This time, next week, I will be in San Francisco with the rest of the WebDevStudios team to attend WordCamp SF. I have not attended the WordCamp in San Francisco since 2010 and I am looking forward to this year. I attend WordCamps on a pretty regular basis (18 last year!!), but San Francisco’s camp is special because it is in the heart of where WordPress things happen and is the unofficial ‘official’ WordCamp because it is organized and thrown, primarily, by Automatticians (the company behind WordPress.com).
There are many reasons I am looking forward to making the trip. My number one reason is because it is a team trip this year – almost our entire team at WebDevStudios will be in attendance, and we’ve rented a house in SF for all of us to stay in for the week. I am really looking forward to spending time with our team. Having just merged my company with WebDevStudios in January 2013, I have really grown to appreciate and LOVE working in a team environment. This trip gives me the opportunity to meet those I have not yet met in person – and spend time with the talented bunch of nerds that I work with on a daily basis. I learn from these people daily – learning to live with them for an entire week under the same roof should be interesting!
In terms of the conference itself, WordCamp San Francisco has so much to offer. I’m really looking forward to the outcomes of the Hallway Track they have planned – that is a really unique idea that I have not seen done yet at any of the camps I’ve attended. Some of the BEST conversations happen in the hallways at WordCamps, so the videos and recordings from the hallway is something I am really looking forward to. For the sessions, there are so many great ones to choose from – but my top 5 that I plan on attending include:
- Writing Code as User Experience Design – Nikolay Bachiyski
- (What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Themes, Love, and Understanding – Ian Stewart
- Big in Japan: A Guide for Themes and Internationalization – Shannon Smith
- Automated WordPress Development – Eric Mann
- Teaming Up, From Freelance to WordPress Agency (Panel) – Jake Goldman, Matt Mullenweg, Shane Pearlman, Brad Williams, Alex King
- Current User Can Watch This Talk – Andrew Nacin
Ok – so that’s 6, not 5! The session that I definitely will not miss is the State of the Word 2013 by Matt Mullenweg. I have had the opportunity to watch and listen as Matt gives the State of the Word several times – it is a presentation that I would highly recommend for anyone attending WordCamp San Francisco. The talk usually provides you with a nice summary of where WordPress has been and how it got there, what the current state of WordPress is today and a peek into the future of where WordPress is going. It helps that Matt is an entertaining speaker and his presentations are generally very fun to watch and listen to.
On Sunday, the WebDevStudios team is planning on spending some time together on a team building day that starts with a tour of Alcatraz and ends with a dinner cruise in the Bay, providing they don’t lock us all up on the island! If that happens – we plan to crowd fund a WDS Bail drive!