Ignite at WordCamp Seattle

We need your help selecting the speakers for one of the sessions for WordCamp Seattle. 6 speakers will give a presentation Ignite WordCamp Seattle. Each presentation will be 20 slides that auto-advance every 15 seconds. Select the 6 presentations you would like to hear at this year’s WordCamp Seattle.

Click Here to Cast Your Vote

The following topics have been submitted:

1. Create Your Own WordPress Theme in Five Minutes – Donald DeSantis
   

   Learn to create a personalized theme for your WordPress blog. In an action packed five minutes, we’ll review the structure of a WordPress theme, export graphics from a Photoshop design, and assemble our blog with little to no coding. I’ll post all of the files used during the session on my website for your download and review. Creating your own WordPress theme isn’t hard. And as we’ll see, it doesn’t take long either.

2. Fixing WordPress Search for CMS Applications – Eric Amundson
   

   Quickly make WordPress search more robust and relevant using Relevanssi, a WP plugin, plus some easy code.

3. The Untimely Demise of the Webmaster, a Historical Journey, as Told by Stephen Colbert – Mark McLaren
   

   Told in the voice of Stephen Colbert. At one time, the mighty webmaster had complete control over his domain. Nothing could happen on a website without his (or her) consent. But WordPress has made much of what they used to do unnecessary. Told as a bitter lament, this story will show how WordPress has helped to “democratize” the Web by giving everyone the ability to do things only webmasters understood: like creating a static home page with what used to be “blogging” software, adding a custom header, editing posts and pages, inserting media, customizing a sidebar, adding even more features using plugins, and customizing the look and feel with themes.

4. Finding the perfect theme for you or your business – Chris Molitor
   

   With all the hundreds of thousands of Wordpress themes out there, how are you suppose to know which one you should use? Should you use a free theme? Should you buy one? What are the advantages or disadvantages to purchasing a theme? What are the advantages or disadvantages to using a free theme? I’ll help you answer all these questions and more, as well as give you some great resources for finding the perfect Wordpress theme for you or your business.

5. Self-hosting multiple WordPress blogs: my experience, tips and tricks – Evil ZEN Scientist
   

   I self host about a dozen WordPress blogs – for family, friends and my own ramblings. In this session I’ll cover some of my experience about keeping on top of the multiple layers of security, patching and change control – and some of my thoughts on how this can help others.

6. Keeping the Lawyers at Bay: How to Avoid Unwanted Attention to your Blog – John Grant
   

   Free advice on how to stay out of trouble as a blogger and dispel a lot of legal myths. Learn how to protect yourself, your work, and how to blow a whistle without a backfire.

7. 5 Free Ways to Bulletproof Your WordPress Site – Eric Amundson
   

   Using free and open source tools to quickly and easily test your site for usability and accessibility.

8. WordPress and the Social Web – Mark McLaren
   

   Technology like WordPress makes the social web possible. I will give a brief tour of the transformation that has taken place in online (and mobile) communication over the past 5-6 years. One of the best examples of this transformation is the move from the frozen-solid, wall-like brochure-ware website to the fluid, state-of-the-art WordPress site. Communication today takes place on many different platforms in real time. WordPress is keeping pace with all these changes. The social web is about listening and responding to your community, and that’s what WordPress does.

9. wp-config Tips and Tricks – Josh Harrison
   

   Just by adding some configuration settings, you can improve the functionality, performance, and security of your WordPress-powered site. The wp-config file is a simple file, but it provides users with a way to customize their WordPress installs. Using real-world use cases, you’ll see some useful tips and tricks that don’t take a lot of time to add. You’ll wish you would have known these long ago!

Click Here to Cast Your Vote

Does Your Site Need Therapy?

Most of the people that are attending WordCamp Seattle have blogs or a website (hopefully it is running WordPress). I’m sure most os us are always looking for ways to improve your sites.

Ian Lurie of Conversation Marketing will be running a session at WordCamp Seattle titled “Internet Therapy: Tough Love For Your Blog”. We are asking that you submit your blog before Sunday at 5PM to get a little therapy from Ian. He will then select a few sites from those submitted and conduct a live review for the group.

I’m sure this will be very enjoyable. I have been reading Ian’s blog for the past few years. From what I have read, he will offer great insight regarding SEO, social media, marketing, etc. And I’m sure he’ll throw in some humor as well.

Please submit your blog or website to us at wordcampseattle at gmail dot com or use our contact form.

Update: we are no longer accepting submissions. Thanks to those who volunteered.