How Developers are Driving the Business Adoption of WordPress [Infographic].

14 years ago I had a coworker tell me I needed to setup a website for myself. Why? Well I was helping a few people learn web development and web design and figured others could learn from it.  I was attending New York Institute of Technology to study computer graphics.  Mainly 3D graphics.  I had a dream to get into movie animation.  How do I get known or at least the word out that I can do the job?  That’s when my coworker says “I can see it now… keithandersen.com.”  About 20 minutes later I owned the domain and had hosting for it.

14 years later here I sit with a website that has gone through iteration after iteration without any real direction. I’ve used it for portfolio work, test sites, data storage, etc.  Once I started digging in WordPress some time ago I started to see more potential in getting towards the original goal I had.   “I’ll create a development/design blog for the masses!”  Nope didn’t get there.

Now is the time for me to get this thing off the ground.  Having climbed through the ranks of several companies starting with regular grunt work to team lead on large web base applications I’ve collected a good amount of information to relay.  I’ve recently started putting efforts towards helping others in developing their web presence.  I hope to be able to continue to grow off those endeavors.

In the coming months I’ll be rolling out a redesign of the site more fitting to my goal.  I’m working to consolidate my multiple websites into a better more robust presence.  I have maintained several domains over the years with many ideas that just petered out over time.  It is time to re-establish my own presence and not thin it out as I have.

I have given up trying to force feed stuff to people.   I’ve learned that if I back off, remain professional and in control people will come to you.  I’ve learned how time management is key in making things happen.  I’ve learned that good things come to those who aim for high goals and remain in good spirits.  Standing here with a bull horn screaming for everyone to look at me and see what I have is in the past.  I’ve learned to stop criticizing myself and my work and scrutinizing every detail down to the Nth degree.  I’ve learned to open my mind to possibilities that I didn’t think about.

So…

I am just a man looking to dump what I have to offer on the table.  If you find something of interest let me know.  If not come back another time.  I hope something I put out there helps you get what you want in some shape or form.  I’m at the where I aim to make a living with whatever keeps me interested and happy.  I have alot of ideas, alot of expectations and mostly alot of hope.

Here’s to a great 2012 and more…

Posted January 10, 2012 by Jane Wells. Filed under Community.

You are an agent of change. Has anyone ever told you that? Well, I just did, and I meant it.

Normally we stay away from from politics here at the official WordPress project — having users from all over the globe that span the political spectrum is evidence that we are doing our job and democratizing publishing, and we don’t want to alienate any of our users no matter how much some of us may disagree with some of them personally. Today, I’m breaking our no-politics rule, because there’s something going on in U.S. politics right now that we need to make sure you know about and understand, because it affects us all.

Using WordPress to blog, to publish, to communicate things online that once upon a time would have been relegated to an unread private journal (or simply remained unspoken, uncreated, unshared) makes you a part of one of the biggest changes in modern history: the democratization of publishing and the independent web. Every time you click Publish, you are a part of that change, whether you are posting canny political insight or a cat that makes you LOL. How would you feel if the web stopped being so free and independent? I’m concerned freaked right the heck out about the bills that threaten to do this, and as a participant in one of the biggest changes in modern history, you should be, too.

You may have heard people talking/blogging/twittering about SOPA — the Stop Online Piracy Act. The recent SOPA-related boycott of GoDaddy was all over the news, with many people expressing their outrage over the possibilities of SOPA, but when I ask people about SOPA and its sister bill in the Senate, PIPA (Protect IP Act), many don’t really know what the bills propose, or what we stand to lose. If you are not freaked out by SOPA/PIPA, please: for the next four minutes, instead of checking Facebook statuses, seeing who mentioned you on Twitter, or watching the latest episode of Sherlock*, watch this video (by Fight for the Future).

Some thoughts:

In the U.S. our legal system maintains that the burden of proof is on the accuser, and that people are innocent until proven guilty. This tenet seems to be on the chopping block when it comes to the web if these bills pass, as companies could shut down sites based on accusation alone.

Laws are not like lines of PHP; they are not easily reverted if someone wakes up and realizes there is a better way to do things. We should not be so quick to codify something this far-reaching.

The people writing these laws are not the people writing the independent web, and they are not out to protect it. We have to stand up for it ourselves.

Blogging is a form of activism. You can be an agent of change. Some people will tell you that taking action is useless, that online petitions, phone calls to representatives, and other actions won’t change a single mind, especially one that’s been convinced of something by lobbyist dollars. To those people, I repeat the words of Margaret Mead:

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.

We are not a small group. More than 60 million people use WordPress — it’s said to power about 15% of the web. We can make an impact, and you can be an agent of change. Go to Stop American Censorship for more information and a bunch of ways you can take action quickly, easily, and painlessly. The Senate votes in two weeks, and we need to help at least 41 more senators see reason before then. Please. Make your voice heard.

*Yes, the latest episode of Sherlock is good. Stephen Moffatt + Russell Tovey = always good

via WordPress › Help Stop SOPA/PIPA.

A Festive Collection of Christmas Themed Wallpapers.