WPCampus ’18 & the Value of Niche WordPress Events

Blog

July 19, 2018 by Harry Jackson

It all started with a tweet. When WordCamp US used the hashtag #WordCampUS, Rachel Cherry read it as “Word Campus.” Rachel, who we spoke with in BoldLife Episode 5, was a Senior Software Engineer for The Walt Disney Company. That hashtag sparked an idea for Rachel that would evolve into a wonderful resource for the world: WPCampus, an online community and biannual conference. WPCampus is a resource for people who use WordPress in higher education, which aims to “advance higher education by providing a support structure and wealth of knowledge for anyone who uses, or is interested in using, WordPress in the world of higher education.”

Niche WordPress Events

I was thrilled to attend this event last week, and the niche quality of it made me remember all the events I had the privilege of attending on behalf of BoldGrid, including WordCamps, trade shows, local user groups, and design events. Every niche WordPress event—and the partners contributing to those events—brings unique and valuable perspectives to the table. The WordPress community has events in different niches. There are developer-focused events like Loopconf and A Day of REST. There are publisher-focused events like WordCamp for Publishers.  This focus on the needs of niche communities is a great trend. When I started my podcast about Disney years ago, I was told to pick a niche. I see this as happening more and more with live events, and it is great to have multiple choices for our WordPress community to connect with. I have been lucky enough to speak at the last two WPCampus events (one online and one in Buffalo, NY). This year, BoldGrid was proud to sponsor their event held at Washington University in St. Louis. The event brought in over 150 attendees from multiple countries.

What I Appreciate Most About WPCampus

They put in extra effort to be inclusive. That’s more than a Code of Conduct. It means they make the event available for live streaming if you can’t attend in person. Many events aren’t so thoughtful—but they should be, because live streaming is a powerful way to gain more exposure (and appreciation from viewers). Also, at WPCampus, the social events are more than just bar hops. One night there were arcades games and a huge craft soda collection. Another night there were tabletop games. There was even an MLB baseball outing. WPCampus provided a truly welcoming environment. This encourages free conversation between attendees and sponsors about the challenges we all face in our roles, and how WordPress has helped us all. It’s certainly helped BoldGrid—and so has WPCampus. The slides from the excellent WPCampus event talks are available here and I highly recommend them. If you work in higher education or have an interest in using WordPress in higher education, join the WPCampus Slack group and make their next event. You will be thankful you did. → WPCampus Online