For many of us in the local WordPress community in Vienna, Luca Sartoni brought us together. I remember at one of the first WordPress Vienna meetups some years ago being surprised that Luca, who had recently moved to Vienna, almost immediately started working to create a WordPress community in Vienna. Now I know better than to underestimate Luca.
I was able to ask him a few questions in preparation for his keynote presentation at WordCamp Vienna about WordPress and the opportunities of the Open Web.
Luca Sartoni is a growth engineer at Automattic, the company behind WordPress.com. He actively contributes to the WordPress community and co-organises WordCamp Europe, the world’s largest event about WordPress. He has a background in computer science, technology, marketing, and media. He is a prolific photographer.
Why did you choose to come to Vienna?
In 2010 I was offered a job at a startup based in Vienna, a couple of years later I joined another startup, and after I joined Automattic in 2014 I decided to stay because Vienna is conveniently located.
Why did you get involved with building the WP Vienna community?
Back in 2013 I was already involved in the WordPress community, volunteering at WCEU and attending other WordCamps. I realized there was no WP meetup in Vienna and I decided to start one with Paolo, who was already employed at Automattic and co-organiser of WCEU.
What would you like to see for the future of the WP project?
I’m very excited by the evolution of the Editor and the Customizer, the current two focuses of the current development cycle.
How can WP communities better incorporate sponsors and partners?
Making sure that sponsors and partners are well aware of the expectations that the community has from them. It’s not trivial to incorporate commercial entities and their practices within a community that has its own culture as the primary value. Sponsors and partners should be involved and educated, before just taking their money.