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Andy McIlwain

Member Since: June 10th, 2010
Toronto, Canada
https://andymci.com
Content & Community at GoDaddy
@andymci on WordPress.org and Slack

Community Team
Marketing Contributor
Marketing Team
WordCamp Speaker

About Me
Activity
Favorites

Bio/Description

WordPress enthusiast & community organizer.

Interests

Wrangling content, building communities, poking holes in products and user experience, supporting small businesses, doodling whimsical pictures of robots and monsters, exploring metropolitan architecture, cycling around the city, casual gaming when the mood strikes, pursuing pet projects, and WordPress. 🙂

WordPress Origin Story

My foray into the web started with fansites and forums. In the 90’s I was tinkering with the likes of Microsoft FrontPage, Netscape Composer, and other not-so-fancy WYSIWYG software. (Never got into Dreamweaver.) I also experimented with hosted services like MaxPages, Fortune City, Tripod, Angelfire, etc.

By the mid-00’s I had started playing with “scripts”: Cutenews, NewsPro/Coranto, Pivot, Nucleus, b2, Greymatter, Movable Type, and TextPattern.

I was weened off of TextPattern and introduced to WordPress in 2007-2008. The similarities between TextPattern, Greymatter, and WordPress had me hooked, and I haven’t looked back since.

Wrote a comment on the post Marketing WordPress to Developers – January 18 2017 Meeting Notes, on the site Make WordPress.org Marketing:
Dig the similarities between this and what we're working on for agencies & clients, particularly…

5 months ago
Wrote a comment on the post Marketing WordPress to Agencies & Clients – January 25 2017 Notes, on the site Make WordPress.org Marketing:
That'd be awesome. Definitely jump on the next meeting. We'll be talking about next steps…

5 months ago
Wrote a new post, Marketing WordPress to Agencies & Clients – January 25 2017 Notes, on the site Make WordPress.org Marketing:
We’ve just wrapped up the first Marketing WordPress to Agencies & Clients meeting since WordCamp…

5 months ago
Wrote a comment on the post WordCamp Location Consistency, on the site Make WordPress Community:
Thanks for bringing this up, Kathryn. Was just thinking the same thing. :) For geographically…

5 months ago
Wrote a comment on the post Marketing Slack meetings schedule – Wednesdays at 17:00 UTC, on the site Make WordPress.org Marketing:
Sounds good! Thanks for putting the schedule together.

7 months ago
Andy McIlwain's profile was updated

7 months ago
Wrote a comment on the post WordCamp Design Kit Producing assets and finding a…, on the site Make WordPress Community:
This is great. :) Thanks for putting it together, @cristelossignol

8 months ago
Andy McIlwain's profile was updated

11 months ago
Confirmed as a speaker for WordCamp Toronto 2016 coming up on August 6th

12 months ago
Andy McIlwain's profile was updated

1 year ago
Andy McIlwain's profile was updated

1 year ago
Wrote a comment on the post Transitioning to WordPress Community Support, on the site Make WordPress Community:
This. Is. Awesome. I feel like this is going to significantly reduce the time we…

1 year ago
Wrote a comment on the post WordCamps Status Weekly Report (Feb. 1st-10th), on the site Make WordPress Community:
Assuming "Calgary, USA" was a typo? :) Calgary, Canada, yes?

1 year ago
Wrote a comment on the post I’d like to propose the third Tuesday of…, on the site Make WordPress.org Marketing:
I'm interested in hearing what the big goals are for 2016, before digging into executional…

1 year ago
Andy McIlwain's profile was updated

2 years ago
Wrote a comment on the post Marketing ideas for Contributions Project Ideas At WCEU…, on the site Make WordPress.org Marketing:
Happy to see this taking place. :)

2 years ago
Wrote a comment on the post 2016 Global Community Sponsorship Levels and Benefits, on the site Make WordPress Community:
Overall I'm a fan of the changes. Speaking from both the sponsor and organizer POV,…

2 years ago
Wrote a comment on the post 2016 Global Community Sponsorship Levels and Benefits, on the site Make WordPress Community:
From my organizer POV: Absolutely. We've always made room for global sponsors. I would not…

2 years ago
Wrote a comment on the post 2016 Global Sponsorship, on the site Make WordPress Community:
Digging all of this, especially the bits re: blending global & local sponsors and standardizing…

2 years ago
Wrote a new post, Presentation Slides, on the site WordCamp Toronto 2015:
We've finally been able to get presentation slides pulled together! The links below are provided…

2 years ago
Wrote a comment on the post WordCamp Photos & Feedback Survey Results, on the site WordCamp Toronto 2015:
We switched t-shirt vendors this year. I think these ones were more "true to size".

