Brian Richards, co-founder of the popular
WordPress Grand Rapids Meetup group, was having difficulty finding someone to help him with a very technical WordPress issue. As he researched the problem, he started thinking about others who have had the same the issue, especially the more technical aspects of working with the software.
"I then started thinking, 'what if I could hire some real smart guys to teach about WordPress and then make the sessions available be watched freely from your own home?'"
His solution is
WPSessions, an online platform that provides both live and recorded sessions made by WordPress experts, which are then made available for purchase. Each session will typically cost $25, but Richards also plans to make the courses available for free after a three to four month period.
Richard says he has hired 27 speakers to give sessions over the next nine months. Featured topics include business development, theme design, security, and optimization. The first live session was June 22 and featured Topher Derosia, Daniel Espinoza, and Pippin Williamson discussing building WordPress plugins.
Richard acknowledges his project is in the very early stages of development and he is still fine-tuning the business model, but knows that with the popularity of WordPress and the feedback he gets from WordPress Grand Rapids members, "it could grow into something bigger, especially if it catches on with the greater WordPress community."
You can learn a bit more about the concept in Richard's first blog post
here. and a bit more about the first session
here. You can also follow WPSessions on twitter
@WP_Sessions.
Source: Brian Richards, WPSessions
Writer: John Rumery, Innovation and Jobs News Editor
Enjoy this story?
Sign up for free solutions-based reporting in your inbox each week.