We are at work on getting our WordCamp Atlanta 2014 site set up and ready to go. In the meantime, here is a description about WordCamps and WordPress Meetups. For more WordPress goodness, check out the posts on this site as well as WordPress TV to see WordCamp presentations from WordCamps all over the world.

According to WordCamp Central,

WordCamp is a conference that focuses on everything WordPress. WordCamps are informal, community-organized events that are put together by WordPress users like you. Everyone from casual users to core developers participate, share ideas, and get to know each other.

WordCamps are not-for-profit events that grow out of the local WordPress communities. In Atlanta, our community is made up of people that are active in our local WordPress Meetup Groups.

Meetup Groups

We have several WordPress Meetups, held all over the Metro-Atlanta area. These Meetups feature specific topics geared to the various levels ranging from beginners through developers. The Meetups are a good way to learn more about WordPress and how to use it, whatever your level is. If you have some degree of proficiency, WordPress Meetups are a great way to share your WordPress knowledge with others by getting involved and speaking. A good number of our WordCamp speakers are drawn from speakers from our local Meetups. Continue reading →

Are you all getting excited about WordCamp Atlanta 2013? I know we are!

First, we are sorry that there are a lot of people out there who did not get a ticket before we sold out. We sold 450 tickets and will not be releasing anymore nor will will be able to take walk-ins who did not pre-register.

If you need a ticket or have a ticket that you don’t need, please go on Twitter using #WCATL and find each other. The original ticket holder can go to our site and change the name to that of the new ticket owner.

If you have a receipt from Paypal then you can know your registration went through and you do not need any further confirmation at registration.

Registration: We will open registration at 8:15 on Friday morning and will have coffee, tea and muffins available. Announcements and Keynote will begin at 9:00 AM.

Parking: When you arrive at the Loudermilk Center, there is parking in the deck behind the building. On Friday, there will be a 7.50 charge for parking but Saturday parking will be free.

Happiness Room: Be sure to stop into Happiness Room with your WordPress questions. It will be staffed by some great WordPress talent and for those of your who have been around a bit, we invite you to take some time to offer your help to others.

Internet: We will have Internet available, but this is a new location for us and one never knows just how well it will work. That said, please refrain from live-streaming or doing anything that is resource intensive. We suggest that you put your computers away during the sessions so you can interact with the other campers. If you have specific needs for excellent, internet access while you are at Camp, you might want to bring your own personal WIFI, just in case.

After Party Time: Each day after camp, people are going to meet up about a mile away at The Drafting Table. Wear you name badge to receive a 15% discount on food and look for some beer specials. Directions to the pub are on the website.

Sponsors: We want to give a shout out to all of our 2013 Sponsors. One of our Platinum Sponsors, ORBITR is actually using this opportunity to launch their WordPress Marketing Platform. Our other Platinum Sponsor, vLink is doing all of our video post-production from last year and this year’s sessions.

Volunteers: We want to acknowledge all our volunteers. WordPress itself is an Open-Source platform, which means it is non-proprietary and anyone can use any part of it at no charge. People who have taken part in its design, development or documentation, do so as volunteers!

Along these sames lines, WordCamps are are also non-profit endeavors, backed by the WordPress Foundation and run entirely, 100% on volunteer power. Our organizing committee, the organizing team, the speakers, as well as the minions of volunteers working on the committees to produce this event, are the heart and soul of our Atlanta WordPress community and make WordCampAtl possible. We are truly appreciative of everyone’s involvement in creating this event.

And finally campers, we want you to know a secret. . . the best things that happen at WordCamps actually happen before, after or between the sessions. If what you want to know is not being covered in a session, go seek it out in the Happiness room. Get out from behind your phones or computers and take the time to meet people and find out what they are up to. Go hang-out afterwards at the Drafting Table and make some new friends. You will not find a more open and available community anywhere.

Welcome to WordCamp!

We are happy to announce a very exciting Keynote address by Cody Benson, Manager of Application Engineering at Georgia State University and a member of our Atlanta WordPress Meetup Group. Cody’s team at Georgia State team is presently in the process of migrating the entire Georgia State University Website to WordPress.

The story of how this decision was made and how the project is progressing is going to knock your socks off. Cody is looking forward to sharing the awesome work his team has been doing within a public organization, with local private partners, using WordPress as their the Open Source CMS. The choice to go with WordPress according to Cody, “has allowed Georgia State University to improve efficiency and provide more time for people to inspire others”.

Each day when Camp is over, we are heading on over to The Drafting Table to meet up with friends old and new. They say the best things that happen at WordCamps happen in the times out of sessions. This is definitely one of those times, so we hope you take advantage of this great opportunity.

The Drafting Table is located just short of a mile from camp, in the Old 4th Ward Neighborhood. It will be the perfect place to have a beer and then order some of their amazing farm to table food to share with your new friends. And not to worry, there is lots of free parking in a deck right behind the pub and a rear entrance from the parking deck into the building.

I hear tell that owners, Gordon and Doug will round up a few specials for our hungry and thirsty campers.

We are happy to announce that WordCamp Atlanta is going to take place this year on Friday, March 15 and Saturday March 16th at the beautiful Loudermilk Center in Downtown Atlanta. We are very excited to have found this amazing conference center whose mission is to provide space at a reasonable cost to non-profit organizations so they can hold meetings. That would be us!

This modern, two-story conference facility has a huge contemporary ballroom, along with plenty of large breakout rooms. There are spacious lobbies on each floor that will provide us with lots of mingling and hangout space.

We have supplied directions to the Loudermilk Center and from there to the Sheraton Hotel where we have saved a block of rooms. The map also includes directions to the Drafting Table where we will have a happy couple of hours, both days, directly after Camp.