...

Interview: Why Matt Mullenweg Created & Love WordCamps

154

Not too long ago, we created an infographic about What is a WordCamp? The goal of that infographic was to raise awareness in the WordPress community and encourage WordPress beginners to get involved by attending WordCamps. Now our infographic might not be enough, so we thought abot asking Matt Mullenweg for a short interview about why he created WordCamps, and what are some of his favorite part and experiences.

Are you wondering who is Matt? He is the founding developer of WordPress. He is also the founder of a company called Automattic that is behind cool projects like: WordPress.com, Akismet, Gravatar, VaultPress, IntenseDebate, Polldaddy, and more. He also just happens to be the guy who created the first WordCamp. So let’s see what he has to say about WordCamps that may be able to inspire you to attend.

Question: How the concept of WordCamps came to existence?

I was inspired by BarCamps and thought we could do the same thing for the WordPress community, so with 2-3 weeks notice we put together the first one in San Francisco at the Swedish American Music Hall and it was a huge success, so we kept doing it.

Question: In your opinion, what are some of the benefits of attending a WordCamp?

The schedule will tell you all of the presentations, but to me the real value of a WordCamp is the connections you make and the people you meet in the time between the sessions.

Do you have any good WordCamp success stories? (such as folks meeting up and starting a business etc?)

There are hundreds. From my own personal experience, about half of the people I’ve hired at Automattic attended a WordCamp as one of their introductions to the WordPress world.

Editor’s Note: If any of you guys have success stories, please share it in the comments.

What is your most favorite part about WordCamps?

I love the Genius bars, even though we’ll probably have to rename them so we don’t get in trouble with Apple. There’s nothing quite like spending time with a single person and fixing whatever it is they’re struggling with, making a difference.

What is something that you would like all WordCamps to improve on?

I would love to see more done with the WordCamp events after the event is done, so it becomes a permanent resource rather than just an ephemeral promotion mechanism.

We want to thank Matt for taking the time out of his busy schedule and answering these questions for us. If you guys want, you can follow him on Twitter – @photomatt or follow his blog.

We hope to see you guys at a WordCamp. Make sure to check out the schedule because there could be one in your area. If you have been to a WordCamp and want to share your comments, then please do so in the comments.

Don’t forget to check out our infographic about What is a WordCamp and Why You should Attend!

Seraphinite AcceleratorOptimized by Seraphinite Accelerator
Turns on site high speed to be attractive for people and search engines.