We’ve launched the 2019 WordCamp Birmingham site! Click the headline below to learn about our 2019 event, dates, and location. Use the Subscribe to Blog via Email form there to stay up to date.
Category Archives: WPYall Info
Why Should You Attend WordCamp Birmingham?
“What’s in a name? A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”
You might be thinking to yourself right now, what does Shakespeare have to do with WordPress? Or even WordCamp? Well, the first time I heard the term WordCamp, I ignored it. I had launched a full-time writing career, and I had little left to invest in a conference that wouldn’t move me forward in that purpose.
The next time I heard the term WordCamp, it was from someone I had met through a local blogging group. He made it sound like something I should at least take time to look over – besides, the ticket came with lunch.
After attending my first WordCamp, I began an advocate. The people attending the event – those speaking and those that bought tickets – all wanted to be a help to each other. The engagement and connections went beyond any other conference I had attended.
I had to be more involved so that I could position myself to be more of a help to the others that had helped me so much.
Why WordCamp
WordCamp Birmingham provides something for everyone – no matter if you are about to launch your first website, you just love to write, or coding is your second language. The options go beyond the different tracks of sessions and move right into the community.
If you are new to WordPress or if you have only been USING WordPress, you might not realize the amazing community that drives the WordPress platform. WordCamp was born from this engaging community.
Everyone that is involved with the development of a WordCamp does it because he or she loves the platform and loves the people. Nobody gets paid. Nobody gets travel expenses. Each and every person has a deep passion for WordPress, for the community, and for you.
Anytime you can be involved with a group of people passionate about the community, it is an investment worth making.
Top Benefits from WordCamp
WordCamp will be the least expensive conference you will attend this year. Because WordPress believes in the community as much as the people in the community believe in the community, WordPress helps support the WordCamps which allows organizers to keep down the costs.
WordCamp offers valuable help and support. The Happiness Bar opens when the conference kicks off and provides the perfect place for you to get your questions answered or to get help with a WordPress issue. Be sure to bring your laptop with you so the volunteers will be able to guide you to your fix.
WordCamp offers some great food. Not only will there be snacks and a great lunch, but usually a fun surprise will show up. Last year at #WPYall, we all enjoyed a flavorful Frios pop!
WordCamp offers a chance to create lasting connections with other WordPress fans from all walks of life. Developers, content creators, business owners, and designers meet up to talk words, WordPress, and so much more.
You need to get your ticket today. WordCamp Birmingham is the one conference you don’t want to miss.
Who Wants to Sponsor WordCamp Bham? You Do!
In case you’re looking for a good home for some of your charitable donations, WordCamp Birmingham is looking for sponsors. Putting on a WordCamp is a huge undertaking, and we couldn’t do it without the support of our community sponsors.
We have some amazing tiers that you can choose between if you’re interested in sponsorship. You can do as much or as little as you want, too.
WPYALL has had some truly fantastic sponsors in the past, and that’s not even just talking about their monetary generosity. Some of the most fun at a Camp can come from Campers interacting with sponsors at their tables, hanging out between sessions, and joking around and making real connections at the after-party and speaker/sponsor dinner party.
Heck, we watched an Alabama football game together last year, and that was only possible because a local sponsor brought a projector and hooked it up for everyone. Now that is understanding and caring about your community.
You’re able to get your company or brand in front of a massive audience by sponsoring WCBham, and we are dedicated to making sure that you get as much out of your contribution as possible.
So please, check out our call for sponsors, see our cool tiers and the neat stuff you get for being a part of WordCamp Birmingham, and if you’re interested, feel free to give us a holler. We are more than happy to answer any and all questions you may have, and we want to work with you if you want to sponsor in any way that’s not listed on any of our pages.
Thanks a bunch, and we can’t wait to see what kind of trouble we can get into with you at #wpyall this year. 🙂
Like to Talk? Then Speak at WordCamp Birmingham 2018!
Okay, folks, it's time to put your thinking caps on again and brainstorm ideas for talks you can give at WordCamp Birmingham on August 4-5. We are looking for any and all ideas you have to make this year's #WPYALL better than ever.
