I’m not really sure when the phrase “This Time It’s Personal” truly caught on, although it could have started with this movie. Nevertheless, the kind of personal we’ll be talking about isn’t like that.
Throughout the last seven WordCamps (yes seven) in Miami, we have done quite a bit and tried alot of things. Some ideas were born and weren’t revisited – other times idea blossomed into full tracks (see last year’s “How To” track) and firm traditions (we’ve been doing speaker cards for a number of years). We covered an abundance of information and knowledge in the sessions from great speakers. And while we aren’t planning on changing that aspect in our eighth WordCamp… there is something we wanted to focus on as much as possible as we build the event happening in February.
WordPress is about people – more than blog posts, more than code.
What does that mean for WCMIA 2016?
While we are busy focusing on what knowledge, tips, and code that is shared with 800 attendees we don’t want to lose focus on those in the WordPress community that make that knowledge and presenting that knowledge possible. Everyone in the WordPress community has a story to share – from the personal to the professional – that can be just as instructive and inspiring (or even more so) then strictly sharing code.
To that end: in addition to our usual buffet of WordPress knowledge we’ll be setting aside some special times for “fireside chats”, one-on-one interviews, and focused network events.
Getting Outside The WordPress Bubble
We have been slowly searching and finding great speakers from outside the usual “WordPress bubble” and we will continue to make this one of our goals this year. A recent successful example was Jason Nickerson’s talk at our last WordCamp on how Jommla and WordPress influence each other. And as always WordCamp Miami is open to developers and users of other popular CMS.
Hallway Track
This year we are making a concentrated effort to offer an “unofficial unconference” experience in a particular location at the venue. Will this be the location of some of our “fireside chats” and the sharing of personal experiences? Stay tuned to our site updates to learn more as we get closer (and also feel free to join us on our own Slack channel).
BuddyCamp Miami
As many of you might know BuddyCamp is a conference devoted to the BuddyPress plugin (and related plugins and technologies). BuddyCamp Miami 2016 is in the planning stages as we reach out to various key contributors and speakers. We will announce more information as it becomes available.
WordPress: The Next Generation
Our WordCamp for Kids for the past two years were HUGE successes. Except it back this year based on demand, and we are also investigating other ways to include young ones. One of our biggest goals at WCMIA is diversity – and diversity includes young people. They are the next generation of bloggers, developers, and coders.
Because the children ARE the future of WordPress we are hoping to have more than ONE particular event devoted to kids and young ones. What we got planned currently is going to knock your socks off!
What Else?
We have alot in the works including our new Instagram account, a weekend video booth, entertainment (possibly a game show?) at our after-party, new contests and giveaways, different flavors of ice cream, and maybe even a red carpet (ok, that last one might be a joke… maybe). You’ll just have to keep following our updates to learn more!