Nur Ahmad Furlong

Category: Interviews

  • Web Guru Spotlight #7 – The WordPress Heavyweights

    I know I might take a few knocks for referring to these guys as WordPress Heavyweights, but bare with me for s short while and I’ll explain. Of course the core WordPress development team and the most involved developers in the WP community responsible for creating and extending the core WordPress system are the real heavyweights, but for most of us out here, there’s a group of Theme Developers and WordPress evangelists who are flying the WP flag for the rest of the world to see. wordpress-heavies They are the ones pushing the boundaries, delivering fantastic themes, tutorials and frameworks for the rest of us to work with. They are the ones talking about the latest theme development techniques and inspiring the rest of us to up our game. As a relative newbie to the WordPress platform, but an absolute WordPress junkie, I owe loads to guys like these for the sterling work they are doing out there. I wanted to pick their brains a little and basically just get them all together in one place for a chance to fire a few questions at them. Just so you all know, I contacted way more than just the guys featured here, but unfortunately not everyone responded to the call, some possibly way too busy and others maybe just not interested and that’s cool with me.

    So who are these WordPress Heavyweights?

    Adii Pienaar – @adii

    adiiAdriaan Pienaar, better known as Adii made a huge leap into WordPress stardom when he released his first Premium News theme. Adii has since gone on the establish the highly successful woothemes.com along with a few partners, as well as radiiate.co.za and is doing great things in the WordPress world. Adii is based in Cape Town, South Africa. I’ve met Adii a few times and interacted over the last couple of years and find him to be an extremely resourceful and highly entrepreneurial character. Find him online at www.adii.co.za where he blogs and also vlogs about his journeys as a entrepreneur. Adii’s most used twitter hashtags are #wordpress #wtf

    Nathan Rice – @nathanrice

    Nathan RiceNathan hails form the South Eastern US and is a freelance web designer, developer and blogger. He has been extremely active in developing both free and premium wordpress themes and regularly writes on topics related to WordPress on a number of sites including www.wordpressthemes.com. Nathan spent a while as lead developer for ithemes.com and has recently launched his very own premium themes development company called Mod Themes. Nathan has developed a number of really useful WordPress plugins (eg. wp-cycle) and also developed the Prodigy Theme Frame work. You can find Nathan online at www.nathanrice.net where he blogs about WordPress and web development in general. Nathan’s twitter tagline reads – “I do stuff with WordPress. Not kinky stuff, just normal “code” stuff.”

    Ptah Dunbar- @ptahdunbar

    ptah_gravatar_biggerI still don’t know how to pronounce his name, so luckily this is not a Video post. Ptah is a web designer & developer also based in the US. He is currently developing a well known WordPress theme framework called wpframework.com. Like most of the guys on this list, Ptah is quite young but has made quite an impact on the WordPress developer community. Ptah is a bit of a hacker and seems to be alot more of a hardcore developer than a front ender. Apparently he loves cooking as well. Find him online at ptahdunbar.com/ where he blogs about some really geeky WordPress and web development stuff.

    Ian Stewart – @iandstewart

    Ian StewartThe man behind the highly successful Thematic WordPress theme framework and child theme evangelist. Ian is a real star in twitter, always replies and is generally helpful and down to earth. He’s a self-taught Graphic designer and confesses: “I don’t play sports but I can juggle and play harmonica. At the same time.” Ian has an extreme passion for WordPress and has single handedly spear-headed the WordPress framework game. You can tell he has a knak for really great web typography as well when you look at www.themeshaper.com. Ian blogs at upperfortstewart.com and is also responsible for setting up www.wpazo.com which is a blog about all things WP.

    Jason Schuller – @jschuller

    jasonschullerI’m not too familiar with the personal side of Jason as we haven’t really interacted much, but I’m a real fan of his work at www.press75.com. Jason is responsible for developing some of the slickest and most unique Premium WordPress themes available online including some really awesome video themes. You can tell Jason is a really particular graphic designer as well as his themes are real works of art.

    Darren Hoyt – @darrenhoyt

    darrenhoytAnother one of those typographic geniuses as you’ll see when you visit www.darrenhoyt.com. Darren has been around in the WordPress world for a while and recently released a helpful WordPress front end system called Gravy – www.darrenhoyt.com/products/gravy which acts as a framework of sorts to help WordPress front enders with the task of rapid theme development. Darren is an Interface designer based in New York. He’s contributed to a number of popular websites with his tutorials and has been featured for a number of his designs. Most notably Darren is responsible for the well known Mimbo theme series which was one of the first advanced magazine style themes released. Darren’s website is a real typographic feast. Enough with the Bios, here’s the questions.

    The Questions:

    1. 3 reasons why you chose WordPress

    Adii Pienaar

    1. It’s the only platform I know how to use.
    2. My whole business is built around it.
    3. And oh – I started using it, because it was free and simply awesome.

    Nathan Rice

    1. It was the easiest CMS to install
    2. It had the easiest theming method to learn
    3. It was hands-down the best blogging software I ever used

    Ptah Dunbar

    1. open source,
    2. great community
    3. & easy to learn

    Ian Stewart

    1. All the cool kids were using it. I started out with Blogger and quickly realized that the majority of professional bloggers were using WordPress.
    2. It seemed like it made web design “easy”. Of course, that’s not true in a complete sense but with so many awesome free Themes, it’s hard not to think that WordPress is the shortcut to easy web design.
    3. It was free. It’s the tool of choice of professional bloggers AND it’s free. It’s really a no-brainer.

