Happy New Year, Divi Nation!
It’s 2020 and the first month is already behind us! How’s the kick-off to your year going? Here at Elegant Themes, we’re happy to report that our Divi community is strong and growing!
Check out our current stats and community updates.
The Divi Nation Meetup Network by the Numbers
Total Members: 6,356
Total Groups: 55
Total Events Hosted: 429
Total RSVPs: 2,354
New Members (Last 90 Days): 1,551
New Groups (Last 60 Days): 7
New Group Pipeline: 6
If you’d like to get in on the action yourself, locate a group near you here or use the button below to apply to become a local organizer.
APPLY TO BECOME A DIVI MEETUP ORGANIZER TODAY
Let’s Welcome Our New Meetup Groups
Please give a warm welcome to our new hosts! January brought us four more Meetup groups, five new hosts, and we’re thrilled to introduce you to the hosts.
See below for introductions (in the host’s own words) and info on their next Meetups.
Divi Santa Maria, Brazil
Ricardo of Divi Santa Maria
Meet the host, Ricardo Brunhauser Karsten:
Digital cultural producer, photographer, videomaker, web developer for 8 years working with media and internet marketing. Restless New Economies – Creative and Shared – Research and apply sustainable development practices and help conscious businesses sell more on the Internet.
I want to inspire new people to work better and promote Divi culture throughout Brazil. Divi’s potential is amazing, [and] I want more people to have access to the incredible opportunities that come with using it and learn from the network.
Their first event is in February! Be apart of this new community, Brazil!
Divi Cape Town, South Africa
Dirk of Divi Cape Town
Meet the host, Dirk Tolken:
I’ve been using Elegant Themes even before DIVI and was one of the first users of DIVI as it got released. We’ve been working with WordPress for more than 10 yrs now and I’m also involved with the local WordPress community and was part of the organising committee of WCCT2019.
I already run an internship e-commerce training program and we often use DIVI when my interns build sites, so extending workshops and training beyond just my interns would come naturally. It’s not always about learning, but also building community even if sometimes simply providing a co-working environment.
Dirk just became the new lead organizer for Divi Cape Town. Do check them out!
Divi South Florida, Florida, United States
Carlos of Divi South Florida
Meet the host, Carlos Vazquez:
True story… Carlos’ career launched with a prank call to the late dictator Fidel Castro in 2003. After he completed his first tour in the U.S. Marines, he volunteered the run the website for a Miami-based morning show. The jocks were known for prank calling the public and they stepped it up when they managed to prank the president of Argentina, Venezuela and even the dictator, Fidel Castro.
Carlos saw this as an opportunity to build email lists and built the station’s first successful opt-in funnel. It was because of this funnel the station was able to generate over 250k+ email addresses and resulted in a new revenue stream for the station.
This exposure has lead Carlos to build campaigns for various fortune 500 companies to include Pepsi, Coca-Cola, Universal Studios, Disney, Univision, iHeartRadio, Carnival Cruise Lines and many more.
Now Carlos runs a digital marketing agency that lifts the tech-burden from businesses shoulders for website creation, funnel pages, marketing automation and paid ad traffic.
South Florida’s one of the top cities in the United States however, when it comes to the latest technology and trends, it sure feels like we’re behind the curve. I’m on a mission to bring the city up to speed and one way to do that is by sparking the conversation and getting like-minded geeks to meet.
We’re so excited to have a Divi Meetup in South Florida! Be sure to join!
Divi Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Amin of Divi Edmonton
Meet the host, Amin Ahmed:
Amin is an engineer with a keen eye for beautiful design. With Divi, he’s able to take the design ideas out of his head and place them onto the screen – without having to be a graphic designer. Having used Divi since its inception, he’s obsessed, impressed, and amazed at the possibilities available.
I want to share my knowledge and passion for great web design, specifically using Divi, with our community.
This is our first Divi Meetup in Alberta, Canada! Be part of this community, Edmonton!
