Thank You For Your Part in WordCamp Cincinnati!

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As WordCamp Cincinnati 2017 comes to a close, we would like to thank our sponsors, speakers, attendees and volunteers for another spectacular event.

We had a fantastic turnout this year, where participants enjoyed a friendly atmosphere in which socializing and networking were actively encouraged. Speakers provided engaging and informative content. Sponsors were able to connect with those who would benefit most from their services. Volunteers received the gratification of building a WordCamp community from an abstract concept into a vibrant reality.

If you weren’t able to attend a session for any reason, fear not. All presentations were recorded and will be uploaded to WordPress.tv in the near future.

Did WordCamp whet your appetite for all things WordPress? Feed that hunger by joining our monthly WordPress Cincinnati Meetups.

We’d love to hear your thoughts on the experience of WordCamp Cincinnati, so please fill out our event survey. Our planning committee will closely review any and all feedback for consideration in improving WordCamp Cincinnati in the years to come.

We hope you enjoyed your time this weekend, and we look forward to seeing you again next year at WordCamp Cincinnati 2018!

Thank You to All of Our Sponsors!

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Thank You Sponsors!

WordCamp Cincinnati 2017 is this weekend, and as we begin to reflect on the work that has been put into planning this event, we can’t help but be grateful to the sponsors who have contributed to ensuring its success. We’re fortunate to have sponsors who are invested in growing and bringing together our WordPress community. With that in mind, we wanted to give our thanks to the sponsors who make WordCamp possible and welcome our newest sponsor, Juble it!

Continue reading Thank You to All of Our Sponsors! →

What You Need to Know For WordCamp This Weekend

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It’s finally here! WordCamp Cincinnati 2017 will take place this weekend, November 11th and 12th, at the Tangeman University Center on the campus of the University of Cincinnati. We want to make sure you have all of the information necessary to make it the most enjoyable experience possible. With that in mind, this blog post will serve as an exhaustive resource for the details of this weekend’s event.

Directions to Campus

WordCamp Cincinnati will take place at the Tangeman University Center on the campus of the University of Cincinnati.

Click to View Driving Directions

Parking

Parking Map

If you are driving, we recommend that you park in CCM Garage, an underground garage located next to the Tangeman University Center. To access the garage from Jefferson Avenue, turn onto Corry Blvd. At the end of Corry Blvd. you will pass halfway through a roundabout to enter the underground garage. Parking on the sides of the garage marked “Electronic Media” on any floor will put you closest to the venue. Once parked, take the elevator to the fourth floor exit of the garage. The weekend rate for parking in CCM Garage is $5 for an entire day. There is a pay machine on the ground floor of the parking garage, or the automated exit gates accept credit card.

Venue / Registration

Tangeman University Center

Registration begins at 8:00AM on Saturday. Once you’ve parked and have exited the parking garage, you should see signs pointing toward the Tangeman University Center entrance. It is a very large slate-grey building with four floors. Registration can be found on the main floor of the building (this is actually the second floor of the building). Upon entering the main doors of the building, you should see the registration and information area directly in front of you. Registration is simple – simply tell our volunteers your name. They’ll locate your name badge and t-shirt, give you a printed schedule, then point you in the right direction.

Sessions

All of the sessions will be located in one of two areas. The cinema is located immediately next to the registration and information area. This is where opening remarks and the keynote session will take place. Two other tracks are located on the fourth floor of the building in rooms 400A and 400B. You can either take the stairs in the atrium of the building, or find an elevator in the corner opposite the food court restaurants and main entrance.

Coffee and refreshment stations will be available in both of these areas: outside the cinema and outside of the classrooms on the fourth floor.

Click to View the Building Map (noting that you will arrive on Level 2 from the main entrance)

Happiness Bar

Happiness Bar

We will have our very own “Happiness Bar”, a common staple of WordCamps. Bring any and all questions you have related to managing your website and our dedicated experts will be happy to offer their advice. You can find the Happiness Bar in the dining area tables outside the second floor cinema, near the coffee and refreshments station.

After-Party

At the end of a long day of learning, why not wind down by enjoying drinks and chatting with other passionate members of our local WordPress community? Best of all, you don’t even have to leave the building! Our after-party will take place immediately after the last session on Saturday, at the Catskeller pub on the first floor of the building.

Sunday

Don’t forget, we have two jam-packed days of sessions! All of the information above applies for both days, except that you will not need to re-register on Sunday (unless you are not able to attend Saturday). Simply bring your name badge you received on Saturday for entry.

