It has been too long. I am finally back to working full time!
WordCamp US 2017 was amazing. It was held in Nashville, the first weekend in December. I have had the pleasure of attending the first two in Philadelphia.
I have had a chance to read several of my favorite bloggers, who were also in attendance. Most of them wrote about their experiences and some of the new features coming down the pipeline for WordPress. Most discuss Gutenberg, the new page builder from WordPress. I am going to give a review of Gutenberg in a couple of weeks.
As I was enjoying a few minutes away from my grind, I reflected on WordCamp US. What is the value of WordCamp? Why do I continue to spend money and time attending WordCamps (I have been to Atlanta, Asheville, Pittsburgh, (was suppose to attend) Birmingham, and US)? A few years ago, Tony Perez, CEO of Sucuri wrote a blog detailing his companies ROI (Return on Investment) and it cause quite the stir. You can view the article in WP Tavern. This article really made me focus on my ROI from WordCamps.
WordCamps provide four areas, which I can measure for my ROI.
Speakers
Whether you are a designer (such as myself), developer, hobbyist (with one or two websites), or entrepreneur using WordPress…most WordCamp will have a track, which will interest you. Now, you will need to do a little research on each speaker. Some of the topics, might not be of any interest…but here is where your research comes into play. A few years ago, I got an opportunity to hear Nathan Ingram discuss “The Power of Recurring Income.” After Nathan’s presentation, I got a chance to discuss some of his tips and we began talking about other issues facing web designer on a day in and day out basis. That ten or fifteen minutes, was well worth the $40.00 admission.
Contacts
One of the first things that I do at WordCamp is visit my folks (companies which I do business with). I will stop by to see SiteGround, WP Engine, and Flywheel. These are my top three hosting companies. I will stop by GoDaddy, Bluehost, JetPack, SiteLock, GoWP, GiveWP and other plugin or services (that I use on a daily basis). I spoke to Gravity Forms (at WordCamp US) and was introduced to some new and great features.
This is 101 Relationship building. I spend a lot of money (annually and monthly) for services and plugins, which allow me to stand out from my competition. It is important to have relationships with all my major partners.
Friends
One of my favorite things about WordPress, is that the pie is big enough for everyone. I can not tell you how many web designers, that I have meet at WordCamp. Many of these relationships have produced work for me. I have relationships with web designers/developers who reside on the West Coast, in the Mid West, North, East Coast, down South…in Europe, WORLD WIDE!!! We retweet on twitter all the time, and when we see each other at WordCamps…we greet each other with a warm hug, sometimes an adult beverage, and then we discuss how is business, and family?
Last year at WordCamp US, I meet Liam Dempsey. I had got turned around (my sense of directions is amazing sometimes) and saw Liam’s wearing a WordCamp cap. I began following him. We began talking and an immediate friendship was developed. Liam came to WordCamp US in Nashville, and we laughed at how we meet.
Swag
My bag gets heavier and heavier with each WordCamp. I will say that in my bag from WordCamp US 2017, I had 10 tee shirts. Two chargers (one from Blue Host and another from Site Lock). Two coffee cups (one from Plesk and another from JetPack). Water bottle from Woocommerce. Three bottles of barbecue sauces from Woocommerce. Couple of stress balls (from GoWP, and Gravity Forms). S’more kit from JetPack…and these are just the highlights.
In Conclusion
When someone ask me about WordCamp…my response is it is a worthy investment. You spend $40.00 and you can find some value information from speakers in your arena. You can meet friendly folks, and develop long term relationships. You can talk to plugin, theme developers, and services (which you are probably using on a regular basis). And the swag is out of this world.
If you are looking for a web designer or brand developer, then I am available. I can be reached at info@jdswebdesign.biz or 678-718-5489.
Image courtesy of Rawpixel.