Divi Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas, United States
Jube of Divi Dallas/Fort Worth
Meet the host, Jube Dankworth:
I’ve been making websites since 1999, and have been using EL since before Divi. I came into public relations as public relations was discovering the internet, although I had been on the internet since 1988.
I enjoy putting people together to learn, socialize and help them grow personally and professionally. Doing this around Divi is a great opportunity to help those around me grow.
Divi Nation, we finally have a Divi Meetup in the Dallas area! Huzzah! Check them out!
Updates from Existing Groups
Our Divi Meetup Network communities are off to a great start for 2020! It’s a new year and a new time for growth. Take a look at how their January Divi meetups went!
Divi Bogotá, Colombia
Divi Bogotá
From the Host, Jaime Eduardo Gómez:
In our first meeting we provide general information about what DIVI is and what it represents for us and our clients, the purpose of the meetup and a little about the actuality of web design in the country.
In this first experience, we learned a lot about what will be the logistics for the next meetings and we have organized a structure of the topics we are going to talk about. We wait for you!
Divi Bogotá is our first meetup in Colombia. Join this group and be part of the Divi magic in South America!
Divi Cape Town in South Africa
Divi Cape Town
From the Host, Dirk Tolken:
In our first meetup for 2020 we covered Divi Leads (split testing) and our attendees were quite engaged, asking questions all the time. We covered some theory of split testing and then jumped into a demo. Some interesting questions came up around how split testing would affect performance on high-traffic websites, how caching [effects] split testing and if global tests for WooCommerce products are perhaps available. Attendees were keen to attend future sessions too.
If you’re a Divi user in the Cape Town, South Africa area, don’t hesitate to join this thriving meetup!
Divi Chicago, Illinois, United States
Divi Chicago
From the Hosts, Joan Margau & Scott Winterroth:
The Divi Chicago Meetup has been active! On Monday, January 13, Divi-Chicago had their very first Meetup sponsored by Elegant Themes. Organizers Joan Margau and Scott Winterroth presented highlights about Divi. The meetup was alive with questions and Divi had the answers. We met people interested in learning more about Divi, for work and personal websites. The second Meetup was on Saturday, January 25, Joan Margau presented; Break out of the Blog Box with Divi. In this meetup, we broke out of the blog box with Divi. Everyone was impressed at how Divi solves problems people have putting content into a blog post. They were also surprised by the different blog post heading styles you can achieve the Fullwidth Post Title Module. We made Divi friends and new contacts. Divi-Chicago next Meetup is February 10, the subject is; Theme Building with the Divi Theme Builder Beyond Just Pages. This meetup will be presented by Scott Winterroth. We’re building the Divi community in Chicago. Join us if you live in Chicago, or just visiting, we would love to meet up with you and hear about your project.
Be sure to check out the upcoming Meetup events on Divi-Chicago Meetup.
Divi Columbus, Ohio, USA
Divi Columbus
From the Host, Nathan B. Weller:
We had a small but fun meeting this month. We used an idea, someone, from the larger network shared during the last Meetup Host Roundtable discussion. We had a Divi Happiness Bar! Folks showed up and we helped troubleshoot each other’s Divi website issues. We also took some time to plan the next few events. Looking forward to an awesome 2020!
The Columbus community is full of great content! You don’t want to miss out!
Divi Douala, Cameroon
From the Host, Francis FOKWA:
Ce mois nous avons convoquer le meetup et reçu juste une personne. Nous avons changer de strategie de travail et esperons que le mois prochain elle sera plus fructueuse.
Le theme du mois consistait à toujours faire découvrir Divi avec ses possibilités multiples en construisant un site web minimum de 3 pages. Le soucis que nous rencontrons c’est la disponibilité des personnes à se rendre aux rencontres. Nous avons même pensé à faire des Tshirts Divi, les macarons, questions d’utiliser cela comme un source d’encouragement des personnes qui y viennent. Un present offert étant toujours une chose appreciable…
Merci de votre présence.
