WordCamp Us 2017 is going to be an awesome event. We are excited to announce the second round of fantastic speakers who will be with us December 1-3, 2017 in Nashville.
You don’t want to miss out on this event. Make sure you buy your ticket today. Even better, tell a friend who has never come to a WordCamp before, or who doesn’t regularly come to a WordPress Meetup. Let them know what the WordPress community is all about.
Brian DeConinck is a front-end designer and developer with NC State University’s Office of Information Technology. As part of the OIT Design team, he builds custom WordPress themes and plugins for academic and administrative units on campus, helps run campus Multisite environments, and advises campus clients on their content strategy. In all of his projects, Brian is committed to universal design principles of accessibility, usability and user empathy.
Brian is also co-host of the WPCampus Podcast, where he gets to talk to interesting people about the interesting things they’re doing with WordPress in higher ed.
Philip John has been working with WordPress since (almost) the beginning. He spent most of his career as a freelancer before joining the WordPress.com VIP team as an engineer, looking after some of the most high profile, interesting and challenging implementations of WordPress on the web.
Apart from WordPress, Phil’s other big passion is politics. He’s a contributor to an open source manifesto and co-founder of a political party in the UK, and sees these two passions as inextricably linked.
Rian is a WordPress engineer who has enthusiastically worked with WordPress since 2009, and has a strong interest in web standards and making the web usable for everybody. She works for the WordPress agency Human Made and is part of the WordPress Accessibility Team.
When not coding, you can find her working in her garden.
Ryan engineers happiness for WordPress.com VIP from St. Louis, and loves helping others have great experiences. He’s been blogging in some form or another for a very long time, eventually learning and loving WordPress.
He enjoys the study of games and helping his wife (try to) control his five children.
Sonja is a location-independent Web Designer and Digital Strategist. She’s an active member of the WordPress community, contributes to various teams, and co-organizes WordCamp Europe. She helps businesses create unique online experiences that connect deeply with their customers.
If you missed our first round of speaker announcements, check it out here.
We had hundreds of amazing applications for WordCamp US this year. It’s clear that the WordPress community has lots of talented people who are passionate about sharing their experience with others.
A huge thank you again to everyone who applied. WordCamp US would not be a reality without you.
After we have announced all of our speakers, over the course of this week and next, we will launch the overall schedule so you can see the exact dates and times that each speaker is presenting, as well as full details about their talks.
Without further ado, let’s hear it for the first round of WCUS 2017 speakers:
Andrea is a freelance copywriter and digital content creator at Automattic. She trained as a broadcast journalist and worked in corporate communications before risking it all for a career in tech. Now she blogs and develops video tutorials for WordPress.com. She’s also a WordCamp Montreal organizer. Andrea loves wordplay, coffee-shop-hopping, and blogging about how to pack the ultimate carry-on. When she’s not at home in Montreal, Canada, she’s sampling the digital nomad life and documenting her travels on her blog capsulesuitcase.com.
Josh is a WordPress developer and educator. He is Founder/ Lead Developer/ Space Astronaut Grade 3 for Caldera Labs, makers of awesome WordPress tools including Caldera Forms — a drag and drop, responsive WordPress form builder.
Also, he is a WordPress core contributor, the author of two books about WordPress development and a member of The WPCrowd.
Formerly a WooCommerce extension developer, WooCommerce Ninja at WooThemes, a developer at WebDevStudios & Maintainn, e-commerce specialist at ColourPop Cosmetics, and now Managing Partner at Mindsize… Patrick has a unique set of skills and experience in e-commerce, product development, enterprise WordPress development, and scaling of WordPress & WooCommerce.
Susan is the unofficial “Department of WordPress” at Rutgers-Camden, which hosts more than 200 sites in its multisite installations as well as a number of standalone sites. She develops plugins and themes, administers the WP ecosystem and manages web content and social media for OIT-Camden. She became a full-time university web developer in 2003 and joined Rutgers in 2011. Previously she was staff writer and city editor for a daily paper and later a public information officer. Susan is a graduate of Lamar University (mass communication) and the University of Oxford (computer science). She is a co-organizer of the Philly WordPress meetup and WordCamp Philly 2017.
