Watch videos from 2010 WordCamp MSP!Jeff Pesek, Co Founder of TECHdotMN, spent his time at WordCamp MSP interviewing various speakers about their sessions. Some of his interviewees include Mert Sahinoglu, Mykl Roventine, and John Hawkins. You can view all of the interviews on the WordCamp MSP Website under the Interview Page. We hope you enjoy them!
Tags: feedback
Share your thoughts about the 2010 WordCamp MSP!First and foremost, on behalf of the entire organizing team, I’d like to personally thank all of our attendees for making this a wonderful event!
Now that we’ve all had a few days to unwind, it’s time to start reflecting on the debut year. From an organizers standpoint, the lists of “what went well” and “what we could do better” are rapidly accumulating. However, it seems only fitting to open the conversation up to the people who really made this year successful… Our attendees! We want to know what you thought of WordCamp MSP. Good or bad, your feedback will help us plan for next year’s event and is very much appreciated.
In an effort to streamline the feedback process, we’ve put together a brief questionnaire about the event—with plenty of room to add in extra comments. Thank you, in advance, for your candid response.
Again, we truly value your opinion and look forward to reading your feedback in the upcoming weeks.
Tags: security, sponsors, VaultPress
We’re all very excited about the last minute VaultPress sponsorship and sincerely appreciate their support during our debut year!
VaultPress is the only protection and backup service built on the Automattic grid that reliably serves over 13.9 million WordPress.com blogs and 270 million monthly visitors. VaultPress protects more than just your content. Because it understands the WordPress environment, even your settings and customizations to your themes and plugins are all safeguarded and ready to be restored. If you depend on your blogs and sites for your professional communication needs, VaultPress delivers total security and peace of mind.
Dan Huynh will be speaking at WordCamp MSP!
Dan will be leading a session titled ” Widgets” for our WP 101 Track. In this session Dan will cover the basics of widgets and how to use them.
You can learn more about Dan at our Speakers Page!
Here are a few last minute details everyone should take note of! If you have any other questions, please feel free to contact us or comment on this post.There are still tickets available for WordCamp. You can get tickets through Eventbrite until 11:55pm on Friday and they’ll also be sold at the door for $40(must be paid in cash or check). Please let anyone you think would be interested in WordPress know!
***NOTE: if you HAVE NOT received a PDF confirmation ticket from EventBrite you are NOT registered for WordCamp***
Please no refunds. If you are unable to attend the event, please give your ticket to someone else or consider it as a personal donation.
Blog & Bowl MSP will take place at the Brunswick Zone in Eden Prairie from 7-9pm. Pizza and pop will be provided. This is an opportunity for you to meet and mingle with the MSP WordPress Group and WordCamp MSP organizers, speakers, and sponsors. The night will be filled with blogging, bowling, and billiards. We only have space for 100, so let us know if you would like to join!
Check in begins at 8am. Please don’t arrive any sooner, we promise there will be plenty of time to get every one through registration before the sessions begin! After you give security your name, please make your way to the table with your t-shirt size on it. Here, you will be given you schwag bag filled with your t-shirt, badge, and other WP goodies. There will be another table nearby where you can go to fill out your badge. Just look for the signs!
Caribou Coffee will be open from 7am to 12pm for your convenience. We suggest eating breakfast before you come or grabbing a quick bite from Caribou. Lunch will be provided by Buca di Beppo. They will be serving spaghetti marinara, caesar salad, and bread. Pop and water will also be provided.
There will be Wi-Fi available for everyone. Feel free to bring your laptop if you are so inclined.
The first 500 people to arrive at Best Buy will receive a schwag bag, which includes the official WordCamp MSP shirt!
The schedule can be found online, throughout the hub on the screens, and you will also be given a hard copy. Please note that the schedule is subject to change. We will make sure you are aware of any changes if they do occur.
If you would like to help out throughout the day but did not previously sign up, just visit our volunteer table which will be located near check in.
