Hello WordPress friends and blogging neighbors! I (Morgan Senkal) am thrilled to take over the fabulous work that Aaron Hockley has done with WordCamp here in Portland. My two goals for this event are:
Make WordCamp Portland 2010 as fabulous as last year
Make it even better, if that is even possible!
I decided that the very first [...]
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
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
Sunday, September 20
We’ll see you all on Saturday morning!
- Aaron Hockley and the rest of the WordCamp Portland team
Greetings WordCamp Portland attendees!
In about two weeks, we’ll have over 200 bloggers, technologists, and other WordPress enthusiasts gathered for Portland’s largest blogging conference. Here are a few pieces of information about the sessions and schedule. We’ll be sending out an another update later this week with logistical information including parking, transportation, and other last-minute things to know.
SCHEDULE:
We’ve published the tentative schedule. Note that all times and sessions are subject to change, but this is the plan as it currently stands:
Saturday, September 19
Sunday, September 20
SUGGEST TOPICS FOR THE SEO SMACKDOWN:
Sunday afternoon we’ll have a SEO Smackdown Panel, discussing the merits of SEO tactics vs. focusing purely on writing content. Have a question about search engine optimization? Suggest a question for the panel by leaving a comment on this blog post.
ASK WORDPRESS QUESTIONS TO MATT MULLENWEG:
We’re excited to have Matt Mullenweg (founding developer of WordPress) in attendance; he’ll be fielding questions in a “Town Hall” style forum. Have a question for Matt? We’ll be taking questions from the audience but would love to have a few questions ahead of time to start the discussion. Leave your question for Matt on this blog post.
BRING YOUR UNCONFERENCE IDEAS TO WORDCAMP:
In addition to the announced speakers, we’ll have “unconference”-style time available throughout the weekend. Rooms will be available for groups to discuss topics not on the agenda. Would you like to lead a presentation on a WordPress or blogging-related topic? Bring your idea and suggest it when we start unconference scheduling on Saturday morning.
Maybe you want to talk about a topic even though you’re not an expert? You don’t have to be an expert to suggest an unconference session; you only need to be willing to start the discussion. We’re anticipating a wide range of topics to be suggested (both technical and non.)
PLEASE TAG AND SHARE WORDCAMP CONTENT
We look forward to the various blog posts, photos, and videos that are likely to come out of WordCamp Portland. As you write, post, and tweet, tag things with “wcpdx” (#wcpdx on Twitter) so that your content can easily be found.
IF YOU CAN’T ATTEND
If you’re unable to attend WordCamp and would like to transfer your ticket to another person, please contact our Registration coordinator, Betsy Richter:
——-
We look forward to seeing you on September 19th and 20th for WordCamp Portland. Expect an email with last-minute logistical information in the next week or so.
Overheard