Agency and Community Engineer at Pantheon, Tessa has been a web developer for over 10 years. She enjoys front-end development but also loves to build sites from start to finish. She started in Joomla back when it was 1.0.x and worked her way into WordPress and Drupal about 7 years ago. She enjoys teaching others to code as well as speaking at conferences and youth events. Tessa is a northern Minnesota native, but now lives in the Twin Cities with her husband and four children – three boys and a baby girl. She loves dogs and enjoys helping local organizations rescue dogs in her free time.
Check back soon for the next round of speaker announcements! And if you haven’t yet,get a ticket to WordCamp US!
Are you counting down to the amazing weekend that WCUS is going to be? A big part of that weekend is the after party that will be held on December 2 at 8:00 pm. It’s a great chance to unwind after the main event, and to catch up with everyone you’ve met.
This entire, amazing facility will be open to us. The museum features almost 200 hands-on, interactive exhibits. Sure, it’s great for kids, but “grown-up kids” will enjoy it too, especially if you were a kid in the 1990’s in love with all things Nickelodeon.
There are climbing towers, flight simulators, and so much more. Check out the video below for just a brief sampling of what the Nashville Adventure Science Center has in store.
On top of what the science center has to offer, WCUS must haves will be there including drinks and finger food, a photo-booth, and karaoke.
REMINDER: The only way to attend the after party is to have a ticket to WordCamp US. Did you buy your ticket yet? Buy it today!
Rooms are going fast in our official hotel block for WordCamp US at the Renaissance Nashville Hotel. In case there are no more rooms left on the nights you want, below are several nearby options. They are all within six blocks of the Music City Center venue.
At the time of this writing, rooms are going for around $275 by directly contacting the hotels. If you go through a service like Trivago, Kayak, Expedia etc., you may get a lower price. We do not have an official hotel block at any of the hotels listed below.
WordCamp US is in Nashville, Tennessee this year December 1-3. With the switch in locations, people have emailed in questions like: “Where are the best food options?”, “Does Nashville welcome diversity?”,”What’s the entertainment scene like?”, “Are there co-working spaces nearby?” and more.
In order to share information with a wider audience on what to expect during WordCamp US, and what Nashville community has to offer, we thought we’d start our own weekly Google Hangout.
Each week our hosts from the WCUS organizing team will be joined by local Nashville community members to talk about the things you want to know. Use the #GoWCUS hashtag on Twitter to connect with us. If there is something you want us to talk about, we’ll do our best to cover that topic, and get you the information you want.
You can check out our first Google Hangout live on Friday, September 1 at 2:00 pm CDT (UTC-5 hours). If you can’t join us live, no worries, the Hangout is recorded, and you can play it back whenever you want via our WCUS YouTube channel.
With just a couple of months to go, Nashville is revving up to welcome everyone from around the globe to WordCamp US. We are so excited to host WordCamp US, and it looks like you’re excited too.
Hopefully, you’ll have a little time to explore the amazing city of Nashville before or after WordCamp US. In order to make this free time more enjoyable, we cooked up a map that covers a variety of what you might need while in town.
In it’s current form, the map is a jumping off point that focuses on the area that is within walking distance of the venue and the hotel. We covered what we thought would be the most asked for areas:
Coffee and Tea Shops
Restaurants and Ice Cream Shops
Banks, ATMS, Pharmacies, Post Office and Shipping Centers
Bars and Karaokee
Parking Facilities
Public Transportation Routes
We will also have some upcoming posts that focus on the food and entertainment scene, not only in the immediate area of the venue, but also what’s available a quick cab ride away. We’ll also be making some additional maps to make those places easier to find.
Did you know that Nashville is an up-incoming foodie hub? Don’t just take our word for it, check out why Style Blueprint called Charlotte Ave. a Foodie Mecca, and why the New York Times and the Travel Channelsaid:
“Any higher-end Southern chef definitely has an eye toward opening a restaurant in Nashville these days because it is so dynamic and both the audience and good-quality meat and produce are there in abundance. The number of people from the high-tech sector, the country music industry and, increasingly, the Los Angeles music and film scene demand sophisticated food, but they also want it to be authentic. So you can get a great mix of smart takes on Southern standards along with dishes that push the envelope, with wine lists and cocktails to match.”
