Get To Know Michael Kuhlmann
Michael Kuhlmann codes and pushes pixels around for a living, while spamming his remote co-workers with giphys on Slack. He was introduced to WordPress many releases ago when he got tired of updating individual, static html documents to update a website. Since then, he’s been hooked on the entire ecosystem.
We’re thrilled Michael will be speaking at WordCamp Sacramento 2016 on The Dos and Donts of BuddyPress!
Speaker Q&A With Michael
To help you learn even more about Michael, we asked him to answer a few questions for us, some WordPress-related, and some others we think you’ll appreciate 🙂 Be sure to give him a shout out on Twitter and don’t forget to use our hashtag #wcsac.
What inspired you to give this talk at WordCamp?
There are many misconceptions and pitfalls when it comes to building a community and using BuddyPress to drive growth. Over the many iterations that I’ve used this plugin, I’ve come to really appreciate the breadth of functionality BuddyPress has to offer… I just wish somebody would’ve given me a heads up on some of the things I’ve stumbled with, so that’s why I’d like to save everyone a bit of time skirting around some issues.
How did you discover WordPress?
Back in version 2.3, it was either WordPress, Drupal or Joomla. Joomla had a strong following but, as I remember, the community support wasn’t as active as WP. Drupal was the next contender, but I didn’t like the theming approach. Once I installed WP, it was touch and go… super easy.
How has WordPress Or WordCamp impacted you?
Without a doubt, it has impacted my entire life. All of the marketing sites I work on are all powered by WP. A few years ago, somebody read my blog posts on BuddyPress and asked me to write a book, which was stressful but fun. Even before then, I got an early start blogging using WordPress. I love the software, community and the licensing of it.
How do you primarily work with WordPress?
There are dozens of sites I work on that all run on WP. It’s insane. It’s come to the point where if I’m not working on a site that’s powered by WP, I really want to convert it to WP!
What does the WordCamp theme Discovery mean to you?
Many people might just be discovering BuddyPress this year and they might have something HUGE in mind… I’d like them to step back a little before adding the BP plugin and activating all the many components. Start off small and grow steady =)
What is the latest book you read?
#AskGaryVee.
What is your favorite restaurant? Favorite menu item?
I love the Cilantro Spaghetti at this spunky and quaint restaurant called Todo Un Poco in Elk Grove.
What TV series are you current binging on/into?
Chef’s Table… I’ve watched some episodes more than once.
What do you do for fun?
Digital crate digging (ie. spending reckless amounts of hours on SoundCloud), making music, cooking, gardening… pretty much anything that has a creative outlet!