I feel like that guy on the Memorex commercial.
You know, this guy:
I suspect that a lot of you might be feeling a bit like that too, with all the WordCamp Portland 2010 info flying at you in the past week. Speakers, schedules, tickets, times, dates, whaaa? I thought I’d just break it [...]
Archive for September, 2009
WordCamp Portland Videos Now Appearing on WordPress.tv
Posted By Aaron on September 29th, 2009
WordPress.tv is a project bringing together all sorts of WordPress-related videos, including those from WordCamps around the world. I’m excited to announce that the first WordCamp Portland 2009 videos are now live on WordPress.tv. The Saturday videos are being put online now, with Sunday’s videos to follow within a day or two.
Thanks to Joe for his great event streaming services and the folks at WordPress.tv for hosting the videos.
Happy viewing!
Posted in Announcements
The Streamed Sessions will be Posted Online
Posted By Aaron on September 20th, 2009
We’ve had a lot of questions about if it will be possible to view the streamed sessions at a later date. The answer is yes; we’ll get them processed and posted. We’ll be sure to announce it here, the best way to stay informed is to subscribe to our RSS feed.
Posted in Announcements
Portland-Based BootsnAll Travel Network: a WordCamp Sponsor
Posted By Aaron on September 20th, 2009
This is a sponsored post as part of BootsnAll’s WordCamp Sponsorship
Title: Portland Based BootsnAll Travel Network: PDX Word Camp Sponsor
Since 1998, the BootsnAll Travel Network has been connecting travelers and travel blogging. A private company based in Portland, Oregon – BootsnAll publishes 1000s of WordPress blogs throughout it’s travel network for Budget Travel, From expert written blogs/sites like Italy Travel Guide to blogs written from the travelers perspective on how to find cheap air tickets and international consolidator airfare to free travel blogs based on the WordPress MU platform. BootsnAll uses WordPress up and down and all around.
Back in 2001 – we started with one of the 1st blogging platforms called greymatter, moved on to Moveable Type – and have been on WordPress for 4 or 5 years now. We are thankful everyday for the vibrant community around this platform.
BootsnAll is honored and excited to be a part of this years PDX Word Camp. Please say hello to Ian, Brandy, and Chris as they listen, learn and share at this years event as well as visit our site(s). We always love constructive feedback!
Posted in Elsewhere
For Attendees: How to get to WebTrends!
Posted By Betsy Richter on September 18th, 2009
Because I’m all about the details, I’m sending out one final reminder about just where WebTrends is, what you’ll need to know about parking and building access, and some travel advisories we already know about. I’ve sprinkled it with some editorial opinions and advice — if you’re a local, please feel free to disregard!
Where are you going?
WebTrends
851 SW 6th Avenue (between Yamhill & Taylor on W side of street)
16th Floor
Portland, OR 97204-1343
Google Map link
WebTrends is in a large secured office building; we’ll be gathering on the 16th floor. Therefore, a volunteer will need to let you in and out of the building and escort you to the elevator. In the rare event that someone’s not right downstairs, you’ll need to call – we’ll have signs on the door with phone numbers; you’ll need to call via cell for access. Again, we can’t accommodate pets or children, and bikes cannot be brought into the building, either. (We’ll have details below re. bike parking.)
Note: the parking garage directly underneath WebTrends is closed on weekends.
Parking:
If you’re driving downtown (and we really recommend that you NOT do so!), know these facts first!
On-street parking:
I strongly recommend that you AVOID on-street parking. It’s prohibitive and troublesome – most meters won’t last past 3 hours, and the local ticket enforcement is fierce (I routinely get a ticket mere minutes after my meter expired.) This means if you’re doing on-street parking, you’ll have to leave every couple of hours to move your car to another spot & pay again. (You can’t just keep plugging a single meter for a single spot once you find it. Yes, I know that’s a huge pain. See warning above re. rabid ticket enforcement – and I have the tickets to prove it – and don’t follow in my footsteps!)
Don’t believe me? See what our local court system has to say!
Parking garages:
If you’re driving a car downtown, these are your best bets. Look for Smart Park, Star Park, or City Center Parking – all within a few blocks of WebTrends (see this Google Map mashup for details.) Note that different garages have different Sunday schedules; you might want to scout this out before Sunday morning!
Bicycle parking:
Justin Kistner from WebTrends (our gracious host and sponsor this weekend; please be sure to give him some props) says that there are about 8 bike staples in front of WebTrends and 3-4 more clusters across the street. Please use those – again, we won’t allow bikes in the building itself (not even in the lobby!)
Mass transit:
I’m not even going to bother to drive downtown myself – WebTrends is located a block or so away from 3 different light rail lines, so I’ll be taking MAX in. (See TriMet’s site for more information.)
Known traffic issues this weekend:
The Susan B. Komen Race for the Cure is taking place on Portland’s waterfront this Sunday morning from 7:30 – 11 am. The Broadway Bridge will be closed, but there may be some extra MAX service. Note that 45,000 people are expected downtown and plan your travels accordingly!