We hope you fall in love with Nashville while you are here. If there’s a topic you’d like to see an upcoming post or map cover, give us a shout and we’ll try and include that information for you.
Congratulations! You’re attending your very first WordCamp. If you’re choosing WordCamp US as your first camp, we’re flattered and excited to share nearly a year’s worth of work with you. Over the years I’ve attended several conferences and other WordCamps and learned a lot of lessons. I’ve put together 10 of the most important tips and tricks to help make your first WordCamp a great experience.
1. Wear good, comfortable shoes.
If there’s one thing that makes me miserable the fastest, it’s when my feet hurt. I’m not talking about just a small ache because I did a lot of walking, but the kind of pain where chopping off your feet sounds like a reasonable option. If you want to have a great time the whole time you’re at WCUS, I STRONGLY recommend wearing shoes that are comfortable, but give you lots of support. You don’t want to miss out on all the fun stuff we have planned because you have to take a break to rest your poor tootsies.
Pro Tip: Don’t wear brand new shoes either. I made the bad choice of doing this when I went to Las Vegas for a conference earlier this year. During the 3 days I was there, I walked over 20 miles. By the end of the conference, my feet – and the rest of me – was screaming. I could have easily prevented this by wearing shoes that were still in good condition, but broken in enough to conform to my feet.
2. Bring a laptop.
The first WordCamp I ever went to, I only took my phone and my iPad. Needless to say, I was miserable. Everyone around me was able to follow along and try some of the cool things the presenters were showing us, but I was stuck sitting there with my iPad. If you want to get the most out of your WordCamp experience, be sure to bring a laptop. You’ll be far, far happier.
Pro Tip: Bring a notepad too. Sometimes getting to an outlet to charge your laptop can be tricky. So that you don’t forget something important while your laptop charges, bring a notebook or notepad (I’m particularly fond of legal pads) and a pen or twenty and take some notes. You’ll hate yourself a lot less later for not getting to an outlet sooner.
3. Bring a water bottle/travel mug.
I don’t know about you, but I’m going to WCUS to learn. What keeps me from being able to learn? Among other things, being thirsty. While I could just run and grab a refill in a cup when I need it, that takes away from my valuable learning time. Because for me, it’s not just running to grab the cup of water, there’s also the part where I have to come back in and get focused again, which isn’t one of my strengths. Bringing a refillable water bottle means that I can stay focused on what I’m doing longer and get the most out of the sessions I’m attending. Not to mention, using a water bottle instead of a disposable cup is far better for the environment. If you’re more of a coffee drinker, I recommend bringing a travel mug for the same reasons.
Pro Tip: No matter how much you trust your beloved Nalgene, there’s a chance it could leak all over your laptop and anything else in your bag. Either find a backpack with a pocket for your water bottle, or get a carabiner clip and clip it to the outside of your backpack. You’ll thank me later when you’re not crying over the corpse of your waterlogged laptop.
4. Bring chargers for all of your devices.
There’s nothing worse than being out and about with a dead phone/tablet/laptop. Bring chargers for all of the devices you intend to use at WordCamp. If you use a battery-operated mouse (or wireless remote for presenting), bringing an extra set of batteries couldn’t hurt either. Even if you don’t end up needing them, you could find yourself with a new friend when you share those extra batteries with someone in need.
Pro Tip: Be sure to keep all of your cords separate. I wrap mine using this cable shortening method. It keeps the cables in a neat loop that I can clip on to one of those carabiner clips that I mentioned earlier. It works pretty well for charging cables, earbuds, extension cords, really anything that gets tangled easy.
5. Bring a pair of headphones.
As much as I want to be able to unplug from my job and just focus on the sessions, it’s not always possible. Sometimes you have to put your nose to the grindstone and get some work done. If you’re the type that needs to listen to some music while you work, bring along a pair of earbuds so that you can focus and not disturb others around you.
