Member Spotlight: David McCan

I was trained as an anthropologist and while writing my dissertation I worked for a large public library system and loved it. I created their first website and when I graduated there weren’t many anthropology openings, so I got a job in tech support for a database tool maker. I worked my way up to network admin and database admin. Then I got a job with a large event photography company where I worked as developer and in IT management. After that I worked as a consultant doing C# programming before starting to freelance working with Drupal, and then WordPress.

Today I publish tutorials and product reviews on my website and create YouTube videos about WordPress related topics. I also started and run the Dynamic WordPress Facebook group. These activities have introduced me to many people in the community and I’m happy that I’ve made friends and we can share the journey and help each other.

What do you enjoy most about working in WordPress?

I enjoy creating data-driven websites and I like that WordPress is so flexible and extensible. There is a great deal of creativity and ingenuity at work. For instance, when I started with WordPress you would need to work with PHP to output custom fields, but today there are many good options including those involving code, low code, and no code. So there are lots of ways to achieve a solution. The openness and flexibility of WordPress is one of its greatest strengths.

The nature of WordPress, it being open and Open Source, means that it can be used by a wide range of people, from personal projects to the enterprise and everything in-between. WordPress being open source is like a golden thread running through the tapestry uniting us. I appreciate the generosity of the community in helping and sharing with each other.

What do you love most about your Post Status membership?

Post Status is unique in the WordPress space. The people I interact with on Facebook are about 80% agency and freelancers, and 20% developers and product creators. That is flipped around on Post Status where the majority are involved in the business of WordPress, not necessarily site building. Here there is that openness and generosity to help each other that characterizes the community, but there is also a depth of perspective as many at Post Status have been involved with the business of WordPress for a long time.

What business/web/WordPress advice do you have for others in our industry?

It is great if you can officially contribute to the WordPress project, but even if you don’t you can still be an ambassador. Often the best way to help ourselves is to help others.