It was wonderful. It was community driven. It was fast-paced and sometimes a little frenzied behind the scenes. But if I were to attribute one word to the three day event that was WordCamp 2016, that word would be WOW!
The WordPress Community gets more amazing every year! Nowhere else have I ever encountered so many people willing – and eager – to help each other succeed!
~ Diana Nichols, Organizer
Sponsors & Speakers & Social Media … Oh My!
No event of this size can succeed without sponsorship. We’re pretty sure we have the best sponsors of any technology conference around. They don’t just give with dollars. They share expertise, experience and time, which are hot commodities. Questions were answered; we even had sponsors doing stints in the Happiness Bar. You all went above and beyond and we can’t even begin to express our appreciation!
The speakers and their sessions are one of the main draws of any technology event. WordCamp events do their best to ensure a diversity of topics and speaking styles. The 2016 event covered design, development, tools, themes, plugins, content marketing, social media and so much more.
Connect with your favorite speakers online and on our Slack channel (more below). They’d love to hear what you thought of their sessions!
We could barely keep up with your social media interaction. You kept us hopping as we tried to follow the fast and furious discussion on Twitter. It was great to see the hashtag on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. You kept the conversation alive and shared your thoughts and fun moments with all interested in the event. Thank you!
Say It On Slack!
In order to continue to run a successful event, we rely on feedback and suggestions from our attendees.
The best way to share your thoughts with event organizers? Via our Slack channel.
You can share general thoughts and ideas in the main community channel, or get specific with a particular speaker session. To do so, either click on the Channels text or the plus sign (depending on your computer or device).
The Happiness Bar Was Hopping!
Much happiness was delivered in the Happiness Bar over the weekend. From simple code fixes to intensive discussions on best practices, all who sought help came away with answers to some, if not all, of their questions.
Developer, designer, content marketer and eCommerce facts, fixes and friendliness were the stock in trade.
It was thrilling to see so many smiles of satisfaction when a solution was delivered.
After a year of focused business networking, I was amazed at the level of generosity and genuine interest in helping another out. All levels of skill or talent were considered equally, and there was no showboating or ego anywhere. I had some great first experiences and made awesome connections.
~ Nicky Pink, Lead Designer, Organizer
Loudermilk, We Love You!
There’s a reason we go back to the same venue every year. Loudermilk Center has everything we need! The staff, the rooms, the overall space, and of course the food were just right. That kale salad got more rave reviews than any speaker. LOL!
Community Was The Key!
WordCamp may be rooted with WordPress, however it is blossoming because of the community. ~ Renee Dobbs, Organizer
The community within WordPress, expanding into the event itself, was the real driving force for this event’s success.
From the newest user to the long-time stalwart, the goal to learn, share, educate and create connections was upheld.
The WordPress community is ever growing, changing and evolving, much like the open source code that has brought us all together. It’s that evolution, and the dedication to creating a community as open as the source code, that drives the success of these events.
What’s fascinating about WordCamp is that education, in this case, has been taken out of hands of professional educators, and put in the hands of the students. Which may have something to do with why we look forward to WordCamp in a way we never looked forward to going to school.
~ Tom Tortorici, Design Team
It was awesome! And a million thanks to all the people who made this happen! Looking forward to next year!
2017 is right around the corner, sorta, Lori. 🙂
Yes it is!
WOW is right! Thanks @kdrewien for all your work in making it happen!
This was arguably the best organized and executed WordCamp Atlanta I’ve attended over the past several years.
Don’t get me wrong, they’ve all been good, but thing thing – from planning and emails to Twitter, social media, and the ease of which of finding various events, speakers, schedules, etc.
It was top notch.
I think it permeated the visitors, too. People seemed to genuinely enjoy talking with one another and then inviting one another out to places later (lunch, dinner, etc.). _That’s_ what good community organization can do.
Thank you all and I’m already stoked for next year.
We’re thrilled to hear it, Tom. I’m so sad I didn’t get to see your presentation, but I think it would have been a bit above my pay grade.
Add yourself to the pat on the back team, as I saw you interacting all weekend.
Let’s face it. This camp was mainly for developers. Bloggers had a session or two but were mostly left out. On the Business tracks, the sessions were for developers, not bloggers. There was a lot of good stuff and I appreciate all the hard work but I went away with the feeling that the events were not for people like me. On the other hand, almost everyone I tried to network with was a developer so I guess the event planning was appropriate for the audience that attended.
While there certainly were many developer tracks, there were actually several content marketing sessions, three on Sunday alone. There were also several design options ranging from philosophy to how-tos regarding theme selection and set-up.
The organizer team will certainly take a look at adding more variety and diversity as they start planning 2017, I’m sure.
I agree with you. I made a suggestion on the survey. Are the meet ups in Atlanta design developer based as well? I am looking fora blogging community.
Each Meetup in the metro Atlanta area offers a wide variety of topics on a monthly basis. Past topics include how to select a theme, managing images, Google Analytics, hands-on problem solving, membership site discussions, shopping carts, and more. The Meetup organizers solicit input from members for future topics and the groups are discussion oriented. Attendees include people “in the business” of WordPress, authors, lifestyle bloggers, hobbyists, administrators for organizations, and more. Some people attend every meeting, others drop in for a specific topic.
This was a well-executed event. Great work WCATL!
Thank you, Scott!
My heartfelt thanks to each of you for your comments and contribution to the success of WordCamp Atlanta.
I especially thank Jack for his suggestions on how to improve next years event. And, I’m saddened to hear you went away feeling as if you didn’t belong.
We have some ideas up our sleeve for business topics that speak to everyone, and ways to involve more speakers who feel somewhat timid about sharing because they are “just a blogger.” Maybe we can meet over coffee and share ideas. Have you attended any of the local meetups? https://2016.atlanta.wordcamp.org/atlanta-wordpress-meetup-groups/
I promise you, we want our events to evoke the feeling that “this is where I belong!”
Tom, you are a veteran WordCamp Atlanta attendee. I treasure your comments and insights on community development. The community is my passion.