WordPress is great online, but it can be awesome offline as well (hence the 1,000+ folks that will be in attendance at WordCamp San Francisco this weekend). Local events such as meetups, user groups, and WordCamps offer opportunities for everyone in the WordPress ecosystem to get together and learn from shared experiences.
On Sunday I’ll be presenting IRL FTW! Organizing Meetups and WordCamps, a look at lessons I’ve learned after four years of meetups and WordCamps (locally as well as experiences learned from other cities).
I’ll start by chatting about how to grow a healthy local WordPress community with regular (usually monthly) meetups. We’ll cover both high-level topics such as setting a direction or general theme as well as logistics such as finding the ideal location. After talking meetups I’ll share some WordCamp tips. You’ll learn how to find those who should (and shouldn’t) speak at your WordCamp, a bit about logistics (and why you shouldn’t simply model yourself after WordCamp San Francisco), and how to learn from past experiences of previous WordCamp events. There will be time for some audience Q&A as well.
You’re coming to WordCamp San Francisco (at least in part) because you realize the value of in-person events. Let’s talk about how we can improve the WordPress experience for all of our local communities.
Have a meetup or WordCamp question? Connect with me in the comments or on Twitter before this weekend and I’ll try to address it!