🦊 2016 — the Year Everything Changed!

If my recollection of lost isn’t misleading me, then it was probably the same month (I mean January) when I read the year in review by Ahmad Awais. Though I had been regularly scrolling through different annual reports and statistics, I guess this was the first time when I realized I should write one myself. So, here it is folks, it’s not great, I only r got a day to write it — so go easy on me.

January 10, 2017

Life

If my recollection of lost isn’t misleading me, then it was probably the same month (I mean January) when I read the year in review by Ahmad Awais. Though I had been regularly scrolling through different annual reports and statistics, I guess this was the first time when I realized I should write one myself. So, here it is folks, it’s not great, I only r got a day to write it — so go easy on me.

If you are new here, then let me tell you that I review products, provide WordPress support, build sites for non-profits and handle technical documentations and that too after doing my majors in Electrical Engineering. So, precisely I’m a WordPress Journalist cum Researcher.

Like every new year, 2016 kicked off with me making new goals that were aimed to dig and discover some pretty exciting things. 2016 was a good, bad year. What? Well, it was definitely a topsy-turvy ride with so many goods and bads to mention — but it had a perfect ending which I intend to share shortly.

2016 & My Professional Life

Let’s start with a brief summary of what happened to me in 2016 as a professional.

The Startup – FinkTanks

Teaching was never a preferred career choice for me. But it was WordPress which reared me to this side and was a driving force in launching my blogging courses and internships for women through a local startup. “FinkTanks” as I call it, is the startup where I conduct training sessions and offer courses on a monthly basis.

The initiative is aimed to teach young females (in particular) about all the essential components which a blogger needs to know starting from WordPress to design, code, and of course copywriting.

Last year was pretty high as I amped up the training level not only regarding the number of students but also the course contents. I added new and advanced technical concepts through which females could learn a few extra skills to boost their monthly earnings.

Statistics: I am pleased to let you know that some of my students are earning really well and are associated with some of the famous agencies like NetSol, PepsiCo, Synergy, BBDO, Off Roads Studio, etc. Likewise, the number of new students kept increasing. In 2016 alone, I have trained about 318 female students. Which is pretty amazing.

Writing!

I wrote about 2,000 to 5,000 words daily. Along with Ahmad Awais, I managed a good deal of content portfolio for our clients which later led us to the formulation of our new WordPress content and marketing agency. It’s called WPContent.Studio — cool name? Yeah! I know!

Get to Know Me Better…

Last year, Topher from HeroPress reached out to me and asked me to pen down my life story. To say that it was a tough job would be an understatement. But I am proud of what I am. If you are interested to know what I am made of, then read my story → The Making of a WordPress Journalist.

$100K Giveaway!

Ahmad and I got together to host the biggest giveaway in the history of WordPress. Yes, $100,000 in prizes. Pretty incredible eh? Take a look at it and read the comments to know how WordPress has changed so many lives.

Matt Mullenweg’s Appreciation

Matt Mullenweg is the co-founder of WordPress project. He now owns a company called Automattic that runs WordPress.com. He acquired WooCommerce about more than a year and a half ago. When WooMattic turned one, I started researching what had changed in one year.

I love WooCommerce and so do my clients. That’s why it’s important to me as a developer to know what changed after the acquisition. I shared this idea with Ahmad, and he got on board to write a technical review — WooMattic Turns One! A Critical Analysis by TheDevCouple.

Less did I know that Matt M. will read our review and say what he said…

What Else…

You must be looking forward to knowing about my other projects. Surprisingly, Ahmad Awais was a part of nearly all of them, and we worked together as a team. So, I am stealing a big chunk of it from his year…

  • White Paper: 7 Reasons Agencies Win With WordPress → I co-authored a white paper with WPEngine last year.
  • Book: Learning WordPress REST API → It was a fun project last year, while Ahmad was reviewing most of the technical parts of this book, he asked me to review a few chapters first. It was nothing really. Though I am proud of where I am now, WordPress has been a blessing for us.

2016 — Got too Personal!

I have an incredible news to share with all of you.

The Wedding!

Rarely do you find perfect endings! But I was lucky enough to get one for myself last year. Ahmad Awais and I; we got married! 🎉It has brought a great change both in the personal and professional level. I got married to someone who is the real man behind of who I am today.

About seven years ago when I joined his team; I had never thought that we’d end up together. I’d go as far as to say that WordPress brought us together. But that’s a story for another day.

Ahmad Awais is my new partner in crime! 😇 One thing which I’d like to share is that I discovered an entirely new side of Ahmad. He is quite a jolly guy who makes everyone laugh all day long.

Last year we launched a blog TheDevCouple.com which covered stuff that couples well with WordPress. But now I think it defines us. We are the WP Couple, and together we plan to start a new blog or may I suggest a podcast called The TheDevCouple.

That’s all for 2016. Here’s to a great new year. I can’t wait to share more about a secret WP SaaS project we are working on. It’s going to use the WordPress REST API and it will be our first SaaS product. Wish us luck! 😇

 

Maedah Batool

ⓦ WordPress Marketing Team Representative & WP Core Contributing Developer ❯ 🎩 #OpenSourceress ❯ ✍️ Tech Journalist, Developer & Teacher ❯ 👩‍💻 OSS Content Program Manager at TheDevCouple ❯ 👩‍🏫 Taught thousands of girls how to code #GirlsWhoCode ❯ 💜 Love my husband (Ahmad Awais), Minions, and 🍕

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