Single-topic list v2a 2018-07-11 RAM
This post is one of a set of posts on the speaker strategy for WCTO 2018 the URLs for which are:
- Strategy speakers v2a 2018-08-02 RAM
- Generic topics list v2a 2018-07-31 RAM
- Single-topic list v2a 2018-07-11 RAM
- Workshop topics list v1a 2018-07-27 RAM
- Survey questions list v2a 2018-07-27 RAM
- Authoring/Gutenberg (the change and changeover
mechanics, strategy (incl adoption, customization), custom blocks,
opportunities/impact on themes, adoption techniques) - Digital workplace/business/transformation or
digital marketing: what you can do with WP to provide and/or use web services
for your own business or clients’ marketing, CRM, event management,
information/data management, project and task management (pick 3 or 4 and
describe the service provided or received, how implemented, costs,
maintenance) - Ecommerce and competing with Magenta, Shopify
(comparisons, WooCommerce and other plugins, SEO
strategies (including local), payments and gateways, success stories) - Mobile-first design and development (why it’s
important and perhaps crucial, how theme designers address mobile now, the
changeover options for existing sites, what makes mobile different, native vs
HTML5) - Moving to a more secure world: HTTPS/SSL
(overview and context, compliance, strategies (absolutism), plugins (there are
many guides and the challenge is how to deliver the content at the event, not
the content itself) - SEO/SEM: importance (its role), latest
developments (the arms race), keywords, what “intent” means, Yoast/AIO plugins,
analytics, structured data, penalties for insecure sites) - SEO and lead conversion without wrecking your theme and
design: how to select, configure and use banner ads and CTAs, popup or
slide-in mailing form or special sales offers; chatbots for converting casual
scanners; push notification; social media icons; related posts and sponsored
readings; tooltip and popups for getting noticed ads (JS
#7) - Theme/page builders (the context (developments
in the last couple of years), design trends (color palettes, typography,
animation, sticky elements, mobile first, micro-interactions), design’s
relevance (who can and should use them), best practices, Gutenberg impact),
changeover from PHP to JavaScript (JS #4), site,
page and landing page builders including theme included, addon and slider
plugins (JS #9) - WP beginners: starting from zero, getting a WP
site up and running for the new beginner: why WP (set the context); defining
basic requirements (business, hobby, personal), hosting, 5-minute install,
theme selection, essential plugins, security, privacy, backup, updates plus a
start-up checklist, important WP limitations, getting help - WP open to the world: APIs rule, WP’s
REST APIs (purpose, level of development), headless,
WP as an app (incl POC, MVP), using WP content in other systems/platforms and
visa versa (use cases), GraphQL (a competitive spec
for building and consuming APIs (JS #8))
Jack Surveyer 12:43 am on August 3, 2018 Permalink |
Here is my fast assessment:
Any of the single topics will easily provide tthe needed 9-10 lectures.
But will the lectures submitted a)be top notch, b)of broad interest to the WP DIY community that supports it but is clearly wavering towards Wix, Squarespace and Shopify – plus c)will they unlock interest in downstream Meetup some of which could be announced at the WordCamp.
Here are the topics that MIGHT fit the bill:
2) and 7) might be combined into WP Promotions and Conversions as a great topic of broad interest. But can we get top notch and not boring specialized presentations.. This combo could absorb some of 6)
3) and 4) are specialized and not Newbie and/or DIY friendly. Combined to produce great presentations this might be a sleeper.
5)Mobile is 53% of all browsing and growing. And Pagebuilder/Gutenberg are starting to really cater to Mobile first designs. Also PWA, SPA, and AMP are plugin-able. But will DIYs/Newbies care?
9)usable but boring – leaves out the WP specialists. So which makes up the bigger segment of our WCamp audience?
10)usable but to specilized – leaves out DIY and Newbies.
1) and 8) definitely should be combined. Gutenberg is not replacing or competing with the Classic Editor. It is competing with the fast improving PageBuilders becoming SiteBuilders. And Gutenberg is losing bigtime. Elementor was released 3 months after the the launch of Gutenberg effort. And Elementor now has 1 million+ active installs. I test Gutenberg 2-4 times per week and it is serviceable but no match for Divi, Elementor, Thrive, etc.
But of more concern is how Gutenberg is released. With or without the Classic editor on board? For existing pages and posts does it take precedence and insert itself in the edit session or does it yield to the previously chosen editor? Howbug free will it be on release? And how will it interface with existing Pagebuilders and Sitebuilders?
On the stock exchange one can buy VIX investments that measure volatility and vulerability. Right now the VIX price for Gutenberg being a Mess must be increasing.
Robin 11:04 am on August 8, 2018 Permalink |
Jack,
Should “5)Mobile is 53% …” read “4)Mobile is 53% …”?
I’ve used the hash symbol to designate the topic number as in #1 Authoring/Gutenberg.
The idea behind the single-topic strategy is have sessions geared for the various segments of the audience and to devote sufficient time for attendees to feel that they really got something tangible from that topic.
The one exception is #9 WP beginners. It’s devoted to novices and beginners and so wouldn’t be of interest to the rest of the community. That’s the trade-off to having a day devoted to the intake of new people.
#2 and #7 could be combined and include some of #6. I don’t know from this comment whether this combination is because neither #2 nor #7 had enough content and interest on their own or that combining them would be a better “topic” albeit without half of each as now described.
Combining #2 and #7 would mean a focus on digital marketing and marketing automation which admittedly is what most of us think the Digital workplace/business/transformation topic would be. In fact, there’s a lot more to the topic than the marketing aspects. However, I do agree that combining the 2 topics and changing the slant as described would be a popular single-topic event.
Again in your thought to combine #3 and #4, Ecommerce and Mobile-first design and development, what’s your thinking? Newbies are keen to learn more about ecommerce. I think that Ecommerce is one of those topics that you can easily see novice, intermediate and advanced levels. Doing mobile right is more of a developer topic to my way of thinking although, from a newbie point of view, I think that Mobile-first design and development is a missionary sell well worth making.
I think #3 Ecommerce may be a popular topic and worth devoting a day.
IMHO, combining #1 and #8, Authoring/Gutenberg and Theme/page builders would be a mistake. The initial release of Gutenberg is not expected to have any page building capabilities. Those are regarded by many as capabilities coming in future releases. For that reason, as a single-topic, that combination is premature.
In addition, each of the Authoring/Gutenberg and Theme/page builders topics are ones with substantial interest and relevance with Gutenberg being the topic of the year to my way of thinking. To do it justice for a mixed group of attendees would mean it would have to be the single-topic of the event.
In regard to “#10 usable but too specialized – leaves out DIY and Newbies.,” I agree but would argue that that is the trade-off in a single-topic event. Any topic devoted to DIY and newbies is by definition unlikely to appeal to intermediate and advanced devs. Ditto for Mobile-first design and development.