Register to Attend

It’s not too late to register! Tickets are still available, so head on over to our Tickets page to get yours. We look forward to seeing you there.

The Secret Superpower of WordCamp (and How to Make It Yours at WordCamp Cincinnati 2017)

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This is part of a series of posts from the perspective of a first-time WordCamp attendee. Read Part One and Part Two.

The Bottom Line: If You Come to WordCamp Cincinnati 2017, Awesome Things Can Happen for You If You Dig In and Participate

… Even if you’re an introvert. Or a beginner. Or a non-technical person.

WordPress is all about making the power of the web accessible to everyone.

WordCamp does the same thing for WordPress: It helps all kinds of users at all levels of skill and experience learn how to achieve their goals with WordPress.

No matter who you are or what you know (or don’t know), there’s something here for you.

The Atmosphere Is Casual; the Experience Is As Transformative As You Want It to Be

Come as you are, it’s a casual event– it is the weekend, after all. 😉

Come with your questions and be prepared to get lots of answers. (The Happiness Bar, where you can get individual answers to your technical and other WordPress questions from an expert, is hopefully coming back again this year – woohoo! That alone is worth the price of admission in my book.)

What You Get out of WordCamp depends on what you bring to it…

  • If you come with questions, and make the effort to ask them…
  • If you come to meet others, and smile and say hello…
  • If you come to learn, and are willing to share what you know…
  • If you come to grow, and to help others grow, too…

… You’ll be amazed at how much you leave with.

You’ll leave:

  • inspired… with lots of ideas and things you’re itching to try.
  • smarter… with links to more info and resources to keep on learning.
  • connected… with a diverse group of interesting, fun, generous people who are learning or working with WordPress just like you.
  • networked… with resources who can help you when you get stuck, and contacts that might lead to great things in the future.
  • sporting some nifty swag… including a Limited Edition Uber-Cool WordCamp Cincinnati 2017 t-shirt.
WordCamp 2016 Swag

My WordCamp Cincinnati 2016 Swag Stash: a great nylon Woo bag, plus the official t-shirt. There were a lot more goodies there that I left for others…

And finally…

You’ll leave with a new (or improved) appreciation of the possibilities of WordPress– the platform, the people and the community.

And because it’s WordPress, you’ll also leave with a new vision of the possibilities of you, on the web.

How awesome is that?

Submitted by Julie Ladd of Copyshark.net

Become a WordPress Expert in Just Two Days at WordCamp

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This year, WordCamp Cincinnati 2017 will host two long-form WordPress training courses covering the broad spectrum of WordPress knowledge. Whether you’re a total newcomer or are looking to take your skills to the next level, you’ll find something new to learn in WordPress 101 and 201. Your teachers Brian Retterer and Dustin Hartzler will guide you from the very basics of understanding WordPress, developing your skills in using the software and eventually learning to build your own basic themes and plugins.

Are you just getting started with WordPress and feeling overwhelmed? Come attend WordPress 101 on Saturday, where you’ll learn the basics of running your own WordPress site.

Already proficient in using WordPress, but looking to dive deeper to grow your knowledge? WordPress 201 on Sunday morning will teach you the skills necessary to extend the software and add new features to your site which would otherwise not be possible through the administrative interface alone. In a guided lab setting, you’ll learn the elements of developing themes and plugins for WordPress.

And don’t worry; unlike school, there’s no tests or homework for these classes. You’re welcome to stop in for as much or as little as you need. After all, there’s an abundance of knowledge to be had in the many other sessions you’ll find at WordCamp.

Where WordPress training could otherwise cost you hundreds or thousands of dollars, this learning opportunity is included in your WordCamp Cincinnati ticket for a fraction of the cost. Learn more and register today!

Thank You to Our Sponsors: University of Cincinnati, Yoast, A2 Hosting, SiteGround

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The success of WordCamp events worldwide would not be possible if not for the sponsors who generously donate their time and resources. If you or your company are interested in learning more about sponsoring, we invite you to Become a Sponsor.

Today we thank University of Cincinnati’s College of Arts and Sciences, Yoast, A2 Hosting, and SiteGround for their support of the WordPress community!

