Mayo Moriyama is Japanese freelance Front-end Engineer. Besides that, she also provides support for hosting along with her team. She is self-employed and a Traveling Web designer. In her early days, she created a website for the tourism industry and NGOs in Cambodia. Later, Moriyama came back to her home country and joined local WordPress Community. In 2014, she became the translator, a Meetup organizer, and a lead organizer of WordCamp Tokyo 2014. You can reach her on her @mayuko on slack and @mayukojpn on WordPress.org.
At WordCamp Kathmandu 2018, Mayo Moriyama had an interview and Q&A session alongside with Sakin Shrestha. She talked about Contributors day, which had happened for the first time in WordCamp Kathmandu 2018.
We had a conversation with Mayo Moriyama at WordCamp Kathmandu 2018.
What made you come to WordCamp Kathmandu 2018?
I wanted to go to the trekking. And, I came to know that WordCamp Kathmandu 2018 is happening. So, I am here now.
Have you been to WordCamp Kathmandu 2017 or any other previous WordCamps?
No, I haven’t been to any WordCamps here in Nepal. But I knew Sakin Shrestha and other guys from WordPress Community.
What do you like about this WordCamp Kathmandu 2018?
It’s great. There are so many people around here. All of them are very nice and friendly. What I like the most is Food. It’s very delicious.
How long have you been on WordPress?
8 years. At that time I used WordPress for the customization. As I remember I used it just for the blog like 10 years ago.
What do you think of WordPress Community in Nepal?
WordPress Community here is Nepal is quite strong. Since I am familiar with the Nepali WordPress Community, I could see that they are doing really great.
What would you like to see change in WordPress Platform in the next 5 years?
(Laughs hard) this very difficult question. For me, I want to change the situation of theme developing. I know there are many good themes but it is a bit difficult to do business with WordPress. There are many people who want to use WordPress for some sectors like the hairdresser. He works alone and needs a website. He doesn’t know how to get good themes. So I want to improve that part. It’s a not a huge WordPress project as well.
Do you find the value of being here today?
Yeah, of course. I met new people. It feels good when we see lots of WordPress lovers in one hub.
What are your suggestions to make WordCamp better in the upcoming years?
I think I don’t have to give any suggestions to make WordCamp better in the upcoming years. This one is very good. I enjoyed lunch, breakfast, and the session. I am happy to see that the other cities of Nepal are also organizing WordCamp. May this continues in upcoming years as well.
For someone who is new to WordCamp or even WordPress, what would you like to recommend or suggest?
I will suggest them to talk to people. Sometimes people don’t have any idea what the session was about. So, try to talk with them and continue communicating with them. If possible, be a part of the small Meet-ups. And ask questions. In this way, they can learn many things.
What was your background before stepping into WordPress?
I used to work for Magazine Company. They didn’t have a website. So, I suggested my boss create a company’s website. My boss happily said, “You can do it”. In this way, I stepped my way into WordPress.
Besides WordPress, what are your hobbies or passion?
Ok, I love traveling. I always travel and attend WordCamps at the same time. When I meet new people, it cheers me up.
Thank you, Mayo Moriyama, for having a conversation with us.
You can check out our conversation with Mr. Chirta Raj Bhandari and Mr. Dat Hoang.