Pro Tip: Besides learning about new concepts and ideas, we’re at WordCamp to connect with other members of the community. Tuning out and keeping to yourself may be tempting when new people and situations make you uneasy, but when you stop yourself from meeting new people because you’re afraid of the worst, you also keep yourself from opening up to the possibility of making a great connection that could lead to a life-long friendship.
6. Condense your stuff.
My usual “load” for a day involves a purse, laptop bag, lunch bag, and the occasional tote bag. While this is fine when I’m going to work, it’s not so great when you’re running around all day at a conference. When I attend conferences, I usually condense my backpack down to the following:
Laptop
Chargers (phone and laptop)
Batteries
Wireless Mouse (and presenter remote if I’m speaking)
Wallet – I condense my wallet down to the following
Driver’s License or other government-issued Photo ID
My Debit Card
A Credit Card (for emergencies)
Insurance Card(s) (just in case)
A card with emergency contact info – ICE Card is a pretty great resource for this.
Luggage Tag – put this on the outside of your backpack
Flash Drive/External Hard Drive
Extra Socks (optional) – I hate wet feet, so I always pack an extra pair.
Any medications you might need during the day – pack each medication separately in a clearly labelled container. I usually just keep mine in their bottles from the pharmacy and black out any personal info.
A small snack – there will be food and snacks provided throughout the day, but I always bring an extra just in case. Think nuts and granola bars vs. something soft and/or melty. Choose something durable that won’t get destroyed in your bag, but will give you a little energy boost if needed.
Pro Tip: Get a small tote or even a Ziploc bag to stick all of your conference swag in. That way all of the stickers and little bits and pieces are in one bag that you can stick in your luggage at the end of the conference.
7. Invest in a good backpack.
Getting a good backpack is a sound investment in your neck, shoulders, back, knees…really your whole body. Carrying around your stuff all day in a tote or shoulder bag is murder on whichever shoulder you choose as your victim. I strongly recommend a backpack, preferably one that has a strap that connects the shoulder straps across your chest. This extra strap helps to distribute the weight more evenly across your upper body, keeping your neck and shoulders safe and the straps in place. I usually look for the following in a good backpack:
Laptop pocket – it’s usually situated closest to your body when you put it on and it’s padded for extra protection for your most valuable device
Accessory pockets – I like a variety of pockets to put all of my little bits and pieces in
Good padded shoulder straps
The cross body strap I mentioned above
A water bottle pocket
Rain cover – this is a feature I didn’t know I wanted until I got stuck out in the rain one day with my backpack. I ended up putting my jacket over my backpack until I could get inside. I was soaking wet, but not a drop of water ended up inside my bag. Something like this backpack coverwould have saved me (and my hair) a lot of grief.
Pro Tip: Get a lock for your backpack, something that can loop through the laptop zipper and then wrap around something. While I hope something like this wouldn’t happen, it does, and it sucks. While WordCamps are generally very safe environments, people often meet up for breakfast in the morning before the conference or dinner after, and they have their backpacks with them. Extra security never hurts. I have had my laptop stolen and I still get the heebie jeebies when I think about the stuff I lost.
8. Dress in layers.
Let’s face it, room temperatures are unpredictable. For this reason, I would bring a sweater or hoodie that you can throw on and/or take off as the climate requires. As I write this post, I sit in the middle of a Meetup freezing because I left my sweater in the car. Don’t be like me, bring a sweater. Otherwise, your brain will freeze. Disclaimer: I’ve never actually heard of someone’s brain freezing from being too cold.
Pro Tip: Let’s not forget that we’re going to be in Nashville in December. The historical average for that time of year is in the mid 50’s (about 12 – 15 celsius). However, last December temps were in the 70s (anywhere from 21 – 26 celsius). Bottom line, be sure to check the weather report and pack accordingly.
By Sportstagid (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
9. Wear a medical bracelet.
Do you have a condition that requires special treatment such as a food or medication allergy, asthma, diabetes, or epilepsy? Wear a medical bracelet. Under normal circumstances you may not need one, because people familiar with you probably already know about your medical history. But you’re going to be coming to a city you’re not familiar with and hanging with people who may not know about your medical condition. In the event of an emergency, first responders will need to know these things and if you’re not able to communicate them, you could be in a whole lot of trouble. There’s loads of options out there (Walgreens carries several different kinds), pick one and make sure you wear it.
