Dat Hoang is a WordPress lover from Vietnam. He is a Happiness Engineer at Automattic; focusing on the WordPress.org products. Before joining Automattic, he worked with multilingual WordPress every day. He is an organizer at Saigon WordPress Meetup Group. We got to have a little one-on-one talk session with him at WordCamp Kathmandu 2018.
When did you get started with WordPress?
Back in 2011, I started my own blog. And since then I’ve been using WordPress and I am very happy being a part of it.
What do you like most about WordCamps?
The best thing that I like most about WordCamps is meeting interesting and new people. You get to meet a lot of interesting people with different cultures. It seems fun seeing people having so much fun networking and enjoying.
What do you hope attendees will take away from your talk today?
I hope that attendees will have more idea about WordPress. They can apply for what they see, what they hear after having some basic knowledge of WordPress. I think they will have more information about the products on the market which are related to WordPress.
Are there any challenges you faced that you’d like to share with us?
To be honest, everything in my life is going pretty well. From the very beginning of my journey in WordPress, it has been going pretty smooth and I haven’t actually faced any challenges.
What are your thoughts on the WordPress community of Nepal?
I think the WordPress community in Nepal is pretty big and nice. I had no idea that the WordPress community in Nepal to be this big before I came here. I was treated very kindly and everyone is very friendly.
How have you been contributing or giving back to the community?
Well, I usually organize meetups in my hometown Vietnam. I am also in the translation team.
Why do you think it is important to give back to the community?
My friends have taught me so much about WordPress. I think I was able to be in WordPress community because of them. I think sharing knowledge about WordPress to others can also help us to understand more about WordPress and people who are involved in WordPress field.
How do you stay updated on WordPress?
I have subscribed to many WordPress related websites such as WordPress Tavern, WordPress blog, and many more.
What can we find you doing when you’re not WordPressing?
When I get a break from my work, I hang out with my friends. I like doing outdoor activities; I like swimming, jogging, and sometimes Scuba diving.
What advice would you like to give to a new WordPress user?
I think those who don’t have a technical background, they should try WordPress.com because it is very easy to use; from managing to host. And people with basic knowledge about WordPress or have some technical background, can start their own site. Have fun using WordPress!
Gutenberg Editor will be the next big thing in WordPress this year. How excited are you about it?
I think everyone is excited about the Gutenberg Editor; it’s not just me. I think it a game-changer for WordPress. In 2 or 3 years everyone would be using it.
You can get in touch with Dat Hoang and learn new things through his Facebook or Twitter.