Jeff Golenski is one of the presenters at the Providence WordCamp September 26 and 27. He took a few moments to answer our questions.
First and foremost, what is your topic going to be at WordCamp?
Jeff – The Tools & Methodologies of Working Remotely.
What type of person should attend your session?
Jeff – Any type of entrepreneur, designer, developer, business person, or marketer. Whether they’re freelance and have clients from all over, or they’re on a remote team in some larger organization. Everyone can get something from this talk.
What previous knowledge, if any, should they have to attend your session?
Jeff – Pretty basic. They just need to basically be alive and know how to use the internet. 😉
How much coding/web development/other will an attendee need to know to get something out of your talk?
Jeff – Nearly 0%
Why did you agree to speak at Providence WordCamp?
Jeff – I want to help others’ who have a desire to learn and better themselves, in order to make the web a better place.
What do you do with WordPress?
Jeff – We’ll leave it at… “Everything.”
For WordCamp as a whole: What would you say to someone who says: “I’m afraid to go. I know nothing about websites and would be totally overwhelmed.”
Jeff – That’s precisely why we have WordCamps – to learn. There are different level talks for everybody. I can go sit in some talks and be completely underwhelmed and bored, or I can go sit in talks and not know a thing about what the speaker is talking about (until they say “WordPress” and my eyes light up). We all have to start somewhere, so why not make it at a extremely affordable conference with passionate people, rather than paying thousands at a tech college. It’s easier than ever to dig in and get your hands dirty, so what are you waiting for?
What would you say to someone who says: “I know so much about websites and WordPress there’s nothing I could get out of WordCamp.”
Jeff – There’s always a bigger fish. And if they truly have that mentality then they’ve stopping trying to innovate. You can be good at a lot of things, but you can’t be the best at everything.
What impressions do you have about the other speakers/volunteers/sponsors/the organizers at WordCamp?
Jeff – I respect everyone. Whether it be 20 minutes, or dozens of hours, we’re all contributing to make a better WordPress community. Even if someone makes a mistake with logistics or whatnot, it’s not a big deal. They’re doing their best, with the best intentions.
Any advice for a first-time WordCamp attendee?
Jeff – Get off your devices and listen. Unless you’re in a workshop or the speaker is asking everyone to do some interactive stuff, you won’t fully absorb what they’re trying to teach you unless you put things down.
Jeff Golenski is a Design and Front-end Engineer at Automattic. He received degrees at Johnson & Wales University for Digital Media and Web Development. Jeff went to High School at Old Colony Technical High School in Rochester, MA.
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