Events, WordPress
Another WordCamp Miami in the books. It was a great weekend, with so much information that it was hard to sleep last night. If you’re a designer or developer like us; and have a good two and a half hour drive back to Orlando, you’ve got plenty of time to reflect on the entire weekend. And that’s a good thing. However if you were part of what seemed to be over 50% in attendance as a first time WordCamper, I am sure you’re overwhelmed with ideas, notes, business cards, and of course swag that you may not know how to start your week.
One of the main reasons I enjoy attending and at times volunteering my time at WordCamps is because of the atmosphere. It really is a chill environment; meaning that you can actually walk up to a speaker or sponsor and ask them questions. The whole point of them being there is to give back and also to be of service to all the attendees. We’ve attended many WordCamps over the past five or six years and below are the best things you should do within your first few days after attending.
Follow Up With People You’ve Met
During the weekend you’re going to sit next to new people you’ve never meet before, and they’re going to be from all over the world. This weekend in-particular I meet a group of developers and designers from Costa Rica. I ended up talking to them for a good 30 minutes about what it’s like living there and also what it’s like working there while using their talents in WordPress.
You’ll also see people you may have met online and through social media. There’s been plenty of times where we’ve talked with people for months on various topics but never met in person. WordCamps are a great opportunity to actually meet and put a live face and voice to all the threads, messages, and tweets you have shared over time.
Oh and don’t forget to follow-up with people who you swapped business cards and contact information with. You may strike up alliances, partnerships, and other working relationships with some creative and talented people who you may not have otherwise met had it not been for this conference.
Take Action on The Notes You Took
Like any good conference, everyone will have out their laptops, notebooks, tablets, recording devices, and anything else to capture their own experience for each of the sessions. Keep in mind that most WC’s feature LiveStream and are recorded and posted to WordPress.tv still it’s great to have your own tidbits of information to work off of.
Most of the speakers will have links to download their slides and presentations. The best time to review those slides is within the first few days after the event so that you can remember the key points that impacted you the most. Then take action! You won’t be able to tackle all of the ideas you written down, so make yourself a plan and set these up to handle over the next few days, weeks, and months.
Share Your Experience With People Who Didn’t Attend
This is mainly for those where this was their first WC, you’re probably going to be really hype for a few days. This is great! Share that excitement with as many people as you can and encourage them to get more familiar with the community. If you took pictures, selfies, video, and other media be sure to share them online as well. That’s what drives this community awareness is people talking about it and sharing.
We initially found out about WordPress through a local MeetUp years ago. And because of that group and the people who attend I learned a lot, networked with some amazing and talented, and even gave some presentations. Check out your home town and see if there are any organized WordPress Groups having regular meetings. If there isn’t, start one!
That’s my top three list, thanks for reading! If you had a great experience that you’d like to share hit me up on Twitter.
All Posts, Events, Technology, WordPress
WordCamp Miami is just a few days away and we’re really excited here at Design Theory. I’m taking the whole family down, which includes my kids so that they can experience their first conference and kick start their own web and internet journey of creativity and creation.
Below is a list of tech things we’re packing to make the trip and stay as productive and comfortable as possible:
- Macbook chargers and extension cables. Power is always a big thing at conferences. It’s just as important as having a reliable wifi signal.
- Smart phone and tablet chargers and portable chargers. This little $10 and $20 portable chargers can usually recharge your device 2 or more times from a dead charge.
- Macbook Pro laptop. Because I’m going to get ideas on things I’m going to want to implement right when I hear it. So having my laptop will be essential.
- Tablet/iPad. Having this as a second input device is rather helpful and lightweight. Easy to carry around and setup on a small desk surface.
- A comfortable backpack, rolling case, or messenger bag. Carrying all of your gadgets and hardware can get heavy or cumbersome.
- Business cards. This should go without saying, but it’s a good way to quickly give out your contact information while in passing or like a secret note in class during sessions.
- GoPro. This is a really small and easy to use video camera that I can also take stills on. On one charge it can last me up to 3+ hours and I can control it from my phone.
- Nikon DSLR. This one is a bit heavier because I have a few lenses that I like to use for various situations. But capturing some great speaker profile pictures, or scenes of packed out rooms where lighting is really low, my Nikon comes in really handy.
- Extension cord and/or power strip. If you’re going to be staying in a certain track for a few sessions in a row, it helps to secure a seat where you can plug in your power strip and multiple devices to charge all at once.
- A notebook and pencils. In case you run out of charge on all of your devices, having a good old pencil and paper for note writing is really handy.
So those are the things I’m bring with me. What are some things you plan to pack with you? Add to the conversation below or on Twitter with me and the hashtag #WCMIA
All Posts, Photography
Last month on the first week of December I made a trip down to Miami for Art Basel. I’ll write a post about my experience with that soon, but what I wanted to show was some of what I shot of the Wynwood Walls area not far from Miami Beach.