This month we convened the meetup and received just one person. We have changed our work strategy and hope that next month it will be more fruitful. The theme of the month was to always discover Divi with its multiple possibilities by building a minimum website of 3 pages. The concern we encounter is the availability of people to go to meetings. We even thought of making Divi T-shirts, buttons, questions to use this as a source of encouragement for people who come there. A gift offered is always something appreciable … Thank you for your presence.
Divi Douala is happening. Come on out and be apart of the magic in Cameroon!
Divi Cairo, Egypt
Divi Egypt
From the Host, Mohammad Sobhy:
The last meetup we talked about how to use Divi theme to create news website not extra theme as [usual] and how to solve the problems we faced to get our project showcase.
Testimonials : “I loved the functionality of the theme builder to create for example category page and other pages” “Looking to add some modern effects like motions”
The Divi Egypt community is eager to grow! Check out their enthusiasm for yourself!
Divi Gulfport, Mississippi, USA
Divi Gulfport
From the Host, Suzi Wilson:
[We] have two Divi meetups per month. [In] the first meetup of January, [we] had 3 attendees. Everyone attending so far is brand new to Divi and looking for some tutoring.
Are you in the Gulport area? They’d love to have your presence. Check the group out!
Divi Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Divi Las Vegas
From the Host, Bob Briare:
We had our monthly meetup on Friday. John and Jan shared their sites. Jim shared his expertise and made suggestions on how everyone’s site can be more effective.
Be sure to check out their Meetup page for details on their next event!
Divi Los Angeles, California, USA
Divi Los Angeles
From the Host, Christian Mauerer:
Our Meetup is growing. We had 7 people present (only 3 in [the] picture because I forgot to snap it before they were gone – happens to the best). 
We talked about the recent Divi Update 4.2 with fixed positions etc. We also helped solve some issues around how to get started with the basic WordPress & Divi setup. Christian, the Host of the Divi Meetup in Los Angeles, also created a 3 Day Website Challenge – How to plan, create, launch your website in 3 days ALL BASED ON DIVI!
Blessings to you all from Divi Los Angeles
There’s a ton happening in LA! Get plugged in with this great Divi meetup!
Divi Madrid, Spain
Divi Madrid
From the Hosts, Luis Melgarejo & Julio Hector Loupias:
[It] was a very [exciting] day for Divi Madrid. We officially started our monthly meetings with:
1. Divi main features
2. A Success business model with DIVI by Geno Quiroz (online streaming)
Divi Madrid is new to our network and they’re super pumped to grow their community! Be sure to join.
Divi Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
Divi Milwaukee
From the Host, Kimberly Huges:
At our January meetup, we focused some attention on plugins for Divi. Phil, one of our co-hosts, shared some of the plugins he uses, calling them his “secret sauce.” They include, “Formidable Forms,” “Smush” and “Smart Slider.” We had 8 people in attendance.
The Milwaukee crew would love your presence if you’re in the area!
Divi New York City, USA
Divi New York City
From the Host, Patty Rose:
Happy 2020! Divi NYC celebrated the new year and decade with appetizers, good conversation as always, and some guided goal setting around the question: “What would you like to accomplish with your Divi website by the end of the year?” Everyone when home with a colorful – idea logging, dream creating pocket notebook to keep track of those goals. We also made an exciting announcement that my colleague, friend, and a Divi NYC sponsor from the start, Jeanine Polizzi | Biz in Bloom has joined as my Co-Host. Jeanine and I are looking forward to creating amazing meetups with engaging topics for our group this year.
By chance, one of our Divi members in attendance is a photographer and she took these great shots for us. But, of course, that means, Lee | @UeharaDesigns didn’t make it into the photos.
Thanks, everyone for your participation. Your individual contributions [are] what make this group so extraordinary.
Looking forward to seeing you in a few weeks!
Be sure to check out their Meetup page for details on their next event!
Divi Owerri, Nigeria
From the Host, Hillary Goodness:
Our community has grown: We have gradually increased in numbers (focusing on impact and growth)
The special thing about our local Divi community: we promote openness, diversity, and inclusion.
