When is a WordCamp more than just a camp? When it promotes your Meetup’s logo, when you see great friends, and have an epic Contributor Day.
I would be remiss in mentioning two things as an aside: Bluehost sending Jessalyn Tucker to WCUS and The Gutenberg situation.
You can read Jessalyn’s blog here and her dad’s blog here. Thank you, Bluehost!
The big news is the Gutenberg “editor” (it is way more than just an editor) will be coming out with 5.0 in April (I’ve been saying this since June so I felt a bit vindicated in my analysis).
If you want to keep informed on it, I’d start with following Kevin’s tweets. It is iterating (changing) quickly.
Friends
WordCamp is a celebration of the WordPress community. If you’re not making friends, come find me. We’ll be friends.
A regional camp like WordCamp US brings friends together from all over the US and the World. It was great to catch up.
Clearly, I did not take enough selfies. 😉
Rosie the Wapuu
Yes. Rosie the Wapuu was everywhere. She is not the “Lady Wapuu,” she’s the unofficial mascot for WomenWhoWP.org.
You can order your own swag thanks to James Tryon and Wapu.us here.
She’s more than a mascot, she represents a traditionally underrepresented minority in tech: women. We didn’t think she’d be part of a global movement, but it is trending that way.
You may recognize Julia from the WSJ article that had her photo.
Contributor Day
Contributor Day was the real reason for me to attend this camp; it’s an all volunteer work day for Making WordPress. Though some people are “sponsored volunteers,” we are volunteers nonetheless. WordPress is created by you for you.
I’m honored to be a Marketing Team Rep and this CD was smooth, efficient, and fun. We had over 20 new people contributing. I couldn’t have done it without Dwayne McDaniel of Pantheon. He even gave out I Make.WordPress.org stickers. It was epic.
Special Thank You
Thanks to GiveWP for paying for my airfare and Jen Miller for sponsoring my meals and lodging. With the recent change in my career, I wouldn’t have had enough time to save for the trip.