During the week of Art Basel, there were a lot of street artists in the area that were painting murals on the sides of buildings for this event. Hundreds of thousands of visitors come to Miami each year for Art Basel and all the other happenings and let me tell you they didn’t disappoint. If you ever get a chance to visit, I highly encourage it. And also speak to the artists, they are actually really approachable!
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All Posts, Events, Web Development, WordPress
Well this past weekend was the annual WordCamp Miami at the University of Miami. If you read my previous post about the expectations, I’d like to report that they were all met and then some. The amount of developers on site was awesome. A lot of which you’ve read blog posts from, heard about through plugins and software you’ve purchased and use, local, and abroad. The atmosphere was certainly electric.
Going I knew we’d be hit with a ton of information. Equipped with a few Macbook pros, tablets, chargers, and iPhones with MyWi for dedicated internet, we were ready for anything. We had cool badges with our names, Twitter handle, and QR Codes thanks to WP Beginner. Among that we were give a host of items from a cool reusable shopping bag from BlueHost to shot glasses from Woo Themes. Apparently they know that we developers appreciate a nice drink every now and again.
Since we went as a team we split up for most of Saturday’s sessions to try to cover as much as we could and collaborate later. It was totally worth it. Being three different tracks on Saturday and two on Sunday, needless to say there were a lot of options to choose from.
For those of you who didn’t make it, enjoy some of the pictures we took from our mobiles here. And if you’d like to see some of the recordings from the sessions, you can actually do so for FREE on the Live page of the WordCamp Miami website.
All Posts, Events, WordPress
So in just a few days the University of Miami will be hosting WordCamp Miami. It’s something I’ve been looking forward to since we sponsored and attended WordCamp Orlando in December of 2012. Now the one in Orlando was our first experience and I can surely tell you it was awesome. There were so many cool people who all loved WordPress. From the designers, to developers, to sponsors, and everyday bloggers. As we approach this conference in Miami, there’s a few things one should expect. These aren’t in order per-say and all have an equal amount of enthusiasm behind them.
Learning in-depth Resources and information about WordPress
I would say one of the main reasons for attending a WordCamp is to gain more knowledge about the platform. It really doesn’t matter your level of use, be it novice or seasoned developer, there are still things to learn. This WordCamp will actually feature three different tracks to follow. Users and Bloggers, Designers Track, and Developers Track. After looking at the schedule I already know we’ll be splitting up so that we can absorb as much as we can then collaborate later to unload. The sessions range from “Top 20 Plugins We Can’t Live Without” to “Amplifying your WordPress CSS with Compass & SASS”. There will also be news about what’s coming down the line with future updates and additions to WordPress that are sure to wet your appetite. This really will be a day to have fully charged devices to take in as many notes and tips as you can before reaching 2% life.
Meeting other developers and designers
For me I look forward to this very much. Designers and developers typically don’t congregate too much, and this event is a great mixer. In Orlando there really was an absence of competition, yet a great sense of comradery. If anything you could easily strike up a conversation about some failed plugin or theme house that we’ve all used and cursed. So we’re looking forward to meeting some other developers from the Miami area and hope to make some new Twitter connections too. We never take the attitude that we know it all, or that we can handle all on our own. One of the greatest things about this open source community is that all of us have the potential to create something awesome and be a contribution to the platform.
Networking with potential clients
A large part of our clientele are actually WordPress users. They sometimes have questions about how things work, but for the most part are great at just creating content while relying on us designers and developers to get their sites to work and operate the way they envision. If you’re looking for more clients, this is a great place to mingle. Your elevator pitch literally can be just “Hi, my name is _________ and I’m a designer or developer….” Chances are you’ll get cut off right there and the conversation will turn to what exactly you’re able to do for said client and begin exchanging cards and email addresses.
Livestream
Not going to be able to make it? Were you late to register and now can’t because the event is sold out? Well you’re in luck, they’ll be streaming onsite for the weekend. That includes the BuddyPress session on Friday the 5th too! So you may not even be in the state of Florida yet still gain knowledge from this event. Oh by the way, this is the first WordCamp Miami to be streaming live! It is totally free and no ticket or purchase is required to view the live stream.
The Atmosphere
After a day of cramming your noggin with knowledge you’ll need to unwind. And no better way then with everyone you just met during your sessions over beer and food after the conference. Share some notes, meet more people, and engage. There is sure to be deals to be made between sessions, notes to be passed during sessions, and pictures from smart phones in full effect all day. Everyone social media feeds should be full of content, shares, likes, and RT’s.
So what are you looking forward to? For those of you that have attended a previous WordCamp elsewhere be sure to comment below and let us know some of your favorite or most memorable experiences.