Pro Tip: If you have an allergy that causes anaphylaxis, such as a bee sting, and you carry an epinephrine auto-injector (you may know them as Epi-Pens), it couldn’t hurt to label that pocket on your backpack. That way if you can’t get to it fast enough, someone can help you get help.
Attendees talking between sessions at WordCamp US 2015 #wcus Photo by Sheri Bigelow, licensed cc-by-nc.
10. Bring a friend.
While not required, having a friend tag along with you can make for a memorable WordCamp experience. If you’re like me and you’re road tripping to WordCamp US, think of all of the awesome photos, sing-a-longs, and weird roadside attractions that you’ll see and get to enjoy together. If you’re flying, it’s always nice to have a travel buddy to keep you company while you’re waiting at the airport during the inevitable layover.
Pro Tip: Don’t use your buddy as a reason to shut out others. Go in with an open mind and you’re sure to find another new friend (or friends!) to share the experience with.
Whether you follow my advice or not, WordCamp US is sure to be a great event. Tickets are on sale now for the low cost of $40. Get your ticket today!
Post Contributors: Laura Byrne-Cristiano
Featured Photo Credit:
Top Left: Attendees at WordCamp US 2015 #wcus Photo by Sheri Bigelow, licensed cc-by-nc.
Bottom Left: BY SPORTSTAGID (OWN WORK) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (HTTP://CREATIVECOMMONS.ORG/LICENSES/BY-SA/3.0)], VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
We are excited to announce that that our volunteer applications are open starting today. Every year, our volunteers give our event a personal touch. Their community spirit is a huge part of what makes attendees eager to come back the following year.
Without question, volunteers are the backbone of WCUS. WCUS could not happen without the myriad of people who donate their time in so many different ways to ensure that the event goes off without a hitch.
There are lots of options for people who would like to volunteer. We have flexible hours and roles. There is one thing that is certain; there is something for everyone. If you would like to volunteer, fill out our application to help us find the right role for you. No previous experience is necessary, just a willingness to lend a hand.
A big thank you in advance from everyone on the organizing team. We could not do this without you!
We are pleased to announce that applications for the Kim Parsell Memorial Scholarship are being accepted as of today.
Kim Parsell was an active member of the WordPress community until her untimely passing in 2015. She was given the nickname “WPMom” because of the care she took in making sure any member of the community that she encountered felt welcomed and valued.
Kim actively participated in WordPress Meetups in her native Ohio, often driving over 90 minutes each way to do so. She also attended multiple WordCamps from Ohio to San Francisco and everywhere in-between. As a contributor, she contributed to every release of WordPress from 3.7 to 4.2.
Online, Kim could often be found on Twitter encouraging community members in whatever they were doing. She’d also post comments on countless WordPress sites to give members a shout out, boost of confidence, or help if they needed it.
For the reasons above, and so many more, a scholarship for a women who has never attended WordCamp US before is named after Kim Parsell.
Applications for the 2017 Kim Parsell Memorial Scholarship are now closed. Applicants will be contacted in the fall regarding their status.
I’ll never forget my first time at a WordPress event. It was at the WordCamp San Diego 2012 after-party. I was new and being introduced to many faces that night. Almost immediately I felt a sense of shock at how warm & inviting this community was. This was one of the very few times I had been around a group of people that genuinely cared about getting to know me; that sincerely desired to listen to me; that was just plain interested in others more than themselves. I was hooked.
Everyone has their “WordPress origin story;” the story of how they got sucked into the community. How they discovered a community to get involved with and invest in. This is mine.
What is yours? Tell us about your local WordPress Community and what makes it special. We would love to feature our local and regional WordPress communities at our WCUS 2017 Community Bazaar! Read all about it and join us in the fun!
Check out WP Tavern’s interview of two of our organizers where they talk community love:
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Brian DeConinck
Philip John
Rian Rietveld
Ryan Markel
Sonja Leix
1. Wear good, comfortable shoes.
2. Bring a laptop.
4. Bring chargers for all of your devices.
5. Bring a pair of headphones.
6. Condense your stuff.
7. Invest in a good backpack.
