The Wonderful Sponsors
Mon May 11 2009
As of the writing of this post, I have attended, spoken at or otherwise been a part of five WordCamps around the country. Each one is different and brings its own flair. That’s the way it should be. Every community has it’s own face, behaviors and trends.
There are a few constants to WordCamp though. Take some of the advice below to make your WordCamp experience the best it can be!
We have a fantastic sponsor, Mingle360 who will be working the event, and bringing us electronic business card exchange. As an alternate to the Mingle Stick, however, consider bringing business cards. You never know who you’re going to run into and more than once, I’ve met people at a WordCamp that became a client, friend or partner much later on. If you don’t have business cards, go to Vistaprint.com to get cards overnighted. For a quicker, cheaper (and less professional, yet still effective) solution, make a run to your closest Kinkos.
Also, humorous cards usually stick out in peoples minds. :)
The sessions are going to be extremely valuable, and we’ve got some great speakers coming in to speak in both the advanced and user tracks. However, if we don’t cover something you are looking for, start your own session! Grab three or four people, and huddle together for a talk about your topic of interest. Go grab a coffee or some grub and connect with people! This is your event. IF you don’t get what you want, vote with your feet!
University of Baltimore is ideally located in the Mount Royal section of Baltimore. Within walking distance are a number of places to get food or a drink.
View WordCamp Mid-Atlantic in a larger map
WordCamp is extremely good at facilitating connections. One of the prime ways you can help is to lend your expertise and assistance (free of charge) to those in the community needing some help. Whether it’s FTP, or making a quick mod to a theme, your assistance will return to you down the road. Karma always wins.
Following the lead of WordCamp San Francisco 2008, we will have a “genius bar” in the Atrium. If you need help with a WordPress problem, look for those willing to provide their expertise their. Likewise, if you want to help, make yourself available at the genius bar.
Doors open at 8am. We start promptly at 8:30 with opening remarks. Anil Dash takes the stage for the first keynote at 9am. You’ll still need to register, and you might want to grab coffee. Leave yourself time. If you’re driving in, traffic should be light and on street parking will be free since it is a Saturday (trust, yet verify – check the signs!).
Many people cannot make this event but they will be following the action vicariously. If you’re on Twitter, tweet the event up! Post your Flickr photos. Blog. The only thing we ask is that you share with the community, so everyone can enjoy it. Please license your content Creative Commons, Attribution, Non-commercial or similar community-based licensing. Tag your content #wordcampmidatl so we can find it later!
All around, come and expect to enjoy yourself, learn something, and make new connections. On behalf of the organizers and sponsors, we thank you for making this event possible. You are the biggest sponsor of all because without you, there would be no WordCamp!