    Jason Schuller

    1. Flexible – If you put your mind to it, you can do almost anything with the platform.
    2. Simple & Efficient – I can typically take any theme concept and have a fully functional WordPress theme in a matter of hours.
    3. Fun – I truly do have fun developing on WordPress. I discover great new ways to implement functionality with every theme I develop.

    Darren Hoyt

    1. For front-end designers and PHP novices, it’s an easy and flexible platform to learn
    2. The Codex is a great resource
    3. I enjoy online publishing in all its forms and WordPress/Automattic has a great formula

    2. How much time did it take you to go from beginner to advanced in your WordPress skills.

    Adii Pienaar

    I’d estimate probably around 12 – 18 months. Depends on what you really mean with advanced skill though… Also – I’m definitely still learning every single day. So I think that being an “advanced user” means you’re in the WP Function Reference on a daily basis keeping up with what’s happening with WP and learning new ways of coding things within the WP environment.

    Nathan Rice

    It took about 1 month to become proficient in WordPress theming, but it took about a year to become what I consider an “expert”. Advanced techniques and skills necessary for plugin development is a skill that isn’t easily acquired by someone who primarily works on the front end of web development.

    Ptah Dunbar

    Depends on how you define “advance” as I’m still learning the ins and outs of the WordPress core. But from a theme authoring perspective, I’d say ~3 months coming from no PHP knowledge.

    Ian Stewart

    I don’t think I’m “advanced” at all so it’s hard to say. How about, it didn’t seem like it was a long time until I felt comfortable taking on challenges in WordPress? In fact I was quickly surprised at just what I could do.

    Jason Schuller

    I started developing on WordPress just to see what all the hype was about and was instantly addicted. I want to say that it took me a good 6 months to become an “advanced” user and then another 6 to really hone those skills.

    Darren Hoyt

    I wouldn’t consider myself advanced in terms of writing innovative code. I always design interfaces first and then experiment with the code until I can get it to do what I want. To get to that point, it took me about 6 months of reading the Codex and testing out ideas.

    3. Where would you say WordPress is in terms of it’s Life Cycle?

    Adii Pienaar

    I’d guess that it’s pretty mature at the moment, even though I still expect it to continue growing; at least in terms of becoming a more generally accepted CMS of choice for corporates / enterprises.

    Nathan Rice

    That’s a tough one to answer. I really think that 2.7 was a major step forward in the UI, and having one-click updates is a feature that will keep users upgrading for years in the future. I think WordPress has finally reached a level of maturity that will likely make it a permanent fixture in the world of Content Management Systems.

    Ptah Dunbar

    an 18 year old teenager.

    Ian Stewart

    I hope it’s still in it’s infancy and think it’s got a lot of life in it. It certainly shows no sign of slowing down.

    Jason Schuller

    I would say that WordPress is still climbing and has a good few years until it peaks (if it peaks at all). As of now, there seems to be no end in sight, but who knows what the future holds and who the next “Matt” is sitting in his/her bedroom coding up the next best thing.

    Darren Hoyt

    I couldn’t make that prediction, especially when web publishing is still young and unpredictable.

    4. Your thoughts on what should be the next major step in WordPress’ development.

    Adii Pienaar

    I’m still hoping that WP will become a fully-fledged CMS system, instead of a blogging platform which can play-pretend like a CMS. So maybe something a little closer to ExpressionEngine?

    Ptah Dunbar

    custom post types!

    Ian Stewart

    Appeasing people who want it to be a full-featured content-management system. It sorta is now but just isn’t quite there. Best-case scenario: WordPress adopts a suite of plugins—much like what happened with BuddyPress—that add the functionality folks are looking for. Stuff like content-type management. I know there’s plugins out there that can help with this but I don’t like trusting make-or-break content management to them. Throw the weight of the WordPress community behind a plugin project—again, like BuddyPress, or Drupal’s CCK & Views Plugins—and you’ve got a contender.

    Jason Schuller

    This is a hard question to answer. I really wish there was a bit more flexibility (without the use of a plugin) as to where, when, how posts can be displayed without a ton of work hacking the loop.

    Darren Hoyt

    I’d love more built-in options when it comes to building forms and implementing custom-field data. More and more people are using WordPress as a CMS, not a blog.

    5. Have you ever Used WordPress for anything other than a traditional blog or site.

    Adii Pienaar

    Sure. Look at WooThemes.com. 🙂

    Nathan Rice

    Of course. It’s a great system for use outside its traditional purpose.

    Ptah Dunbar

    Totally, it’s my day job.

    Jason Schuller

    Nearly every theme I have designed for WordPress has been intended for something other than just a standard blog. People need to realize that WordPress can be used for so much more.

    Darren Hoyt

    I recently used it as an aggregator (WPTopics.com) and with the use of custom fields, found it pretty easy to put together.

    6. What’s your top 5 plugins.

    Adii Pienaar

    I’m not really a plugin man at all. Apart from Akismet, I only install plugins on new WP installs if I actually need them. The new Analytics360 by Alex King is kinda awesome though.

    Nathan Rice

    1. Akismet
    2. Contact Form 7
    3. Subscribe to Comments
    4. WP-Super-Cache
    5. Yet Another Related Posts Plugin (YARPP)

    Ptah Dunbar

    backtype connect, theme test drive, filler, svnup, akismet

    Ian Stewart

    1. Akismet
    2. WP Super Cache
    3. Clean Slugs
    4. Contact Form 7
    5. Subscribe to Comments

    Jason Schuller

    I actually very rarely use any plugins/widgets (other than askimet) for any of my own WordPress powered sites. For me… it’s so much easier to build the functionality I am looking for directly into the theme.