Also, the Sellwood Bridge is closed from 6 am – 6 pm on Sunday, September 20th for a safety inspection. Those traveling from inner SE should pick a different bridge!
Okay, that’s enough from me. Except for this: 1. Follow @wcpdx on Twitter – we’ll try to share information with WordCamp Portland attendees this way where possible. 2. Check the WordCamp Portland web site. 3. Use the #wcpdx hashtag – that way, when you encounter a transit issue, you can send a heads-up to other attendees, for example.
See you all on Saturday!
Betsy Richter, your trusty registrar
Posted in Attendees
WordCamp Portland – Video Stream Information
Posted By Aaron on September 17th, 2009
A big thanks to Joe from Blaze Streaming Media who is providing our streaming services for WordCamp Portland.
View the stream at http://live.blazestreaming.com/wcpdx/.
The plan is to start streaming as the event begins at 9am on Saturday.
Why WordCamp Happens: People
Posted By Aaron on September 17th, 2009
Normally this sort of blog post would follow the event, but I wanted to get this out in the public while folks are still reading this blog.
I’d like to say thank you to the various organizers/volunteers that are making WordCamp Portland happen. The core group of organizers has been actively working on this event since January. Betsy Richter has done a great job wrangling our registration process, which has involved a wait list and overflow process that’s kept her very busy over the past few weeks with the registration and the thorough communication surrounding those lists. Dale Chumbley has spent the last few months talking with potential sponsors, explaining the value of a WordCamp sponsorship and taking care of details such as payment delivery and communication between parties. Rick Turoczy has helped with our bookkeeping as well as publicity through his little floral venture. Kat Markert has talked with dozens of food vendors to arrange for two full lunches, morning bagels and muffins, two days of snacks, and a full range of beverages (coffee, water, pop, beer) for the weekend. Robin Catesby has helped with a variety of hospitality roles including providing some information for out of town attendees as well as a few things to help take care of our (all volunteer) speakers.
We’ll have other volunteers working on tasks on Saturday and Sunday including assistance with registration, T-shirt distribution, organizing the unconference grid, assisting with food setup and cleanup, escorting attendees into the secured area of the building, audio/visual setup and troubleshooting, and more. Take a moment to say thanks to the folks that are helping WordCamp happen.
WordCamps are very much community events, and WordCamp Portland wouldn’t happen without the dedicated WordPress community in Portland. Thank you.
Posted in Announcements
Changes to Saturday’s Speaker Lineup
Posted By Aaron on September 16th, 2009
We have a couple changes to announce for our Saturday lineup of speakers at WordCamp Portland. Unfortunately Micah Baldwin will be unable to attend, but I’m excited to announce that Shayne Sanderson will now be a featured presenter.
Shayne is owner of S-Tastic Designs where he offers WordPress-related support, design and consulting services. He also works for Instinct Entertainment (makers of WP Ecommerce) providing support and custom modifications. He has presented at several WordCamps this year including Las Vegas, Raleigh and Los Angeles.
Shayne will be presenting on WPMU and Ecommerce.
Saturday’s schedule and order of speakers has changed a bit; see the agenda page for the updated schedule.
Attendee Email – 9/13/09
Posted By Betsy Richter on September 13th, 2009
Greetings WordCamp Portland attendees! This will probably be the last communication to you before this weekend’s event. Read below to find out logistical information and other things you should know.
IF YOU CAN’T ATTEND:
If you’re unable to attend, we have a waiting list of over 50 people that would love to be at WordCamp Portland. You can either transfer your ticket to another person, or let us know that you’d like it to go to someone from the waiting list.
Either way, you’ll need to contact Betsy Richter (bdrichter@gmail.com) to have her facilitate the ticket transfer. (Do note that while we notify the waiting list recipient who originally held the ticket – including your email address – we can’t broker any financial transactions, sorry.)
Please contact Betsy by WEDNESDAY AT 5:00 PM if you’re unable to attend!
TRANSPORTATION/PARKING:
WordCamp Portland is at Webtrends (851 SW 6th Avenue, Suite 1600). (Google Map) If arriving by car, there is some street parking as well as several parking lots within a couple blocks. A better option might be to take TriMet’s MAX light rail service; the Pioneer Courthouse Square MAX stations are within a block of Webtrends.
BUILDING ACCESS:
The Webtrends offices are in a secured area of the building, so access will require escort from one of our volunteers. Attendees arriving in the morning will be let in as a group; if you arrive and there isn’t an escort available there will be instructions posted to call or txt to have someone let you in.
Note that we’re not equipped to handle pets (other than service animals) or children.
SMOKING:
Because of the secured building access, having smokers frequently leaving and returning from smoking breaks will be disruptive. If you’re a smoker, expect that we’ll be able to let you back into the building a few times per day but minimizing your in-and-out trips will allow our volunteers to enjoy more of the weekend themselves. While there is a balcony on the 16th floor, smoking on said balcony is expressly prohibited.