We have three tracks for your talks: Blogging & Content Creation, Business, and Development. You can submit any number of talks you like, and we can work together to see which ones best fit our community.
Community Request: Podcasting
Finally, we want to call attention to a community request that came a lot during and after last year's WordCamp. Many people were discussing podcasting and live streaming, in either questions at panels, the Hallway Track, or just conversations at dinner.
We would love to hear your thoughts on these topics, and since we're in the planning stages, let us know what cool ideas you have.
Would you want to teach an afternoon workshop? A tips & tricks panel? A hands-on equipment demo? Let us know because there's certainly been a demand for it.
Send in the Talks!
Like I said, feel free to throw your WordPress ideas at us, and let's make WC Birmingham even bigger and better than it has ever been.
Need an idea of where to start? Check out last year's schedule to see what filled up Campers' days!
Can't wait to see you in Birmingham, AL on August 4-5!
Help! I Need Somebody! (To Volunteer for WordCamp Birmingham)
Howdy! We wanted to take a second and ask for a favor. You see, organizing a WordCamp is like raising a child — it takes a village. And we want you to help babysit for a while.
Or something like that.
Either way, we'd love for you to be a volunteer for WordCamp Birmingham this year. We need folks for both days — August 4 and 5 — so if you're available, let us know! And if you're available on August 3rd, too? Awesome. You can help us set up Camp!
We have a form ready for you to fill out on our Call for Volunteers, and it's chock full of fantastic info about what we need so you can pick where you want to spend your time. And y'all, we need everything, so no matter what your specialty is, you're gonna fit right in.
What We Need:
– Setup/Clean Up
– Registration
– Room Emcee
– Photography
– Room Runners
– Happiness Bar
– Food/Beverage
– All Purpose
You can read detailed descriptions of each volunteer role here, too.
What's In It For You?
Isn't it enough to just have the satisfaction of knowing that you've given back to a community that truly loves you? It is, but we want to give you something else, too.
Every volunteer will get a free #wpyall t-shirt, as well as a promo code for a discounted or free WordCamp Birmingham ticket. If you volunteer for half a day, you get a half-off discount. If you volunteer for a full day, you get a full-price discount!
How cool is that? Yep, I hear ya. Pretty cool.
We Can't Wait to Work With Y'all
We really do appreciate all of you. Your support means everything, and none of this would be possible without you.
If you can lend a hand in any way, we would love to have you. And if you can bring a friend…that's even better! So spread the word, sign up, and let's make WordCamp Birmingham more spectacular than it's ever been.
Tickets for #WPYall 2018 are on Sale Now!
It’s that time of year, y’all! We are ramping up planning for WordCamp Birmingham (or as we lovingly call it, #WPYall), and we want to invite you to be our guests on the weekend of August 4 – 5, 2018.
Here’s the deal (and yes, it is quite the deal): you pay just $40 for a two-day ticket that includes all the WordPress-y goodness you can stand. You get blogging panels, dev talks, business advice, and hands-on help from WP professionals at our Happiness Bar (think of it like Apple’s Genius Bar, only happier).
Make sure to check out last year’s schedule for an idea of what to expect.
Location, Location, Location
WPYall will be hosted at the Pelham Civic Complex in Pelham, AL. Yes, that’s right, folks; it’s the same wonderful venue as last year. Which means that you have easy access to hotels within walking distance, excellent restaurants just nearby, and perhaps best of all, free parking abound.
Don’t Wait! Get Your 2-Day Ticket RIGHT NOW!
You can just mosey on over to the ticket page, grab your two-day pass (and one for a friend, while you’re at it), and get ready for an absolutely delightful weekend on August 4th and 5th.
And while you’re at it, let the world know about your favorite WordCamp by using the hashtag #wpyall on Twitter and Instagram! That’d be great.
So make sure to grab your tickets and make plans for August. See ya then, Campers!
Call for Sponsors
Sponsoring WordCamp Birmingham is a great opportunity to demonstrate your support for the WordPress community. To keep costs down for our attendees, we look to sponsors to help make WordCamp an exciting part of our thriving open-source community.