    Darren Hoyt

    More Fields, Super Cache, Google Syntax Highlighter, Subscribe to Comments, Tweetbacks

    7. Your idea of what a WordPress Framework should be like.

    Adii Pienaar

    Frameworks? Pfff… Not my cup of tea.

    Nathan Rice

    Prodigy, http://prodigytheme.com/. Abstracted, Extensible, Lightweight, Feature-Rich, and in constant development. Ideally, a theme framework should be as easy to use for regular joes as it is for hardcore developers.

    Ptah Dunbar

    An easy to use, flexible, extensible, skin-able, well-documented CMS that provides the infrastructure and basic set of functionality towards building any type of website or online publishing application.

    Ian Stewart

    There’s a WordPress Developer named Dan Cole who really gets this. He breaks “Framework” Themes into two categories: Starter Themes and Modular Themes. Starter Themes are sometimes called “blank” themes. They don’t have any graphics and minimal CSS. They’re meant for hacking up. Open up a template file, move some code around, add on to the existing CSS and boom, you’ve got a custom WordPress Theme. I think Starter Themes are great. But I don’t consider them true Frameworks. I think a WordPress Theme Framework should be a Modular Theme. One you can interact with via a Child Theme just like Plugins interact with WordPress. Modular Themes typically use the WordPress Hook System to give you way more control than your typical Parent-Child Theme relationship and make WordPress Theming ridiculously easy. Really.

    Jason Schuller

    The best “framework” in my opinion is a blank template. One folder containing a foundation of blank files (header.php, index.php, footer.php, etc.) and empty folders (images, scripts, css, etc.) necessary to create any WordPress theme. Yes, I have templated styles, functions and code that I reuse and modify for each theme that I make, but for the most part, I can crank out the “basic” groundwork for any theme concept I have made within about 30 minutes using my template. I guess what I am saying is that if you have a relatively solid understanding for WordPress theme development, there really is no need to use a “Theme Framework” developed by someone else simply because it will never be perfect for your specific needs.

    Darren Hoyt

    I think it depends on the audience. I’m in the process of releasing something that’s part framework, part baseline theme. It’s tough not get bogged down in the terminology. Mine is geared toward front-end designers who want to rapidly build client sites, but others geared toward more ambitious developers (Thematic, Hybrid) are incredibly useful. It all depends on the project.

    8. Do you use any framework and so why, if not why?

    Adii Pienaar

    We use a development framework – with a generic themes backend – over at WooThemes, but it’s not a framework to the extent that Thematic, Prodigy or Hybrid is… I guess I just don’t like the framework + child theme approach.

    Nathan Rice

    My site, NathanRice.net, is built on Prodigy.

    Ptah Dunbar

    When I started creating WordPress themes back in the 2.0 days, there weren’t any concrete standards for themes, everyone just pulled code from kubrick. So overtime I developed a blank state WordPress theme which I would use for all my WordPress projects that had all the bells and whistles of the latest offerings of WordPress. I figured others could benefit from this and that’s how WP Framework came into fruition.

    Ian Stewart

    I tend to use the Thematic Framework a lot. I don’t know why, there’s just something about it I like. (ok ok of course thematic, silly question, LOL)

    Jason Schuller

    I use the same base template (as explained in the previous question) for all my themes. I really can’t see myself using one specific framework for all my development needs. I don’t like being limited to the boundaries of the framework.

    Darren Hoyt

    I use the same baseline PSDs and baseline/theme framework (codenamed ‘Gravy’) for every project.

    9. Your WordPress Plugin Wishlist.

    Adii Pienaar

    See my top 5 plugins response. 🙂

    Nathan Rice

    I don’t really have one. Most of the time, if I want a particular piece of functionality, I just make a theme or plugin myself.

    Ptah Dunbar

    A WordPress fork of cck that’ll integrate with WordPress custom post types (when that’s available). A comprehensive security plugin that has all the bells and whistles needed to keep your blog secure.

    Ian Stewart

    Drupal’s CCK for WordPress. With some community oomph behind it.

    Jason Schuller

    I really don’t have any. Plugins are way overrated in my opinion and used in the wrong way for the wrong reasons quite often by the typical WordPress user.

    10. Your take on how the GPL affects theme & plugin development.

    Adii Pienaar

    I think it probably affects plugin development a little more, as plugin authors can learn from each other. On the themes front, I think all of us learned how to code WP themes by looking at other WP themes, which would’ve been difficult had it not been GPL’ed and freely available.

    Nathan Rice

    Thankfully, there hasn’t been much impact on the market. I think that adopting the GPL is a great thing to do, if for no other reason than to honor the values of WordPress itself.

    Ptah Dunbar

    My views on the GPL are nothing but positive. I fully support it and I think that if you’re going to try and build a sustainable business around it, you’ll just have to come up with some creative business models, that’s all. It’s changeling but rewarding.

    Ian Stewart

    The GPL throws a hyperspace warp-drive behind WordPress Theme and Plugin development. It’s as simple as that.

