If you’d like to learn more about WordPress, here are some great resources.
WordCamp Talk Resources
While it’s true that we didn’t get good recordings of the 2017 WordCamp talks, we do have some excellent resources from those talks to make available to you.
Several of our speakers have given their talk previously, and it’s recorded at WordPress.tv. The titles link to the source pages with larger versions of the video or you can click on the image and watch it right here.
Peter DeHaan: 12 Tips For Better WordPress Content Creation
Mike Hale: Growth Hacking with WordPress
Mike Reid: Sites with Bounce: Animation in WordPress
Mike is going to give this same talk at another WordCamp soon, and after that you’ll find it at the link above.
Sara Dunn: Selling Ongoing Service Talk
Sara did a live stream of her talk that was recorded, you can see it at the link above.
Sara’s slides are available at http://www.sara-dunn.com/wcgr2017.
Nicole Paschen Caylor: Elementary, My Dear Coder
Nicole’s talk has many resources at her website: http://elementarycoders.org/.
September MeetUp and the Slack channel
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.
What Email Address Should You Whitelist?
The official WordCamp email address to whitelist is grandrapids@wordcamp.org This is the address that goes out to all people who bought tickets.
Presentation Recordings and Spam Filters
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.
Our Happiness Bar
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.
Venue Map
Here’s a map of where to park, and how to walk to the venue.
Don’t Forget About Our Global Sponsors
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
Stream Level
Brook Level
Sponsor Spotlight: 3.7 Designs
I first met Ross and Lyndsay Johnson when they were a part of WordCamp Ann Arbor. I was immediately impressed that they had managed to build such a solid company together. Having a spouse as a business partner is HARD. They pull it off with style.
On top of that, they also craft beautiful things. A simple look at their homepage or the work they publish shows their flair for making things people like to look at as well as use consistently.
It’s an honor to now have them sponsoring WordCamp Grand Rapids.
Sponsor Spotlight: LearnDash
I’ve only met Justin Ferriman twice; once at WordCamp Ann Arbor last year, and again just a few weeks ago at Post Status Publish. The first time was at a party and it was noisy and we merely got acquainted. Most recently however, we went out to dinner together and talked long about life, the universe, and everything.
I was impressed by the passion he holds for what he does. Being a founder, building a company around a piece of software is hard hard work. LearnDash is an impressive tool for creating online courses and I’m proud to say I know Justin.
Not only is LearnDash sponsoring our WordCamp, Justin will be on-site Saturday. If you see him, shake his hand and thank him .