The idea behind their plugin, nRelate Related Content is simple: Provide relevant, related content from internal and external sources and provide metrics and tuning controls around how that content is displayed, selected and presented.

We’re definitely excited about their technology and appreciate their support for the WordPress community.

9Seeds is a WordPress design and development shop with a slant toward ecommerce. One of their most recent success stories is a fully-GPL compliant premium plugin for affiliate marketers called WP Ecommerce Affiliate. Check it out!

Infamia has been very supportive of our efforts to provide education around WordPress to the greater Washington/Baltimore region.

Acknowledging that WordPress.com and WordPress VIP are some of the only hosted WordPress solutions, WP Engine seeks to find a middle ground for self-hosted WordPress blogs on a secure, scaleable and lightning fast infrastructure. Sprinkle that with hands-on, knowledgeable support and you have a company that is dedicated to seeing WordPress and WordPress bloggers thrive.

Thanks to WP Engine support, we are able to provide you with the Technical track. Make sure you stop by and sign up for a free trial.

Founded in 1997 by Bob Parsons, GoDaddy has grown to be the world’s largest Domain Registrar, managing 43 million domains. Since then, they’ve expanded their offerings to include comprehensive hosting solutions, Web site creation tools, Secure SSL certificates, personalized email with spam and anti-phishing filtering, e-commerce tools and more.

GoDaddy has become increasingly supportive of the WordPress community is tangible ways and we welcome them as a sponsor of WordCamp Mid-Atlantic.

Today, WebDevStudios has grown into a small, yet experienced group of developers and designers who are highly educated in developing and designing custom WordPress websites and custom plugins. Some of their high-profile clients include Margaret Roach, Inc., and the Cornelia Marie of Deadliest Catch fame.

2010 has been a year of milestones for StudioPress: They consolidated their themes under their own Genesis Framework, which makes switching designs and customizing your projects even easier. They’ve also expanded the repertoire of their services by merging with a number of companies to form Copyblogger Media, LLC.

As this year of great changes ends, StudioPress has placed itself in a great position for everything 2011 will offer.

I know you all have a story. I do. We have all been there. We hit the web browser to go over to our blog or web site and BAM! Its not there. The heart skips a beat, sweat beads on your brow as mild panic starts to set in. Usually, however, it is a simple fix, a call to the provider and you are back online spreading content to all corners of the web.

But… sometimes it isn’t so easy. Sometimes is a sheer nightmare that many times can end in disastrous consequences whereby you lose it all.

Well we want to hear your stories … and the best, or in your case worst, story is going to win a year of free Turbo web hosting form our gracious Wordcamp Mid Atlantic sponsor Site 5 Web Hosting. The offer a range of awesome hosting products to include simple hosting, Virtual Servers, and Dedicated Servers for your most demanding needs.

Here is how to enter: simply shoot us an email to wordcampmidatlantic@gmail.com with the subject line “WORST HOSTING EXPERIENCE” and tell us all about it. We will select the best ones and post them on the web site and our distinguished panel will then select the winner to receive the prize. It’s that simple.

Looking forward to hearing your stories and thanks again to our Sponsor Site 5 for the great prize !

Marco Tabini: Keynote address. Marco Tabini comes from the PHP World as the owner and editor of PHP|Architect magazine. As an outsider to the world of WordPress but an insider to the world of PHP Core, he will challenge our assumptions and give us thoughts to chew on.

Jane Wells: Keynote interview. I will be interviewing Jane Wells, the director of user experience for the WordPress project on the future of WordPress, philosophies behind design and development, and other experiences in the WordPress world that are of interest to the greater community.

Geoff Livingston: Blogging and Non-profits: How does building movements differ from selling products online? Nonprofit blogging has its own unique challenges.

Marty Martin: WordPress and SEO: Setting your WordPress blog up for search engine optimization, including available plugins, search methodology all from a WordPress perspective.

Matthew Dybwad: Using WordPress for Activism/Action-based Campaigns: Running an online activism or action-based campaign using WordPress.

Lisa Sabin-Wilson: Introduction to BuddyPress: Using the popular social network plugin to create your own community.

Scott Kingsley Clark: WordPress as a CMS: Utilizing custom post types and taxonomies and popular plugins to turn WordPress into more than just blog software.

Andrew Nacin: WordPress’ under-utilized APIs: Exploring the world of APIs that plugins can utilize but often are forgotten or hidden.

V. Scott Ellis: Strategies for Taxonomies: Exploring the use of taxonomies and organization of content for strategic growth purposes.

Jacob Goldman: Customizing Administration: Reducing noise and clutter and enhancing branding and functionality in the WordPress Admin.

Brad Williams: Securing WordPress: Brad brings his experience hardening WordPress in his examination of best practices and recommendations.

To me, the Keynote is an important slot. It’s not your average speaking slot. The Keynote should come from outside the community. The speaker should have fresh perspective and different insight that challenges our thinking and provides insight into growing opportunities.

I met Marco through the PHP community. He first came on my radar back in 2002 when I downloaded a free PDF version of PHP|architect, the authoritative magazine for serious PHP developers. Through mutual connections and friends, and with a maturation of my own growth as a WordPress and PHP developer, I became more connected with Marco. He is the perfect person to come to the WordPress community, from the greater PHP community, and bring us fresh insight. To be clear, this is not a technical session. It is a Keynote that applies to everyone who will attend the event.

He is the CEO of PHP|architect (the PHP magazine), Blue Parabola (a professional services company) and organizer of TEK-X (A PHP conference).