Round Up WordCamp US 2016

• January 9, 2017
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Wow! Hard to believe it’s been little over a month since WORDCAMP US’16  wrapped up in Philadelphia. Our General Manager Fahad Shakeel was among the attendees of the 3 day event, held at the Philadelphia Convention Centre. Fahad has more than a decade of experience in Software Development, Technology Transformation and Marketing. He took this opportunity to network with top leaders in WordPress and also spent time catching up with our WP buddies at BlueHost, WP101, Shifter, CalderaWP and WPElevation.

Highlights from the weekend included jam packed talks from Chris Lema on Content Creation for Bloggers, Founder Matt Mullenweg’s State of the Word and the announcement of the release of WordPress version 4.7 ‘Vaughan’.

Day 1 Welcome WordCampers

Day 1 kicked off with attendee registration and many WordCampers commended the high level of organization and swiftness of the WCUS team.

If you haven’t run into him yet track down our GM @FahadShakeel at @WordCampUS #wcus he’s giving away freebies and free #WP advice! pic.twitter.com/I09xSIbbCK

— PressTigers (@press_tigers) December 2, 2016

Sara Canon kick started the weekend talks with ‘Open Source and Creativity’. Her focus was centered on two things; she stressed that creativity isn’t an art but also she predicted that REST API in collaboration with WP4.7 will bring the best creativity through any software development platform. She was a real wordsmith.

Great catching up with @saracannon at @WordCampUS #wcus on all things #opensource pic.twitter.com/sklkXVa4Zk

— PressTigers (@press_tigers) December 2, 2016

Lunch was a quirky affair with cafeteria style dining and campers reconnecting left, right and center. The cherry on the cake? A live band to keep the ambience buzzing.

Next up was ‘HeroPress: The People of WordPress’ with Topher DeRosia. It would be a generalization to say that Topher is tough. He thinks beyond the borders. His presentation was emotional and highlighted the success stories of 3^rd world WP users, living under the poverty line, who achieved their dreams survived through the power of WordPress.

“WordPress helps people make stories. HeroPress tells these stories.” @topher1kenobe in HeroPress: People of WordPress session #wcus pic.twitter.com/FzeuCyKLfG

— WordCamp US (@WordCampUS) December 2, 2016

By far the most enjoyable presentation of Day 1 had to be The Back End Is Dead: A New Paradigm for Assessing Talent & Creating Great Applications by Courtney Wilburn. Viewers simply could not tear their eyes away from the screen and stage; animated eye catching gifs on the screen and Courtney’s narrative booming through the hall. Wilburn’s topic was more generic; instead of focusing only on WP she spoke on a productive new paradigm used to get the best production from available talent.

#JamPacked at The Back End Is Dead:A New Paradigm for Assessing Talent & Creating Great Applications #CourtneyWilburn #wcus @WordCampUS pic.twitter.com/JJWKudD1dM

— PressTigers (@press_tigers) December 2, 2016

But the most popular take away from the first day of WCUS was Chris Lema’s ‘Finding your voice through Blogging’. The most motivational and encouraging aspect of Lema’s presentation was his own style of speaking. His sincerity is a key ingredient to his success and preaches the same lessons to aspiring bloggers and writers. After the talk Fahad was able to snap a quick picture with Lema with a little help from Shawn of WP101. The three then shared a selfie and quick chat.

We asked @chrislema how #bloggers can strike the balance between their craft and their marketing. His answer? It’s all in the #purpose !

— PressTigers (@press_tigers) December 2, 2016

The rest of the night was taken away by Shifter at their launch party.

Day 2 The State of the Word

Catching up with #filmmaker and #creator @NancyThanki after her talk at @WordCampUS #wcus pic.twitter.com/UVPBkPCky5

— PressTigers (@press_tigers) December 3, 2016

Bright and early on day 2 and Nancy Thanki, film maker and motivational speaker, shared her two cents on digital content and imagery. She was followed by Ines van Essen talk who hosted a very different and unique angle on traditional training. Ines’ vision was all about planning post launch activities before introducing products to the market. Her presentation gave a holistic view on how one can communicate with one’s users after a launch

So, you just released a #WP product. Now what? @themotherofcode dropping all kinds of knowledge @WordCampUS #wcus pic.twitter.com/izciJHMV7z

— PressTigers (@press_tigers) December 3, 2016

Later, on Day 2, the line for Matt Mullenweg’s State of the Word started grow and attendees were lined up for meters outside the hall. The good folks at WooCommerce hosted a live screening at their booth for wordcampers who couldn’t get a seat.

Our #GM @FahadShakeel with the head honcho himself @photomatt founder of all things #WP @WordCampUS #wcus #selfiesaturday pic.twitter.com/K20wQJQExZ

— PressTigers (@press_tigers) December 3, 2016

Matt covered a variety of important topics, including the state of user experience in WordPress today, goals for future interface improvements, a WordPress growth council, internationalization gains, the further proliferation of secure websites, and important changes to the WordPress development process.

The highlight of Day 2 of course was the release of WordPress version 4.7 ‘Vaughan’ named after famed jazz singer Sarah Vaughan. Essentially this release is much like a ‘Jazz’ version of WP – as REST APIs are an integral part of its development. Fun Fact: there were more than 475 contributors to WordPress 4.7 ‘Vaughan’!

#FunFact there were more than 475 contributors to WordPress 4.7 #Vaughan things you learn at @WordCampUS #wcus

— PressTigers (@press_tigers) December 3, 2016

Dinner was on BlueHost that evening as they invited friends and partners to join them before the big afterparty.

The second day of WCUS wrapped up with a prodigious after party the Museum of Natural Sciences. Everything from the pre-historic exhibit to wildlife and the butterfly house were open to guests. Attendees also showed down at WORDCAMP Karaoke.

Hope you’re enjoying the after-party! It’s been a beary good WordCamp! #WCUS pic.twitter.com/Cc4R9CIkYz

— WordCamp US (@WordCampUS) December 4, 2016

Day 3 Contributor Day

The third and final day or WCUS was all about coming together to contribute to the WP community. This year two halls were jam packed with developers, creators and engineers from all over.

Fahad Shakeel of PressTigers had the opportunity to work with WordPress founder Matt Mullenweg himself. They spent hours developing a social proof for WordPress. The agenda was to improve WP marketing through a wordpress.org landing page.

The same day Fahad also had the chance to discuss Lahore WordPress Meet Ups with Andrea Middleton, WP Global community lead. They touched on topics such as speaker selection processes and inviting experienced speakers from Automattic for Wordcamp Lahore 2017. Andrea also gave a general overview on managing a successful Wordcamp.

It goes without saying that WordCamp US 2016 was a massive success. It also gave PressTigers the opportunity to strengthen our growing partnerships and friendships across the Atlantic. Special thanks go out to Mehr Hussain for her live coverage of the event from overseas and connecting PressTigers to the key players at WCUS2016.