Topic: Centralizing News through WordPress REST API
S. Todd McKee, MEd is the Senior Web Developer for the Office of Communications & Marketing at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) in Little Rock, AR. Todd and his team are responsible for UAMS’s online visual identity, determining the vision and strategic goals of UAMS’s web presence, providing web and application development services, and supporting their content management systems. Todd has served on the Teaching with Technology committee and given numerous talks on technology in education. He spends most of his day looking at code and solving everyone’s problems. Todd lives in Little Rock, AR with his wife and two of his four daughters.
How did you get involved in WordPress?
I started my first WordPress website for an education grant I was working on some time before 2011. I had been coding everything in DreamWeaver. I tried a few CMSs, but none ever stuck. A group at UAMS started migrating some websites to WP. I decided to give it a try and I have been working in WP ever since.
What do you do with WordPress?
I spend about 6-8 hours every day in WP or WP development. I work for an Academic Medical Center and University. We run almost all of our 200+ sites in WP. My days involve a little content and a lot of code.
What has your experience with the WordPress community been like?
I love the WP community. I’m not really much of a pure coder, so I rely on the expertise of others all the time. The community is made up of a huge continuum of skills. We are all trying to make the web experience better. Lately, I’ve been working with the WPCampus community, too.
Why did you want to speak at WordCamp DFW?
I’m a talker. 😉 I love giving presentations, but I haven’t done it much lately. I talked with several people at WordCamp Fayetteville. They suggested I present. It’s always fun to learn and share.
Why did you decide to speak on the REST API?
This is a project that I have been working on for a little while. I’ve seen snippets of information in several places, but nothing quite like our project. I hope it helps some others in the WP community.
What do you hope the audience gets from your talk?
I hope that the audience will learn a little more about centralizing services and using the REST API for distribution. This may not be something they need right now, but the concepts can be expanded to other areas.
Tickets are now on sale for this year’s WordCamp DFW held on Nov. 11-12. There are also plenty of opportunities to sponsor the event or help run it. We hope to see you there!