Last Minute Event Info

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last minute event info

We are so excited to see you at WordCamp on Saturday, April 30th! We’ve put together some pre-event logistics-related information for attendees so you’re ready to get the most out of the day’s activities.

Registration and Parking
Registration will be at WESST’s main lobby from 8:30am-9am, with sessions starting at 9.  There will be a sign on the lobby door indicating where to enter.

The address for WESST:
609 Broadway NE
Albuquerque, NM 87102

WESST has plenty of free parking located directly in front of the building, just off Broadway.

We will have two registration tables for you to check in at. They will be separated as follows: (last name) A-L and M-Z. At the registration table we will give you your swag bag. You do not need to print your ticket. We have a list of registrants at the desk. However, if your ticket is under someone else’s name we’ll need to know that name to verify you purchased a ticket. (For example if your boss purchased tickets with her name and email for her employees, we’ll need that name.)

Please keep your name tag visible throughout the day so we know you belong to our group.

Attire
WordCamps are casual. Please dress comfortably. Consider bringing a sweater if you tend to get cold as it can be cool inside.

Wi-Fi and Power
WESST has free wi-fi and connection information will be posted on signs in both session rooms. Note that we’re expecting 100 people so other than speakers we can’t guarantee anything. You may also be able to configure your laptop to tether to your smartphone’s internet connection. We’d appreciate it if you only connected one device at a time to the wi-fi (i.e. laptop OR smartphone).

If you are on the WESST Wi-fi and having issues during a session please get the attention of the room host and we’ll see what we can do. We cannot however help with general computer issues you may experience with your own laptop. There are electric outlets throughout the building. Feel free to use them if your battery isn’t holding up. If you plan on being able to charge devices throughout the day, we recommend bringing along your own power strip to have better access to power outlets.

Doors
WESST is a secure facility.  All doors will lock behind you.  If you need to re-enter the building at any time, use the front lobby door (main entrance).  We ask that you don’t prop open any of the doors as alarms will be triggered.

Building Layout and Seating
Both of our session rooms are on the main floor of the building.  The Happiness Bar (which will run during lunch) is located upstairs on the second floor, right at the top of the stairs. An elevator is available. Maps will be posted indicating where the various rooms and restrooms are.

Seating in the sessions will be first come, first served.

What to Bring
Check out our recent post on what to bring with you to WordCamp.

Special Accommodations
If you need special accommodations and have not yet let us know, please email us. We’ll do our best to help out.

Food and Beverages
We will provide lunch and water on Saturday to all registered ticket holders. You are welcome to bring in your own lunch or drinks.  To make sure we keep WESST in its pristine state, we ask that you dispose of all trash in the designated trash receptacles and place all recyclable bottles and cans in the designated recycle bins.

Time
In order to ensure you get as much great information as possible we have minimized breaks and time between sessions. Please be mindful of the session following you and exit the room promptly when your session has ended. There will be room hosts available if you have questions.

Evaluations
At the end of each session you will be provided with an evaluation. It would be very helpful to us if you could fill these out and give them to your room host before you leave. This will help us make next year even better than this year is going to be! We will also send you an email evaluation after the event asking you to give us your impression about the event in its entirety. Your responses are anonymous and greatly appreciated.

Questions During the Event
If you have questions during the event, look for an attendee wearing a “volunteer” or “organizer” badge, and they should be able to help you.

Social Media
For those who wish to tweet or post to other social media during the event, the event hashtag is #WCABQ.

Code of Conduct
WordCamp Albuquerque believes our community should be truly open for everyone. As such, we are committed to providing a friendly, safe and welcoming environment for all, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, disability, ethnicity, religion, preferred operating system, programming language, or text editor.

This code of conduct outlines our expectations for participant behavior as well as the consequences for unacceptable behavior. Please take a look at it before you register.

After-Party
WordCamp will conclude with an after-party in the atrium, with some light snacks. Please stick around and chat about the day with us.

See you on the 30th!

A/V Release

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When checking in at registration for WordCamp Albuquerque, we’ll be asking attendees to sign off on our A/V release.  If you wish to opt out of this release, please let us know at the time you check in. Below is the content of the release.

