Kishor Kumar Mahato is an enthusiastic programmer who loves creating values in the form of functional and reliable software. He has already managed to create some handy applications and software. He has been working with Python and WordPress since 2009. He has contributed his first WordPress plugins to wordpress.org. We caught up with him at WordCamp Kathmandu 2016 and had a little chat about the WordPress community of Nepal.
How and when did you get started with WordPress?
I started using WordPress in 2009. Actually, I am a developer and I build websites for clients. Previously, I used to make custom CMS. Then I heard about WordPress. I was very curious as to what WordPress is about and thought of giving it a try. That is how I started my journey with WordPress.
What do you like most about WordCamps?
To me, the best thing about WordCamps is the sharing of knowledge. Different people with different levels of knowledge come to WordCamps and share them with everyone. I am also going to share my knowledge today as a speaker. WordCamps are the place where we get to network with people from different platforms. So, networking and sharing knowledge is the best part in WordCamps for me.
What do you hope attendees will take away from your talk?
I will be talking about REST API today. I hope all the attendees will learn how to get started with WordPress REST API.
Are there any challenges you faced that you’d like to share with us?
No, I don’t think I have faced any challenges in this field till date. I think WordPress is pretty easy to use and anyone can get started with it.
What are your thoughts on the WordPress community of Nepal?
I think our community is quite good. I’ve been supporting this community as an active member. Everyone involved in the community have been active really. I believe everyone is an important asset. So, I think it’s good and it is growing.
How have you been giving back to the community?
I have been giving back to the community by helping beginners with their problems through many social networking sites. I have also been answering questions on our Facebook page of WordCamp Kathmandu 2016. I already have two plugins in wordpress.org. Also, I look forward to contributing themes and more plugins in future.
What do you think about female participation in WordPress?
I think there should be more female participation in WordPress because as you can see, we talk about 50% participation but there are not even 15% of female participants. Female IT enthusiasts should also come forward and participate in WordPress and any WordPress-related event such as monthly meetups, and WordCamps.
How do you stay updated on WordPress?
I stay updated on WordPress by reading blogs in wordpress.org or wordpress.com. These two are the main websites that I read to stay updated on WordPress.
What can we find you doing when you’re not WordPressing?
I am also a developer of Python. When I am not WordPressing, you can find me working with Python. To people who don’t use WordPress, I would like to recommend to use Python. During my leisure, I like watching movies, traveling and playing different kinds of sports like futsal, volleyball etc. And I also enjoy trekking with friends.
What advice would you give to new WordPress users?
WordPress developers have created a very easy way to gain knowledge with blogs so I would like to advise new WordPress users to explore and use it. We (the developers) are trying different methods of building custom CMS which will save a lot of time for WordPress starters. So, I would like to encourage them to just give WordPress a try, explore its many opportunities.
WordPress 4.7 is releasing soon. Which feature are you most excited about?
I am very excited about the in-built REST API. Presently, we are connected through plugins but in future, REST API will be in use. So, I am pretty excited about this feature.