2 years ago
Wrote a comment on the post WordCamp Photos & Feedback Survey Results, on the site WordCamp Toronto 2015:
Thanks for mentioning that place. First I've heard of it. :)

2 years ago
Wrote a comment on the post WordCamp Photos & Feedback Survey Results, on the site WordCamp Toronto 2015:
Glad to hear you enjoyed the presentations! I think the west-end venue works well for…

2 years ago
Wrote a comment on the post WordCamp Photos & Feedback Survey Results, on the site WordCamp Toronto 2015:
Everything is relative, eh? ;)

2 years ago
Wrote a comment on the post WordCamp Photos & Feedback Survey Results, on the site WordCamp Toronto 2015:
Hey Alfred! I agree that the refillable water bottles were a great idea. We love…

2 years ago
Wrote a new post, WordCamp Photos & Feedback Survey Results, on the site WordCamp Toronto 2015:
First up: We've got photos! You'll find them in the photo gallery. Special thanks to…

2 years ago
Wrote a new post, Thank You!, on the site WordCamp Toronto 2015:
That's a wrap! Yup, another weekend of WordPress is behind us. This year we brought…

2 years ago
Wrote a new post, Sponsor Spotlight: Microsoft Edge, on the site WordCamp Toronto 2015:
Our Sponsor Spotlight series showcases the people and organizations who are supporting WordCamp Toronto 2015…

2 years ago
Wrote a new post, Featured Speaker: Joe Rozsa, on the site WordCamp Toronto 2015:
"I've been a designer all of my professional career. I came up through the world…

2 years ago
Wrote a new post, Featured Speaker: Jonathan Perlman, on the site WordCamp Toronto 2015:
Jonathan Perlman is an experienced web developer and teacher that works for Dawson College in…

2 years ago
Wrote a new post, Sponsor Spotlight: Simplistics Web Design Inc., on the site WordCamp Toronto 2015:
Our Sponsor Spotlight series showcases the people and organizations who are supporting WordCamp Toronto 2015…

2 years ago
Wrote a new post, We’re Streaming!, on the site WordCamp Toronto 2015:
It's a first for WordCamp Toronto: we're streaming! A huge thanks to Pasada Media for…

2 years ago
Wrote a new post, Featured Speaker: Daniel Pataki, on the site WordCamp Toronto 2015:
"I am a developer at heart, specializing mostly in WordPress. I am the editor of…

2 years ago
Wrote a comment on the post Approval for #1203-meta (call for speakers sign-in), on the site Make WordPress Community:
Friction. Some speakers may want to participate at a local level but aren't interested in…

2 years ago
Wrote a comment on the post Money, Money, Money, on the site Make WordPress Community:
Thanks for the transparency, Jen. Couple of comments: "We’re not sure what this will wind…

2 years ago
Wrote a comment on the post Update on building a new WordCamp theme, on the site Make WordPress Community:
Some early feature requests / stories, as requested: As an organizer, I want above-the-fold widget…

2 years ago
Wrote a new post, Featured Speaker: Christine McGlade, on the site WordCamp Toronto 2015:
Christine began her career in media as a TV Director and Producer before moving into…

2 years ago
Confirmed as a speaker for WordCamp Toronto 2015 coming up on October 3rd

2 years ago
Wrote a new post, Sponsor Spotlight: Slicejack, on the site WordCamp Toronto 2015:
Our Sponsor Spotlight series showcases the people and organizations who are supporting WordCamp Toronto 2015…

2 years ago
Wrote a new post, Featured Speaker: Conrad Hall, on the site WordCamp Toronto 2015:
"I'm a retired carpenter, so if I can make WordPress work anybody can. I started…

2 years ago
Wrote a new post, Sponsor Spotlight: Carbon60, on the site WordCamp Toronto 2015:
Our Sponsor Spotlight series showcases the people and organizations who are supporting WordCamp Toronto 2015…

2 years ago
Wrote a new post, Featured Speaker: Benjamin Moody, on the site WordCamp Toronto 2015:
"I'm a Toronto-based WordPress developer and PHP developer with experience developing custom WordPress websites and…

2 years ago
Wrote a new post, Sponsor Spotlight: Sucuri, Inc., on the site WordCamp Toronto 2015:
Our Sponsor Spotlight series showcases the people and organizations who are supporting WordCamp Toronto 2015…

2 years ago
Wrote a new post, Featured Speaker: Scott Grant, on the site WordCamp Toronto 2015:
"Hello! I'm a software developer based out of Kingston, Ontario, with a lovely wife, two…

2 years ago
Wrote a new post, Featured Speaker: Brian Rotsztein, on the site WordCamp Toronto 2015:
"I'm an Internet marketer, consultant, entrepreneur, author, and speaker. As the CEO of Uniseo, I…

2 years ago
Wrote a new post, Sponsor Spotlight: WP Engine, on the site WordCamp Toronto 2015:
Our Sponsor Spotlight series showcases the people and organizations who are supporting WordCamp Toronto 2015…

2 years ago
Wrote a new post, Featured Speaker: David Mackey, on the site WordCamp Toronto 2015:
David Mackey is a Digital Marketing Consultant based in Kanata. He has 25+ years of…

2 years ago
Wrote a new post, Sponsor Spotlight: Trew Knowledge, on the site WordCamp Toronto 2015:
Our Sponsor Spotlight series showcases the people and organizations who are supporting WordCamp Toronto 2015…

2 years ago
Wrote a new post, Featured Speaker: Jamie Schmid, on the site WordCamp Toronto 2015:
"I'm a Web Architect at OhmzTech, a Milwaukee-based app and website development firm. I've got…

2 years ago
Wrote a comment on the post Switching back to the original WordCamp URLs, on the site Make WordPress Community:
Adding myself to the -1. What jumps out the most is @iandunn's comment above re:…

2 years ago

Profiles

Andy McIlwain

Bio/Description

Interests

WordPress Origin Story

Plugins