By participating in WordCamp Albuquerque, I understand that portions of the event will be photographed and/or audio/video-recorded for use by the WordPress Foundation. I agree that the WordPress Foundation has the right and permission to use and publish such media — which may include my name, likeness, or photograph — for any purpose in any format, online (including, but not limited to, WordPress.tv and WordCamp.org) and/or offline, now and hereafter without further compensation, permission, or notification. I understand that all official recordings and photography from the event are the exclusive property of the WordPress Foundation, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license for general use, and I do not ask for nor expect compensation or notification of the use of official recordings or photographs in which I appear or speak.

What to Bring to WordCamp

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what to bring to wordcamp

WordCamp Albuquerque is right around the corner – hooray!  We want you to come prepared so you can have the best conference experience possible, so here is a list of things you might want to bring with you.

  • Laptop: not a must-have, but nice to have for note-taking, posting to social media (#WCABQ), and doing WordPress-y things during the event.
  • Smartphone or tablet: another nice-to-have.  The wi-fi may not hold up for 100+ active users, so you might also want to tether to your phone for laptop internet access if needed. Also useful for taking a photo of a key presentation slide.
  • Notebook and pen
  • Business cards:  WordCamp is a great place to network with the local WordPress community.
  • Reusable coffee mug: coffee will be available, and if you prefer using your own mug, feel free to bring it.
  • Power strip: power outlets may be at a premium depending on the part of the building that you’re in, so if you want easier access to one, a power strip is handy.
  • A/C adapters for your laptop/smartphone/tablet
  • Questions about your WordPress site(s): we’ll have a Happiness Bar during the lunch break so feel free to take advantage of that to get specific questions not covered in a session answered.

 

 

After Party brought you by Siarza Social Digital

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If you are one of the lucky folks that have your ticket to WordCamp Albuquerque 2016, you’re in for a treat! At the close of the day, after a fun and instructive day full of presentations and panels, plan to join us for a social hour.

Stick around and talk to your colleagues and new friends about the new ideas and wisdom you gained throughout the day. Appetizers and beverages brought to you by Siarza Social Digital.

Where: WESST, back of the atrium

When: 5:00pm – 6:30pm

Thanks again to Siarza Social Digital. We love our sponsors!

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Two more sponsors

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As we get closer to WordCamp Albuquerque 2016 we see more and more how amazing it is to be able to count on the support of our community, both here in New Mexico and around the world. Join us in thanking two more amazing sponsors:

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GoDaddy’s mission is to radically shift the global economy toward small businesses by empowering people to easily start, confidently grow and successfully run their own ventures. With more than 12 million customers worldwide and 57 million domain names under management, GoDaddy gives small business owners the tools to name their idea, build a beautiful online presence, attract customers and manage their business.

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The website management platform for Drupal & WordPress, Pantheon provides web teams with the hosting, cloud-based developer tools, and scalable infrastructure needed to run awesome websites. Serving billions of pageviews a month for over 100,000 websites, Pantheon’s container-based infrastructure allows you to launch websites faster, without worrying about traffic spikes, security or performance. It’s free in development. Create your free account now!

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Sponsors make WordCamp happen

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We all know how important sponsors are to making WordCamps come to fruition. The support that comes from our sponsors is what makes this all come together. Not only does WordCamp Albuquerque 2016 have some fantastic local sponsors, we also can count with the support of companies outside of New Mexico that recognize the value of the WordPress community both here in New Mexico and around the world. Here’s a shout out to those great folks:

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Bluehost powers over one million WordPress sites. Their goal is to provide outstanding hosting services and customer support for the best possible price. Bluehost is also constantly innovating and upgrading their services and infrastructure at no additional cost to their customers. You can join the millions of other website owners that have already chosen Bluehost and see how they can help you with your site.

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Jetpack is a free WordPress plugin that simplifies managing your sites. This single plugin enables Photon (a global CDN for images), uptime monitoring, brute force protection, traffic-boosting tools, single sign on, multiple-site management, and automatic or bulk plugin updates. Additionally Jetpack includes several features that help you customize the look and feel of your site without installing other tools. More information can be found at jetpack.com.

 

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WooCommerce is the fastest growing eCommerce software/platform, powering over 30% of all eCommerce stores with over 1 million active installations. It is is built to integrate seamlessly with WordPress, making it the obvious eCommerce choice for existing WordPress users and connects you to the fast-growing WordPress ecosystem which now powers over 25% of all websites on the internet.

 

Interested in becoming a global community sponsor of WordCamps everywhere? Read about the program here!

 

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Local talent tops our lineup!