The after party will be held at Oak City which is in the neighborhood of Best Buy. It will begin at 8pm. There will be appetizers and h’orderves available. Throughout the day we will be running contests via Twitter to give away free drink tickets and gift cards, so keep an eye out for these! We hope you can make it!
Carl is our latest confirmed speaker for WordCamp MSP!
Carl will be leading a session titled “The Toy Box – 10 Plugins to Get You Started” for the WP 101 track. We will talk briefly about how WordPress uses plugins, and what they can do for your content management. Then, we will look at 10 great plugins that you can use to move your site ahead. This session will focus primarily on self-hosted WordPress sites. Come ready to share your favorite plugins.
You can learn more about Carl at our Speaker’s Page!
Tags: Speaker, WP 201 Track
Kiko Doran will be speaking at WordCamp MSP!
Kiko will be leading a session titled “Child Theme Modification” for the WP 201 Track. WordPress theme development is very easy to start but hard to master. In this class I will show you how to get started in theme development through the use of child themes. All self-taught WordPress theme developers seem to start by messing with other people’s themes. We will cover what a parent/child theme relationship is and how to get started creating your own child themes. Other items covered are: benefits of child themes, frameworks vs. parent themes, and how to speed up your workflow with child themes.
You can learn more about Kiko at our Speaker’s Page!
Come meet and mingle with other WordCampers at Blog & Bowl MSP!We would love for you to join the MSP WordPress Group and WordCamp MSP organizers, speakers, and sponsors for a night of blogging, bowling and billiards.
We’ve rented out space for 100 guests at the Eden Prairie Brunswick Zone on Friday, November 12th from 7-9pm. Pizza and pop will be provided. There is also a cash bar available for those who are interested. Please let us know if you’d like to join us!
Robert is our latest confirmed speaker for WordCamp MSP!
Robert will be leading a session titled “How to Turn Your Business into A Media Powerhouse” for the Blogger Track. The only way to get known fast is through all out massive action, and online that means being in many places at many times, something definitely achievable. In this session you’ll learn how to leverage WordPress and social media to turn your business into a media powerhouse, and meet your future customers everywhere they live. You’ll see how to turn one piece of content into many, send it out wide and deep, and use that content to turn future customers into today’s customers.
You can learn more about Robert at our Speaker’s Page!
The Caribou Coffee located in the Best Buy Campus has agreed to be open from 7am to 12pm during WordCamp. Since you’ll be on your own for breakfast, this will be a convenient stop if you hit the snooze button a few too many times and didn’t have time to make some coffee or grab a bite to eat! The Caribou is located right around the corner from where you will be checking in. Check out your map (which you’ll be given at check in) or just look for the signs.
Tags: best buy, event details, november 13th, registration, ticket, update, venue
The WordCamp MSP registration deadline has been extended!Thanks to the kind folks at Best Buy, we are able to extend registration until Friday! You can purchase your ticket to WordCamp through Eventbrite until 11:55pm on Friday.
But wait, it gets even better!! They are also allowing us to sell tickets to WordCamp at the door! There will be a separate line during check in for those who still need a ticket. All tickets sold at the door will be $40 and can be paid with cash or check only.
WordCamp MSP is only a few short days away…do all of your friends know about it? Help us spread the word to anyone who may be interested!!
**Please note that all discount codes have expired**
Tags: Ptah Dunbar, speakers, update, WP 401 Track
Ptah will be speaking at WordCamp MSP!
Ptah will be leading a session titled “Rapid Theme Development using a Theme Framework” for the WP 401 track. WordPress is constantly evolving, adding new features and functionality as well as deprecating old and out-dated practices. The question is, can your theme keep up? In this session, Ptah is going to fill you in on the secrets on how to use a theme framework to rapidly development websites and keep them future-proof. We’re going to cover features like li8n-support, template hierarchy, functionality abstraction, theme options, and so much more.
You can learn more about Ptah at our Speaker’s Page!
Tags: Blog, blogger track, speakers, Susan Maus
Susan is our latest confirmed speaker for WordCamp MSP!
