Only 3 days left till the fun begins!

Want to know what to bring with you? In short…

• A way to take notes: pens/paper, laptop/tablet
•  Lots of questions
• Water and snacks
• Business cards

A way to take notes – a laptop is not required

You will want to take notes. So bring your favorite way to capture what is happening. Notebooks & extra pens. If you use a laptop to capture notes, bring that. However, a laptop is not required at WordCamp.

The sessions are not instructor-led tutorials where you follow them through a lesson using a laptop. They are mostly in presentation format. Each speaker is can post their slides on the WordCamp Kansas City website so that they are available for you. SlideShare is a popular format, although some people may post PDFs.

Internet access will be available via WiFi. However, sometimes WiFi access in crowded locations, where many people are trying to access the resource at the same time, can be problematic.

Lots of questions

Spend some time looking at the session schedule and plan your day. Prepare questions for the speakers. If they cannot address the question during the talk because of time constraints, they will be available during the day.

Business cards

You will meet new people at WordCamp Kansas City. Bring business cards so that they can follow up with you after the event.

If you want to be eco friendly, before hand try downloading one for the card scanner app from http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/five-apps/five-apps-to-tame-your-business-card-chaos/ for your phone. Then once at the event you will be ready to go.

We need your help! Are you already in Kansas City and want to find a way to help the WordPress community? Are you accompanying a speaker and want to have your own things to do? Do you just love being a time keeper?

Some things we always need:

• Green room guards
• Time keepers
• Community Support Lounge helpers
• Registration
• Camera stop/starters

Fill out the form below and we will find something that’s the perfect fit for you!

Volunteering activities

• Setup: These volunteers will be asked to come in early—especially on the first day—to help with elements of the venue before the event begins.
• Takedown: Help us clean up and take down any equipment/tables we have setup.
• Registration and Greeters: Your role is to help manage the registration table, and to make sure attendees are registered and receive their badges and gifts. We also need people to act as ambassadors in the venue and help lost people find the rooms they are looking for.
• Room Host:  Your role is to help keep speakers on time, get water or supplies they need, and let us know if there are problems in the room, such as A/V equipment failure.  This is one of the plum positions as you get to watch the sessions while doing your task.
• Video Support: Help keep the cameras running for each session. This is one of the other plum positions as you get to watch the sessions while doing your task.

Only 10 days left till WordCamp Kansas City 2016!!!

If you’re thinking of attending a WordCamp, you may be wondering what to expect. Though each WordCamp will be different (based on the organizers, speakers and attendees of each event), there are some general guidelines that all WordCamps follow, as well as some things you can expect at your WordCamp no matter where it is.

It’s about everything WordPress.

What makes something a WordCamp, as opposed to a BarCamp or an [insert-name-here] Camp? The content of sessions is firmly focused on using and developing for WordPress. Issues around blogging, business, and social media that are related to WordPress use may be included, but the bulk of the program (at least 80%) is specifically about WordPress. The use of the WordCamp name indicates that it is a standalone event dedicated to WordPress, and to prevent confusion, WordPress “tracks” within larger events such as BarCamp or other conferences are no longer called WordCamps.

The best bargain you’ll get all year.

WordCamps are not meant to be big, fancy, expensive conferences. WordCamps are meant to be low-key local gatherings that are affordable — cheap, even — to allow people from all walks of life to attend, meet, share, and learn. Sponsorships and donations make this possible, keeping ticket prices low, usually below $50 for a 2-day event. It’s not uncommon to meet WordCamp speakers who are featured at expensive web industry conferences like South by Southwest. WordCamp is one of the best bargains around.

Open to all, content galore, shared with community.

WordCamps do not discriminate, and WordPress users, developers, designers, and other enthusiasts should all feel welcome at a WordCamp, regardless of their experience level. Sessions generally span a variety of formats, including lectures/presentations, live demos, Q&A, workshops, ignite-style lightning presentations, panels, interviews, and any other format you can imagine. Presentations are shared with the broader WordPress community by posting session slides/videos to the WordCamp channel on WordPress.tv.

Making connections, promoting collaboration.

Getting to meet and learn from other WordPress users face-to-face is one of the main reasons people attend WordCamps. Many WordCamps set up an informal “genius bar” staffed with experienced WordPress volunteers who try to help fellow attendees with their WordPress questions. In addition to learning from each other, attendees often find new collaborators, employees/employers and potential co-conspirators in the WordCamp crowd. These new relationships can lead to exciting WordPress projects throughout the year. Many WordCamps also set up a “job board” for attendees to post job openings, business cards, etc. Ideally, every WordCamp is the annual “big event” of a local WordPress meetup group. If no such group exists, a WordCamp can be a great way to kick it off.

Locally organized and focused.

Each individual event is organized by local WordPress users, developers and fans. We provide guidance, but the elbow grease is theirs. Showcasing local talent is one of the best things about WordCamp, and the program includes local speakers/presenters whenever possible. It’s fun to hear from WordPress lead developers and other prominent WordPress personalities, but WordCamps are not meant to be a lecture circuit with the same speakers at every event, so the best WordCamps tend to have both local and visiting speakers.