BEER AND BLOG:
WordCamp is invading Portland’s weekly Beer and Blog event this coming Friday. Join dozens of Portland bloggers and techies at the Green Dragon (SE 9th & Yamhill) (Google Map) from 4pm-6pm for networking and a beverage.
SCHEDULE:
Saturday, September 19
- 8:15 – Doors open / Registration
- 9:00 – Welcome/opening/intro to unconference
- 9:30 – Micah Baldwin – Do Your Readers Trust You? Building Influence The Right Way
- 10:30 – Cami Kaos / Dr. Normal – Bondage: How to be your podcast’s Dom, not its Sub
- 11:30 – Lunch
- 12:45 – Matt Mullenweg – WordPress Q&A
- 13:45 – Jason Grigsby – Speed Up Wordpress. Make Readers Happy and Your Site Green
- 14:30 – Break
- 15:00 – Duane Storey – BraveNewBlog – Embracing the mobile frontier
- 16:00 – Tyler Sticka – WordPress-Powered Portfolios
- 16:45 – Closing Comments
Sunday, September 20
- 9:00 – Welcome/networking
- 9:30 – Lorelle VanFossen – Tags and Categories: Are You Uncategorized?
- 10:30 – John Hawkins – Building a Plugin – It’s Easier Than You Think
- 11:30 – Lunch
- 12:45 – Scott Porad – LOLs, FAILs and Life at the Cheezburger Factory
- 13:45 – Will Norris – How NOT to build a WordPress Plugin
- 14:30 – Break
- 15:00 – Garron Selliken – Geotagging and Mapping WordPress Content
- 16:00 – Scott Hendison, Amber Case, Dawn Foster, Rick Turoczy, and Nate DiNiro – SEO Smackdown Panel
- 16:45 – Closing Comments
We’ll see you all on Saturday morning!
- Aaron Hockley and the rest of the WordCamp Portland team
What to Know if You’re Coming to WordCamp Portland
Posted By Aaron on September 12th, 2009
Maybe WordCamp Portland will be your first WordCamp. Perhaps you haven’t been to a WordCamp say, I don’t know, the last WordCamp Portland. You might be wondering what it will be like, what you should bring, and so on. Here a few tips and tricks to help you get the most out of your WordCamp experience:
The Agenda/Format
WordCamp Portland is using a hybrid model of a traditional conference that has pre-announced speakers along with an unconference, where attendees can suggest their own sessions and the schedule is made up as the weekend progresses. If you want to come and only see the speakers we’ve announced, think of that as one “track” that will take up the entire weekend. We’ll also have an unconference open grid on the wall starting on Saturday morning, so that other sessions will be held throughout the weekend. The goal is that at any given time, we’ll have a variety of topics for a variety of interests. If our featured speaker is very technical, my expectation is that there will be some less technical unconference sessions at the same time, and vice versa.
Learn About the Speakers
If you have a bit of time, take a look at our group of speakers and learn a bit about their background. We’ve got a diverse set of speakers coming at WordPress from a variety of positions, and if you’re interested in a particular topic you’ll probably gain more from the experience if you’ve read a bit of background on the speaker.
What to Bring
Here are some suggestions on what to bring to WordCamp Portland:
- Comfortable clothes: the event will run from 9-5 on both Saturday and Sunday, and there’s a good chance you might end going out with some old or new contacts afterwards. Don’t worry about dressing up; t-shirts, shorts, and crocs are just fine.
- Camera, video camera, Flip camera, etc: Bring recording devices. Take as many photos as you like. Record some video. We’ll be streaming some of the event but we won’t be able to have cameras in all of the rooms.
- A way to take notes: Perhaps this is your laptop; perhaps this is your moleskine; perhaps you really like to write on the back of your hand. It’s ok, we won’t judge you.
- Business cards, moo cards, or the like: You’re probably going to be meeting some interesting new people. Make it easy for them to keep in touch.
After the Event
Don’t forget to do a bit of followup after the event. If there were some topics that were really interesting, check out your resources, visit the URLs that you jotted down in your notes, or follow up with the speakers. If you met some interesting attendees and got their business cards, visit their websites or send them an email.
—
Note that an email will be sent to all WordCamp Portland attendees in the next couple of days with final logistical information including parking, transportation, building entry, and a few other topics.
Please Welcome our Premier Sponsor: Microsoft
Posted By Aaron on September 9th, 2009
I’m very happy to announce that Microsoft, creator of the excellent Windows Live Writer blogging tool, is now on board as a Premier Sponsor for WordCamp Portland. While one doesn’t often think of Microsoft when thinking of the open source WordPress platform, the company is no stranger to social media software and it was a WordPress user at Microsoft who set the wheels in motion for their sponsorship. Thanks to Microsoft’s financial support we’ll be able to provide an even better experience for WordCamp attendees (both in person and over the web) and they’ll be on hand to show off some Windows Live Writer tips and tricks. Thanks!
Posted in Announcements
