Can't Speak Geek

Translating the Geek Speak in simpler terms

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WordPress 5.0 is Coming!

Matt Mullenweg, the founder of WordPress, CEO of Automattic, and Lead Developer for WordPress 5.0 said yesterday evening in a post on Make WordPress Core that following no other issues should arise, WordPress 5.0 will be released Thursday, December 6th, 2018. That comes the day before WordCamp US starts in Nashville, Tennessee.

Change can be hard. Especially when it is thrust upon us with a 2 day “Get ready because here it comes” notice. However, a 2 day heads up is so much better than none at all. They could have pressed publish Monday evening and that be it. The notice post was met by some strong feelings on both sides of the fence. I can understand it as most everyone would have been happy if the date was pushed back to January. Plus, December 6 will be a very high travel day for many in the WordPress Community. However, is there ever really a good day to push publish? Isn’t it always a “here goes nothing”, close our eyes, and hope for the best moment. 

So no matter what, December 6th will come and go and Gutenberg will be here to stay. We might as well make the most of it. Right now Can’t Speak Geek is actually using Gutenberg. We decided to give it a try during the site re-launch to learn how to use it before we HAVE to learn how to use it. 

Now, if pressing update is still giving you such anxiety that you can not sleep at night, you can always put off Gutenberg. Before you update, download and install the Classic Editor Plugin on your website and activate it. Once activated, feel free to update your site like normal. You will keep the classic editor instead of switching over to Gutenberg.

If you use a page builder like Beaver Builder, never fear as your site pages will not change unless you click to convert the site over to Gutenberg blocks. This is the same thought process as if you have a page built on the page builder and then switch it over to the classic editor, it will lose its styling now. 

In the end once the inevitable “change” feeling wears off, Gutenberg should be a great editor for the masses and it will help users unfamiliar with coding to create some pretty fantastic pages. 

Gutenberg Roundup

We will update this article once WordPress’s docs are live to add the official Make WordPress Gutenberg documentation once it is rolled out. 

WP Weekly Spotlight – Andrew Norcross


This week’s Can’t Speak Geek WP Community Spotlight goes to the
the one and only Andrew Norcross.

Norcross states “Look, we’ve all made poor choices in our lives. For me, it was realizing that I could make computers talk to each other.”

Michele: , What do you do in WordPress?

Norcross: Mainly development work. but I’ve done about everything there is to do.

Michele: How did you get involved with WordPress?

Norcross: On accident, really, since I had a full time job in the finance industry at the time. I had built a server at my house with an old desktop, and had to install something on it. It took a bit to get WordPress to run (this was a Windows server in 2006) but a friend had a small site he needed hosted so I assumed I could figure it out.

I figured it out.

Michele: What does the Open Source Community mean to you?

Norcross: I’ve struggled with finding one single definition. WordPress (and the greater open source community) is the single biggest reason why I have the life I do today. Some of my closest friends came from there, along with some of the most exciting times of my life. So to some degree, it feels like family. A few close people, a larger circle of familiars, and an even larger one of folks you kinda sorta know and see once a year or so

Michele: Please name some of your favorite plugins. 

Norcross: Since I spend most of my day doing development, I like tools like Query Monitor, Airplane Mode, and my own set of debugging functions I use.

Michele: Name a favorite theme or framework you like to use.

Norcross: Usually depends on the project. Genesis is great for smaller content driven and basic business sites. After that, I’m usually building something custom.

Michele: If you could change one thing in WordPress, what would it be?

Norcross: I’m not sure I want the sort of influence to impact a project of this size, especially on a whim. But I would say the outdated Trac / SVN method for patching / issues / contributing is a real pain in the ass.

Michele: What is your most memorable WordPress moment?

Norcross: Back in 2012, my coffee maker was invaded by ants. I said something off the cuff on Twitter bitching about it, and by the time I was out of the shower folks had pooled money for a new machine.

Michele: What is one piece of advice you would give to someone just getting started with WordPress?

Norcross: First off, know that none of us are celebrities. *NONE* of us. We are very much approachable, either online or in person. So always feel like you can join a table or a conversation.

Another thing I’d say is don’t rush to try and impress people with how smart / good / clever you are. Lurk for a bit and see how people communicate now and work towards becoming fluent with those channels.

Michele: What do you think is in store for the future of WordPress?

Norcross: I honestly don’t think any of us know. The web moves too quickly to make predictions other than “forward”. I do think we’ll see a change when some of the older community members start to “age out” and contribute less, as their lives grow into other areas. I’ve certainly not had the same amount of free time as I did 5 years ago.

Michele: Just for fun, share one memory that makes you proud to be a part of the WordPress Community?

