Can't Speak Geek

Translating the Geek Speak in simpler terms

Geek Life Skills

WordCamp Denver

I had the privilege of speaking at WordCamp Denver over the weekend. They had a great camp and I would highly recommend it for next year.

My talk was entitled “My Website is Live, Now What do I do with it?” and it focuses on all the new things clients need to know about their website and what new people to WordPress need to know. 

5 Tips for Effective Guest Posting

If you’re trying to boost search rankings and draw more traffic to your site, guest posting is an incredibly effective tactic. Guest posting is exactly what it sounds like: posting on another blog as a guest. This type of post can help you gain authority and build your portfolio as a freelancer or help build links if you run your own site. [Read more…] about 5 Tips for Effective Guest Posting

Pitching to Talk at Your First WordCamp

Pitching to talk at your first WordCamp can be a rollercoaster of emotions. It can be fun, nerve wrecking, frustrating, thrilling, and everything in between. Don’t let it discourage you, as speaking at WordCamps are a ton of fun! WordCamps choose all levels of speakers from the brand new to the seasoned veterans. I have heard some great talks from folks speaking at their very first WordCamp.

Why speak at a WordCamp?

The best reason to speak at a WordCamp is to share just how awesome you are. Everyone has a story to share in the WordPress Community, so you might as well share yours!  WordCamps are one to two-day conferences showcasing all aspects of WordPress. WordCamp speakers are chosen based on their pitches and passion for the WordPress Community. All speakers are volunteers and are never paid for their time or their travel from the WordPress Foundation. They do however get great bragging rights and typically a great dinner out of it. Plus, sharing your love and knowledge back to the community is a great feeling.

How do I pitch to a WordCamp?

First of all, you have some leg work to do before you should actually pitch to a WordCamp. You have to go in with a plan of action.

  1. Come up with a topic (or four)! You have to know what you want to speak on before you can request to speak. The best thing is to talk about your passions in WordPress and what you know. The more love you have for a certain topic, the more it will show in your pitch, and then later in your talk.
    If you need inspiration on topics, take a look at previous WordCamps to see what other people have talked on. There are so many options out there that no two talks will ever be alike.
  2. Write an outline of your talk(s) once you have settled on a subject. The more precise the outline, the easier it will be to write your pitch.
  3. Now that the outline is done, write your pitch! Make sure your pitch is both informative and fun. Make sure it covers all the basics of what you will be talking about.
  4. It will need a snazzy title. A fun title can go a long way but you still want to make sure that it is relevant to the talk.
  5. Also, one of the hardest things for me to do is to write my bio. Bios need to always be written in the third person. They can be witty, informative, professional, or a mix of all the above.
  6. The last but the most important step, submit your pitch(es) to the WordCamp of your choice!

Now what do I do?

You sit back and relax. All of your hard work is done. Once submissions have been closed, you will receive an email from the WordCamp organizing team letting you know if you have been chosen or not. This can sometimes take a few weeks after the close. Do not worry though. They will always respond. If you are chosen, congratulations!!! If you are not, please do not take it personal and always try again. Even some of the most renowned speakers are turned down for some camps. That is the beauty of WordCamps, you will never have the same conference twice.

 

Resources

  1. Make.WordPress.org is a great place to look for encouragement on writing your pitch.
  2. WordCamp Central can show you all of the upcoming WordCamps around the world.
  3. Use Meetup.com to find your nearest WordPress Meetup.
  4. My friend Josh Pollock gave some great advice on Tourque

 

The 5 Star Customer Service Experience

Last year, I had the opportunity to speak at WordCamp Chicago about one of my favorite subjects, customer experience.

Your business should go beyond the sales and development. A customer who receives a five star customer service experience is one who will become a repeat customer and a free marketing tool for your company.

Take advantage of those experiences and learn the tips on how to make your customers feel like they are at the Ritz Carlton and driving a Ashton Martian. From your first response till after the close of the ticket. Every customer should feel like a one in a million.

Here is the full taping of my talk along with slides.

 

What I have found to handle GDPR Requirements

The EU’s GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) is coming up pretty quick. May 25, 2018 will be here before you know it. This law was actually approved back in April 2016 however had a grace period of two years before it went into full effect. Trying to understand all of the information out there is about like trying to understand tax laws with its 11 chapters and 99 articles. Most of the time it leaves you cranky and your head throbbing.

