If you talk to anyone who has been working with WordPress for long, more than likely, you’re also going to hear them speak about the WordPress community. If you’ve been to a WordCamp, or you attend local monthly WordPress meetups, you know that community — groups of like-minded people coming together — can be a powerful thing.
We love WordCamps. Brian began going to WordCamps pretty regularly in 2011 and My first WordCamp was in 2013, and we’ve been going to as many as fit in our schedule every year since. We learn something new at every WordCamp, we deepen existing relationships, and start new ones. We’ve hired employees and subcontractors based on relationships that started at meetups and WordCamps, and so have most of our friends.
We wouldn’t be where we are today without the generosity of the WordPress Community, and organizing WordCamp Sacramento and the Sacramento WordPress Meetup is our way of paying it forward… and we hope that attendees will then continue to pay it forward, as a rising tide does in fact, lift all boats.
With this in mind, we asked our speakers: How has WordCamp, the WordPress Meetup, or the WordPress community impacted you? And here’s what they had to day:
Kim Shivler
My overall role in the world is as a teacher and encourager. WordPress allows me to support others including less technical entrepreneurs who want to create a website to share their vision with the world.
As for WordCamps, I love the community spirit of the events. It’s so much fun getting to meet people In Real Life who you know online. I love to speak at WordCamps because it’s a chance to share my knowledge and help other entrepreneurs find WordPress solutions. I have ongoing friendships with people I have met at my talks. WordCamps have also been a great chance for me to learn from others and collaborate on ideas surrounding WordPress.
Ben Byrne
Before I started attending WordCamps, WordPress was just a tool, a collection of code that came from “the Internet” and was useful. But by attending WordCamps, WordPress became much more than that for me: it became a community of people who listen, teach, and share a passion.
Carrie Forde
WordCamps have been great opportunities for me to travel and/or meet up with old friends, and make new ones. When working remotely, as many of us do, it’s important to be reminded that the people we may work with are real humans, and having that time to bond face-to-face is special.
Of course, I also love the learning aspect of WordCamps. I look forward to learning new tricks and to speakers challenging my way of thinking, and seeing if there are ways I can improve my workflow or productivity.
Justin Busa
I’ve learned a lot from my peers. I wouldn’t be the developer and business owner I am today without the experiences the WordPress community has provided me.
Amanda McCoy
My local WordPress meetup made it possible for me to learn WordPress without tearing my hair out.
Adam Silver
Too many ways to say.
It’s been said that as we get older, making true friendships gets harder then when we were kids. That said, some of my closest friends these days were made via WordPress and the community. I’ve traveled with and vacationed with with people that I would have never met otherwise. I consider myself fortunate to have those people in my life.
Tanner Moushey
I got started in WordPress on my own and quickly was frustrated and confused. I found the Seattle WordPress Meetup and they helped me get my career started.
Bridget Willard
Short answer: I never would have survived this last year, losing my husband May 31, 2016, without the love and support of the WordPress community. That’s another huge answer that is in a blog post.
Jonathan Trujillo
I’m so thankful for the Sacramento WordPress meetup, I wish I could make it to more of them. My first talk was at WordCamp Sacramento 2015, It was an amazing experience. The people you meet at WordCamps are some of the greatest folks you’ll ever meet.
Tessa Kriesel
The WordPress community has taught me that it’s okay if I don’t know everything, nobody does. We are all good at certain things and that’s okay! It has created many friendships, and some of them have become very close friends. It’s an amazing community of people with a common interest but so many other differences. It’s social bliss and I love every second of it.
Adam W. Warner
Starting with the WordPress.org forums back in the day brought me a sense of community. WordCamps are obviously an extension of that and I can safely say that I’ve made many life-long friends from attending WordCamps. The impact is that I now can’t imagine NOT attending a WordCamp.
Sallie Goetsch
I credit WordPress meetups with drawing me into the WordPress community and with my deepening commitment to WordPress. I went to WPSFO in 2009 and learned there that there was a WordPress meetup starting in the East Bay. I attended a meeting in February and within a few months had become co-organizer and then organizer.
Having to present information to other people really helps you to learn it, so organizing the meetup has certainly increased my expertise. It also brought me into contact with a lot of great people, introduced me to WordCamps, and inspired me to find ways to contribute. Without the community, I might still be doing WordPress work, but without that feeling of being part of something larger, or the ability to reach out to colleagues around the world.
Ben Ilfeld
I’ve loved working with everyone in the local Sacramento WordPress community. I’ve really begun to understand the impact WordPress has on small business in particular.
Cat Scholz
I’ve gotten more comfortable speaking in front of people and putting myself out there as an authority on WordPress-related topics.
Vasken Hauri
I’ve been attending and speaking at WordCamps and meetups for quite some time now, and I’m amazed at how I learn something new each and every time.
Jarrett Gucci
WordPress has allowed me to meet others that share the same interests.
Heather Hogan
I’ve made a lot of friends and connections.
Justin Sainton
Impossible to fully describe! It’s been my life for the last decade, can’t imagine a better community of colleagues and friends.
Amber Hewitt
I’ve met so many wonderful people through Meetups and WordCamps. They are the ones who have made me realize how powerful WordPress is. Their support has helped me push my limits and take my business to the next level.
John Locke
I’ve met a lot of cool people in the WordPress ecosystem over the last few years. To be honest, I feel like I’ve just started to get comfortable in the WordPress space over the last couple of years. I have lots of homies from the local Meetup (the guilty parties know who they are), and the larger community has been great. I learn new things every week from people in the WP community.
Sarah Wefald
It’s changed the course of my career entirely. It’s given me access to opportunities I never would have had any other way.
Treighton Mauldin
Participating in WordCamp has allowed me to really pinpoint my weaknesses as a WordPress developer and get better.
Terri Webster Schrandt
Blogging on WordPress for over three years, has introduced me to countless people, both online and in person, among whom I count many as friends. This will be my first WordCamp, so I am reserving judgement for after!
Matt Vanderpol
They have given me a chance to meet people, grow my craft, and practice public speaking in a friendly environment.
Katie Elenberger
I love all chances to learn and improve my ability to offer better solutions for my clients. I have meet some incredible people, too!
Bill Conrad
First and foremost the people I have met at WordCamps and Meetups have impacted me most. They are friends and fun people who share their ideas and talents. WP-Tonic Podcast’s founder Jonathan Denwood is one example.
Jen Miller
It’s connected the product to the people and enhanced my passion for WordPress as a platform and community.
Andrew Taylor
I’ve made so many great connections with amazing people at WordCamps and Meetups. They are impactful is very positive ways.
Leslie Staller
I love the collaborative, open sourced, community of WordPress. I go to meetups regularly to share what I know, learn from others and meet awesome people. I am excited for the opportunity to give back to the WordPress community and support others.