You’ve probably seen it tacked on to the end of a tweet, or rounding out a caption on Instagram. Short, sweet, easily searched and meant to keep us all up to date on the latest news and how-tos, #WCATL is the official WordCamp Atlanta hashtag.

But what exactly is an event hashtag? Is there a proper way to use it? A best practice?

What is a hashtag?

We’re sorry if this is seems rather obvious to any of our regular attendees, but better safe than sorry. A hashtag is a word or short phrase, prefaced with the number or pound sign, that allows social media users to search a specific theme, topic or – in our case  – any post pertaining to an event.

Plug that hashtag into the search field on your favorite social media platform and you’ll see any posts which contain the hashtag. Some social media platforms are more hashtag friendly than others. They’re especially popular on Twitter and Instagram. We’re using the #WCATL hashtag prominently on both of those platforms

Hashtags & Community

We want our attendees to come away from Wordcamp with a lot more than an increase in their design or development knowledge. We want you to come away feeling like part of our active and engaged community.

Using the #WCATL hashtag before, during and after the event helps keep the community thriving. It’s a great way to participate in the continuing conversation.

Where & How To Use #WCATL Online

The WordCamp Atlanta community is especially active on Twitter and Facebook at present. We’re actively using the hashtag on Twitter and on our new Instagram account. We’ve started a twice-daily search using the hashtag on Facebook and Google+, so if you’ve mentioned the event on either of those social media platforms, we’ll see it.

Have questions leading up to the event? Pop #WCATL into a tweet and an event organizer, speaker or repeat attendee will see it and one or more answers will come your way.

We absolutely love it when you share your excitement during the event, too. We will be monitoring the hashtag closely all three days, though it’s best to ask time sensitive questions of a volunteer, as the hashtag use is hot and heavy during the event, and we can’t guarantee we can respond to each use with a response.

We want to see your event photos. So add that hashtag when you share them to your Facebook and Instagram feeds! Seeing your smiling faces and knowing you’re enjoying the event makes all of the planning and preparations so very worthwhile.

Keeping Up With New Connections!

The event hashtag doesn’t go away after the last session closes. It’s a powerful tool for keeping up with all of the wonderful people you meet at the event and it’s also a great way to share what you learned with those who weren’t able to attend.

Event organizers and the social media team will certainly keep using #WCATL to share videos, articles and more and we hope you will, too.

Let’s start the conversation now!

We can’t wait to see you in less than two weeks. Let us know what you’re looking forward to most! Share your pre-event thoughts with us by tacking #WCATL to your tweets and other social media posts. We’ll look for them and for you, online!

Want to know one of the best things about attending WordCamp?

Sure, you learn a lot and get to check out a lot of great sessions on topics from business and branding to design and development.

And, yes, the Happiness Bar is a great place to get your specific questions answered by those willing to help.

And, certainly, the swag offered up by the spectacular sponsors can’t be beat.

But, when you dig down deep and really dial into what makes the WordCamp experience so wonderful? You realize it’s the people that make it so!

People Power WordCamp!

From the dedicated crew who puts on the shindig, to the speakers who travel from far and near to share their expertise, and let’s not forget the exuberant and excited attendees, these events are all about community and making connections.

You’ll come away from your WordCamp experience with new friends, peers with whom you can possibly partner, and maybe even a mentor or two.

Why is this?

Because the WordCamp community is all about outreach, education and spreading the WordPress word.

Why WordCamp? Because We All Love WordPress!

When you get a core group of enthusiasts together, only good things can happen. Especially with the wonderful mix of people at these events. You can connect with designers, developers, hosting companies, the people that power your favorite plugins and more. We hear there might even be some ninjas at the event!

You’ll come away from the experience with new expertise, plenty of great ideas for future implementation and a handful, maybe even several handfuls, of new friends with whom to share your future WordPress endeavors.

Get in on the community action early!

There’s no need to wait until the event to start connecting. Jump into the conversation early by spending some time with us on your favorite social media channel.

