp RI September 22 and 23, 2017    Kaitlyn Pescatello is Client Coordinator at Linchpin and also one of the organizers of WordCamp RI. Kaitlyn shares her perspectives.

Q-
You’re back for more! Last year was your first helping organize WordCamp RI. Why are you involved again this year?
A-
Yes, I am so excited to be attending again this year! Last year was my first WordCamp, and since last year I’ve also started helping organize Rhode Island WordPress Meetups. I enjoy the camaraderie and inclusiveness at these events. Technical topics can be intimidating, so its nice to be surrounded by knowledgeable people who enjoy sharing their expertise.

Q-
What are the highlights from last year?
A-
Last year I enjoyed the business talks and of course the AFTER-PARTY! 🙂
Lauren Hanson, a Web Strategist for a B2B Digital Marketing Agency, gave a super motivating talk called “Selling Your Soul”. Lauren shared a great story about how she got started working in her current role and provided insight about the strategies that brought her success.

Q-
What advice would you give to a first time attendee?
A-
Don’t just go home after WordCamp – if there’s an after-party or a welcome party – GO!
Also…bring plenty of business cards or company STICKERS! They make a great ice breaker! It’s easy to meet new people if you have some cool stickers to lure them in with.
I love the social aspect of WordCamp and I have met some amazing people at these events.
There are so many parts to WordCamp RI.
An attendee can make the best use of their time by simply bringing their laptop and attending. WordCamp provides a friendly opportunity to get questions answered and make new WordPress friends. I’ve taken away something from every session I’ve attended, even if some parts are reinforcement of the principles that I already know. It’s always good to be reminded of best practices.

Q-
What supplies should a person bring to WCRI?
A-
A laptop and a charger, business cards, and a hoodie (I’m always cold, lol).

Q-
How do you use WordPress?
A-
In my client support role at Linchpin, I use WordPress all day, everyday. I help clients troubleshoot issues and implement new features. If I’m at work – I’m on one of our clients’ WordPress installs.

Q-
What are you looking forward to this year?
A-
Catching up with people from last year and sitting in on some design-focused sessions. Lately I’ve been interested in learning more about design and UX (user experience) theory.

Developing WordPress Plugins Using the MVC Methodology

Nate Allen is giving a talk of interest to fans of WordPress plugins. His talk has special appeal to advanced developers.  MVC, which stands for Model-View-Controller, is a popular methodology used by modern PHP frameworks to separate the presentation (HTML) from the data and logic of an application. In this talk you’ll learn how to write plugins “the MVC way” while still doing things “the WordPress way.”

Nate spoke at last year’s WordCamp RI about meta boxes and custom fields.

There are two days of sessions for various experience levels (including no experience with WordPress) at WordCamp RI.  Tickets are available at

https://2017.rhodeisland.wordcamp.org/tickets/