    Jason Schuller

    Currently there seems to be an influx of people redistributing unmodified GPL code (themes in particular) which is disturbing to me. I realize that redistribution of unmodified code is well within the rights of the GPL, but I would love to see a little more community interaction with GPL’d themes in particular. Take a theme… customize it… make it better… then redistribute it. I realize that some people might disagree with this position, but I honestly do not see the value in redistribution of unmodified GPL’d code.

    11. Your all time favourite WordPress based site

    Nathan Rice

    Probably FITSNews.com. It’s a news site for my home state of South Carolina and I was fortunate enough to get to build the theme for it. It gets tons of traffic, and WordPress + WP-Super-Cache holds up really well.

    Ptah Dunbar

    None in particular.

    Ian Stewart

    That would have to be WordPress Bits (http://wpbits.wordpress.com/). I wish it was still around.

    Jason Schuller

    This is like asking “what’s your favorite song or movie?”… There are just way too many to choose from to pick just one.

    Darren Hoyt

    I like WP Tavern and the Tavern forums because Jeff genuinely seems to love what he does and the crowd there are productive and helpful.

    12. Your WordPress dreamteam.

    Adii Pienaar

    I’d take Ian Stewart, Nathan Rice, Alex King, Lester Chan & Joost de Valk any time.

    Nathan Rice

    The theme developers I respect the most are:

    • Brian Gardner, for his uncanny ability to strike gold in everything he does
    • Ian Stewart for being a pioneer and continuing to do great work
    • Chris Pearson for his slick minimalism and serious code skillz
    • Justin Tadlock for his unbelievable knowledge of all things WordPress, under the hood.

    I also admire the coding style of Ozh from PlanetOzh.com. I learned plugin development by dissecting his plugins and copying his style. You can see his handywork all over my code.

    Ptah Dunbar

    All the influencers in the community (theme/plugin authoring, ma.tt and core devs).

    Ian Stewart

    About

    Jason Schuller

    I would love to work with some of the WordPress heavyweights to dream up 1 “Dream Theme” (I just checked and that domain is already taken). It would be fun to work with Adii, Brian, Nathan, and the rest of the guys to see what we could come up with.

    Darren Hoyt

    I would love to design a theme idea, build the HTML/CSS and let Justin Tadlock build the functionality. And then let Jeffro hype it.

    13. Do you use any other CMS type systems other than WordPress? If so why & for what?

    Adii Pienaar

    Not at the moment. If I had more time, I’d probably spend it learning how to develop for ExpressionEngine, because of it’s more advanced CMS functionality (compared to WP’s).

    Nathan Rice

    Nope.

    Ptah Dunbar

    I’m dabling with Radient, but that’s only to learn more ruby on rails. I’ve also played with habari which is great stuff (on a technical level), but WordPress is my thing for the moment.

    Ian Stewart

    I’m a really huge fan of Drupal. It’s an amazing system. Most notably I used it to create a custom private intranet for tracking project status. It lets 3 companies across Canada keep track of where their jobs are at, as they’re being produced. It’s really super-cool but here’s the kicker: it took me less than a day of work to get a working demo ready.

    Jason Schuller

    Not anymore. I used to use Joomla, but gave it up long ago for WordPress. Everything else just seems so bloated at this point.

    Darren Hoyt

    I use Expression Engine, but less and less. I’m doing less production these days and trying to just focus on design and interface.

    14. Anything you would change about WordPress if you could.

    Nathan Rice

    Probably. But nothing major. Most of the things I would like to see changed are already on the roadmap for future versions of WordPress.

    Ptah Dunbar

    I’ve got a few nit picks here and there, but nothing that warrants any mentions. WordPress is in a transitioning period so I’ll wait and see.

    Ian Stewart

    A non-janky WordPress solution to managing page menus that didn’t involve weight. WordPress needs to take a load off Fanny and get that happening.

    Jason Schuller

    Twitter.com limits users to 140 characters or less. I think WordPress should limit users to 4 plugins or less.

    15. With twitter stealing the show and Google wave on the horizon, where do you think WordPress fits into the picture?

    Adii Pienaar

    I don’t think that WP is related to either of those, but I also think that WP will benefit from the growth of both. The thing is, that if WP is used as an aggregation space for what we’re doing online, on other networks / services, then there’s real value in the content / activity that one can aggregate on one’s own domain.

    Nathan Rice

    With Twitter and Google, you’re entirely dependent on 3rd party networks. The great thing about WordPress, and blogs in general, is that you own the space. That’s something that Twitter and other social networking sites can never duplicate.

    Ptah Dunbar

    Where it always was, on your domain. If you like owning your own data and having complete control over it, WordPress fits the bill.

    Ian Stewart

    Twitter hasn’t stolen anything and Google Wave won’t swamp blogging. Simple online publishing from a single, authoritative point will be even more important as the web becomes more and more fractured and cacophonous. WordPress helps you get a voice out there. Something that gets over the din. It’ll fit in nicely.

    Jason Schuller

    There will always be plugins & widgets bringing the functionality of both into WordPress or content from WordPress into twitter and wave. These things will always be connected in one way or another.

    Darren Hoyt

    There will always be a need for longform or freeform publishing on the web. It may go through periods of unpopularity, but I’ll always be glad to know platforms like WordPress exist to make it possible.

    16. Where is Small Potato? 🙂

    Adii Pienaar

    At home?

    Nathan Rice

    You’d have to ask him. I’m sure if you asked around, someone has his email address.

