WordCamp Cape Town 2017 debrief

Thanking a few folks at WordCamp

I’ve said this to a few people already, but if I had known what it takes to lead a WordCamp, I might not have jumped to the opportunity.

(who am I kidding, of course I would have, but that’s another story).

I had originally planned to only be on the organising team for 2017 and had applied lead WordCamp Cape Town 2018, thinking that would be a good way to see what was involved first. However due to some setbacks in the life of the 2017 lead I was asked if I’d be prepared to take over. As with all opportunities that come my way, I grabbed that bull by the horns.

Preparing the team

The first thing I did when I knew I was leading 2017 was put out the call for organisers. I was fortunate that I had a mixed group of experienced and new organisers on my team. I was also blessed with a team who was not only prepared to put in the time needed to get the job done, but on whom I could rely on 100%. I’d like to think I’m fairly good at delegating (although WordCamp has taught me I can do that better) but every team member stepped up and tackled their respective tasks admirably. If you’re part of the WordCamp Cape Town 2017 organising team and you’re reading this, thank you very much for everything you did. I appreciate all your hard work and I hope you’ll be joining me again next year.

Planning

The organsing team met fairly early on in person, mostly in order to get to meet everyone face to face, but also to talk about what we want to achieve with WordCamp. We didn’t really have an overall theme or goal, something that I plan to rectify next year, but we were mostly all on the same page. We met again in person one last time and then all planning moved to digital means.

As a team we agreed to using Slack for real time communication and a WordPress.com hosted p2 for any other form of communication. Initially these forms of communication were private, but after listening to Jenny Wong’s WordCamp Europe talk I decided that we should make the slack channel and p2 blog public. The rest of the team agreed and I’m glad we did so, as we were able to get some feedback from our future attendees before the event.

That’s not to say that things went perfectly. Two of our organising team stepped down during the course of planning and we had to do what we could to either find replacements or share the workload among ourselves. We moved the date of WordCamp out by a month from its usual date, but didn’t factor in the effect this would have on members of our team who would be flying to WooConf. I’m happy to say that we did however manage to get everything arranged in time and eventually the day arrived.

WordCamp

I’m happy to report that the general consensus from folks I have spoken to (and the surveys that went out afterwards) was that WordCamp Cape Town 2017 was a success. I’ve already started assimilating the survey responses with plans to either improve on or rectify some of the mistakes I made. If I’ve learned nothing else from WordCamp it’s that you can have the best venue and speakers in the world, but if you haven’t catered for everyone’s needs when it comes to food, you’d better be prepared to take some flak.

Budget

Managing the budget was probably one of the biggest headaches the team and more specifically myself and our budget wrangler, had to deal with this year. We were only able to raise about half of what we had raised previously in non Global Community sponsorships so it meant we had to make some hard decisions about where to spend our funds. Fortunately we made the correct decisions when it came to trimming the budget and we actually ended up with a profit of about R 11 500, which I paid over to WordCamp central this morning, to be used for other WordCamps around the world.

You can take a look at the final budget here.

Once big risk we took this year was opening a local bank account, to be able to process ticket sales in local currency as opposed to USD. I think at the end of the day this worked out pretty well, but it added the extra headache of having to worry about payment processing and banking fees, which we didn’t even think about.

Wrap up

Since my first in 2015 I always look forward to a WordCamp, its a great place to meet new WordPress folks, catch up with old friends and celebrate the local community. Now that I have first hand experience in making all that happen, I’m excited to improve for next year. However, WordCamp Cape Town 2018 will be taking a slightly different path. A few of the organising team have already discussed an idea to run a more stripped down WordCamp, with more of a focus on learning, sharing and contributing. We’ve had so many great WordCamps in the past that I think it’s a good time to change things up a little.

To all the people who volunteered their time this year, the organising team, speakers, volunteers and anyone else who helped make it happen, I thank you again. If you are reading this and you want to be a part of 2018, please visit and subscribe to updates on the https://wpcapetown.co.za/ site. As soon I publish this post I’ll be completing my application to lead WordCamp Cape Town 2018 and once that’s approved, I’ll be posting a call for organisers on the WP Cape Town site.

Finally, to those of you who may be reading this internationally, if you have the means I cordially invite you down to Cape Town for WordCamp next year. I promise this time I’ll get the food right 😉

#WCCT2017 Speaker slides

Here are the speaker slides we have gathered from our WordCamp Cape Town speakers. If there are any missing slides, please comment on this post and we’ll contact the relevant speaker(s) to get their slides.