For 2018, we’re planning for around 200 attendees.
Event attendees are made up freelancers, entrepreneurs, small businesses, consultants, designers, developers, bloggers, copywriters, and hobbyists, as well as employees and team members from large organizations and corporations who work with WordPress. Skill level and experience with the WordPress platform range from those brand new to WordPress working on their very first website to savvy-professionals who make their living with WordPress.
Sponsoring WordCamp shows our local WordPress community that you care about their success and about supporting the open source platform we all love.
Plus, let’s be honest, it makes you look pretty awesome!
Take a look at the benefits of each sponsor level!
Fill out this form to inquire about sponsorship!
Call for Speakers
Thanks for your interest in speaking and helping us put on an amazing WordCamp Birmingham!
If you submit a proposal, here’s what you need to know:
- Speakers get a free ticket to WordCamp and an invitation to a VIP dinner prior to the event, but are not otherwise compensated.
- Sessions cannot be sales pitches for your product or services.
- Each session will be recorded and submitted to WordPress.tv, so you’ll need to sign an A/V release form.
- We will request presentation slides for review a few weeks before WordCamp. Make sure you can meet that deadline.
- WordCamp Birmingham has a Code of Conduct which applies to all participants at all WordCamp Birmingham events.
How Speakers will be Selected
The deadline for speaker submissions is May 15, 2018.
Once speaker applications close, the WordCamp Birmingham organizing team will review the submissions based on topic, assumed interest to attendees, and quality of application.
Update as of May 16, 2018:
On March 1, 2018, we began actively seeking a wide variety of topics and a diverse speaker pool. As of today, May 16, 2018, speaker submissions are closed.
Thank you to everyone who submitted a speaker submission. We received 100 submissions from 59 speakers! We hope to send out acceptance emails to speakers by this weekend.
Call for Volunteers
Are you looking for a great opportunity to get involved with the WordPress community?
We are in search of WordPress enthusiasts eager to lend a hand! WordCamps would not be possible without a strong volunteer base of people like you. If you’ve been thinking about attending WordCamp Birmingham and want to help out, we would love to have you join us! Volunteering at WordCamp is a fun way to meet members of the local and national WordPress community, as well as help contribute to making the event a success.
There are a variety of volunteer opportunities, each with different time commitments, experience requirements, and logistics. There are two requirements for ALL volunteers, regardless of the job or duration: be reliable and be friendly. 🙂
Look over the list to see if anything strikes a chord. Then if you’d like to volunteer, fill out the volunteer form below to express your interest in volunteering. Our Volunteer Wrangler will get back to you and let you know which options are available and work out a schedule.
As we fill up volunteer positions, we will remove the filled positions from the website. So, if there is something special you’d like to help with, submit the form soon.
During the Event
Set Up/Clean Up: Help with event set up and clean up as needed.
Registration – Check in registered attendees and hand out nametags & t-shirts. Sell walk-up tickets, take money and make change, using an iPad/Square reader. Being really awesome with alphabetical order helps here.
Room Emcee – Introduce speakers/sessions and keep things running on time. Keep an eye on the clock and give speakers a heads up when they are down to 10 and 5 minutes, and let them know when their time is up. Brevity and wit a must.
Photography – We need your your unique vision and your photography skills to document the event with your camera. To give you an overview of what we expect from you as an official WordCamp Birmingham photographer, we have prepared this page.
Room Runners – Work with the emcees, video people, speakers, and everyone else working in the room to keep things running smoothly. Make sure there’s water for speakers, and provide support as needed for other event staff.
Happiness Bar – Answer questions and help WordPress users fix problems with their sites. Must be able to show level of expertise to be selected for this gig.
Food/Beverage – This is already taken of for the most part, but it would be helpful to have a few people keeping an eye on things. On Saturday and Sunday, we’ll especially need a couple of people to help around lunchtime.
Miscellaneous Prep – Random helping here and there that doesn’t have a category.
Remember that if you volunteer, or are sending an employee to volunteer, you must meet the WordCamp Central guidance for volunteers.