If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed. Or click the ITunes Subscribe button in the right sidebar for our Overflow Podcast. If you are interested in talking about developing your brand or company on line, call 404.875.1008 x302. Thanks for visiting!
I have been co-hosting a weekly podcast called The Bella Buzz with the CEO of Bella Web Design, Desiree Scales. We have good conversations about topics related to online marketing. Thought it would be a good time to start replicating the programs here for the Overflow audience. This is episode 35.
It’s all about Wordpress and the WordCamp Atlanta on this week’s episode of The Bella Buzz. Desiree braved the icy roads of Atlanta to attend the Conference on Saturday for a chance to network with over 200 attendees interested in hearing about best practices and upcoming enhancements to WordPress.
The Wordpress platform can be called a blogging tool, a publishing platform or a content management system (CMS). Whatever the terminology, it has become a factor across the web for developing vibrant web sites.
The open source tool was first launched in 2003 by Matt Mullenweg, and according to WikipediA as of September 2009 is being used by 202 Million websites worldwide.
Bella Web Design and Fluid Media both use the Wordpress platform as part of the tool kit we use with clients who are looking to establish a solid web presence. Based upon the flexibility of design and functionality, it has become a logical choice when looking for ways in which to present content.
(Attention: Wordpress designers you can enter a contest the Bella Web Design is hosting, check this site for details and how to enter.)
When considering the use of Wordpress as your web platform, there are choices that you can make based upon needs. Plugins are available to add practically any functionality that you can imagine for your site, and from a design standpoint you can look into Themes. Themes are available for free that can be easily implemented into a site for a nice graphic feel for visitors, while advanced implementations can include custom themes designed to achieve specific graphic standard requirements you may have. It can be an interesting business model for a designer to focus exclusively on building and marketing themes via the “freemium” model. Freemium by the way is a term coined by Venture Capitalist Fred Wilson for when web services are offered at a basic level for free, with the intention of moving users into paid versions with additional features.
The WordCamp Atlanta Conference was a multi tracked event with beginner, intermediate and advanced tracks, with many quality presenters including locals such as Amani Channel, Dougal Campbell, and Rusty Tanton. As well as national figures such as Mitch Canter and Aaron Brazell.
We will update this post as the video presentations from all of the sessions are posted in a single location, but check out the Speakers page of the Conference web site to see who presented so you can search for presentations.
If you are interested in seeing what other people are saying about WordCamp Atlanta, search for the Twitter hashtag #wcatl.
Our discussion veers into a little segment about the changing role of “spec” creative in the design world. In the past, any client who asked a creative shop to provide designs prior to awarding the work was looked down upon or simply avoided. Today, the approach has changed to where entire web sites such as Template Monster and Boxed Art have sprung up to handle the demand of creative work distribution.
As we turn the corner on 2010 and get into conference mode, keep an eye out for the next Metro Atlanta event SoCon10, January 29 – 30, 2010.