Susan will be leading a session titled “Keep It Super Simple: Use Analytics to Improve Your ROI” for the Blogger track. In this session you will learn how to use analytics to measure the results of your WordPress site. Keep It Super Simple and get results!
You can learn more about Susan at our Speaker’s Page!
Griff is our latest confirmed speaker for WordCamp MSP!
Griff will be leading a session titled “WordPress Basics for Noobs” for the WP 101 Track. The track will be an overview of the essential elements for beginning to use WordPress: navigating the Dashboard, creating posts and pages, assigning categories and tags, saving drafts and publishing your work, customizing your sidebar widgets and menus, and more.
You can learn more about Griff at our Speakers Page!
Tags: best buy, job posting
Best Buy Contract DeveloperBest Buy has a opening for a hard core WordPress developer to manage, maintain and enhance their 1000+ blog WordPress platform. This is a full time contract position working with the BestBuy.com team.
The qualified candidate will possess these skills:
*NOTE: This is not a theme design position!
WordCamp MSP’s after party will be going down at Oak City!We’re pleased to announce that we’ve secured an after party venue in the neighborhood of Best Buy. Oak City is located at 5001 American Boulevard in Bloomington (map shown below). The party will begin around 8pm; this will give attendees enough time after WordCamp, which ends at 7pm, to grab some dinner and head on over Oak City. They have some pretty awesome food, so I suggest grabbing a bite to eat there before the party starts!
Please bring your WordCamp MSP badge (which you’ll receive during check-in that morning) to show the host/hostess so they can direct you to where the fellow WordCampers are.
We’ll be auctioning off free drink tickets and Oak City gift cards at WordCamp throughout the day. They also have 2-4-1 drink specials which begin at 9:30pm. For more information on Oak City visit their website here. We hope to see you all there!
Calling all creative minds…The MSP WP Users Group currently uses the traditional WordPress”W” as their logo (the display picture of this blog) and are looking for a logo they can call their own! The goal is to come up with something which still includes the “W”, but also visually represents the Twin Cities and the thriving WordPress community we have.
So here’s the scoop, since WordCamp MSP is right around the corner, we thought it would be fun to turn this into a logo design contest! The rules are simple… (1) logo submissions can not be offensive in any way (2) submissions should incorporate the “W” and (3) all logos must be submitted by Thursday, November 11th. Submissions will be shown at WordCamp MSP and the winner will be determined by either the attendees, MSP WP User Group, or both! (more details to come regarding voting) To get started, you can visit their website and find official WordPress Logo vectors here.
If you’re a graphic designer or just a generally creative person and would like to give this a whirl…..
Good luck!!
ipHouse has officially signed on as a WordCamp MSP sponsor!We’re all very excited about ipHouse’s contribution and would like to thank them for their support during our debut year!
ipHouse specializes in Application and Data hosting platforms for business. Our team of certified Internet Professionals create Application and Data hosting solutions that meet the needs today while remaining flexible for the demands of tomorrow. For content developers, ipHouse manages the hosting environment so you can focus on your business. For content rich businesses that require performance and reliability, ipHouse provides enterprise grade hosting platforms that fit your budget, meet your time-line, and secure your data. Don’t let your data be farmed in the cloud. Choose ipHouse for enterprise grade hosting that you can trust.
For more information about ipHouse, check out their sponsor profile page or click here to visit their website.
Bring your questions to the Tech Shop at WordCamp MSP!
The MSP WordPress Users Group has graciously offered to run The Tech Shop at WordCamp MSP! Similar to the Apple Stores’ Genius Bar, The Tech Shop will have WordPress experts available to help you with all of your coding needs.
The Tech Shop pros will be cracking codes and answering questions all day. You’ll be assisted on a first-come, first-serve basis, so be sure to stop in and say hi early in the day. The best part? It’s totally FREE! This means you will be able to get free help for your WordPress site right at WordCamp MSP. Pretty sweet, huh?
Be sure to stay tuned for more information on where you can find The Tech Shop at WordCamp!
Justin will be speaking at WordCamp MSP!
