Eric Huber

A First-Time WordCamper’s Pre-conference Thoughts

The 7th annual WordCamp Fayetteville conference will take place on Saturday, July 23. This blog was written last year by someone who was planning to attend their first WordCamp. We thought the information was still great for first-timers this year so we are resharing it below1

A First-Time WordCamper’s Pre-conference Thoughts

Many WordPress designers, developers and users get together to share their knowledge and experience. I will have the opportunity to meet WordPress users and developers who, at different skill levels, are also trying to figure things out. It will be reassuring to know that I am doing certain things well while also challenging myself to learn more complex tasks.

In 2009, I started a blog using the WordPress.com platform and learned about choosing themes and how to do basic customization. I began to watch video tutorials covering WordPress topics and practiced my newly-learned skills. In 2013, I decided to learn more about self-hosting and the WordPress.org platform. Since then, I have created a few self-hosted web sites while still maintaining my original WordPress.com web site.

While viewing WordCamp TV videos, I have often wished to be a member of the audience instead of being an online viewer in my home office. Earlier this year, I looked on the WordCamp Central web site to search for a conference in my state and was pleased to discover WordCamp Fayetteville. I look forward to attending my first WordCamp in beautiful Northwest Arkansas!

Giving Back by Speaking at WordCamp Fayetteville

WordPress has asked all of us who make their livings with WordPress to give back to the community. They suggest 5% of your time — a couple of hours a week. There are plenty of ways to give back: help in the support forums at WordPress.org, organize and participate in meetups, help with WordPress sites at Give Camps…

Here’s something else you can do: present at WordCamp.

Chances are there’s something that you know but which other people don’t know. Maybe there’s a great plugin you know how to use. Or perhaps you have a special way of organizing your blogging calendar. Maybe you have a trick for integrating social media with your WordPress site that other people don’t know.

Think about sharing that knowledge with the rest of the community.

What will you get out of it?

You might get extra visibility, a job, a lead, or some other measurable return on your investment. We’re not here to promote our companies, but you know what they say about casting bread on the waters.
You’ll learn things, too. The comments and questions and discussions after your talk will almost certainly teach you something, and then there are other people’s sessions.
It’s fun. WordCamp is a great place to meet people and to get to know folks you’ve only talked to on Twitter.

And you’ll be doing your part to give back to WordPress, that free tool that makes you money.

Not a speaker? That’s understandable; some say that fear of public speaking is the #1 phobia in the nation. In that case, think about sponsoring, volunteering, or just helping to spread the word!

You can apply to be a speaker here.

An introvert’s guide to attending WordCamp

WordCamp Fayetteville is an excellent opportunity to meet new people. At the conference, everyone you will meet shares a common interest with you: WordPress. Knowing this may help you to feel less apprehensive if you tend to be introverted.

It also helps to know that the WordPress community is a friendly and welcoming group of people. Still, it can be intimidating to enter a large room full of people whom you may not know.

Here are five tips to help you feel comfortable at WordCamp: Continue reading “An introvert’s guide to attending WordCamp”