    Ptah Dunbar

    Where is Waldo? I have no clue. He’ll make his grand appearance when the time comes. WordPress & it’s community is just too awesome to be easily forgotten. As for Waldo, well, I’m still looking for that guy…

    Ian Stewart

    He’s somewhere out there fighting the elephant in the room gladiator style. Keep him in your prayers lest he fall and we all become wamboozled.

    Jason Schuller

    Hopefully wherever he wants to be enjoying life to the fullest. I think he left the scene for a reason, and he seems to be sticking to his guns.

    Darren Hoyt

    Shangri-La Me: Yeah I know, silly question, just couldn’t resist and honestly, I’d really like to know where he dissappeared to as he was instrumental in helping me get into using WordPress back in the day. If you’re out there Small P, we miss you and would like a shout.

    17. Your favourite new feature in WP 2.8

    Adii Pienaar

    The widget interface definitely.

    Nathan Rice

    Definitely the Widgets API. Building Widgets has never been easier. Plus, the new widget interface is much improved as well.

    Ptah Dunbar

    The WP_Upgrader class.

    Ian Stewart

    I love the new widget experience. And the Theme installer. Anything that makes getting upgrades out to users—like the new Theme installer—is appreciated.

    Jason Schuller

    Hands down… the new Widget interface. Finally, widgets have a purpose.

    Darren Hoyt

    I’m glad they finally included dynamic <body> classes.

    18. Your thoughts on HTML5 and how that might affect WordPress development.

    Adii Pienaar

    Where am I gonna find the time to *really* have a look at HTML5? Dunno, but when I have found the time, I’ll answer that question.

    Nathan Rice

    Ask me in 2-4 years, when HTML5 is actually relevant. As long as IE dominates the browser market, all the cool HTML5 features are useless. And without those new features, HTML5 isn’t that much different from previous versions.

    Ptah Dunbar

    HTML5 and CSS3 will open up a slew of new innovations for the web. It’s only natural that WordPress will get some of that action. We just have to wait until they’re fully supported (or at least a good portion of it) in all modern browsers.

    Ian Stewart

    I think it’s sort of a non-issue at this point. It’s not like XHTML is broken or anything. That said, HTML 5 promises a lot of cool stuff and adds some tags that make your content more semantic. That’s always a good thing.

    Jason Schuller

    By the time HTML5 is widely adopted, who knows if WordPress will even still be around. Consider how long it has taken IE6 to die. I think the worldwide adoption/support for HTML5/CSS3 is a long ways off.

    Darren Hoyt

    It will be nice to see HTML 5 tags logically

    19. What’s your favourite place to get info about WordPress

    Adii Pienaar

    There’s no one website / blog, so I tend to follow all the main peeps. WPTavern as however emerged as one of my favourites.

    Nathan Rice

    WeblogToolsCollection.com is still the go-to resource for all things WordPress. Other than that, I can think of 9 other places that are pretty cool: http://www.nathanrice.net/blog/10-sites-that-produce-quality-wordpress-content/

    Ptah Dunbar

    WP Tavern and twitter tidbits.

    Ian Stewart

    The WordPress Tavern. I think it should be in the official dashboard news. It has a real voice and never stoops to bland pointless posting of lists or parroting of rehashed official news. And get this: the posts aren’t built around driving affiliate sales. It’s a must read if you want a handle on the WordPress community. The WordPress Tavern Forum is great too. There’s real live WordPress nerds in there. Approachable ones even. There’s nothing like it. And when Matt Mullenweg needed to get the skinny on Commercial GPL Themes, where do you think he went first?

    Jason Schuller

    The WordPress.org codex. Anything you need is right there waiting for you. For some really cool code bits, Nathan Rice is starting to provide some great info as well. http://www.nathanrice.net/

    Darren Hoyt

    WPTopics.com 😉

    20. Last Words?

    Adii Pienaar

    Shot for including me as a WP heavyweight! 🙂

    Ptah Dunbar

    WordPress is in exciting times. You should get involved and join on in the fun!

    Ian Stewart

    Thanks for letting me take part in this.

    Jason Schuller

    WordPress has changed my life in more ways than one. I never expected my career to be based on something like WordPress, but things just kind of turned out that way. I have played around with other platforms, but in my opinion, the the community that has been built around WordPress is irreplaceable.

    Me: I’d like to thank the guys for their time and their insight. My apologies for some of the silly questions. I hope the readers benefit from some of their points. We’d like to know what you think. Who did we miss out here, anyone you think needs to be on this list. Bear in mind I have contacted quite a few well known WordPress developers and designers. If you like this interview please share, retweet or share your thoughts. I hope to do another few rounds with a few more strategic questions so will be hunting down a list of willing participants. Seeyall next time WP freaks.

  • Web Guru Spotlight 6: Rob Stokes – Quirk Star Master

    Rob Stokes - Quirk Founder & CEO

    I was spurred into action to revive my Web Guru Spotlight Series of interviews when I came across the release of Quirk e-Marketing’s latest online marketing e-book. Rob Stokes, the brains behind Quirk has been a key figure in shaping the online marketing landscape in South Africa.

    I have been watching Quirk with interested over the last few years due to the fact that they just seem to be staying ahead and being innovative in a seemingly saturated space.
    So enough about Quirk, let’s chat with Rob, the man responsible for getting the Quirk Ball rolling.

    Hi Rob, thanks for giving us some of your valuable time to chat and answer a few questions.
    So you started Quirk the year after I graduated from design School. What lead up to the founding of Quirk?

