Monthly Archives: August 2016

Call for Speakers banner

An Open Call for Speakers

WordCamp Birmingham is about community. It’s about design. It’s about development. It’s about marketing. It’s about smart and ethical business practices. Ultimately it is empowering users. Want to be a part of it?

We’re hoping you have the skills, knowledge and the same passion to share that we do. If you do, consider speaking at this year’s WordCamp Birmingham on October 29, 2016. Here’s the official rundown post of what’s expected and what you can expect. Once you scroll through, please fill out the form to get your submission process started.

We know you have something to share, we just want to help connect you with the right audience. Speaking at WordCamp is one of those awesome times when no one can tell who is getting the real benefit. That’s the beauty of WordCamp and the folks who do all the hard work to present on a variety of topics. Everyone benefits.

So take a look and hope you’ll sign up. We’d love to see what you bring to the stage in October.

WordPress MeetUp Tonight #wpyall

Join the Birmingham WordPress community tonight at 7 p.m., at Pale Eddie’s Pour House, for this month’s WordPress MeetUp. It’s a great time with some smart folks and free wifi.

It does not matter if you’re just starting out and need some help or if you’re a pro wanting to geek out over the latest Customizer APIs for Setting Validation included in the 4.6 Pepper release, the group has something for everyone of every skill level.

So click on over to the MeetUp page and sign up. Hope to see you there!

#wpyall #wordcampbham

Introducing Our 2016 Keynote Speaker

Cory_MillerWe are excited to announce Cory Miller as our keynote speaker for WordCamp Birmingham 2016! Cory is the founder and CEO of iThemes, a leading web design software firm that has provided WordPress plugins, themes and training to thousands of people around the globe since 2008.

So he knows a thing or two about sharing top tips and skills with others.

Cory is also co-author of the WordPress All-in-One for Dummies book and has delivered dozens of WordCamp addresses and keynotes.

Part of Cory’s title, at iThemes, is CEO – that’s Chief Entertainment Officer – so you can expect to hear big ideas, clear advice and have a good time during his WordCamp Birmingham Keynote Address on October 29, 2016.

In the meantime, you can check out Cory’s personal site, his company iThemes, follow him on Twitter, or check out his new podcast Leader.Team.

#wcbhm – the official WordCamp Birmingham 2016 hashtag

The WordPress community is one of the “cool things” about the internet. There are so many interesting, smart and helpful people out there just wanting to connect and help each other do their best with WordPress. All of this fun culminates each year during WordCamps. Which is why we’re so excited about the WordCamp Birmingham on October 29, 2016.

But you don’t have to wait to join the conversations! There are plenty of people on all the social channels talking about WordPress and WordCamp in particular. Here are the top three hashtags to follow:

#wcbhm is the hashtag to follow for all WordCamp Birmingham related conversations.
#wpyall is another good one that gets used all year for WordPress news in and around Birmingham, AL
#wordpress is the tag that everyone uses when they’re talking WordPress

We’re watching #wcbhm and you should too. This will pull in all WordCamp-specific posts and content for you as we count down the days to WordCamp Birmingham 2016.

There are probably tons of other WordPress hashtags worth following. What are they? We don’t want to miss out! Leave them in the comments, if you would, so we can join in the fun.

Call for Speakers

{ED. NOTE: the deadline for submitting a talk idea has passed. Thank you for your interest. Please contact us if you have any questions. Follow WordCamp Birmingham by signing up for email updates over in the sidebar, on Twitter, or Facebook. Stay tuned for updates about tickets and the schedule. See you October 29th!}

WordCamp Birmingham is a community event to be held on Saturday, October 29, 2016, that brings together designers, bloggers, developers, artists, small business owners, entrepreneurs, and educators from Alabama and neighboring states. It’s our mission to have WordCamp Birmingham represent the passion, talent and diversity of that community, and we want you to be a part of it!