The quick rundown of GDPR

  • Identifiable data is protected. Any data that can be used as identifiable for a visitor falls under the GDPR. This includes and not limited to name, email address, sex, race, age, address, phone number, and birth date.
  • It requires that consent is given. If you have the opt-in box checked by default, you need to change it so it is unmarked by default.
  • Parental consent will be required to process any and all personal data of children under the age of 16, can vary per member state in the EU (country) but it will not be below the age of 13.
  • It gives the visitor the right to know what information is being stored about them and why it is being stored.
  • It gives visitors the right to have their information to be removed at their request.
  • If any data is ever lost, stolen, accessed without permission, the authorities must be notified within 73 hours of the breach becoming known along with every single person whose data was accessed.
  • Any new site must be made with privacy in mind. Data requests should be strictly controlled and only given when required.
  • Data can only be used for the reason it was given at the time it was given. Then it must be securely deleted when the data is no longer needed.
  • A visitor can request their information at any time, transfer that data, or have it removed.
  • It also allows national authorities to impose fines on companies breaching the regulation.

While this is an EU law, it affects every single person on the web in one way or another. For all of us in the United States who feel that the DGPR does not apply to them, the first thing you need to know is that if your site has a form, e-commerce, blog subscription, comments, or even a contact me, you will need to have your site GDPR compliant. If your site can be reachable by someone in the EU and it is collecting any type of information, that means you! Also, please do not consider just blocking EU IP addresses as that does not really work either. With the help of VPN’s, your site can still be accessible to the EU and still falls in the realm of the GDPR regulations. If you fail to comply, the EU can still fine you up to €20 million per infringement or up to 4% of the annual worldwide turnover. That can put a small site/business out-of-order.

What you can do to become GDPR Compliant

First things first, please take a look at the information you are collecting. Inspect your forms, checkout pages, comments, Google Analytics, IP addresses, etc. Make sure you cover all the ways you collect information in your Privacy Policy.

Now, most of you already have a Privacy Policy on your site, or at least I hope you do. You can find my standard one here. I have adopted two now though as the other is the GDPR complaint Privacy Policy. Please make sure you review your Privacy Policy to ensure it is compliant.

If you have any opt-in boxes or forms with boxes, you must ensure that they are UNCHECKED by default.

Another item that all sites will need is a Data Viewing and Removal option for visitors. You can find mine on the GDPR Personal Data page. A visitor to your site will now be able to remove their data from your site at any given time.

If you have questions, talk to a lawyer. Find one that is well versed in GDPR. In the long run, it is always better to pay a lawyer a few hundred dollars than possibly millions in fines.

Tools to make compliance easier

In my research of how to handle the GDPR changes for my clients, I have found two options to assist in being GDPR compliant.

First, if you do not have a Privacy Policy on your site and you have no idea where to start, then I suggest this plugin: GDPR Framework. The first thing I noted with this plugin is you must be on at least PHP version 7.0 on your server. It is very easy to set up and gives you a compliant Privacy Policy. It is what I used to build the GDPR complaint Privacy Policy I have on Can’t Speak Geek. It also has the data removal form built-in as well. You will need to make both pages (Privacy Policy and the removal form page) but GDPR Framework will build the content for you. The data removal tool is auto built via a short code.

If you already have a rockstar of a Privacy Policy and just need the data request and tracker then I suggest using the plugin GDPR Compliance. It seems to be the most stable and is well supported. Their UI is very user-friendly and it will scan your site for any items on your site that needs attention to be GDPR Compliant. The plugin currently supports Contact From 7, Gravity Forms, WooCommerce, and WordPress Comments and claim on their site to support more at a future date.

Both plugins are free in the WordPress plugin repository and easy to configure. Please do your due diligence before choosing any option to become GDPR Compliant.

TL;DR: Get your website ready for GDPR. If you have questions, ask someone. Don’t just sit back and do nothing. It could become a very costly issue.

DISCLAIMER: Using my guide does not guarantee compliance to GDPR. This post gives you general information and ideas, but is NOT meant to serve as complete compliance package. Compliance to GDPR is a risk-based ongoing process that involves your whole business. Can’t Speak Geek is not eligible for any claim or action based on any information or functionality provided by this post or this website.