An Interview About WordCamp Portland

Yes, my blogging has been quiet here for a while. Been busy with some other projects, such as organizing WordCamp Portland.

Portland area freelance writer Kerri Buckley interviewed me about the upcoming WordCamp. Since it’s a blogging conference, I suggested the interview be posted on a blog. Here is the interview:

1. Why did this Word Camp become organized so suddenly?

I’m not sure that I’d call the organization “sudden.” The idea for a Portland WordCamp event was hatched at Beer and Blog back in April and that turned into a public discussion that same month. We held a mini-WordCamp as part of BarCampPortland in May, and the groundwork for the September WordCamp event was put into place immediately following BarCamp.

2. What is the date, where will it be held, and what are the hours?

The agenda and schedule are on the WordCamp website… it’s September 27th at CubeSpace, starting around 8:45 and running until 9ish in the evening.

3. What’s the cost of the camp?

The registration fee was $10, which helps to offset the expenses. A majority of the expenses are covered by our generous sponsors who have made financial contributions to cover most of the costs.

4. What can participants expect from this Word Camp?

With the variety of sessions being offered, as well as the evening unconference-style sessions, I hope that folks are able to learn something new, share their experiences, and walk away from WordCamp with some ideas on how to take their blogging to the next level.

5. Did you attend the San Francisco Word Camp, and if so, what was it like? How will it differ from the Portland event? How will it be the same?

I haven’t attended either of the WordCamp events in San Francisco, so I can’t offer specifics. From what I’ve read, we’re doing some things that offer a bit more choice and flexibility in the schedule.

6. Will new bloggers feel comfortable at the event?

I hope so… we’ve intentionally offered sessions which cater to a variety of interests and technical abilities. While some sessions are aimed at a technical audience (such as the session on developing custom plugins), others are aimed for a more “end user” audience. The unconference sessions will be

7. What is the purpose of having Word Camps around the country?

The idea for a Portland WordCamp event came from the realization that there are a lot of smart people around here that are doing some great things with WordPress, and we wanted to help bring Portland’s blogging community together to share knowledge, experiences, and ideas. On a more practical level, a $10 WordCamp event locally is much more affordable and accessible than a large mega-conference that only happens in one location.

8. Will bloggers be tutored on CSS and other forms of code if they are looking for support in that area?

A couple of our pre-planned sessions revolve around theme selection and debugging, including using tools to edit and debug CSS. We also have a session that revolves around creating a custom plugin from scratch. I would expect we’ll see some technical topics in the unconference sessions as well.

9. How did you get involved, and when did you begin blogging?

I believe I started blogging around 2001 or 2002. I’ve had a variety of blog efforts over the years; some were purely personal while some were in more of a professional capacity. How did I end up coordinating WordCamp Portland? The idea for a local WordCamp was conceived by myself, Reid Beels, Chris O’Rourke, and Kelly Guimont at Beer and Blog. It was one of those ideas where we all agreed that it should happen, I started a Google Group to have some public discussion, and the results will be seen next week.

10. How many people are you hoping will attend?

We have room to comfortably accomodate 150 people, and the conference is sold out. We have a waiting list, so even with a few cancellations I expect we’ll have a full house.

11. Any other things you’d like to add?

I already mentioned our sponsors - it’s great that there are so many businesses and individuals who are willing to contribute their money and services in order to better the state of the blogging world. I’m also very appreciative of my volunteer staff who have been doing a lot of behind-the-scenes work to make this happen. We’re excited about our location; CubeSpace is a great venue run by great people.

Our list of attendees and speakers includes people from a wide range of backgrounds. There are dozens of folks who are blogging about interesting topics in niche areas. Designers, developers, marketers, artists, and more. I’m excited about the energy I’m seeing and I know that there will be a LOT of great ideas being shared. Everyone has something to share, and it’s great that we’ve got a few blog celebrities such as Lorelle and Marshall who are household names amongst the A-list bloggers.

Thanks to Kerri for the opportunity to share a bit about WordCamp.