Photography by Stephen Rees
Please give us a feedback! This was our first Wordcamp event that we’ve ever organized and decided to sort of go with the flow until we learn what the community really wants. I know the first issue that comes to mind was the lack of space and having to sit on the hardwood floors during the presentations (myself included). Perhaps a larger venue with room for more chairs? or how about using BeanBags at the NetworkHub next time?
Let’s put our minds together and find ways to improve the next Wordcamp event. We either do it by posting comments here or join the discussion on the Tazzu forum
Hi Rastin, Jenny, all
I provided feedback on my post reviewing the WordCamp, but one thing we could attempt to do is to try and find space in one of the local colleges.
Have some more chairs - or make it clear that the few that are available should given up for those that are pregnant, disabled or over 55
Have some healthy food/drink choices - I don’t mind dropping some money into an honesty box for this if necessary
Have a bigger room
Split the meeting into wordpress.org and wordpress.com streams for the techy stuff. I heard a lot about techniques that I cannot use as I am a .com not a .org type
After-event drinks. Flux is a fine venue but by utilizing one long continuous table it is difficult to mingle and chat with people. I suggest a more broken-up setup to maximize conversation and allow people to easily introduce themselves to anybody they dont know.
my 2¢
WordPress Camp was awesome. I think for a first-time event if was much better than I expected. The turnout was amazing and not something you could have easily estimated. The attendees were very friendly, jovial, and enthusiastic. They participated in discussions, responded to questions, and showed genuine interest in the presentations - even the nerdy presentations.
I agree with Stephen - I would split the event into two sessions: WordPress for Bloggers, and WordPress for Developers. Anybody is welcome to attend either, but the content should be split so that attendees feel more comfortable and the information shared is more relevant.
As for venue, have you considered UBC Robson Square? or BCIT? They have classrooms with proper desks and wireless connections. You could have 40-50 people in one session, and then 40-50 people in the next.
I also agree with Stephen on the healthier food option. I am almost vegan, and don’t have caffeine either, so I had to bring my own juice. But I’d be more than willing to chip in for better choices. Ironically there is a great vegan shop just below the Network Hub called Gorilla Foods. If you charge a nominal fee of $5 for attending, that would raise $500 if you had 100 attendees. That would buy a lot of food
What would be great is a presentation by someone from Automattic. I know WP is Open Source and community-driven, but still someone from the actual development team could give an interesting perspective.
-k.s.
Speaker Confidence - Anybody who speaks up there must go up there with plenty of confidence. Speak in a loud booming voice. Great content can be diminished by poor speaking. It makes a huge difference.
Presentations - please prepare a keynote or powerpoint presentation - it helps for the flow, not to mention it reduces hang time while the wireless network lags while you do something live on screen.
Chairs - I couldn’t feel my ass at some point, and I think the chic that was sitting behind me was fondling it without my knowledge, and I feel violated (kidding). But chairs or more seating would be nice. A cheaper alternative would be benches, like in a church, with long rows. It will allow more more condensed seating.
Q/A period for each speaker - 20 min speaking time, and 5 min Q/A would have been quite sweet!
Strippers - for in-between entertainment. Maybe not.
Thanks to everyone who’s responded so far! Please keep the feedback coming. Rastin and I are taking notes!
Also wanted to add I think you can make a request for volunteers.
I would be happy to volunteer next time.
Thanks Kulpreet, as I thought I had made that point in my recap of the WordCamp. Some of the suggestions I’ve read are very similar to those I also made on my blog, so I won’t repeat them.
But the topic of volunteers needs to be emphasized, as people seemed to think that all this work was being put forward just because their smiles were pretty (that’s an expression in Mexico where what we try to say is that people may feel as though they are deserving of so much, but what do they give back?)
Along the same lines, I really felt very annoyed and upset when a LOT of people were starting to leave without even saying THANK YOU to the organizers. I’m sorry if I become not-so-popular for trying to force the crowd into behaving in a civilized manner at that point, but I felt really annoyed. And besides, if anyone wants to take it out on me, they can do so on my blog :)… Enough said
It was an amazing event. The quality of the speakers was awesome. Frankly, with that roster, you could have held a 2-day conference.
Also, the quality of the assembly was wonderful too. I suppose there were some newbies and wannabes in the crowd; but there were also many wonderful people with great experience.
I think that if some of the topics were workshopped with a group like that, the learning would have been richer.
I sense that the TAZZU organizers have hit a nerve here. I suspect that becoming a blogger begins as a lonely activity: one person, their computer, and something to say. Then, if what they have to say means something to other people, they show up as readers, and sometimes as commentators. Since I use my RSS reader to monitor blogs, I know that there are many blogs I follow, but the blogger does not know me because I don’t comment.
I began my blog as an exercise to understand the software. I have been a newspaper columnist where my words would be printed 229,000 times each week. But, somehow, the connection between me, the blogger, and my readers (even though few in number) seems intimate and personal and significant.
The world of the blogger is still new and evolving. There were lots of ideas expressed at the wordcamp that I will not be able to act on for weeks, or months, or maybe even years. But, there there were concepts that have me rethinking a number of things that I am doing online.
Here is the problem. Several times I listened to someone who knows a solution that I may need in the future. But, unless I go and ask that person when I am ready to act, I still don’t know how to implement that solution.
So… I was delighted that Jeremy Costin created a live feed for the event, and John Chow’s presentation is still available online: http://weblawg.costinmedia.com/wp/communications/tazzu-wordpress-camp-feed/.