Justin will be leading a session on E- Commerce for the WP 201 track. Come learn about the latest and greatest new features in WordPress E-Commerce 3.8! We’ll be showcasing WPeC’s incredible level of extensibility by previewing the latest plugin developed for it, a potential game-changer for businesses all across the world! Whether you’re a beginner or a developer, this session has something for everyone.
You can learn more about Justin at our Speaker’s Page!
Carrie Rocha is our latest confirmed speaker for WordCamp MSP!
Carrie will be leading a session titled ” Monetizing Your Blog” for the Blogger Track. In less than 10 months, the blog Carrie Rocha launched to help a few friends and family became her full-time vocation and financially supports her family of 4. In this session she will discuss ad networks, but will focus on affiliate marketing as a revenue model for bloggers of all niches. You’ll walk away knowing which revenue strategy is right for you and how to start generating revenue from the content you are already publishing.
You can learn more about Carrie at our speakers page!
Tags: best buy, registration, speakers, sponsors, ticket
Registration for WordCamp Minneapolis – St. Paul will close on November 9th at 11:55pm!(Please excused the slightly melodramatic post title… Halloween may be clouding my creativity!)
Knowing that we all have a tendency to procrastinate from time-to-time, I thought it only appropriate to pass on this important news about the upcoming registration deadline.
We will NOT be able to accept ANY registrations for WordCamp Minneapolis – St. Paul after 11:55pm on November 9th.
Yes, folks, you read that correctly. All sponsors (who want to use the included tickets), speakers, volunteers and attendees must be on the list we’re sending to Best Buy on November 10th.
Register Here
Kay Roseland is speaking at WordCamp MSP!
Kay will be leading a session titled “Creating a Post with Photos from Scratch” for WP101. This session will cover basic WordPress.com post creation with an emphasis on how to create your first, second and more! Post with photos.
You can learn more about Kay at our speakers page!
David Hedrick Skarjune is our latest confirmed speaker for WordCamp MSP!
David will be leading a session titled “Working with Images, Galleries, and Lightboxes” for WP101. WordPress offers Media features for adding and sizing images in posts and pages. But wait–there’s more! Learn about the variety of ways to manage, manipulate, and display images in WordPress. Galleries offer a default means to organize a collection of images on a page or post. ‘Lightbox’ plugins offer extended functionality for displaying pop-up enlargements and slideshows. We’ll cover the basics along with demos of some handy tools and tricks.
You can learn more about David at our speakers page!
Tags: become a speaker, speakers, wordpress basics, WP 101 Track
Speakers needed for WP 101 Track!Still interested in becoming a speaker at WordCamp MSP? We’ve got just the track!
As many of you know, we have added two additional tracks to our program, the Blogger track and the WP 101 track. The focus of the WordPress 101 Track is to give our “New to WordPress” attendees a basic understanding of how to manage (and maintain) their WordPress website. While many of us are pros when it comes to navigating the dashboard and updating content, there are even more people who would love to have a crash course on the fundamentals! In the spirit of WordCamp, lets give something back and help grow the WordPress community!
We’ve come up with some possible topics, but are by no means limiting the program to the following sessions:
Is there something you wish you would have known when you first started using WordPress? Odds are other people are struggling with the same thing, so let us know your ideas! Think you could lead a session on any of these topics (or a topic of your own)? Let us know! Simply send us a message on our speaker sign-up page or leave us a comment below!
Sam Parsons is speaking at WordCamp MSP!
Sam will be leading a session titled “WordPress Off Road” for our WordPress 401 Track. Sam will talk about integrating WordPress with a multi-faceted (non-WordPress) website. He will also be introducing a PHP class called WP-Posts for exporting WordPress posts, scripts he’s developed for maintaining multi-site WordPresses and experiences setting up LDAP authentication.
You can learn more about Sam on our Speaker’s Page!
Dave Buchanan is our latest confirmed WordCamp MSP Speaker!
