Post WordCamp Hangover
It’s been almost two weeks since WordCamp Sacramento 2015 and other than a head cold, I finally feel like everything is back to normal. Post WordCamp, Brian and I felt like we had a hangover — we were recovering from the WordCamp high and all of the emotions, and effort, and stress, and love that went into putting the event together.
For three years the Sacramento WordPress meetup group has been going strong, and we talked about bringing WordCamp to Sacramento. For it to have finally materialized was an amazing feeling. Several times during the day, Brian and I just looked at each other and said, “Holy Moly! This is really happening!”
WordCamp was everything we hoped it would be for the first time, volunteer-run, community event. The entire organizing team was beyond thrilled that we were able to bring this experience to you and to Sacramento.
So Many Thank Yous
We have so many thank yous to say.
THANK YOU to the attendees. YOU showed up. YOU asked questions. YOU learned. YOU engaged. YOU were inspired. YOU made WordCamp a success… and WE are grateful.
THANK YOU to the 2015 organizing team. Brian Bourn, William Mead, Jennifer Bourn (me), Heather Hogan, Jake Goldman, Joe Boydston, Jen Meyer, and Emily Buonauro gave of their time, talents, and resources to plan, market, implement, and run WordCamp. Collectively, they donated hundreds of hours to make the event happen.
THANK YOU to the sponsors. Sponsors make the WordCamp world go ’round. It costs a lot of money to host a conference for 180 people, especially when you include coffee, bottled water, snacks, a catered lunch, an after party, swag, and more. Our sponsors were amazing! They are why we were able keep ticket prices affordable at only $20.
THANK YOU to the speakers. Based on the direct feedback the organizing team has received, the post-event survey results, and your feedback on social media, you really enjoyed the speakers! They deserve a big round of applause for volunteering their time to plan, create, and deliver talks packed with value.
It is also important to note that more than half of our speakers are from our local community, and that while some of the presenters have a lot of experience speaking, some of our presenters were speaking for the first time at a WordCamp, and for others it was their very first time speaking in front of a group. And I know they were really nervous!
Overall, fear of public speaking is America’s biggest phobia, with 25.3 percent saying they fear speaking in front of a crowd. So EXTRA KUDOS to our community members who were brave enough to push past their fears and speak, and to the audience who welcomed them.
THANK YOU to the volunteers. WordCamp ran smoothly all day long (except for Chipotle not having the catering order ready when they were supposed to), and it was because we had so many awesome volunteers who stepped up to spend part of their day working at WordCamp — although I’d venture to say they’d call it paying it forward and not working.
A Defining Moment for the Sacramento WordPress Community
WordCamps allow people to come together and create something special — people of all experience levels who have one thing in common: WordPress. From the organizers, sponsors, speakers, and volunteers, to YOU the attendees, WordCamp wouldn’t have happened without you.
WordCamp Sacramento was a defining moment for our local WordPress community.
For the first time, WordCamp brought together designers, developers, consultants, bloggers, marketers, business owners, freelancers, employees, teams, and more from our region for an entire day of WordPress-focused learning. 180 People showed up on a Saturday to learn more about WordPress.
If you look closely at both the organizer and speaker Q&A interviews on the blog, you’ll find one thing in common on pretty much every single one: their favorite thing about WordPress is the community. And if WordCamp showed us anything, it’s that we have a thriving WordPress community.
There is a huge contingent of people using WordPress in and around Sacramento — and we as a community want to support you.
The Sacramento WordPress Meetup
More than 800 people belong to the Sacramento WordPress meetup group. At each event, 25-40 of you show up, and some of you come every single month no matter what.
THANK YOU.
WordPress has succeeded so far, and will continue to succeed because of the community that surrounds it. Why? Because as a whole we all believe that a “rising tide lifts all boats.”
The community, and more specifically WordCamps and WordPress meetups, provide you the opportunity to share knowledge, experiences, and skills, to get and give advice, to build friendships with people like you, who do what you do, who get it.
If you loved WordCamp, and you left the event wondering how to keep that feeling going, or inspired to get involved and pay it forward, we hope you’ll join us at the monthly Sacramento WordPress Meetup.
The next meetup is TUESDAY, DECEMBER, 1, 2015.
Unlike most of our monthly meetups, where we have a speaker or several speakers doing lightning talks, this meetup is going to be a WordPress Holiday Party!
If you’re a WordPresser who works remote, freelances, or works at home, or if you use WordPress and just want to celebrate the holidays with friendly faces, this is YOUR holiday party! So, come on out and join us for a merry evening of WordPress and cookies.
At this meetup, you’ll:
- Get Sacramento WordPress Community Updates
- Learn more about the 2016 events
- Discover ways you can get involved in our local WordPress community through the meetup and WordCamp
- Enjoy a low pressure, casual environment to connect further with your old and new WordPress friends
And, if you remember our holiday party meetup last year, you’ll get to eat yummy cookies! Lots of yummy cookies :) And if you wanted to bring a tray of cookies to share, we wouldn’t mind that either!