My First WordCamp Austin

WordCamp Austin 2014 SchwagPhoto info: SONY SLT-A77V, 17mm, f/5.6, 1/40 sec, ISO1600

This past weekend I attended my first WordCamp Austin and it was great! There were several classes split into different tracks, and being a designer, I mostly stayed in the “Theme and Design” track.

But, I also am interested in writing and the process of writing so I watched the session “The Sport of Writing”. It was fun, informative, and inspirational. The speakers were so funny and their conversation was really uplifting. I highly recommending watching the video when it becomes available (look for it at WordPress.tv sometime in the future!).

Speaking of WordPress.tv, I have pledged to donate some of my own time creating video subtitles for WordPress. During the first keynote session, the speakers talked about how WordPress is supported by contributors who spend their own time improving WordPress in different ways. It was a sort of pledge drive, but definitely worth it! One of my coworkers also committed some of his time to the effort, and I definitely think it is a good thing to do. Just attending WordCamp, you can get a sense of the community and how helpful everyone is. It’s very contagious! Plus, you know how much I paid for my WordPress installation? $0. So, there’s really no reason I cannot take a couple of hours a month to give back. You can find out how to contribute at make.wordpress.org.

If you use WordPress for your own site or for your job, I highly recommend attending a WordCamp in your area. It’s not expensive at all, and the knowledge you can gain and connections you make with other people there are worth the cost of admission many-fold!