Volunteers everywhere.

It is generally acknowledged that participating in WordCamps is one of the easiest and most enjoyable ways to give something back to the WordPress community. Each WordCamp is operated by tireless volunteers, from the organizers who plan it all to the volunteers who work the event and the speakers who donate their time to teach you new things. It takes a lot of people to make a WordCamp happen, so remember to thank the volunteers who made it possible.

Accurately represents the WordPress project.

WordCamp organizers, speakers, sponsors, and volunteers are seen by attendees as representing WordPress and the WordPress community, and for many it’s their first impression. Because of this, every WordCamp follows some basic guidelines to vet these personnel and ensure that their communications in these roles provide accurate information and respect the positions and policies of the WordPress open source project.

It’s not about the money.

Most WordCamps use up all their sponsor and ticket money in planning the event, but when there is a surplus, it is used to benefit the community, not treated as profit to be pocketed by the organizers. Surplus money is used for things like: funding an ongoing WordPress meetup group’s get-togethers, seed money for next year’s WordCamp expenses, sponsoring a local developer to work on a contribution to WordPress.org, or donating it to the WordPress Foundation. WordPress-based conferences organized as money-making opportunities are not approved to use the WordCamp name.

Perks.

Though it’s not mandatory, many WordCamps use some of their budget to create commemorative t-shirts or other swag (this is significantly cooler when there are good designers on the organizing team, ha) and/or to provide food and beverages to attendees at the event. These things should definitely be considered potential perks rather than guaranteed entitlements, as each organizing team decides for itself how to spend the money they’ve raised from sponsorships and ticket sales, and these are often the biggest expenses. Information about what’s included with each ticket purchase will be listed on each individual WordCamp’s website.

Fun. Fun! More fun!!

We almost forgot to mention the most obvious part of WordCamps: they’re fun! Getting to geek out for a day or two with other people just as obsessed with WordPress as you are is just plain awesome. You’ll meet people who are crazy smart, insanely inspired and inspiring, and maybe even a handful of talented singers. Most WordCamps follow the conference with an afterparty at a nearby location where you can have a few drinks with your new friends and hatch your (WordPress-based, of course) plot to take over the world.

We have compiled a short list of places to stay if you’re coming from out of town to attend WordCamp Kansas City

Holiday Inn Country Club Plaza

Rates: from $139/night

Website: ihg.com/holidayinn

Phone number: (816) 753-7400

Address: One East 45th Street, Kansas City, Missouri, 64111 → Map

In-Town Shuttle: Free. 7am-11pm daily. Up to 3 miles (including all WordCamp KC venues)

Extended Stay America Kansas City – Country Club Plaza

Rates: from $103/night

Website: extendedstayamerica.com

Phone number: (816) 531-2212

Address: 4535 Main St Kansas City, MO 64111 → Map

In-Town Shuttle: No shuttle

Best Western Plus Seville Plaza Hotel

Rates: from $108/night

Website: bestwestern.com

Phone number: (816) 561-9600

Address: 4309 Main Street, Kansas City, Missouri, 64111 → Map

In-Town Shuttle: Free. 4pm-midnight, Fri & Sat. Up to 3 miles (including all WordCamp KC venues)

816 Hotel

Rates: from $139/night (will match any online rate via phone)

Website: 816hotel.com

Phone number: (816) 931-1000

Address: 801 Westport Road, Kansas City, MO 64111 → Map

In-Town Shuttle: Free. 7:30am-10:30 daily. Up to 4 miles (including all WordCamp KC venues)

Note from the Organizers | Official WordCamp Guidelines | Sponsorship Levels | Sponsorship Request Form | WordCamp KC 2015 – by the Numbers
WordCamp Kansas City is an annual conference focused on free and open source software WordPress, as well as blogging, content distribution, social media, entrepreneurship and more.

The WordPress platform is used to build nearly 25% of all websites on the internet today and many estimates suggest that more than 50% of small business websites are built with WordPress.

WordCamp Kansas City gathers developers and users of WordPress as well as managers and decision-makers from around the mid-west to discuss new directions, exciting implementations, creation and distribution of engaging content, and business practices.

We anticipate a great audience for WordCamp Kansas City with as many as 300 attendees, across the Friday, Saturday, and Sunday event. We have an experienced organizing committee and have teamed with Kauffman Foundation Conference Center to provide a fantastic venue and conference-going experience. In addition to the well established core audience for WordPress in the Kansas City and surrounding area, we will have a strong marketing program and specific program content to reach out to newcomers to WordPress community.

We encourage you to consider sponsorship, and please let us know if you have any questions, or suggestions for the conference, or if you’re interested in becoming a WordCamp KC speaker.

Sponsorship levels are listed below, with a request for sponsorship form at the bottom.

WordCamp Central Official Sponsorship Guidelines

• Fundraising Philosophy
• Creation of Sponsorship Packages
• The Legal Stuff

Note from the Organizers | Official WordCamp Guidelines | Sponsorship Levels | Sponsorship Request Form | WordCamp KC 2015 – by the Numbers