We’re especially active on Twitter and Facebook. We recently launched on Instagram and we’ve set up some new collections on Google+, which we’re starting to fill with great reads and the latest WordPress news. We’ll even be on Pinterest soon. Don’t forget to use our hashtag: #WCATL!

Basically, we’ve got a presence wherever you like to spend time online, and we want to connect with you!

Come on! Let’s Connect!

What’s stopping you? Don’t be shy. Spending a little time getting to know one another online means you can dive right into the good stuff when you meet in real life!

When your keynote speaker doesn’t mind you bombarding her with “getting to know you” questions the day after an exciting, but exhausting, Wordcamp event – in this case, Miami – you know you’re in for a treat. Such was the case with Mika Epstein, better known as @Ipstenu across the Twitterverse.

Let’s dive right in to our Q&A and get to know our keynote speaker!

Q: Why WordPress?

For me personally it was all about the timing. After a few years of writing my own code, I realized I’m not really all that at everything. I wanted comments and auto-updating links, and MovableType had JUST changed their license structures, so it was the perfect time to switch 🙂

Why should YOU use WordPress now?

It’s the proof that ‘free doesn’t have to suck.’ It advances, it does the hard research for users so we have decisions and not a bajillion options people don’t understand. It’s flexible and iterative, so you can literally make it do anything! It’s always keeping up with the Jones, to the point that it’s surpassed everything.

Q: Why Wordcamp(s)?

True story! I was terrified at my first WordCamp (WC Montreal, 2011) and I was too scared to speak even though I was asked. But at that one WordCamp, I learned about how WordPress was more than just blogging software or a website management tool. WordPress is the community behind it. I knew things I thought I didn’t, I knew more than some people and less than others. But I was able to have the same conversations in person as I had online. Suddenly I had a face to the community, and contributing felt way less terrifying.

Q: Add-ons, plug-ins, tools and or widgets that no WordPress site/business should be without?

As a user, I’m pro-Jetpack all the way. That and Akismet are installed on every site I run.

But absolutely the one tool no WP site should be without is a good backup service. If it’s VaultPress, rock on. I do full server backups every night. Never go without them! Backup backup backup!

Q: Best music to design/develop to?

I like listening to techno when I’m writing code.

If I’m writing code posts I like 90’s grunge/garage bands (Green Day) or 80s pop (Wham!).

If I’m writing my novel it’s all ‘music by women’ which right now seems to be a lot of Sara Bareilles and Colbie Callait, with Indigo Girls and Alanis thrown in for ‘retro.’

Q: Your chosen post WordPress project victory beverage?

I’m a whiskey kind of girl. I have some Japanese whiskey, along with various presents people have given me through the years. Straight up with ice, or maybe a whiskey and water, are perfect for me. I’ll have one, small, glass, and be happy for days.

Q: Your go-to comfort food when a project gets wonky/ goes off the rails?

Thin Mints.

Q: 7. Early bird or night owl? Why?

Both?

I love being up early. Six AM rolls around and I’m UP no matter how much I try to sleep in. I’m good at triaging and writing long emails about how someone’s _doing_it_wrong(), or deep diving into a random problem that cropped up while I was asleep. That’s my favorite kind of morning, since no one else is really awake to pull me out of my train of thought too much.

I get my best coding in between noon and five PM. That’s when I just GET it.

Night time, when I log off the nets, I get the best writing in. Curled up on the couch with my iPad, I love just letting my brain flow the non-WordPress juices.

I’m really up and awake right away though, though everyone in my family would say I’m a lazy morning person. But once I’m up and moving, that’s it. I’m ready for my day in 30 minutes or less.

Q: How does your half elf heritage add to the wonders of your WordPress world?

I sneak up behind problems and stab them in the back before they get too wild. I’ve been silently wiping out issues before the rest of the WordPress world even knew they were in danger for five years 🙂

And there you have it!

A deeper look into what makes our keynote speaker tick, and possibly dance, while she wiles away the day the WordPress way. We can’t wait to hear what she has to say in March. How about you?

Visit her site to learn more!