Haven’t you wished you could ask any question to an “expert” at WordCamp? Problem is that many talks have short Q&A sessions – and while we encourage speakers to visit the Happiness Bar after the talks, it’s still difficult to ask sometimes. Also there could be someone ELSE in the room that has a great answer, or would love to bond over the subject you’re interested in.
This is part of the reason why we are bringing “Ask The Expert” sessions to WordCamp Miami this year. In a nutshell:
- One person knowledgable in a particular field
- No slides, no prepared presentations
- Approx 20 min of that person answering as many questions as possible
Think of this as a mini-town hall or a Reddit “AMA”. It’s kind of on a trial basis – if we get good feedback we will bring it back next year.
Got a question about WordPress security? We have a person for that.
Got a question that touches on development? We have two people for that.
Although you can ask any legit question, we tend to suggest topics to help guide the conversation.
There are six “Ask The Expert” spots and they are all on Saturday, March 25th. We are updating our schedule page with the last of those as soon as they are confirmed. However we want to share with you three of the six experts we have lined up so far.
Mason James
Mason James is a native Floridian who got his start volunteering for WordPress support in various forums in 2008. After freelancing and working for various other companies, in 2012, he started WP Valet. With a focus on first-class customer service and iterative, measurable improvements, Valet quickly gained a reputation for being a trusted partner to their clients. Today, Valet provides development, insights, and peace of mind to WordPress site owners around the world.
Suggested Questions And Topics: Mason is passionate about remote work culture and measuring support effectiveness. Mason manages customer expectations, troubleshooting, and consulting work with the same criteria – education to increase success.
Andrew Norcross
Andrew (or Norcross, as most know him) is the founder and lead developer of Reaktiv Studios, an agency focused on solving complex problems with killer WordPress solutions. After quite a few years in the finance industry, Norcross switched to coding and hasn’t looked back. He’s got skin in both the service game — Reaktiv Studios is a WordPress VIP Featured Partner, helping top-tier clients with their WordPress development— and the product game, with Reaktiv’s flagship plugin, Design Palette Pro, continually being developed and supported. An organizer for WordCamp Tampa, Norcross loves to keep giving back to the WordPress community with free plugins, education talks at conferences, and core contribution to WordPress. Norcross lives in Tampa, Florida with his amazing son and a rescue dog that believes he’s a human.
Suggested Questions And Topics: Andrew is not only an accomplished developer but also runs Reaktiv Studios. So developers who have questions related to plugins or perhaps have a question regarding having a business around WordPress plugins might want to see Andrew on March 25th.
Victor Santoyo
Suggested Questions And Topics: Victor is from one of the best WordPress security companies out there – Sucuri. Questions related to security – especially to security of WordPress sites – would be recommended.
Mark Jaquith
Suggested Questions And Topics: Mark is a lead developer of WordPress core – not to mention a developer who has covered advanced topics in both freelancing and other WordCamp talks. Got a deep development question? Mark might be the guy to either give some advice or point you to someone who might have the answer you’re looking for.
More “Experts” and Surprises To Come!
Speakers are being confirmed now in the above lineup and they’ll be announced in a few days, and we’ll have updated information right up until the conference.