WordCamp is a conference designed for the WordPress community to come together and learn from each other. WordCamps are held all over the world and are geared toward local communities.
The WordCamp Mid-Atlantic event is held annually in the Baltimore/Washington region and attracts bloggers, designers, plugin developers and more. Our event this year will be held on the Johns Hopkins University Homewood campus in Baltimore on September 11, 2010.
It promises to be an intense day of learning and networking, complete with lunch and a socializing afterparty. You don’t want to miss this.
WordCamp Mid-Atlantic is going to be fun, exciting and high profile. We’re excited to offer an opportunity for community “buy-in” and sponsorship at four different levels. If you have any questions about sponsorship levels, please do not hesitate to contact Aaron Brazell or Jimmy Gardner at wordcampmidatlantic@gmail.com. To purchase your sponsorship, visit our registration page.
For the first time ever, we are providing the opportunity for sponsors to purchase branding on the rooms. We plan to have three tracks in three rooms. Basic, Advanced and Unconference. In addition, I’m going to give you a big shout out, and subject to University approval, you can brand your room any way you want. We will also promote you on the site, through our email correspsondence with attendees and if you want to provide schwag or other sort of promotional thing, you will be allowed to do it subject to common sense. There will be no tables or booths. You will also have an opportunity to pitch your company on stage during opening remarks. These tickets are $2000 and only three can be bought.
We will also blog about your sponsorship on WordCampMidAtlantic.com.
The gold sponsor will be provided branding and logos througout all our official stuff. Boards, projector screens, the website, schedules, etc. If there’s a question, just ask. If you want to sponsor lunch, the speakers dinner or after party, this is the sponsorship you want. There will be no tables or booths. We will mention your company and URL in event related emails. These tickets can be bought for $1000 and only 5 can be bought.
We will also blog about your sponsorship on WordCampMidAtlantic.com and will get a shout out during opening remarks.
The silver sponsor will be provided adequate branding and logo display on the WordCamp Mid-Atlantic website. We will write a blog post about your contribution on WordCampMidAtlantic.com and you will get at least one shout out during opening remarks.
The name sponsorship was created for the people who want to contribute something but can’t afford one of the main sponsorships. We will provide a link on WordCampMidAtlantic.com to thank you for your sponsorship. For clarity, this does not get you a ticket to the event.
WordCamp Mid-Atlantic would not be possible without our sponsors. These companies and individuals have made it possible for us to provide a state of the art facility, food, shirts and an all around educational experience.
Our Room, Gold and Silver sponsors are featured at the bottom of the page. The following are a list of individuals who have donated $25 or more. These are generally individuals and small businesses.
WordCamp Mid-Atlantic promises to be a rich time filled with a tremendous amount of learning and instructional content. Perhaps you would like to lead a discussion or present on a topic. We will be providing three tracks. Basic, Technical and Unconference.
The basic track will likely be the most heavily attended track. That is because most users are not technical and simply want to blog using the greatest software in the world. Because this track will probably be the most widely attended, it is a perfect opportunity to demonstrate your proficiency in a chosen area. Speakers will be chosen by the organizers based on relevance and demonstrated knowledge of the topic with a bias toward local Maryland, DC and Virginia submissions.
The technical track is geared toward theme designers and plugin developers. Potential topics include extending WordPress, BuddyPress and related products. Speakers will be chosen based on demonstrated knowledge of their topic, technical difficulty and with a bias toward local Maryland, DC and Virginia submissions.
WordCamp was originally based on the concept of other “camp” style events like BarCamp. Admittedly, we have not done well in the past of providing a venue for a true unconference where speakers are selected based on a first-come, first-serve, day-of style scheduling. This year, we are correcting that by providing an unconference track. No pre-selected speakers will be slotted and the expectation is for you to come to the event and sign up to speak.
In all cases, speakers are not allowed to pitch their companies or products without a clear WordPress-specific reason to do it and even then, only in context. If you create a search plugin, you can ask users to use it if alternatives are also provided. Of course, if you want to have an opportunity to pitch, you can buy a sponsorship package. We shouldn’t have to say this, but based on experience, we do have to emphasize this.
Also, while many topics may not be exclusive to WordPress (SEO, social media, etc), this is a WordPress event and as such, all speakers should be able to convey their topic in a WordPress mindset.
Bribes never work, but you can buy the organizers a beer if you so choose. ;-)
WordCamp Mid-Atlantic will be held at the Johns Hopkins University Homewood Campus – Charles Commons Conference Center.
From I-95 (southbound) or from I-695 (the Baltimore Beltway): Take the beltway toward Towson to exit 25. Take Charles Street south for about 7 miles (when Charles Street splits a block after Loyola College and Cold Spring Lane, take the right fork). After you cross University Parkway, the Homewood campus will be on your right. Continue southbound. Take a right at the second light, which is Art Museum Drive.
Just after the Baltimore Museum of Art, turn right at the traffic light onto Wyman Park Drive. Continue past both the entrance to and the exit from the semicircular driveway in front of the Mason Hall visitors center. Just after the exit from the driveway, turn right into the South Garage. Visitor parking is in the upper level of the underground garage. Walk up one flight to the Decker Quadrangle to find either the visitor center or your destination on campus.
From I-95 (northbound): Take exit 53 onto I-395 north toward downtown Baltimore, then take the exit to Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and follow the directions from Martin Luther King Junior Boulevard below.
From Maryland 295 (the Baltimore-Washington Parkway): Entering Baltimore, the parkway becomes Russell Street. Stay on Russell Street until (with the new M&T Bank Stadium to your right and Oriole Park at Camden Yards looming before you) you reach the right-hand exit marked Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard (look carefully for this; the signs are small). This exit will put you very briefly on a service road parallel to Russell Street. Stay to the left and take the ramp marked Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. Follow the directions (below) from Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
From Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard: Take King Boulevard north until it ends at Howard Street (remain in one of the middle lanes of King Boulevard to avoid a premature forced right or left turn). Turn left at Howard Street and proceed about 2 miles. One block past 29th Street, turn left at the traffic light (just before the Baltimore Museum of Art) onto Wyman Park Drive. Continue past both the entrance to and the exit from the semicircular driveway in front of the Mason Hall visitors center. Just after the exit from the driveway, turn right into the South Garage. Visitor parking is in the upper level of the underground garage. Walk up one flight to the Decker Quadrangle to find either the visitor center or your destination on campus.
From the Jones Falls Expressway (I-83) southbound: Take the 28th Street exit and go left on 28th Street. Turn left on North Howard Street. One block past 29th Street, turn left at the traffic light (just before the Baltimore Museum of Art) onto Wyman Park Drive. Continue past both the entrance to and the exit from the semicircular driveway in front of the Mason Hall visitors center. Just after the exit from the driveway, turn right into the South Garage. Visitor parking is in the upper level of the underground garage. Walk up one flight to the Decker Quadrangle to find either the visitor center or your destination on campus.
From Baltimore’s Penn Station: If you opt to take a taxi from Penn Station to the Homewood campus, the fee should be quite modest. The university is very close to the train station.
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!
If you have questions about the event, registration or want to submit to speak at WordCamp, contact .