Andy McIlwain @ andymci.com

In defense of using a pre-built theme.

Andy — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 16:14:37 +0000

Yes, I can build WordPress themes from scratch. But I prefer to use pre-built themes, such as Standard or Basic, when starting a new WordPress site. Why? When content is the focus of a site, as it is with this blog and WPToronto.com, the uniqueness of the design is a secondary requirement to the information being [...]

Originally posted on Andy McIlwain @ andymci.com

April was a month of fresh starts.

Andy — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 02:10:19 +0000

April 2013 is coming to a close, and what a month it’s been. Exciting changes were kick-started at the office; we announced the formation of a new organizing committee for WordCamp Toronto; I got back into Kingston for the 2013 St. Lawrence College Greg Awards; we held a great meetup yesterday at The Ballroom Bowl in [...]
Originally posted on Andy McIlwain @ andymci.com

A mind for (too many) processes.

Andy — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 01:28:38 +0000

Best comment I’ve gotten this week? “You’ve got a mind for processes.” Aww, shucks! Anyone that has known me for a while knows that I like geeking out on new apps and techniques for doing things efficiently. It’s one of the reasons for my recent agile kick. Unfortunately, my knack for trying out new ideas [...]
Originally posted on Andy McIlwain @ andymci.com

Organizing WordCamp Toronto 2013

Andy — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 14:34:04 +0000

WordCamp Toronto 2013 will be taking place this fall at a yet-to-be-disclosed location somewhere in the city. Previously, I worked with Al Davis and Craig Taylor to organize WordCamp Toronto 2011 (which was really an oh-crap-let’s-get-this-done moment), WordCamp Toronto 2012 (for users), and WordCamp Toronto: Developers 2012 (for code geeks). A number of changes will [...]
Originally posted on Andy McIlwain @ andymci.com

Prioritizing Goals

Andy — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 12:00:37 +0000

Over the last few days I’ve been thinking more about how the principles of agile software development can be applied to other kinds of web projects. This could be websites, marketing campaigns, training sessions, whatever. I’m learning a lot of this on the fly, but there are things I’d like to start applying as quickly [...]
Originally posted on Andy McIlwain @ andymci.com

WPToronto.com Beta

Andy — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 21:43:54 +0000

Praise the heavens, WPToronto.com is now online! It’s a far cry from the big vision I had when it was first announced last fall, but at least it’s a first step – and better than nothing. I’ll be manually populating the business listings over the next few weeks as we head into prime WordCamp season.
Originally posted on Andy McIlwain @ andymci.com

Kobayashi Technology to Kobayashi Online

Andy — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 19:48:10 +0000

One of my favourite things about Kobayashi Online is that we used to be an IT company (Kobayashi Technology) and evolved to digital marketing based on our clients changing needs. When I joined in October, we offloaded our last few IT-only customers soon after — all so that we could focus even more on creating [...]
Originally posted on Andy McIlwain @ andymci.com

Coming up with a creative idea is like cooking a good stew.

Andy — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 17:46:24 +0000

Last night was my first time attending one of the Creative Advertising Guild of Toronto meetups. It was a good, comfortably-sized event. There were around a dozen of us sitting around a boardroom table. Bill Whitehead, of Whitehead Agency Group, led the session. We looked at early concepts of creativity, e.g. the Roman origins of the word genius [...]
Originally posted on Andy McIlwain @ andymci.com

The Cost of Moderating Comments

Andy — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 15:49:00 +0000

From commenter M. Edward (Ed) Borasky: If you’ve got the traffic, you’re going to get the spammers and you’re going to get the trolls, and the *financial* return from the site has to cover the *financial* costs of dealing with the spammers and the trolls. How Online Comments Are Becoming A Big Business – ReadWrite.
Originally posted on Andy McIlwain @ andymci.com

Are we compatible?

Andy — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 15:19:28 +0000

Why is it that we are so afraid to readily admit that we (our products and services) are not a good fit for everyone? Fact is, if someone reads cost and price information (or versus, problems, best of , etc.) on your website and is clearly not qualified, why the heck would you want to [...]
Originally posted on Andy McIlwain @ andymci.com