Dave will be leading a session titled “WordPress Performance- Keeping the mouse from flying out of the wheel” for our WordPress 401 Track. WordPress can do a lot and has been around a long time. These two factors, combined with WordPress’ support for backwards compatibility, can lead to crazy performance issues. This session will essentially be a case study that we experienced at Dolan and cover some core fundamental needs for getting your WordPress site performing optimally.
You can learn more about Dave on our Speaker’s Page!
Tags: blogger track, Griff Wigley, minneapolis, november 13th, Speaker, st. paul, wordcampmsp
Griff Wigley will be speaking at WordCamp MSP!
Griff will be leading a session titled “Blog-Based Conversations: Tools and strategies for managing comments and the people who make them” for our Blogger track. We’ll look at some of the WordPress features, plugins and widgets that are designed for fostering and managing blog comments. And then we’ll examine some of the guidelines and moderator strategies that can be deployed for promoting robust but civil conversations.
You can learn more about Griff on our Speaker’s Page!
Infolinks has officially signed on as a WordCamp MSP sponsor! We are all very excited about this sponsorship and would like to thank them for their generous contribution!
Infolinks, Inc. is a leading PPC contextual advertising network, providing In Text Advertising services to online content publishers worldwide. They were established in 2007 and already lead the contextual advertising industry with the most attractive business model and guarantee the highest revenue sharing basis to all partners.
Since their incorporation, more and more websites have been integrating Infolinks contextual ads into their content. Infolinks takes pride in making the process effortless, easy, and immediately profitable. If you want to learn more about Infolinks visit their website here.
Tags: blogger track, blogging, event details, Genevieve Ruebel, minneapolis, november 13th, speakers, st. paul
Genevieve Ruebel is our latest confirmed WordCamp MSP Speaker!
Genevieve will be leading a spontaneous discussion titled “Finding a Topic (what is the point of having a blog if you cannot put a sentence on the page)” for our bloggers track. This session will explore what it takes to get your first sentence off the ground and on to the page. What do you want to or what are you already writing about. Do you plan things out ahead of time or just dive in. Is this something that is personal or company related or even mixed. You will come away with ideas of how to get started or new angles to explore.
Read more about Genevieve’s background on our Speaker’s Page!
Tags: Arik Hanson, Blog, blogger track, Program, Speaker
Arik Hanson will be speaking at WordCamp MSP!
He will be leading a session titled “24 ways to feed your blog beast” for our Blogger Track. We all want to blog more often, right? But, a lack of time and creative ideas usually gets in the way. In this short presentation, Arik will discuss 24 practical tips you can start using TOMORROW to feed your blog beast and keep you blogging more regularly.
You can learn more about Arik by visiting our Speaker Page.
Steve Borsch and Tim Elliot will be speaking at WordCamp MSP!
Steve and Tim will co-lead a session titled “WordPress for Small Business, Non-Profits and Startups” for our intermediate track. This session will cover why it’s no longer enough to have a simple website. Today every business, non-profit and startup has to be able to communicate and engage their customers and prospects with social media AND be great storytellers with a blog.
But that’s not all. You need ecommerce capability to sell physical and digital goods; handle membership or subscriptions if you want to deliver your value in that way; ensure your website is also easily accessible from a smartphone or iPad; and make certain you deliver your video, audio, screencasts and other media in a way that’s viewable across all of these different device types.
Daunting? Nah….not with WordPress. Come to this session to see how you can take your vision for your organization and deliver it in a WordPress-driven site right now.
If you want to find out more about Tim and Steve you can read their bios on our Speaker page.
Word of Maus has officially signed on as a WordCamp MSP sponsor! We are all very excited about Susan’s contributions to WordCamp MSP as both a speaker and now official sponsor!
WordPress is the foundation of Word of Maus’s approach to social media – it all begins with a blog! Their focus is using social media to drive search engine optimization (SEO) for small businesses and solopreneurs who want to grow.
If you want to learn more about Word of Maus, visit their website here!