Norcross: I remember back in 2011 when Ptah Dunbar was in that motorcycle accident and was as risk of losing his eye. I saw the community immediately rally and raise over $6,000 in about two hours to help with the cost of ongoing care. No one spent time arguing over whether or not he should have been on the motorcycle to begin with, or the issue of health care, etc. We just took care of one of our own.

You can find Andrew Norcross online at andrewnorcross.com.

If you find these interesting and would like to be spotlighted yourself, please see our interview form.

WP Weekly Spotlight – Bridget Willard


This week’s Can’t Speak Geek WP Community Spotlight goes to the
beautiful soul of Bridget Willard.

Bridget Willard is a marketing consultant and educator with a passion to help small businesses. She began in construction, and worked in franchise development, nonprofits, and tech. She is known for her brand building for Riggins Construction and GiveWP.

She is the co-host of WPblab, a show on the WPwatercooler network, co-organizer of Women Who WP Meetup, and Marketing Team Rep for Make WordPress.

When she’s not writing about marketing, she is spending time with her Sully Dog, learning to be a karaoke host, or walking by the ocean.

Say hi to her on Twitter at @youtoocanbeguru and check out her site at bridgetwillard.com.

WP Weekly Spotlight – David Bisset


Can’t Speak Geeks first WP Community Spotlight goes to the
amazing David Bisset. 

David is a senior web developer working at EnviraGallery LLC, and works on one of the most popular photo gallery plugins for WordPress (Envira Gallery). Besides WordPress development, he also specializes in BuddyPress/bbPress. WordCamp Miami and South Florida WordPress meetup organizer for over 10 years. He’s also a speaker, father of three, and husband to the best wife in the world.

Michele: David, how did you get involved with WordPress?

David: I was a relatively new freelancer – just a wee lad, as they say. First, I wrote my own basic CMS like any (insert adjective here) developer does. As my freelance business started to grow I knew I had to choose a CMS – PHPNuke and Drupal I tried but landed on WordPress. It was frankly faster to get up and running, even in the simpler early days and my clients seemed to take to it faster.

Michele: What is one story of someone who has inspired you in the WordPress Community?

David: Too many people. But I can tell you that more recently it’s been the kid’s involved with WordCamps and WordPress that have truly been inspiring. WordCamp Miami started it’s kid’s camp in 2013 I think, but even earlier I saw kid’s in camps (including my own children) trying to learn code because it was cool. The future of WordPress belongs to these ones – and their enthusiasm, curiosity, and eagerness to learn without bias or prejudice keep me emotionality powered to plan the next conference or WordCamp.

Michele: What does the Open Source Community mean to you?

David: The idea of sharing ideas in a space where you can have a voice (or even in some cases branch off code to mold it to your needs) is a pretty cool concept. The community behind the concept really is what drives it – so many people eager to share their knowledge is encouraging to see.

Michele: Please name some of your favorite plugins. 

David: Is it wrong to say Envira Gallery? Yes? Ok, how about BuddyPress?

Michele: If you could change one thing in WordPress, what would it be?

David: “Its a trap!”

No but in all seriousness that’s a tough one. How about this… WordPress should be more accessible. And not just accessibility in terms of those with disabilities, but also to those who speak languages that are yet to be fully translated… those who need more events like meetups and WordCamps to get knowledge they might not otherwise be able to get… to those older and young.

WordPress should be available to open as many doors to as many people as possible regardless of who they are and where they live, even if the journey brings them to somewhere outside of WordPress itself.

Michele: What is your most memorable WordPress moment?

David: I got my ugly face on a slide at Matt Mullenweg’s State of the Word in 2015.

Michele: What is one piece of advice you would give to someone just getting started with WordPress?

David: Take advantage of the community but remember to contribute back – in whatever way you can.

Michele: What do you think is in store for the future of WordPress?

David: Flying cars. (Obviously!)

Michele: Just for fun, share one memory that makes you proud to be a part of the WordPress Community?

David: Someone came up to me and thanked me for introducing them to WordPress and inviting them to WordCamp Miami – they got a new job, met their future marriage mate there, and started a website. Not ranking those things in any particular order.

You can find David online at http://davidbisset.com , his twitter handle @dimensionmedia or at WordCamp Miami. 

If you find these interesting and would like to be spotlighted yourself, please see our interview form.

A new look and a new home

We finally have a redesign!!! A big thanks to Daryl Jones at Splattered Ink for the new logo and bitmoji.

Also, Can’t Speak Geek has a new home. We have officially moved over to Pantheon for hosting. We are in love with the multi-dev environment that Pantheon offers. With them offering 10 multi-dev environments, it makes it fantastic to work on separate things on separate dev instances. This way no one is bumping into one another. 

One last thing, be on the lookout for some fun things to come! One of them is that we will be showcasing awesome WordPressers from around the globe. If you are interested in becoming showcased please see our Wonderful WordPresser interview.