Week in Review: WorldHostingDays and WordCamp Sacramento

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September 20, 2017 by Guest Contributor

Last week, the BoldGrid team attended World Hosting Days USA in Las Vegas and  WordCamp Sacramento. Needless to say, these two events were very different, but equally great experiences. Still, we http://worldhostingdays.com/usa/have to start with the capital of tradeshows and entertainment: Las Vegas.

WHD.USA

The US version of World Hosting Days took place amid the twinkling lights and excitement of Las Vegas this year. We proudly served as a Gold Sponsor, just as we did earlier this year for World Hosting Days Global in Germany. Steve from our Marketing Team and MikeDemo arrived on Saturday and checked into their hotel. They had their first evening free to explore, so that is just what they did. After wandering around for a while, they ended up at Gordon Ramsey’s Pub & Grill for an amazing dinner, then took in the Penn & Teller show at the Rio. And they call this work?

Of course, the next morning, they got down to business. They woke early, hopped the monorail, and set up the BoldGrid booth. They had not quite finished before they had to run to two separateRio.orking events. Steve went to the WHMCS event in Top Golf at the MGM Grand, while MikeDemo attended the Come2Gather kickoff party. Both events had a lot to offer, and the guys agreed it was great meeting so many new people while also getting to hang out with old friends from Plesk.

After all the networking, our intrepid BoldGrid duo met back up at Wolfgang Puck Bar & Grill for a late night Dinner.  The actual event did not begin until Monday, and it turned out as busy as their weekend. They started with a VIP networking breakfast, great sessions, and opportunities to connect with new people and talk about BoldGrid. Later that afternoon the exhibit hall opened and Steve, Boldie, and MikeDemo all attended, making the rounds, talking BoldGrid, and doing demos. After a long day of sharing the benefits of BoldGrid with the hosting community at large, the boys unwound in true Las Vegas fashion. They started by taking in the Piff the Magic Dragon show before closing the night at the famous WHD Connexion Party where the “Lords of Uptime” performed. Tuesday, the show floor was open all day and our team talked to literally hundreds of people. The excitement over BoldGrid was palpable and led to some excellent one-on-one meetings. MikeDemo also gave a talk on BoldGrid in the Speed Session track. Meanwhile, Aleksander Kuczek (from Perfect Dashboard) gave BoldGrid a great plug during his keynote speech that day. At the end of the day, it was time to go and say farewell to all the new friends, exciting scenes, and incredible food in Las Vegas. Next stop, WordCamp Sacramento…

WordCamp Sacramento

After just one day home, MikeDemo got on a flight to head to Sacramento, CA for WordCamp. It took place at the same convention center as a Nail Expo and Dance Competition, so quite a diverse and busy crowd. MikeDemo checked-in to his hotel on Friday then ran out to the speaker and sponsor social. Saturday morning saw him setting up the BoldGrid booth, finishing just ahead of the arrival of the crowds for the first day of WordCamp. Boldie, the BoldGrid Banshee, engaged the crowds better than anyone else in the business, while MikeDemo shared the word about BoldGrid and handed out free Tide pens. A line-up of food trucks provided lunch to event attendees, making for a fun and easy break from the excitement of the convention center.  That night, instead of a social event, the WordCamp Sacramento organizers put on a networking event in the sponsor area. With food and drinks available, this turned out to be a very cool way to connect with attendees in a booth setting, but in a more relaxed fashion. Many people attended the networking event, and MikeDemo had a chance to connect with some new people he missed during the day. After the networking mixer, SiteLock and Pantheon co-sponsored an unofficial afterparty and dinner at a place called Capital Garage. The setting might be described as “kitschy,” but a lot of fun. Sunday saw another day of sessions and networking. All-in-all, WordCamp Sacramento turned out great, and MikeDemo really liked that they held it at a convention center. He felt this elevated the event, adding, as he puts it, “a bit of polish” to the experience. But, one of the coolest things about WordCamps remains the fact that each one is different and unique from every other.  BoldGrid will be at WordCamp Portland this weekend and also cPanel Conference next week.