WordCamp Regular?

It’s been a couple of years since I attended a Word Camp.

Actually that makes me sounds like a regular participant, but to be honest my one and only time was in 2011, and I still have the free sticker on my iPad case to remind me.

What is WordCamp?

For those of you who haven’t heard of these events before, they’re like the WordPress equivalent of Alcoholics Anonymous. In short, it’s a WordPress meet up for WordPress addicts, to talk about WordPress, breath about WordPress and drool over WordPress … oh, and to share information and insights about this open source platform with other addicts.

Everywhere you walk, WordPress Developers and Designers are talking in hushed tones about their latest Child Theme discovery or some invaluable snippet of XHTML code they can’t live without.

It’s a, “by the people, for the people approach”, and you roll the dice and take your chances when you attend.

Just because someone can write an amazing slice of CSS, that turns a static website into an all spinning all singing visual distraction, doesn’t mean they can articulate their ideas clearly in a 30 minute presentation.

But one thing all the presenters and attendees have in common, is a passion for the platform, which is why I’m attending. I want to be around people who share my love of WordPress and and WordCamp is the best way to do this.

WordCamp’s primary audience seems to be fellow developers and designers, but us Bloggers are represented – although we’re in the minority. I’m going to help swell the end-user numbers, and hopefully pick up a few tips from the professionals!

Would I like to be able to create my own Child Theme? You bet! But with five hungry blogs to feed, I need to focus on the supply of content, and I rely heavily on these developers to ensure my Sites are fully optimized with Themes, Plugins and Widgets that work fast and efficiently, and don’t need a user manual the size of “War and Peace” to understand….. honestly, I just need Plug and Play!

What’s in Store this Year’s WordCamp?

Saturday Schedule

Time	Hollywood	Vine
8:00 am	Registration
8:45 am	Opening Remarks
9:00 am	Using WordPress as an Application PlatformDan Pastori	The Best WordPress Security Plugin is YouJason Cosper
9:50 am	Underscores – The only theme that mattersSteve Zehngut	Roll your own photo blogBryan Villarin
10:40 am	Developing for MultiSiteMarty Thornley	The Blogging Dead: Zombie Content RulesJanine Warner
11:30 am	The CustomizerKonstantin Obenland	WordPress Troubleshooting 110 (not 101!)Matt Cromwell
12:20 pm	Lunch
2:00 pm	Keynote: The Commoditization of IntellectChris Lema
2:50 pm	DIYWP: Making WordPress Work for Your Small BusinessSé Reed	WordPress Consulting for Large CompaniesKarim Marucchi, John Giaconia,Kara Hansen
3:40 pm	You’re Live! …Now What?: Post Launch Setup Process and ProceduresSuzette Franck	Style Themes Faster, Better: Intro to Sass and Less CSSPaul Clark
4:30 pm	Lesser known but super hip responsive design tricksScott Bolinger	Designing Awesome WordPress Websites For Small To Medium Size BusinessesGreg Douglas
5:20 pm	Closing remarks

**Text in Red are the session I plan on attending

Sunday Schedule

Time	Business	Workshops
10:30 am	Check In
11:00 am	Setting Client Expectations in WordPress Web DevelopmentKarim Marucchi	Create custom designs and themes with Dynamik Website BuilderJim Krenz
12:00 pm	5 Steps to Measure Success in Web DesignGene Hammett	The Headway FrameworkAdam Silver
1:00 pm	Lunch
2:00 pm	Building your start-up with WordPressCody Landefeld	What is a child theme, and why/how should I use one?Sarah Wefald
3:00 pm	Business Panel DiscussionJeffrey Zinn, Nathan Tyler, Cody Landefeld, Paul Clark, Greg Douglas, Janine Warner	Command Line WorkshopMike Schroder
4:00 pm	Business Panel Discusssion (continued)Jeffrey Zinn, Nathan Tyler, Cody Landefeld, Paul Clark, Greg Douglas, Janine Warner	Improving support documentation by using video in the dashboard.Jason Tucker