Third time’s a charm: a peek at WordCamp Baltimore 2014

WordCamp Baltimore is back this weekend for the third year in a row and it promises to be the best yet.

WordCamps are volunteer run, community-driven events put together by members of the WordPress community worldwide.

Get tickets ($20)

Technical.ly Baltimore connected with Andy Stratton of Sizeable Interactive for a preview of what to expect at this year’s event.

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TB: WordCamp is a great opportunity for users of all experience levels to connect and learn more about WordPress. What should people look forward to at this year’s event?

Stratton: This year, we’ve got a great round up of nearly-exclusive local WordPress community experts, leaders and professionals speaking. Our topics are ranging from how to start coding, user experience, integrating WordPress with third-party services like Amazon Web Services, new features such as the JSON API, content production, SEO, as well as freelancing, business and marketing advice.

(Image courtesy of WordCamp Baltimore)

To top it off, we’ve got a keynote from Chris Lema, one of the top WordPress, marketing and community thought leaders — not to mention, a really great guy!

We’ve also got a few more surprises in store if you stick around for the entire event and social hours!

Technical.ly Baltimore has covered WordCamp Baltimore in the past, what inspired the move to the University of Baltimore?

We moved to UB last year, actually. In 2012, we were at the Science Center and it was a fantastic venue, but it was pure luck from an availability standpoint. UB is readily available, happy to offer pricing that the nonprofit event can support and has facilities that are perfect for our attendees, speakers and sessions.

Organizing an event is not an easy task. In the three years of organizing this event, what have you learned? Could you share some success stories and challenges?

Start EARLY. You can’t please everyone. Something unexpected will happen, just roll with it. People love these events. Your community is larger and more powerful than you realize. People love WordPress!

A great measure of success to me are connecting people and providing a positive experience that leaves them with more information than they had walking in.

Challenges are definitely scheduling, securing venues, sponsors, and speakers and coordinating everything. I could not have done this without the help of my team, including Drew Poland, Genevieve Douglass, and Erica Woods! They are the real heroes here.