Are you traveling from out of town to attend to WordCamp MSP?We’ve blocked off rooms at the Embassy Suites in Bloomington (which is less than two miles from the airport and Best Buy!). They have offered us a group rate of $109 for the following amenities:
You can make reservations and receive the group rate until October 29. Reservations can be made by either calling 1-800-EMBASSY requesting group WordCamp Minneapolis-St. Paul, or online here with the group code CWOR.
Ramada Minneapolis Airport West
612- 861-1000
Extended Stay America Hotel Minneapolis – Bloomington
952-884-1400 OR 800-804-3724
Hilton Bloomington Hotel Minneapolis
952- 893-9500
Hampton Inn
612-861-1000
We are excited to announce that Ryan Imel will be speaking at WordCamp MSP!
Ryan will lead a session titled, “Understanding WordPress Multisite” for our Advanced Track. In this session Ryan will explain why WordPress Multisite (previously WordPress MU) is receiving more attention since the release of 3.0 than ever before. You will learn how to use Multisite to improve your development practices and build out networks intelligently.
If you want to learn more about Ryan, check out his bio on our speaker’s page!
Tags: 25%, discount, event details, minneapolis, minnesota, mn, msp, november 13th, registration, st. paul, ticket, update, word camp, wordcamp, wordcampmsp
Be one of the next TEN (10) people to register for WordCamp MSP and receive a 25% discount on your ticket!- Use the discount code WCMSP to receive the 25% off. (NOTE: If you order your ticket without this code, you won’t get the discount! Eventbrite won’t know you’re first without it!)
- The discount is limited to the first TEN (10) registrations. (If you don’t make it in time, you should still register! We’d love to see you there!)
- Limit 1 ticket per order.
TECHdotMN has officially signed on to be a sponsor of WordCamp MSP! They have generously offered to provide media support during the day of the event. Throughout the day, their team will be conducting audio/video interviews, liveblogging,and taking photographs. All of us at WordCamp MSP are very excited about this contribution.
TECHdotMN is a passionate group of technology enthusiasts on a mission to serve Minnesota’s high tech ecosystem and the early stage ventures within it. Through a mix of unique audio/video features and written word, we create original Minnesota high tech news and curate relevant local news from outside sources. When combined with Minnesota’s most comprehensive calendar of high tech/entrepreneur events and the deepest directory of Minnesota high tech companies (including 150 +/- startups) the result is an exhaustive resource for those who care about what’s happening in Minnesota’s high tech market.
Thanks TECHdotMN for supporting WordCamp MSP! To learn more about what they do, visit their sponsor profile page or click here to visit their website.
Have you heard about the new tracks added to the WordCamp MSP program?There has been talk that WordCamp MSP would be adding more tracks after the recent move to Best Buy Corporate Campus. Because we are able to share the WordCamp MSP experience with a significantly larger audience, we want to make sure our attendees will truly benefit from this conference. We are eliminating as many gray areas as possible between our original “beginner, intermediate, and advanced” tracks. We promised you more information on this, so here it is:
Geared towards all bloggers….(No tech skills required!!)
→ How to find your blogging voice
→ Writing for readership
→ Social Marketing
→ SEO through Social Media
A basic introduction to WordPress: a great learning experience for your clients!
→ Understanding Dashboard
→ Intro to Blogging: How to write a blog
→ How to create a new page
→ How to: Pictures
→ Widgets, sidebar, etc
Do-it-yourself Track: Join us at WordCamp MSP and leave with a professional website that you understand and know how to use!
→ E-commerce
→ WordPress Set Up
→ Using basic Plugins
→ Proper Blogging “etiquette”
Beyond the Basics Track: You know the basics, you’ve got a blog and/or website, and you’re itching to learn more!
→ Social Media
→ Intermediate Plugin use
→ Analytics
→ Basic SEO techniques…to get you noticed.
Programmer Track: You’re a hardcore WP user.
→ Advanced SEO
→ Analytics
→ Theme and Plugin creation….and more.
