{"id":1026,"date":"2016-09-15T10:25:23","date_gmt":"2016-09-15T15:25:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/2016.dfw.wordcamp.org\/?p=1026"},"modified":"2016-09-22T19:36:35","modified_gmt":"2016-09-23T00:36:35","slug":"our-qa-with-kristen-wright","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dfw.wordcamp.org\/2016\/our-qa-with-kristen-wright\/","title":{"rendered":"Our Q&A with Kristen Wright"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kristen\u00a0will be joining us as a speaker for WordCamp DFW with her\u00a0talk entitled “12 Ideas to Freshen Up Your Blog<\/a>” on our Blogger\u00a0track.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Why do you use WordPress?<\/em><\/p>\n

I use WordPress because it’s the most flexible, extendable CMS available. The possibilities are endless with WordPress\u2014you can make just about anything you can dream up either on your own or with the help of plugins and themes.<\/p>\n

Also, Since WordPress is open source, it’s constantly improving and evolving for the better. WordPress is also really unique because of the awesome community behind it\u2014WordPress isn’t just a platform, it’s a movement.<\/p>\n

It’s also cool that WordPress has provided a launchpad for extending the base software with plugins, themes, and other services. I work at\u00a0iThemes<\/a>, one of the very first premium WordPress companies (founded in 2008). At iThemes, we make solutions for\u00a0WordPress backups<\/a>\u00a0(BackupBuddy),\u00a0WordPress security<\/a>\u00a0(iThemes Security) and\u00a0remote WordPress management<\/a>\u00a0(iThemes Sync). It’s rewarding to know we’re helping our customers protect their WordPress sites and do more with WordPress.<\/p>\n

On a personal note, WordPress has allowed me to quickly and easily create new sites to help showcase my work and share it with others.\u00a0I wrote a memoir in 2014<\/a>\u00a0and have another new book on the way this fall. I can’t imagine promoting and selling my books without a website, and WordPress has helped me focus on my my writing by removing the hassle of building and maintaining websites.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

When and how did you get started using WordPress?<\/em><\/p>\n

When I first started blogging, I had a Blogger blog (I know, I know). I had never heard of WordPress until I started at iThemes in 2011.<\/p>\n

At iThemes, one of our mottos is “Learn and Grow,” so I was equipped with all the resources and tools I needed to start digging into the platform. I built my first WordPress website within a few months.<\/p>\n

Now,\u00a05 years later<\/span><\/span>, I handle some of the front-end development on iThemes.com, designing new sales pages, landing pages and other miscellaneous updates to the site. I’ve also designed a\u00a0premium theme<\/a>, written several free\u00a0WordPress ebooks<\/a>, and was a contributing editor for the first real book iThemes published to help freelance web designers start and grow their business entitled\u00a0The Ultimate Guide to Starting a Freelance Web Design Business<\/a><\/i>. I also do a little client work on the side.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

How do you stay informed about WordPress news, tips, etc.?<\/em><\/p>\n

I subscribe to a few email newsletters, including\u00a0wpmail.me<\/a>. I also follow\u00a0wptavern.com<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0torquemag.io<\/a>. I also get a first look at our own\u00a0iThemes WordPress Weekly Recaps<\/a>\u00a0before they go live on the blog each week,\u00a0summarizing the latest news and updates from around the WP community.<\/p>\n

As far as tips and resources, I cruise the iThemes Training library of\u00a0WordPress training videos<\/a>\u00a0to sharpen my development skills and hop on the\u00a0weekly free webinars<\/a>\u00a0from time to time. My local library in Oklahoma City also provides membership to\u00a0Lynda.com<\/a>\u00a0which has been helpful for more code-related training.<\/p>\n

What do you like most about WordCamps? (and which have you attended?)<\/em><\/p>\n

I’m a bit of an introvert, but I enjoy getting to meet new people and hear how they’re using WordPress. It’s ways cool to see the wide variety of people using WordPress\u2014I’ve met everyone from meteorologists and real estate agents to virtual assistants and craft bloggers.<\/p>\n

The sessions\/learning tracks at WordCamps are always really informative, too. At each WordCamp, I’ve learned something new and walked away with an idea. I always leave inspired \u2026 and with a few after-party stories. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

I’ve attended WordCamp DFW the past two years (2014 – 2015), WordCamp Fayetteville in 2013, and the first-ever WordCamp OKC this year (2016).<\/p>\n

Kristen is a writer, artist and web designer from Oklahoma City. Living and breathing WordPress for the past five years, she handles content and email marketing for iThemes, as well as some front-end development for iThemes.com. She published a memoir in 2014 and is currently finishing up a new book for release in early autumn 2016. She enjoys hiking, cooking, and drinking kombucha.<\/h2>\n

Kristen\u00a0will be speaking at WordCamp DFW 2016. Her\u00a0talk is entitled “<\/span>12 Ideas To Freshen Up Your Blog<\/a>” Until then, find Kristen\u00a0online at\u00a0kristenwebbwright.com<\/a><\/span>\u00a0or tweet her\u00a0@kristenwright_<\/a><\/span>!<\/span><\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kristen\u00a0will be joining us as a speaker for WordCamp DFW with her\u00a0talk entitled “12 Ideas to Freshen Up Your Blog” on our Blogger\u00a0track.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15031404,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1026","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-speakers"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7pEJ2-gy","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dfw.wordcamp.org\/2016\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1026","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dfw.wordcamp.org\/2016\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dfw.wordcamp.org\/2016\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dfw.wordcamp.org\/2016\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15031404"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dfw.wordcamp.org\/2016\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1026"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/dfw.wordcamp.org\/2016\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1026\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1028,"href":"https:\/\/dfw.wordcamp.org\/2016\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1026\/revisions\/1028"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dfw.wordcamp.org\/2016\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1026"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dfw.wordcamp.org\/2016\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1026"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dfw.wordcamp.org\/2016\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1026"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}