    I’ve always been a bit of a serial entrepreneur and Quirk was simply the next step for me. Quite honestly at first it was just a way of making some extra cash so I could stop delivering pizza like a poor student…

    Are you positive about the direction the online media space is taking in South Africa.

    I think we still have a long way to go, but it’s only going up. With SA being a relative laggard in global tech this also has some long term positives. For example you don’t see Neotel laying down copper cables. They will be fibre from the start and that will really benefit us in the long term.

    Yes, I’m a glass half full type of guy

    Your team are called QuirkStars and your office is called the Quirk Station, tell us a bit about this and the working environment you’ve created.

    I absolve myself from all blame on these names! The seemingly silly names have evolved from my staff over the years and whilst we know they are a bit geeky, we’re proud of being QuirkStars so I guess it’s just stuck. As for the working environment, I think we have the best coffee in Cape Town! Seriously though, I think we have created an open working environment where the creative juices can flow.

    Do you think the Online Industry is saturated or do you think there’s space for more players?

    Definitely not saturated, but definitely fragmented. I think as the industry evolves we will start to see some consolidation and within 10 years I’m sure the online marketing industry will mirror the structure of the traditional ad industry today. I’m happy to mirror their structure as long as we don’t mirror their stereotypical marketing beliefs 😉


    What is the potential for the online industry to have an impact on the unemployment rate in South Africa

    At the end of the day, pretty much anything that stimulates an economy will benefit unemployment. Ferdie Bester said to me the other day that the best thing we can do as South Africans is start a business and employ people and the internet has made that easier than ever. Now, if only our government would support entrepreneurship as well as the internet does…

    How do you think we can nurture better skills in the online space in the strategic, creative & technical spaces? Should the focus be on educational institutions or industry players?

    I think there needs to be partnerships between the private and academic sectors. The reality is that cutting edge online tactics evolve from industry and not academia – this is as a result of competition driving innovation.

    I’d like to see more companies across the board doing their bit to work with the tremendous academic institutions in SA.

    The team you have working for you seem to be a really uniquely chosen bunch and are stars in their own right. Could you give us some insight into your hiring approach?

    For starters it is our goal to have a brand which people want to work for. Solving this is half the problem.

    Secondly we will experiment with pretty much anything to find people. From Facebook ads to hiring bounties we have tried many things, some have worked, some haven’t, but that’s what online marketing is all about.

    Once someone cracks an interview, they are generally seen by their possible team leader and our COO. It might take a few interviews, but if they prove that they have the skills, they then get to be grilled by me to ensure they will fit into our culture. I ask a lot of strange questions, but if you make it through, chances are you rock.

    Apart from that, the only other unusual thing is that we work on one man one vote. Inpsired by Ricardo Semler, this means that I, as the CEO, can get outvoted on hiring people. In fact I’ll admit that in the past I’ve voted against hiring someone who the team wanted. We hired that person and I’ll admit that I was wrong and they turned out to be awesome… ah the power of democracy.

    Is there a difference between online & offline entrepreneurship?

    The fundamentals remain the same only the tactics change.

    Many people see online entrepreneurship as this ultimate money making space similar to the way they did before dot bomb. Do you think a crash might be headed our way?

    No. Some will fail, some will succeed, but I don’t see an industry wide crash.

    I’ve spent the last few weeks teaching some newbies XHTML, CSS & WordPress. What do you think would be the most essential additional skills to pass on to newbies.

    Basic HTML, SQL, SEO and PPC. Once you’ve wrapped your head around those concepts, marketing on the internet becomes a far easier and more intuitive process.

    You’ve been very involved in the web community since I started getting into the whole meetup / (un)conference scene, has this added value to your organisation?

    I think it’s important that we are a contributing member of the community in which we work. Being part of these events goes a long way to achieving that so yes, I do think we have benefited.

    Would you recommend all businesses go social in this way?

    I think businesses need to interact with their customers and community on their terms and in their space. If this means an unconference then so be it.

    I’ve always been an advocate for giving before receiving and admire your gesture of releasing your e-marketing textbook. Does the cost of producing it really justify this type of approach?

    Publishing a book is not an easy or cheap exercise. The Quirk eMarketing book took us 8 months and all in all cost us almost half a million Rand.

    On the surface we will make a massive loss, but we’re not looking at book sales to drive any sort of ROI for us on this.

    This is an example of capitalist driven social development. Quirk will gain from this if we can get thousands of students each year to enjoy learning from our book. These students will become our future staff and customers and it’s very difficult to put a price on that.

    So that’s how we justify it from a business perspective. From a personal perspective we have done something really good here. This book will improve the lives of many people and that makes us feel incredibly good.

    Lack of access to information and knowledge tools & resources is a big disadvantage for the majority of South Africans.

    Do you think there is a serious business case for corporates developing capacity in this area?

    YES!

    We want the Quirk book to be an example to companies in all industries to do the same.

    Open Education began primarily as an initiative at school level, but eventually I hope it will permeate all areas where skills are required. Imagine if De Beers wrote a Geology textbook…

    Have you focused much on mobile strategies and where do you think the coming mobile revolution could have the most impact?

    No, this version of the textbook is very thin on the mobile side. However as we needed to have the book ready for the second university semester of 2008 we left out a few chapters.

    We plan to update the book over the next few months with about 5 new chapters of which mobile is definitely one.

