Author: Cate DeRosia

Join us this week at the monthly Thursday MeetUp (Sept. 21, 7:00pm at the Factory). Each month we have some time to socialize over pizza, a presentation with Q & A, and a chance to ask general WordPress questions. If you’re looking to build new friendships in the community and continue to grow your WordPress skills, the MeetUp provides unique opportunities.

This month J. Andrew Scott will be sharing his WordCamp talk, The WP-API: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly  

Coming? Please RSVP so we can provide enough pizza. https://www.meetup.com/wpgrandrapids/

If the MeetUp doesn’t fit you well, but you’d still like to stay connected between WordCamps, you are invited to join the WordPress Grand Rapids Slack channel. It’s a great option for reaching out with questions, helping others with their questions, and it’s the primary tool we use for communication while planning WordCamp. Email Topher at topher@wpgr.org for an invite.

The official WordCamp email address to whitelist is grandrapids@wordcamp.org This is the address that goes out to all people who bought tickets.

After a bit of a rest and a battle with a bad head cold (which I seem to be winning), it’s back to the nut and bolts of WordCamp 2017. I’m very thankful for the many successes of this year’s camp and appreciate all who helped make that a reality; volunteers, attendees, and sponsors alike. However, there were two manageable hiccups.

First off, none of our videos recorded properly. This is unfortunate, but not a show stopper. We’re working with our great group of speakers to re-record the presentations and still be able to make them available to you as well as put them up on WordPress.tv. At the bare minimum, we have plans to publish on our website all of the slides we have available. I don’t have a time frame for how long this will take so please be patient as we figure out the details.

Secondly, please check your spam filters for attendee emails. I’ll be sending out more information over the next few weeks and as we start pulling the 2018 camp together. I would hate to have you miss out.

The Happiness Bar is our version of the Help Desk. It’s an opportunity for attendees to bring specific questions to an individual person for assistance. That volunteer will try to answer the question or at least point you in a direction to try to answer it yourself.

This year our Happiness Bar will be staffed during Registration and Lunch. However, if you’re looking for help at another time, check out the white board located nearby. On it will be a list of volunteers and the areas they feel confident answering questions in. Feel free to find a volunteer that fits your need and see if they can help you.

All day yesterday we highlighted our Local Sponsors. Equally important are our Global Sponsors. While most of them won’t have a representative at camp, they have sent along fun swag for you to pick up and take home.

Bold Grid, however, will be on-site. Please take an opportunity to thank them for their support. Nicole in particular is local to Grand Rapids and has been a hand-on supporter of WCGR from the beginning stages of planning.

Remember, Global Sponsors are key to the life of a WordCamp. They donate to the WordPress Foundation to create a fund to provide seed money for each WordCamp. Without it, the idea of planning an event for 100+ people that’s entirely sponsor-funded is terrifying. Trust me, I know.

So please take some time to learn more about each of these companies that are actively working to not only run their businesses, but to also move WordPress forward in a variety of generous, community-serving ways.

River Level

BoldGrid

WooCommerce

Jetpack

BlueHost

Stream Level

GoDaddy Pro

Brook Level

SiteLock

WPML.org

DreamHost

This year at camp we’re having on-site lunch which can be a challenge to plan with people’s different dietary needs. We tried to pick an option that provides for everybody, but the reality is that’s impossible. So below is the menu for the buffet which everyone will have access to. If you need to bring something to supplement it, please do.

The Chips and Salsa, Mexican Rice, Refried Beans, Fire Roasted Salsa, Salsa Verde, and Pico De Gallo are vegan.

WordCamp Grand Rapids is sold out. Check back to see if anyone is unable to attend and has returned there’s. If more come available, the link will go back up.

The schedule is set and fully interactive.

Click on the Session name to get a more detailed description of that session. Want to know more about the speaker? Simply click on the Speaker name to jump to their bio.

While the Developer Track does indicate which talks are more developer focused, don’t let our label decide for you. Instead, use the session descriptions to determine which talks are right for you.

Another great question I was asked and the answer is “Nope.”

We try to keep the process as simple as possible for everyone. Once you buy your ticket you should receive a conformation email with a link that allows you to update any information you might need to. From there, you should show up on the attendee page and if you’re there, you’re in our system.

After that, it’s all up to us. We print your name badge, if you registered in time and you pick that up at registration the morning of August 26. If you register after badges are printed, we still have record of you, but you’ll have to write your name on a blank badge.

That’s it. Buy your ticket, check in at registration, and please, before hand, review the Code of Conduct.

It’s a reasonable question that I’ve been asked a number of times. So just what does separate a Micro-Sponsor from a Day Pass holder besides an $80 price difference?

Micro-Sponsor is a sponsorship level for individuals and small businesses who want to sponsor WordCamp in a manageable and yet still visible way. They are acknowledged on our home page with a link to their Twitter presence and provided with a Sponsors badge along with the other sponsors as well as of course receiving a ticket to the event.

Beyond that, this is an opportunity for those who are using WordPress — a free, open-source product — to give back to the community. The smaller a business is, the less time there maybe to help others. Supporting WordCamp in this way gives you the chance to pay it forward. You can help someone else find the tools that can allow them to make their idea a reality. Just as you did.