how i built my community 'radio' - and a career in digital media and wordpress

How I Built my Community ‘Radio’… …and my career in Digital media & WordPress

Nagesh Pai@nagpai

WordCamp Mumbai - 25 & 26 March 2017

About me • Happiness Engineer with Automattic - Joined Jan

2017• Freelancer + Corporate Jobs + Moonlight Prof

earlier• Created and Managed a Community Website -

RadioIdli.net• ^^^ basis of my career in WordPress and Digital• Not good with coding yet!

Why this topic?

• Building a community radio /publication with zero / small budget

• Learn and grow as a non-programmer• Growing to be a power user• Use the skills reaped from your interest → Career

“

”ERIC RAYMOND - THE CATHEDRAL & THE

BAZAAR

“Every good work of software starts by scratching a developer’s personal itch.”

Radio Idli • Began with Group of Friends wanting to have a

“Band”• Launched an Audio / Video blog showcasing our

talent (Remote band?)• Promoted within the Saraswat community via Orkut,

Yahoo groups, Google Groups… later Facebook / Twitter

• Project got covered in DNA Newspaper and then CNN IBN

Over a period of time….• Recipes

Over a period of time….• Traditional songs, poetry and lullabies

Over a period of time….• Colourful cultural festival (Ganesh Chaturthi webcast

n Chariot festivals)

Over a period of time….• Offshore community events

Over a period of time….• Promoting Young Talent

Archana Kamath Balachandra Prabhu

Sunil Kamath Sanat Prabhu

Platform? - Series of hacks

• Began with Blogger• Moved to self-hosted WordPress.org and got our own

domain name• Used Esnips, Muziboo.com to host audio • Youtube and Vimeo for videos• Picasaweb / Flickr for photographs • Extensive use of widgets and embeds• Social media platforms to communicate

How did it help?

• Learnt everything about digital media / analytics and marketing - at my own pace

• Key Job @ Corporates• My first entrepreneural venture - CoreGray• My Job @ Automattic• All of this without being a Core HTML / CSS / Php

developer• By being a ‘level-up’ user

Take aways…

• Be a power user , if not a developer- Click every switch without fear :) and learn

• Learn to Make your own medium• You will find many more that need help• Make it your career / extended hobby• Help others build their medium

…. Maybe ….

Wrangle Happiness @Automattic !

https://automattic.com/work-with-us/

Thank You!

Nagesh Pai@nagpai