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In a previous post we mentioned the exciting presentations from WordPress experts who are traveling long distances to be here. We also have an amazing array of local talent! Here are a few highlights.

Eric Debelak, co-founder of 11 Online, will be bringing some styling expertise with a session on how CSS and WordPress themes interact. Eric is an experienced instructor who has worked with CNM’s Coding Bootcamp and Girl Develop It.

Alonso Indacochea, co-founder of Hermes Development has a great story about changing careers and creating an up-and-coming web agency in six months. He’ll talk about the process, useful tools, team building and networking.

Sam Hotchkiss, is the author of Brute Protect, a security plugin so popular that Automattic bought his company. Sam now works for Automattic on the JetPack team and will give us the basics on staying safe while working with WordPress.

Elizabeth Urello, happiness engineer with Automattic. WordPress.com has changed a lot over the years and has become a friendly environment for business clients. Elizabeth works with the Automatic team that makes that process work and she’ll be talking about how you can capitalize on that environment.

These are just a few of the great local speakers we’ve got at this WordCamp. Check the speakers section and the schedule for more information on what’s happening at this WordCamp.

Three New Sponsors!

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A special thanks to our three most recent sponsors.

Noventum

Noventum Custom Software Development is a long time supporter of the WordPress community in Albuquerque. They create and modify custom software solutions. Mainly focused on web development, they also support mobile app development and desktop application development.

LDD Web Design

LDD Web Design is no stranger to WordCamp Albuquerque, having sponsored previous years by helping with wireless solutions. They provide Web design solutions, IT Services, Networking & Computer Maintenance to Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Rio Rancho, Los Lunas and Belen.
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Ndevr is a consulting firm out of Denver, Colorado. They have a wide variety of expertise from WordPress, Drupal, and Javascript to database administration, server administration, and more. We’re happy to welcome them to our illustrious group of sponsors this year.

Coming in from all directions!

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Our speaker line up this year is talented, diverse, and coming in from far and wide.

We’ve got speakers from as far away as Chicago, Cincinnati, Dallas, and Costa Rica, all bringing their own flavors to the WordCamp stone soup.

Hilary Fosdal, owner of Red Phone Studio in Chicago is a seasoned WordCamp speaker who has given presentations in Chicago, St. Louis and at the recent US WordCamp. Her topics are varied but they always center around good communication between client and web designer. For our WordCamp she’ll be talking about project management.

Jeff Wells, the furtherest traveller is coming from Costa Rica to talk about using the WordPress API. Jeff is an organizer of Costa Rica WordPress Meetups and the lead developer on a project that involves Sport fishing and using the WP Rest API to send and receive data between a native app and a WordPress installation. The project also uses the Rest API to port the videos from the WordPress installation back out to an AppleTV app.

Based out of Cincinnati, Ohio we’ve got Danny Santoro who will be speaking about using WordPress as a Framework. Danny spoken at a dozen WordCamps in the past two years in Dayton, Philadelphia, Columbus, and Las Vegas among others. He had his own freelance company before going to work for WooThemes and now works for Automattic in their Woocommerce division.

Marjorie Asturias brings her many years of expertise in running a social media and content marketing agency to her talk on Marketing Your Business With WordPress. She now works for Automattic and has spoken at many WordCamps and other conferences in and around her home state of Texas. She’ll also share her experiences working with non-profit organizations in a panel discussion.

This is just a small sample of the diverse topics and interesting locations our WordCamp speakers will be bringing.

 

WordCamp Lore: All About Wapuus

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WordCamp ABQ Wapuus

At WordCamp Albuquerque this year, we’ll have a few new additions: three New Mexico-themed wapuus that will be featured on some swag items.  They were designed by Joseph Chavez, our graphic designer.  What exactly is a wapuu and how have they become a staple at many WordCamps over the past several years?

Wapuus are the unofficial mascots of WordCamps across the world.  The first wapuu was designed for a WordCamp in Japan after winning an online contest in August of 2011.  Read all the details on the unofficial wapuu fan club site.  Wapuus didn’t start to become widely known until two years later, when WordCamp London unveiled a wapuu for their event.  They then became a common sighting at other WordCamps in Europe and the US.

What’s so special about wapuus?  Wapuus bring in the local community by reflecting local culture.  While the core design is the same, each WordCamp adds its own unique style to match the region, which is why wapuus have even become collectors’ items.

To see more wapuus, visit the archives on Github.