What fun with us is: We give room for creativity and uniqueness
Don’t miss out on being apart of this community’s magic!
Divi Phoenix, Arizona, USA
Divi Phoenix
From the Host, David Curtiss:
We only had one meeting this month and we discussed the origination of website design. There were questions about how to get inspiration and how to get started. The biggest learning curve that people with past design seem to experience is the fact that you are never starting from scratch. We tried using a community service project as a way to bring people to the meetup but it didn’t seem to work too well.
We are currently working on a survey [that will] hopefully identify meeting topics and the best times for people to meet. We are also working on having sponsors cater lunches or snacks for the meetings. The biggest goal right now is to get more people to attend.
This weekend is WordCamp Phoenix and the Elegant Themes content team will be there for a Divi Meet-&-Greet. It’s free to attend so do come on out!
Divi Sacramento, California, USA
From the Host, Rosalinda Huck:
Divi Sacramento continues to grow, bit by bit. We welcomed three more new members at our January meeting, where we discussed why and how to use Divi layouts. Looking forward to sharing everyone’s current Divi projects in February!
Divi Sacramento just had their first meetup and would love for you to join in the fun!
Divi Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
From the Host, Dustin Olsen:
2020 is going to be the year for Divi Salt Lake City! We have published the schedule for the year so you know what’s coming. This year we will be holding a Working Session (aka: Happiness Bar) every other month so you can get specific questions answered about your site. We cannot wait to meet new friends and network – so come and join us!
We’d love to have your presence at this meetup! Join today!
Divi Seattle, Washington, USA
Divi Seattle
From the Hosts, Bradon Garley & Shane Griffiths:
Seattle had a snowstorm last month which prevented most members from attending. Our event was going to be a Divi Show and Tell which we were really excited [about]. We decided to redo the event in February, this time with pizza! We’ll also be covering Divi’s new Gutenberg update and Positioning feature.
Be sure to check Divi Seattle’s community out! Even if you’re visiting.
Divi Tampa, Florida, USA
Divi Tampa
From the Host, Steve Willingham:
Of the seven Divi Tampa members that registered to attend, two showed up, and two other people that were at our facility and hadn’t heard of Divi Tampa attended the meetup, and one even joined the group.
This was a small but fun and informative event during which attendees shared their backgrounds with respect to web development and Divi, and their expectations of the meetup group itself. We discussed the features and merits of Divi, traded tips and helped each other with various questions. We used a large screen TV to present our websites as we discussed them. We introduced Divi to two of the attendees that had no experience with the Divi builder, and it was overall a very successful meeting. One attendee even offered to build out a website for a maker festival event that our nonprofit will be producing in May!
The Tampa community is running strong so be sure to check them out!
Divi Valencia, Spain
Divi Valencia
From the Host, Celine de Castro:
The group was a mix of getting to know Divi and what it’s all about and one with about 4 years working with Divi. 2 have attended our other meetings while one was new and looking to move over an interesting project over to Divi. I asked each of them to commit to bringing one new person to the February meeting…after all, February is the month of Love and we need to show Divi some love 
Don’t be bashful and get involved with this group today!
Want to Host Your Own Local Divi Network Meetup?
Great! We’re always on the lookout for people around the world who are passionate about Divi and building community and want to spread that enthusiasm to their local community. We take care of the monthly Meetup fees, and we provide all our hosts with tons of resources to help plan and promote their events, including help with finding a venue and coming up with topic ideas.
Starting a new Divi Meetup group is simple. Just apply by filling out this form or email eventcoordinator@elegantthemes.com. Once the form is complete, we will work together to get your group launched and linked to our Meetup Network. Easy as that!
Not sure if there’s already a Divi Meetup Group in your area? Just head to our Meetup Network page to see a map of our current locations.
Featured Image via cosmaa / shutterstock.com
The post Divi Meetup Network Community Update: January 2020 appeared first on Elegant Themes Blog.
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