    Do you think consumer action or provider competition could ever have an impact on the cost of bandwidth in South Africa?
    Without doubt. Both are fundamental to economic efficiency and the internet itself promotes both by giving consumers a voice and lower barriers to competition.
    I found the launch of Brandseye very interesting. How has the uptake of this innovative solution been so far?

    It’s been OK. Internationally it has been well received but locally the mindset isn’t fully there yet and I do acknowledge that the price makes it pretty exclusive.

    However we have a plan to cater to a wider audience so watch this space…

    Do you guys use Brandseye for Quirk?

    Of course!

    Do you think knowledge work and mobile workers are on the rise in South Africa?

    Definitely!

    What are your favourite tools you use as a knowledge worker on a daily basis?

    Twitter, our internal Wiki, RSS

    Mac or PC?

    Sigh…. PC

    Firefox or Safari?

    The Fox… it’s the only way!

    How do you feel about IE6?

    Poef

    What’s next for South Africa Online?

    Video. Currently it’s a pain to watch online video locally. I’d like to think that in the next 2 years South African’s will forget what “buffering” means…

    Any last words?

    Thanks for a thought provoking interview…!

    Thanks to “YOU” Rob and we look forward to hearing you speak at the Heavy Chef session on the 27th.

  • Reviving my Web Guru Spotlight – Chatting to Rafiq Phillips

    A while back I started posting a series of interviews of people I feel have made a difference to my experience of the web in some way or another. It’s been a while since I’ve posted one and I have the feeling I need to revive this little story and start chatting with some web gurus again.

    Today we’ll be hearing a little from Rafiq Phillips, who needs little introduction, especially if you’re based in South Africa.

     webguruspotlight-rafiq

    Today we will be speaking to Rafiq Phillips, SEM(Search Engine Marketing) Whizz Kid, web entrepreneur, collaboration enthusiast and general web guru. Rafiq Has a long list of achievements most notably the much respected blog Web AddiCT(S); (Web Application Development, Design & Innovation in Cape Town) which has been going for about 2 years, His Pillar Position at Quirk e-marketing, iDrive.co.za, a web application to help find driving school instructors, SEO blog and a host of other initiatives in collaboration with some of the top names in the SA new media industry.

    Just google ‘Rafiq Phillips” and you’ll be shocked at the long list of results. He’s an advocate of the googleCV! When I first saw his picture and didn’t know too much about him I would have thought him to be a junior just moving his way up the ranks, but don’t let his unassuming presence fool you, We’ve got a real Guru in our presence.

    So let me welcome to nomad-one, our favourite Web AddiCT.

    It’s obvious you’re not a shy guy and don’t lack confidence at all in going out there and saying your say. What has been the greatest influence in pushing you to strive the way you have in achieving your goals.

    I’m on a mission to seek knowledge from the cradle to the grave, you know where that’s from 😉

    No doubt you’re proudly South African. Seems we have some interesting & challenging times ahead of us. How do you think we can succeed in meeting these challenges.

    Most obstacles facing internet start-ups in developing regions of the wwworld, I believe, have been put in place back bureaucrats and ill-informed policy makes. Look at the ODF vs MS debate.

    Their is a great opportunity for organisations and individuals to wwwork together and innovate around those man-made constraints and achieve the unthinkable, unthinkable to those who put difficulties in our way or fear the future.

    Rafiq, though I envy your success I am sure I’ll not envy your workload. Someone like you must be snowed under permanently. Tell us about a typical day in the life of Rafiq.

    If you’d like to follow me around for a typical day the best and easiest way would be to follow me on twitter. The Carte Blanche interview also sums up a typical day of my life in the public timeline..

    Technology as we all know is not an end in itself, something I was reminded a while back by Chris Garrett in an interview with him. I’m always full of big ideas and great ambitions but follow through is where the real test lies. How do you go about putting into practice your ideas, or do things happen in a random or more unplanned manner in your wwworld.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahatma_Gandhi says it best: "You must be the change you wish to see in the world."

    I have a final destination in mind but the path usually unfolds as the journey continues.

    I’m always reading up on a whole range of productivity methods & Techniques. Tell about your approach to getting things done quicker & better.

    Many hands, eyes, minds make wwwork easy. Asking for help is the best way to get things done right. At Quirk my work would bee nothing without the SEO Crew, Carlos Menezes , Suzan Gray, Sarah Manners and Tim Shier just to name a few.

    The web Is a great place to promote causes and to initiate projects towards positive change in society. Recently I’ve set up a website to initiate dialogue around a project which has been floating in my mind for close to 10 years now but in the mix of everything else that everyone is trying to achieve it seems each endeavour becomes a little more watered down on its own. Any ideas on how to solve this problem?

    Like the various chapters in the emarketing textbook each aspect of emarketing is separate but combined have the ability to achieve your holistic marketing goals on and offline.

    In a similar manner, when looking at all the projects you are involved in, do not approach each of them as separate but rather as one project aimed at achieving your big hairy audacious goal. If all the projects you are involved in are not all heading in the same direction should you really be re-thinking and re-aligning your involvement to ensure that your goal is met with each of them.

    Where would you position South Africa as a player in the global knowledge economy.

    No matter what those on the outside might think. South Africa IS a first world country, with 3rd world problems. That puts us in the best position to use the best of both worlds top offer world class services at the fraction of the cost of our closest competitors

    Having followed the social bookmarking onslaught which has hit the South African web do you think its in danger of becoming too dominated by an elite group of web enthusiasts and rules out the rest of the web using population?

    no comment.