Setting up a support system for excellent customer service, Jarryd Long

Inclusive Design: more heart ❤, more humans, Nicola du Toit & Steve Barnett

Transitioning from Consulting to Products, Jason Coleman

Elementor my dear Watson, Stephen Tredrea

Automating WordPress, Daine Mawer

Social Media Advertising that Converts, Janet Hancock

How to turn your WooCommerce shop browsers into buyers, Shannon McLaughlin

Composer and WordPress, Seagyn Davis

WordPress Core API’s, Thierry Muller

SEO Content Generatoin, Trust Nhokovedzo

How WordPress taught me to be an Engineer, Dwain Maralack

Post WordCamp Survey

With WordCamp Cape Town officially over, we’d like to ask you to please help the organising team plan for a better WordCamp in 2018. If you attended WordCamp Cape Town 2017, please complete the following two surveys

The first is the general WordCamp Attendee survey. It will allow you to give us feedback on how the event went.

https://central.wordcamp.org/wordcamp-attendee-survey/

The second is a custom WordCamp Cape Town survey we have created. There are a few questions the general survey doesn’t cover, and we’d like to get additional feedback on those items.

http://4982613.polldaddy.com/s/wordcamp-cape-town-2018-survey

Please take 10 minutes to complete both surveys. Your answers will help us plan for a better WordCamp in 2018.

Win 1 of 4 free tickets to WordCamp

UPDATE: the competition is now closed, and we’ll be contacting the winners via email. Thanks to everyone for entering.

We've had such an awesome response and interest in WordCamp that we've managed to cover our costs. Therefore we'd like to give 4 people who might want to come, but don't have funds, the opportunity to do so.

To stand a chance to win, answer the question below via the comments on this post. Please be sure to fill in your email address in the relevant comment field so we can contact you if you win.

 

The answers are somewhere on this site. Winners will be selected at random using the power of Excel and announced at 4pm today, just enough time to book your tickets for tomorrow. Please note this competition is only open to those who have not yet booked for WordCamp.

 

Who is the lovely lady who is a micro sponsor for WordCamp this year? 

 

Post your answers using the comments below and don't forget your email address. Good Luck!

What you can expect from your WordCamp.

fireworks

WordCamp has always been the highlight of my WordPress year. While its great to meet, greet and work with fellow WordPressers (that’s what I call ya’ll) WordCamp is always that little something special. This year was my first as both part of the organising team and lead organiser and it was fun to see how it all gets put together. I hope that you have as much fun attending it as I did at my first WordCamp in 2015. As such, I thought it might be a good idea to take a look at what you can expect from your 2 day WordPress conference.

Still haven’t bought your ticket? What are you waiting for?!

1)  The simplest registration process

As soon as you enter the River Club, our registration team will be on hand to get you registered and give you your attendee card. Thanks to some updates to the process this will be as simple as giving our volunteers your name and them marking you as attended. If you booked your tickets after 3pm on Tuesday we may have to write your name on your attendee card, but once that’s done you are in and you can start enjoying the conference. Keep an eye out for the venue maps and schedules which will be up downstairs and upstairs, to indicate where everything is happening. Food is upstairs, so go and grab some coffee, a morning snack and chat with fellow attendees, or find the Swag room and stock up on your free stuff.

2)  Amazing workshops and talks

I looked at the full schedule earlier today and I have to say, we have some amazing talks this year. I wish I could split myself in three and attend all three tracks on Thursday. From automated marketing funnels all the way to WordPress APIs, I think you would find it hard to not find something to attend. Friday’s sessions are an exciting mix of stories from both new WordPress users to people who have built their livelihood on WordPress. We even have a great international mix from not only other continents but speakers vising from other African nations. I’m really looking forward to hearing how WordPress changes peoples lives across our world.

3) Great food

If you have attended the River Club for any conference before you know that their food is always amazing and plentiful. What I also like is that the food is served buffet style, so there is ample opportunity to grab a plate and have an awesome chat with a fellow conference attendee.

4) Awesome coffee

We know how much you like good coffee and this year we have a dedicated barista available for your coffee requirements. If you’ve never tasted a Truth cappuccino, you are in for a treat. I just hope our barista is up to the challenge of serving 200+ coffee connoisseurs.

5) Enjoy the relaxing and well equipped venue

The River Club is an awesome conference venue. If the weather is good you can enjoy a seat outside next to the pool, knock a few golf balls around and just generally relax in true Cape Town style. We even have a dedicated ‘chill’ area for those who need a little quite time to check up on their emails. The River Club has also upgraded it’s wifi network recently, so we should have no connectivity interruptions. (A reminder, torrents are still not allowed) and we’re making sure there should be ample plugs and extensions for those who need power.

6) Free stuff

Who doesn’t like free stuff. While our sponsor swag is slightly down from previous years, I am sure there will be something you can enjoy from the swag selection. The official WordCamp t-shirt returns this year and we’ve decided to try something different out design wise. We hope you like it.

