Get To Know Michael Shores
In 2007, Michael Shores started blog. It was wildly unsuccessful. The ultimate take away from the experience, though, was that he loved building the graphics and managing the code of the site. So he picked up all his stuff and moved to Sacramento to study graphic design at CSUS. Three years of design school whirled by, and he became a User Experience designer at CalPERS working on web projects to help state employees manage their retire benefits online. That gave way to working in the private sector as Creative Director of IDMLOCO, a web firm in Sacramento. In 2015, I took the leap and became a freelance web designer and developer, and also accepted an invitation to teach web design at CSUS. I continue to design and build websites, and teach undergraduate design students.
We’re thrilled Michael will be speaking at WordCamp Sacramento 2016 on The Loop And WP_Query()!
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?
I’ve spent a long time learning and honing my general development skills and WordPress in particular. Learning the WordPress loop works and how to use WP_Query have opened so many opportunities for me—especially financially. I want to share that with other people so they can build awesome stuff.
How did you discover WordPress?
I discovered WordPress in a design magazine like Computer Arts or similar. There was basic tutorial in there on how to set up a basic theme. I started there and slowly added more and more pieces.
How has WordPress Or WordCamp impacted you?
WordPress has been hugely impactful in my career. I had just finished graphic design school and was working for the state of California. A friend posted on Facebook that he knew some people looking for WordPress help. I thought “what the heck?” and threw in my name. That started a 5+ year relationship with a client, whom I eventually worked for full time as Creative Director. That one opportunity led me to art direction, project management, Python, data science, and teaching at the college level. And all because I had a little bit of WordPress experience and threw myself out there.
How do you primarily work with WordPress?
Building sites for clients to use for their businesses.
What does the WordCamp theme Discovery mean to you?
Discovery for me is about learning something new that unlocks new potential and new opportunity. HTML/CSS led me to WordPress and PHP, which led me to Javascript and jQuery. Those gave me confidence to jump into Python/Django. Discovery isn’t really about what’s in front of us: it’s about what’s three steps beyond what we see.
What is the latest book you read?
I Will Teach You To Be Rich by Ramit Sethi.
What is your favorite restaurant? Favorite menu item?
Bandera, Prime Rib Sandwich.
What TV series are you current binging on/into?
Orphan Black.
What do you do for fun?
About a year ago I switch from steel string and electric guitar to the nylon string guitar. It’s been so great to learn and push what I could do! I also rock climb, take Spanish lessons online, read, and relax.