Episode 164 – A Chat With Alice Orrù

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Show Notes

HeroPress Essay: How I tried, applied, got involved. Realizing one of my childhood dreams.

Contact Info:

• @Alice_Ridice
• WordPress.tv

Episode Transcript

Topher: Hey folks, this is Topher. This week’s episode of Hallway Chats is a little different. This is a live recording from working in Italy last November. Nyasha wasn’t there with me so it’s just me and my guest, Alice. And I hope you enjoy this one because it was really fun to make. We were outside in an atrium sort of place. It was pretty cool. 

Before we get started, I want to remind you that our host is Nexcess, and they’re super cool. I’ve been really happy with them. Their sites are really fast, even in the back end without cache, and their panel is packed with power tools that a nerd like me really loves. So give them a shot if you are looking for a good host.

And now on we go with Alice. 

Hey everybody, this is Topher. I’m here at WordCamp Italia in Milano, and I’m here with-

Alice: Alice Orrù.

Topher: What brings you here? Why are you here at WordCamp? 

Alice: Well, I’m here because I’m part of the Italian community even if I’ve been living in Spain for 10 years now. But I’m still Italian and I love joining the Italia community where I entered into 2015, 2016. And since then, I’ve joined the Polyglots team and I’ve been working with them to make WordPress accessible in Italian. I mean I love the Italian community so every time I can, I just join them at WordCamps or other occasions.

Topher: What do you do with WordPress?

Alice: I’m a technical translator. I localize plugins and things from English to Italian. But I also work in UX writing. So sometimes I have clients asking me to write the content of their websites or localize it. But generally speaking, I work on the back end of WordPress in the content side of WordPress. 

Topher: Are you a freelancer?

Alice: Yes, I work as a freelancer. Yeah. 

Topher: How long have you been doing that? 

Alice: 2015. I opened my freelance position in Spain and I joined the WordPress community at the same time. 

Topher: Oh, that’s great. 

Alice: Yeah. 

Topher: I’ve heard that most small businesses fail after three years. So once you pass that you’re doing well. 

Alice: I mean, the WordPress community has been very important for me in this sense because I first joined WP Rocket. I’ve been working with them in-

Topher: Yes, I met them.

Alice: When you were interviewing me for the first time a few years ago, I was working with them. So that job has been very important to me to meet the international community as well- 

Topher: Ah, good.

Alice: …starting to speak at WordCamp Europe. That was amazing because some of my co-workers were already-

Topher: Experienced? 

Alice: …experienced WordPressors and WordCampers. So I received training from them: so how to speak at a WordCamp, how to present your first pitch to a WordCamp. So I really have to say thank you to all the people that I met at the beginning of my journey with WordPress because now I’m the one training people to translate WordPress or to join WordCamps and doing advocacy about it. So it’s very nice. I mean, it’s been a nice journey. 

Topher: What other camps have you been to? 

Alice: WordCamp Europe a few times, WordCamp Milan, WordCamp Torino. The first time I spoke was at WordCamp Barcelona in 2016. 

Topher: I remember that camp happening, and I wished I could go. 

Alice: Okay, you were not there. 

Topher: I was not there, no.

Alice: Okay. Okay. Yeah, that was my first one.

Topher: That’s great.

Alice: So yeah, usually around Europe, I [inaudible 00:04:16]. 

Topher: What do you love about WordCamp? 

Alice: I love meeting my friends. I mean, it’s awesome opportunity to network on a professional side, but I really enjoy the friendship that I’ve created here in the community. And I value them a lot because it’s not easy, I mean, to explain people what’s your job and explain, Wow, working WordPress. Here, everybody knows that and you meet people with your same values and sometimes you have similar journeys. It’s a very nice way to create friendships and establish relationships also in a professional level. 

Topher: What would you say to someone who’s never been to a WordCamp and is maybe nervous about going unsure if they’ll fit in or whatever?

Alice: As an attendee?

Topher: Yes. 

Alice: I think the good thing about the WordPress community is the effort to be an inclusive place and accessible place. Actually, I work a lot with inclusiveness and accessibility. And that’s also thank you to the documentation at the WordCamps and all the things that I saw happening in the WordPress community. 

So if somebody is thinking about joining, I always say that there’s really a place for everyone here. And it’s a very friendship environment where everybody can fit in actually, even if you have technical experience, if you don’t. There’s really space for everyone. 

I mean, if you look at the schedule for WordPress, you will see how many topics we are covering one day: content, development, a lot of things. So that’s really a place where you can learn to be better at your job, but also make new friends.

Topher: All right. Well, thank you very much for talking with me today. 

Alice: Thank you. Thank you, Topher. 

Topher: This has been an episode of Hallway Chats, a part of the HeroPress Network. This episode was recorded in person at WordCamp Italia in Milan, Italy. Your host was Topher DeRosia. We’d like to thank Sofia DeRosia for the music and Nexcess for hosting our network. If you liked the episode, please subscribe and mention us on social media.