7) Capture the moment

We’ve managed to secure a photographer for both days to capture the spirit of WordCamp as well as a videographer for the second day’s talks. On day 2 (Friday) we will also have a BrandRocket kiosk in the swag room, allowing you to use the #wcct2017 #hashtag to Instagram, Tweet or WhatsApp a photo from your mobile with the WordCamp branding. (Please, no photos of your cats or children!)

9) Mid conference meetup.

For those who don’t have to go straight home, or who want to wait out the traffic for a while, we’ll be having an informal meetup at the Slug n Lettuce after the workshops on day 1. Grab a coffee, drink or beer at the bar and join us for a nice post day 1 chat.

8) After Party

What would a conference be without a bit of an after party. If you can stay we’ll be having drinks and snacks (and some music) at the venue from about 5:15 on Friday. It’s a great way to unwind and relax after the conference.

See you all there!

Derick Watts & The Sunday Blues confirmed for WordCamp.

WordCamp Cape Town has a tradition of having two of the best MC’s for the Friday sessions. Having great MC’s for these sessions is the highlight of the conference, as they bring smart humour and great stories to keep everyones spirits up between talks. Unfortunately we broke that tradition a few years ago by allowing Gareth and Nick from Derick Watts & The Sunday Blues to MC and we’re stuck with them again this year.

 

Photo credits Gareth van Nelson

 

All kidding aside, Gareth and Nick are a great addition to the event and we’re pleased to announce they will be back again this year with their special brand of humour and WordPress ‘related’ conversations. 

Homework for the workshops: How to prepare

Like last year, we don’t want to waste time for the workshops on installing software or figuring out if everyone has a notebook. So here’s a list the workshops that require some preparation and how to prepare for them.

Don’t worry if you don’t find the time to prepare, I’m sure someone will help you out. But if you do, please give it some time.

Needed for most workshops

  • Pen and paper, or a note taking app
  • Laptop

And for the more technical ones:

  • Local installation of WordPress (can be done using Vagrant, Docker, MAMP, DesktopServer, or Local – the last two are recommended for the less technical engineering talks) with WordPress installed
  • A code editor/IDE (Sublime, Atom, VS Code or PHPSTORM)
  • A GitHub profile

Needed for specific workshops

All the workshops with an asterisk (*) need the prep for a technical workshop described above:

Help us capture the spirit of WordCamp

You know what’s awesome? Being a part of WordCamp. You know what’s even more awesome? Being able to share that experience with other people.

Sessions from past WordCamps in Cape Town have been filmed and published online for all the world to watch and enjoy. This filming has traditionally been done by volunteers working to help bring the joy of our local event to everyone else, so this year we’re looking for someone to give back to the community again.

If you know how to manage a camera effectively and are willing to film these sessions for us, then please email capetown@wordcamp.org to let us know and we can make it happen. You don’t need to edit the footage afterwards as there is a central volunteer team at WordPress.tv who will do that for us, so this is just for filming on the day.

If you have your own equipment than that’s great, but if not we can certainly hire the equipment that we need, so please contact us if this is something that you would be keen to do!

In the same vein, we would love to have a photographer capturing the event for us this year. We didn’t have one last year unfortunately, so it would be great if we could bring that back for this year’s event. Let us know if that’s something you can give back to the community!

Interested in either of these ways to help make WordCamp Cape Town great? Email us now!

Anyone who volunteers for either of these roles will, of course, receive a free ticket to WordCamp. If you have already purchased your ticket then we will reimburse you.

Meet the Sponsors

With only 16 days to go, anticipation and excitement are building for WordCamp Cape Town 2017. The buzz in the WordPress community is tangible!

As with most events, it’s difficult to measure ROI for a sponsorship and with WordCamps – it can be even more complicated. By sponsoring this community event, sponsors are investing into the success and forward momentum of the WordPress community. Indirectly sponsors are investing into the future of the WordPress platform which is currently powering 28.7% of all websites on the internet. Ultimately sponsors are not only pouring out finance for this event but primarily a heart for WordPress – which collectively makes the substance of our healthy, empowering and growing community.

The return on this type of investment is difficult to equate or predict but it is significant in every sense of the word. Without you, dear sponsor, we could never put together an event that boasts such a collaborative effort to see our community grown and propelled into the future of WordPress. Thank you! Thank you for believing in WordPress and for believing in the community.

If you are interested in investing in the WordPress community like our awesome sponsors have, please get in touch!

WooCommerce – Diamond Sponsor

Jetpack – Diamond Sponsor

GoDaddy Pro – Platinum Sponsor

Bluehost -Platinum Sponsor

WPML.org – Gold Sponsor

PayFast – Gold Sponsor

Code Cabin -Gold Sponsor

Hetzner – Bronze Sponsor & Coffee Sponsor

Yoast – Bronze Sponsor

Paid Memberships Pro – Bronze Sponsor

 

WordCamp Cape Town is over. Check out the next edition!