The WordCamp Report

Charlotte WordCamp is off on the right track with an exciting WordCamp and WordPress blog. They’ve set up a WordCamp Charlotte Twitter account and started blogging the details of the November 15, 2008, event, and started contributing to the WordPress Community and fans with WordPress articles and tips.

A WordCamp blog isn’t just about the annual regional event. It’s a year ’round commitment to keep the WordPress fan club energy going. It helps energize local WordPress fans and publicize the event, but it also helps keep the enthusiasm going long after the event, building towards the next WordCamp.

To all WordCamp planners and volunteers, I recommend that you make your local WordCamp event be the climax of each year, but that you also create regularly scheduled meetups for all involved to build upon what you’ve started. The blog is a focal point for the annual WordCamp and for social gatherings.

Here are some examples of how a WordCamp blog can be useful and productive all year long.

1. Recruit Multiple Bloggers: Don’t let just one person carry the weight. Open up contributions to multiple bloggers and WordPress fans to share their WordCamp experiences, tips, and news.
2. Support Area Blogging Events: Don’t stop at only WordPress related events. WordPress is about blogging and social media, so cover other area events that would be of interest to your members.
3. Offer WordPress Tips and Tricks: You have WordPress experts and fans all around you. Tap their expertise and get them to blog about their WordPress knowledge, tips, tricks, and how they use WordPress.
4. Support All WordPress Events: Blog about other WordPress events and news. If one of your members is attending a WordCamp or WordPress meetup, have them blog about the event. Promote other WordCamp and WordPress events to help spread the word.
5. Who Are You?: Interview each other. Tell the world about who your WordPress Community members really are. What skills do they have? Why do they blog? Why do they use WordPress? How do they use WordPress? Help promote those in your area and get to know them better.
6. Hold a Contest or Challenge: Why not energize your community by holding a competition or challenge. Maybe have the winner(s) get free t-shirts or entrance to WordCamp? Or a night in a hotel near the WordCamp event. Or just for the fun of participation? Why not raise money for a local charity as was done with the recent WordPress Charity Scavenger Hunt. These can be done throughout the year, not just during the WordCamp event.
7. Experiment with WordPress: You’ve got a WordPress blog, why not use it to push WordPress limits, or to expand your own? Experiment with video by recording some instructional videos on using WordPress. Play with screencasts to record WordPress techniques. Why not get a few of your WordPress fans together and do a podcast talking about blogging in your area and how WordPress plays a part.

There are a ton of things you can do with your WordCamp blog to keep it active all year long. I’ve just skimmed the list. What would you like to see on a WordCamp blog in your area?

Charlotte WordCamp announced their keynote speaker will be Mark Jaquith, WordPress Developer and blogger at Mark on WordPress and Mark Jaquith on Tech.

The date and time has also been finalized. WordCamp Charlotte will be November 15, 2008 at 10AM EST in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Lloyd Budd covers “WordCamp Shirts, Do You Do Spelling Bees?” on his blog and showcases a wide variety of t-shirts from different WordCamp events. He is asking what t-shirts say about WordPress, but I think that the way the t-shirts are worn, used, and photographed says a lot about the people who love WordPress.

His post also includes an updated preview of what this weekend’s WordCamp Philippines attendees will be wearing for their WordCamp Philippines t-shirts.

Will you be attending WordCamp Philippines? We’re looking for volunteers to live blog or send us reports on how the event goes. Interested? Email Lorelle if you are interested in volunteering for this or other WordCamps you are attending.

WordCamp New York in New York on October 5, 2008, is now accepting registrations. The location is set for Sun Microsystems Office at 101 Park Avenue, New York, and is now set for Sunday, not Saturday.

WordCamp Denver 2008 has started a Facebook page looking for volunteers, sponsors, and speakers for their upcoming event. It currently has no date or location, but stay tuned for more news.