WordCamp Boston
What I did on my summer vacation.
So this one time, at WordCamp….
I went to camp this summer; minus the mosquitoes and smores. (Bummer on the latter.) WordCamp was an informal day and a half Boston conference in July that focused on everything WordPress. Casual users (aka: me) to core developers got together to participate, share ideas, and get to know each other over a common platform: WordPress. There were some great sponsors too, like Zemanta, !Oomph, VaultPress, ISITE Design, and .tv.
There were five main tracks: (1) How To, (2) Development, (3) Education, (4) Strategy, and (5) Advanced Development. The How to Session focused, for example, on how to use WordPress as a Blogging platform. The Education track contained sessions on how to use mobile WordPress on campus. Development and Advanced Development were for folks who create WordPress plug-ins and themes. The Strategy sessions were for businesses interested in figuring out why blogs are the core to any social media strategy.
I stuck with the How To segment. Though some of the things I already new or had taught myself, it was great to learn about new plug-ins, be reminded why I use a certain plug-in in the first place, and overall get a refresher on things like SEO. The crowd in these sessions was a mixed bag of social media experience. Some did not know what was SEO (Search Engine Optimization: How to get your stuff found on the web) and others chatted about Child Themes and .php files like it was the daily weather forecast.
All in all, there were some great takeaways to share if you are a WordPress user. One post I wrote was about Tips and Strategies to Promote your Content. The second post is about Top Tips for Blogging in WordPress. Like me, you may have that plug-in or already know the tip, but hopefully there are some that are new for you. Even if you are not a WordPress user, there may be some concepts to look into on your own Blogging platform.
Overall, here is the thing that I loved about WordCamp. (Let’s just say, I pay attention to the little details…)