Tracks…

We’ll have three tracks for presentations this year:

  • Developers and technical subjects
  • Website owners and users
  • Designers and Business subjects

Talks for all skill levels will be considered, and a presentation on things you learned setting up your very first website can be just as valuable as a technical walk-through of how user capabilities and roles are implemented within WordPress.

What we look for…

We are looking for speakers who are knowledgeable and passionate about a WordPress-related topic. You do not need to be famous, an “expert,” a programmer, or specifically credentialed. If you haven’t spoken at a conference before, don’t let that hold you back! Our selection committee will be looking for:

  • Crystal clear topic description — if the organizing team isn’t sure what you’re talking about, no one will be
  • The more specific the topic the better — avoid general or broad topics
  • Uniqueness and popularity of the topic — interesting and applicable topics go to the front of the line
  • Speaker qualifications and experience — although first-time speakers are encouraged to apply

Your talk should be directly related to WordPress, or immediately applicable and relevant to our audience, and respectful of the WordPress community, the WordCamp code of conduct, and the GPL.

Some suggested themes…

  • WordPress Basics
  • Blogging and Content Creation
  • Custom Website Development
  • Themes and Front End Development (HTML/CSS/JS, Etc…)
  • Design and User Experience
  • Backend Development, Frameworks, Workflow,etc…
  • Marketing and Branding
  • Running a WordPress Based Business

Details about our event

  • Talks will be a total of 45 minutes, but expect to leave about 15 minutes for Q&A.
  • Talks will be on Saturday, October 29, 2016.
  • We plan to record all talks and post the videos to WordPress.tv, so speakers will need agree to an A/V release prior to giving their presentation.
  • Speakers will be offered free admission to WordCamp Birmingham, but will not be otherwise compensated.

What you should know before submitting a talk:

  • All talks must be focused on WordPress and tie into using or working with WordPress.
  • Your session is not primarily to promote your own theme, plugin or business. Your talk should not be about self-promotion, and no selling from the stage or front of the room is allowed.
  • Understand that you must know what you’re talking about well.
  • Your topic can address skill levels from beginner to advanced, just be sure you know it inside and out.
  • Please spell WordPress correctly and respect the WordPress logo and trademarks.
  • While we do advocate for diversity and variety among speakers, our general policy is that we don’t consider the race, sex, religion, or any other factor of the speaker to play a part in our selection process.

Deadline

  • The Call For Speakers will close at midnight on September 16, 2016
  • Speakers will be notified of selection on September 22, 2016
  • Selected speakers will need to confirm their spot no later than September 29, 2016

Submit Your Talk

Please complete the form below in its entirety. If you would like to submit multiple talks, please complete the form for each one individually.

 

Call for Sponsors

Why sponsor Wordcamp Birmingham?

WordCamps are community-organized events that bring together WordPress users of all skill levels. The very low ticket price allows novice users to site next to and learn from and with some of the most advanced WordPress developers around the country.

A majority of the funding comes from business and local volunteers. These sponsors get to put their name and services in front of people from all over the Southeast. Without them Wordcamp Birmingham wouldn’t come together. Thank you to all the supporters of WordCamp Birmingham.

Interested in becoming a sponsor? Please visit our Call for Sponsors page and fill out the form!

 

 

 

Join the WordCamp Birmingham Conversation

We’re 88 days out from Wordcamp Birmingham 2016. There are two things that make Wordcamp Birmingham possible. The first is of course the most awesome CMS software out there – WordPress itself. It’s fantastic and we love it.

But just as fantastic (and lovable) is the COMMUNITY of folks that use WordPress. The people and conversations had around glowing screens building really cool things is an experience everyone should have. But why wait until October to have these conversations? Jump in now!

Wordcamp Birmingham is active on a couple of social media channels. Come join the conversation! Drop us a post, comment, tweet or pic when you get a chance.

You can find us on Twitter and Facebook.

There is also a great local community of WordPress users in and around Birmingham, AL. You can find them on Twitter as well as at monthly meet-ups.

Hope to see you around!