University of Cincinnati Arts & SciencesUniversity of Cincinnati’s College of Arts and Sciences enrolls over 7,500 undergraduate students and 1,000 graduate students, making the college the mainstay of an urban, thriving top-25 research university in a city with eight Fortune 500 companies and countless industries, start-ups, and non-profits. A&S faculty deliver academic excellence with an emphasis on innovative teaching and experiential learning in a cross-disciplinary and collaborative environment. We provide our undergraduate and graduate students with unique opportunities to conduct valuable research, build professional experience, and develop cultural competency and leadership skills through co-operative education, internships, field-study, travel abroad, and community based collaboration. — A very special thank-you to the University of Cincinnati for serving as venue host for WordCamp Cincinnati!

YoastYoast helps you get the most out of your website. We make SEO available for everyone. You might be familiar with our Yoast SEO WordPress plugin. With over 7.5 million active installs, Yoast SEO is one of the most popular WordPress plugins worldwide. But that’s not all we do. We contribute a lot to open source projects and in our Yoast Academy we teach you how to make your site rank. So apart from SEO plugins, Yoast offers online SEO courses and eBooks to help you understand and practice SEO yourself.

A2 HostingSince 2003, A2 Hosting has specialized in linux-based, developer-friendly hosting. We cater to the WordPress community by offering robust servers and hosting accounts at an affordable cost. We back up our hosting with 24/7 support available by phone, ticket, or live chat. A2 is active in the WordPress community – we dedicate a percentage of our development time to WordPress as part of the Five for the Future initiative, and we are active in many WordCamps.

SiteGround, with over 13 years in the business, provides managed WordPress hosting that does not miss a thing! Their servers, available in 5 data centers on 3 continents, are optimized for ultimate WordPress speed and security and they provide many goodies for the WordPress fans – automatic updates for the core WordPress and its plugins, WordPress SuperCacher for ultimate speed acceleration, staging tool for the coders and unique WordPress autoinstaller for the starting users – all crafted in-house by the SiteGround team.

Community Engagement with a WordPress Website

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The Cincinnati Project

The Cincinnati Project (TCP) uses the social science expertise from the faculty and students at the University of Cincinnati’s College of Arts & Sciences to help disadvantaged communities and the agencies that serve them. The group’s tagline is “Working for Equity through Research.” As such, TCP conducts social research to promote economic justice, health equity, racial equality, improved conditions for women, and for other equity issues. TCP faculty engage with Cincinnati area community members, non-profits, governments and agencies to form partnerships in order to solve problems and meet the needs of the disadvantaged in the community.

The Cincinnati Project’s mission is to, “promote relationships between community partners and A&S faculty and students to produce research that directly benefits disadvantaged people in Cincinnati,” says Dr. Jennifer Malat, Director of TCP. Malat goes on to say TCP is essentially made up “matchmakers” connecting UC Arts Arts & Sciences with those who need assistance, particularly those with marginalized voices.

Some of TCP’s partners include, CAIN, Cincinnati Children’s, City of Cincinnati Health Department, Cradle Cincinnati, ReSource, YWCA, and more. “Over 200 A&S students and faculty have worked with over 20 community groups,” Dr. Malat says. TCP uses classroom-community research to help community partners.

A recent example of TCP’s work was in Communication Department course taught by Professor Shaunak Sastry during which students conducted research and prepared health communication strategy options for a local food pantry. Additionally, Leila Rodriguez, a professor from the Anthropology Department worked with Su Casa Hispanic Center to serve minors arriving from Central America through her research. Finally, Political Science’s’ Brian Calfano partnered with Iris Roley, Al Gerhardstein and others to create a survey used in the community that evaluated the Collaborative Agreement. According to Cincinnati-oh.gov, the Collaborative Agreement is a social conflict resolution policy that steers away from focus on blame when the community shares different perspectives, specifically when it comes to Police Community Relations.

According to thecincyproject.org, these types of experiences allow students to gain experience that will carry beyond the classroom. Working with the community also enriches the experience of faculty members and helps them build additional skills as professors.

The Cincinnati Project uses students and faculty to build relationships between the community and UC for mutual progress. To promote these efforts, TCP chose WordPress as a website building platform due to its ease-of-use. Unlike some enterprise-level website building platforms, a WordPress site is highly flexible and customizable. Providing guest user access is straightforward in WordPress. As TCP grows, it will be easy to expand the WordPress website to meet growing organizational needs. To learn more about TCP, you can follow them on Twitter @TheCinciProject .

The Secret Superpower of WordCamp (and How to Make It Yours at WordCamp Cincinnati 2017)

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This is part of a series of posts from the perspective of a first-time WordCamp attendee. Read Part One.

WordPress says “Code is Poetry.”

But when it comes to WordCamp, the code is the medium, not the magic…

It’s the poets, not the poetry, that make WordCamp sing.

