What Is WordCamp?
Jeff Chandler 
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WordCamp is a conference type of event that focuses squarely on everything WordPress. Everyone from casual end users all the way up to core developers show up to these events. These events are usually highlighted by speeches or keynotes by various people. For example, WordCamp Dallas will feature the following speakers
- Matt Mullenweg on WordPress 2.5 and Beyond
- 45 Ways To Power Up Your Blog by John Pozadzides
- How to prevent, detect and stop content theft by Jonathan Bailey
- Cali Lewis and Neal Campbell
- C’mon, Let’s Talk! Building influence and interaction with blogging by Liz Strauss
- WordPress Power Tips by Lorelle Van Fossen
- SEO For Bloggers by Chris Smith
- Aaron Brazell
- A panel of people to discuss the business of blogging: Mark Ghosh, Liz Strauss, and Aaron Brazell
- Testing With WordPress by Jacob Santos
WordCamp is a spin off from the popular BarCamp which was a spin off of FooCamp. Each one of these events are smaller in nature when compared to your particular conference, but they are usually focused on a particular subject. So what can you expect when you attend a WordCamp event? Based on the numerous amounts of videos and photos taken from attendees, you can expect a whole lot of fun in an atmosphere that promotes social interaction.
The first WordCamp conference was held in July of 2006 in San Francisco. Matt Mullenweg pulled this event together in only three weeks time and ended up with about 300 people in the Swedish American Hall. The first international WordCamp event was held in Beijing China on September 1st, 2007. However, not too many people knew of the event. So the first KNOWN international WordCamp event took place in Israel on October 25, 2007. Since then, there have been WordCamps all across the world including Hamburg, Melbourne and soon to be Dallas.
You don’t have to be an expert to show up to WordCamp. In fact, the majority of folks are casual end users/fans of the open source software. The conference is great but what happens at the local pubs after a day of speeches is even better, or so I’ve heard. If you want to learn more about WordPress from those who practically have it within their bloodline, do yourself a favor and purchase a ticket and show up. You’ll be glad you did!
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Nice post.. Think i will watch at the records ;))
WordCamp sounds great but it would be nice if someone organized one on the East Coast. Philly, NY, DC or somewhere thereabouts.
Great initiative! But I’m afraid we have still a long way to go here in the Netherlands before power of Wordpress will be recognized, and a trip to San Francisco isn’t an option either ;( So I suppose it will be just reading blog posts about the event..
Great news! … When is it planned ? More details about venue, time, etc..please
Impressions from Europe’s first WordCamp that took place in Hamburg during the last weekend.
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http://dallas.wordcamp.org/
Sydney Needs a Word Camp Big Time…
When is Matt Coming
WordCamp London, anyone?
In this day and age, why cannot this be done virtually? Why the need to actually fly to Dallas. There’s this thing called the internet and apparently it is great for connecting people who are not geographically close. Just saying.
David, It’s difficult to get a beverage through my connection….the contacts get sticky and it is hard to “rub elbows” but I agree with you. I sure appreciate the podcasts from the previous ones.
We’re encouraging people all around the world to organize meetups and WordCamps like this. I intend to one day sit down and write a post or series of posts detailing how I put WordCamp Dallas together including things to watch out for, etc.
They’re really intended to be local events, but I’m fortunate to be attracting speakers from all over the country and attendees from all over the country as well.
As for David’s suggestion of a Virtual WordCamp, half the fun is meeting someone whose blog you’ve been reading for months or years and sharing dinner or drinks with after the sessions are over (or in some cases, while they’re going on.)
Speaking of which, we’re planning a get-together the Friday night previous (sponsored by Automattic) and another one Saturday night by a yet-undetermined sponsor. (Would your company like to sponsor that? Contact me!) Both venues are as-of-yet undetermined.
Nametags! Why do you think we ask you for the name of your company and/or blog?
A few historical corrections. The first “international” WordCamp was in China, but no news or information was ever heard so most of us think that doesn’t count. Therefore, the first known international WordCamp as in WordCamp Israel on October 25, 2007, and I was there.
I’m really looking forward to WordCamp Dallas. It’s going to be fantastic. And I’m ready for WordCamps EVERYWHERE.
Great post! However, I feel compelled to point out that the first international WordCamp took place in Beijing, China in September. Here is my English post talking about the schedule of the event.
Matt actually delivered a belated greeting to all Chinese WP users.
Thank Jeff for correcting your post!
On another note, regarding the information of WordCamp in Beijing, I disagree that no news or information was heard after the event. From what I know, since I am affiliated with the community primarily in charge of the event, a lot of photos and posts were published after the event. Chinese bloggers gave honest suggestions on how to improve WordCamp in the future. In addition, all the slides of the talks are hosted on the official site of WordCamp 2007 Beijing.
Perhaps, the reason you don’t hear about it is because many information published were in Chinese.
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