I understand that he will post ALL of the other presentations too. I am looking forward to reviewing them all.
Please consider recording the sessions in the future with the promise that it can be revisited online later.
And… Many thanks!
It was a great event, but the room was entirely inadequate for that many people. We need a better match of space (and chairs) to attendance. A lot of us ended up around a corner or behind taller people and we had no clue what was being shown on the screen. “This is my blog” doesn’t actually help when you can’t see the URL.
I know Drupalcamp set a ceiling on attendance and much as I dislike that, it is looking more and more like that may be the best answer. It meant that there was room for everyone, equipment for everyone, and adequate acoustics as well.
I do like the suggestion of having WordCamp for Developers and WordCamp for Bloggers. They are two very different groups with very different interests, and ironically bloggers tend to be underserved at these events relative to developers (which is funny when you look at the numbers). Maybe one event, with two tracks of workshops, would be best.
Thank you so much everyone for the great replies.
I have to appologize for not responding earlier. We had to catch up with the lost business hours, deliver client projects, and work on organizing our next event The Vancouver Joomla Day
I am going to respond to each and every comment, so we can start planning the next Wordcamp afterwards.
@Raul - Thank you for the wonderful post and comments regarding the Wordcamp event. Here are my comments:
1. suggestion to Divide in tiers: I think this time we will have to individual events one focused on using the Wordpress, and the other for Software Development in Wordpress. I think the fact that 2 of the presentations were more developer’s focused, caused some panic in the more writing and marketing crowd
2. Charge, even if it is a nominal amount: Yes we will be charging a minimal fee next time to help us cover some of the costs. In the mean time we’d still like to keep the Wordcamp a community supported non-for-profit event.
3. Make it a series of events: YOU BET!
@Stephen Rees - Thank you so much!
Yes we are quite aware of the fact that we had to sit on the hard floors (myself included). We are looking into finding larger venues with comfy seats in Vancouver, but we also need to realize that finding a venue for 80-100 people is quite expensive, and Network Hub have kindly agreed to provide us the space and wi-fi access.
We are looking into different solutions to resolve the lack of room issue, however let’s not forget that this was a Camp event and not a conference.
I totally agree that people should be considerate and give up their seats to those that are pregnant, disabled or over 55.
Healthy food/drinks: what would you recommend?
We will be separating the developers wordcamp from the Users Camp, however we do think that all wordpress users could really benefit from some technical information.
@Dario - Thankyou! I know … I personally prefer multiple round tables, if you any suggestions please let me know.
You know, we were lucky to have Flux hosting us that evening. All the other pubs and restaurants were booked by the Accountants because our event was right after the tax season!!! Imagine 200+ accountants just in the Steamworks, Where were they when I needed them the month before?
@kulpreet
Thank you for the wonderful presentation at the Wordcamp!
@kulpreet: “I would split the event into two sessions: WordPress for Bloggers, and WordPress for Developers”
We’re going to do that!
@kulpreet: “… As for venue, have you considered UBC Robson Square? or BCIT? … ”
No! we haven’t thank you for the recommendation. We’ll look into those options. I wonder if they’d be interested in sponsoring us.
@kulpreet: “… I am almost vegan, and don’t have caffeine either, so I had to bring my own juice. But I’d be more than willing to chip in for better choices. Ironically there is a great vegan shop just below the Network Hub called Gorilla Foods. If you charge a nominal fee of $5 for attending, that would raise $500 if you had 100 attendees. That would buy a lot of food
…”
Great suggestions … thank you!
@kulpreet: “… What would be great is a presentation by someone from Automattic …”
I agree! this time we will let them know ahead of time, so we could get one of the Automattician’s on the list of presenters.
@kulpreet: “… I would be happy to volunteer next time. …”
we certainly will contact you next time
@Raul - I think when more community members volunteer, event’s tend to become more successful too because we all become part of the activity and process all of the sudden.
@Jeff Kee: ” … Anybody who speaks up there must go up there with plenty of confidence …”
That’s why we call them “Presenters” and not “Speakers” I personally don’t mind if someone’s presentation skills is unpolished as long as they have valuable content to share.
@JeffKee: “… please prepare a keynote or powerpoint presentation …”
yes or no, I like keynotes especially if they don’t use bullet lists, yet nothing beats an actual working example of an online app. On the other hand, I think we should really consider a better Wi-Fi connection so the hang time doesn’t catch up with the presentation time.
@Chairs: “… Chairs - I couldn’t feel my ass at some point …”
I hear you buddy! I too had to sit on the floor. Even if we had enough chairs we couldn’t possibly fit 90 of them in that room. We are looking into alternative ways to solve the problem, either by having larger venues to host us, or by organizing more specialized events for different type of users ( Bloggers, Developers ) to reduce the number of people in the room.
PS: I really like your suggestion for Benches by the way. Strippers! who knows we might have had few in the crowd. This is Vancouver we’re talking about.
@Raul! you are my hero!
HummingBird604.com ladies and gentlemen!
@Robert - thank you so much for the kind words. Jeremy Costin was so kind to make the video cast for the event, and we should certainly work with him to improve the netcast streaming for the future events and workshops.
@Raincoaster
I hear you regarding the lack of space. We originally planned the event for 30-40 people max and by the time close to 100 people RSVPed and it was too late to change venues. We are looking into alternative ways to make the event more accessible to people such as:
- Looking for larger venues
- separating developers and bloggers camps
- getting more chairs, benches, or soft pads to sit on