WordPress users are an interesting and varied bunch, and the Cincinnati contingent is no exception. WordCamp Cincinnati brings together the diverse Cincinnati WordPress community of businesses large and small, solopreneurs, nonprofits, bloggers, developers, agencies, freelancers, hobbyists, new learners and pros— all in one place.

For all their differences, they have one thing in common: They use and love WordPress, or want to learn to use it or do more with it.

And here’s the thing: When curiosity and needs meet answers and resources with a healthy scoop of sharing and collaboration thrown in, magic happens…

I saw it firsthand.

One of the highlights of the weekend was an amazing opening keynote on networking, where speaker Jeff Rowe worked the audience live, connecting several audience members with others who either needed their skills or could solve their problems (or connect them with others who could help):

  • a graduating student looking for an internship
  • a business looking for connections at a large local company
  • a local event sponsor looking for a graphic designer
  • a development agency looking for new team members

It was the most vivid demonstration of the power of networking I have ever seen, and a testament to the reach and depth of the Cincinnati WordPress community.

Jeff Rowe

The Power of Networking in Action: Keynote Speaker Jeff Rowe shows WordCamp Cincinnati 2016 attendees there are a lot of great people to meet and useful connections to make at WordCamp.

The secret superpower of WordCamp (and WordPress, for that matter) is the people. And we’ve got some of the best, right here in Cincinnati.

If you attend the event, you’ll both increase the potency of this superpower by adding your unique skills and gifts to the mix, and you’ll be able to put it to work for you.

Submitted by Julie Ladd of Copyshark.net

Keynote Announcement: Dustin Hartzler

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We’re excited to announce that Dustin Hartzler will join our speaker roster as presenter for the keynote session of this year’s WordCamp Cincinnati. Hailing from nearby Dayton, Ohio, Dustin will share his advice on how you can become a part of the WordPress community with no coding required. Community is a core tenet of all WordCamp events, and we are glad to bring you a keynote session fitting of this theme.

Dustin Hartzler

Dustin Hartzler is a Happiness Engineer at Automattic by day, where he helps business owners work all of the kinks out of their WooCommerce stores. If working with WordPress all day wasn’t enough, he spends time each week recording his WordPress podcast called Your Website Engineer. He enjoys helping people understand and use WordPress to its fullest capacity and spends time tinkering with code.

When he’s not in front of the computer (which is rare), he enjoys spending time CrossFitting, reading and traveling. He lives in Dayton, OH with his wife, 3.5 year old daughter, and 6 month old son.

View Keynote Session Details

Thank You to Our Sponsors: BoldGrid, Jetpack, Bluehost

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The success of WordCamp events worldwide would not be possible if not for the sponsors who generously donate their time and resources. If you or your company are interested in learning more about sponsoring, we invite you to Become a Sponsor.

Today we thank BoldGrid, Jetpack and Bluehost for their support of the WordPress community!

BoldGridBoldGrid is a website builder powered by WordPress. It is a free set of WordPress plugins, themes, and other content that allows site creation and management similar to non-WordPress website builders. By placing WordPress more in line with DIY site builder solutions on the market, our mission is not only to make WordPress more accessible and easy for beginners to utilize, but also automate and streamline typical WordPress tasks to provide a fast, creator-friendly platform that even web professionals will appreciate. Experience WordPress as a website builder, including: free pre-built themes, drag and drop editing, integrated image banks, simplified photo editing, built-in staging, automated backups, and so much more. BoldGrid will have you creating professional looking WordPress sites in minutes! Visit www.boldgrid.com to learn more.

JetpackTransform how you work with your WordPress sites and rest easy knowing they’re always firing on all cylinders. Jetpack connects your site to the global services, community, and support provided by WordPress.com so you can focus on the stuff that matters. Jetpack automatically shields your site from the unwanted attention of spammers, hackers, and malware, while real-time sync and backup means you don’t have to worry about data loss. Straightforward traffic-building tools help you attract the attention of readers and search engines. Pages and videos are delivered at high speed from a global, ad-free content delivery network. Make your site work for you. Get your Jetpack today at Jetpack.com

Bluehost

Bluehost has been a WordPress partner since 2005 and powers over 1 million WordPress sites worldwide. Their objective is to help customers, whether novice or pro, create a thriving online presence at an affordable price. With a team of in-house tech experts available 24/7, Bluehost dedicates time and resources to providing the best support and services in the industry. Join millions of other site owners and see what Bluehost can do for you and your online presence.