    I know I’m jumping around from topic to topic but please bear with me, I’d like to cross question you on any and everything that comes to mind. What role do you think design plays in the success or failure of web initiatives.

    Embed this video by the SEO rapper as my answer.

    Can design & technology solve South Africa’s problems?

    Can design and technology solve problems? Yes it can. Road Safety and Driver Education are one of the biggest problems facing ALL South Africans on a daily basis. Sites with little or no help from external sources like www.idrive.co.za, www.arrivealive.co.za, www.saidi.org.za and roadsafety.wordpress.com helps the ‘normal’ person on the web, mobile, MXit but could have a greater impact offline with a little more assistance from the right individuals or companies.

    What’s your favourite web initiative?

    WordPress FTW!

    What’s your favourite activity?

    Eating home cooked meals.

    Where do you see yourself in 3-5 years time?

    I’d love to be invited to TED…

    How do we prepare ourselves online for 2010 and what effect do you think this event will have on the SA web?

    I believe eDucation is the key. Let’s look past the FUD and focus on solving our own problems and not wait for a hand out. 

    First project I did in PHP while at Cape Tech in 2003, www.tourguide.co.za, is still running (fully automated) today and could help 100’s of 1000’s of South Africans in the tourism industry with a little work. If anyone would love to get involved with this project which is currently lying dormant. Please contact me directly.

    How can each one of us make a difference in the building of the “new new South Africa”

    By not repeating the mistakes of our fathers.

    Like we’ve come to know him and in typical Rafiq style, a man of few words with one or 2 gems tucked in there. Thanks for chatting with us Rafiq, we’ll be looking forward to your talk at Flying Solo

  • Web Guru Spotlight 5: Vincent Maher – Online Media Strategist

    Web Guru Spotlight 5: Vincent Maher – Online Media Strategist

    webguruspotlight-vincent

    I’m proud to say that with us today, we have someone who has had a major impact on the direction of the new media Industry in SA over the years, and who I am sure we are gong to be hearing a lot more from in the coming months and years. You must know Vincent Maher, online media strategist to the Mail & Guardian Online and key player in the social-bookmarking website, Amatomu. He’s currently in the process of re-developing the Mail & Guardian online and it’s Thoughtleaders blogging platform as well.

    Vincent’s own site www.vincentmaher.com serves as a doorway into his personal and professional journey in the online space which he calls, “My Digital Life”, and it gives us a good idea of the insightful yet witty personality behind the name.

    So! lets get dig a little deeper. I’ve been in the web industry in some way or other for the past 7 years now Vincent, but admittedly not been exposed to many strategic developments in the online space over the past years.

    I believe you have been involved in the online space for around 11 or 12 years now, what was your entry point to the industry, and what did you study to prepare you for the road ahead?

    I studied journalism at Rhodes and from 1993 – 1997 and in my final year I was supposed to finish the Bachelor of Journalism course. The department didn’t accept my transition from the 3rd to the 4th year so I did a joint honours in Journalism and English, mixing 2 Journalism courses with 3 from English. In English I did literary theory, gay and lesbian fiction – basically another name for more literary theory – and revenge tragedy. The revenge tragedy has helped me countless times in my life because I know how to wait until the time is right. In Journalism I did print design – you can see that influence in my web design – and an experimental course called online publishing.

    At the time I thought the Web was &^$@$^$, and that all networks were good for was fragging your mates in Doom. I still sort of believe that but don’t tell anyone.

    (more…)

  • Web Guru Spotlight 4: Matthew Buckland GM of the M&G

    webguruspotlight-mattbuckla

    Today we will be speaking to Matthew Buckland, General Manager of the Mail & Guardian Online and co-founder of award-winning blog aggregator amatomu.com. I had the pleasure of working with Matthew years ago at iafrica.com in the early days when I just stepped into the new media space. Back then Matthew was an online editor. I can imagine it was the beginnings of what now is a real passionate relationship with digital media.

    Matthew regularly speaks at media events both locally and internationally and is at the forefront of new media developments in the new media industry & the blogosphere in South Africa.

    Hi Matthew. Firstly, let me say it’s great chatting to you again after all this time and I’m impressed with the way you’ve moved since those days back at iafrica.com.

    So tell me, what’s your current job description?

    As the GM I am responsible for the overall business and strategy of the Mail & Guardian Online. A large part of my role is conceptualising and building new sites that attract audience and provide a service to users. It’s what I’m passionate about, so I am pretty hands on when it comes to development, design and interface issues.

    Here I work closely with our Strategist Vincent Maher, who I have known since my student days at Rhodes (We did the same new media course). Our brainstorming sessions can be pretty out there sometimes. We seem to be on the same wavelength so have been a great team.

    I also had to get involved in business and sales side about three years ago, because I realised it was the only way M&G Online was going to expand and I would be able to bring onboard the fabulous talent we have working for our division: start bringing in the revenues.

    (more…)

  • Web Guru Spotlight 3: nomad-one meets adii for coffee

    Yesterday met with Adii(Adriaan Pienaar) of www.adii.co.za for a coffee and a chat. Adii is someone making quite a bit of noise in the South African & International wordpress community. He’s a self styled WordPress Rockstar and online entrepreneur of note. Though I’ve interacted with Adii digitally through his website, facebook and email, meeting someone in person still is the only way to get a real sense of the personality on the other side.

    Web Guru Spotlight: nomad-one meets adii for coffee

    So who is Adii (Adriaan Pienaar)

    (more…)