We also promised you a more “un” conference type atmosphere. Not only will we be able to accommodate more people and sessions, but we will also dedicate small rooms for spontaneous discussions. WordCamp MSP is committed to offering something for all levels of WP users, but we understand we may not cover it all. Therefore, we encourage our attendees to schedule their own “sessions” throughout the day. Keep an eye out for our discussion board on the day of the event. There, you will be able to write in your name and session topic and others will be able to see it and attend!
We are definitely still accepting speakers. If you’re interested in speaking, visit our speaker sign-up page. We will announce which sessions and topics we are looking for later this week, so stay tuned!
Susan Maus will be speaking at WordCamp MSP!
Susan will lead a session titled, “Social Media is SEO Much More Than Idle Chatter” for our Intermediate Track. Susan Maus uses social media to drive search engine optimization (SEO). Her proven “Word of Maus” strategies deliver front-page results for small and mid-sized companies nationwide. She has developed a series of Do-It-Yourself guides and workbooks that enable clients to take over their WordPress site once it is up and running. The first in the series, “Lurching Thru WordPress,” launches in November.
Want to know more about Susan? Check her our on our speaker’s page!
Josh Byers will be speaking at WordCamp MSP!
Josh will be leading a session titled “Customizing WordPress from the Inside Out”. He’ll aim for WordPress to fit your client like a glove by covering topics such as custom post types, custom taxonomies, and custom meta boxes.
If you would like to learn more about Josh, Check out his bio on our speakers page.
We are excited to announce our latest speaker, John Havlik!
John will be leading a session titled, “How-to: Reporting Issues” for our Beginner track. This session will cover troubleshooting issues in your WordPress installation, verifying that it is a “bug” and best practices for reporting it.
For more information on John check out his bio on the speaker’s page!
We are excited to announce our latest speaker, Mert Sahinoglu!
Mert will be leading a session on SEO in the Advanced track. During this session, Mert will go over SEO Design tips and blog link building strategies. Topics of this session will include Long Tail Key Words and Universal Search SEO for Blogs and help your site jump to the front of the line!
If you want to learn more about Mert, check out his bio on our speaker’s page!
Josh Leuze will be speaking at WordCamp MSP!
Josh will be leading a session titled “Creating your own Page Templates” for our intermediate track. During this session he will teach you how to create and use a custom WordPress page template. Josh will also explain why creating your own page template can be beneficial for you!
Want to know more about Josh Leuze? Check out his bio on our Speakers Page!
Tags: best buy, event details, minneapolis, msp, november 13th, sponsors, st. paul, update, venue, word camp, wordcamp, wordcampmsp
(Who are we kidding? We’re terrible at keeping secrets! Especially when we’re only 43 days away! )
Yes, it’s official! Best Buy has signed on as our venue sponsor for the 2010 WordCamp Minneapolis – St. Paul on November 13th!
First, we’re now able to share the WordCamp MSP experience with a significantly larger audience. Best Buy has offered us multiple rooms for WordCamping! The result? We’re adding two additional tracks for our attendees. We’ll have more information about these new tracks in the next few days, but in the meantime, here’s what you can expect to see:
Added Track #1: The Client Track
Bring your clients to WordCamp MSP and our expert speakers will teach them the basics of WordPress. We’ll train them on everything they’ll need to know to successfully work with the no doubt amazing site you built for them. From widgets to pages and everything in between; your clients will walk out feeling like WordPress Experts!
Added Track #2: The Bloggers Track
This track will be geared toward the Twin Cities blogging community and will cover everything from content strategy and finding your voice to etiquette and optimization! (No “tech” skills required!)
Second, having the Best Buy Campus as our venue will allow us to make WordCamp MSP more “UN-conference” than “conference”. This not only means we’ll have more speakers, but attendees will have more options! Plus, we’ll now have break-out rooms and several other “TOP SECRET” (meaning, you’ll likely find out next week…) initiatives that will help to inspire creativity and collaboration throughout Minneapolis!
Best Buy’s sponsorship comes as a huge “Thank You” to the entire WordPress community and I truly hope you are all just as flattered as we are! This is going to be a great event and we can’t wait to see you all there!
Check out our Event Details Page for more information about the event and the venue!!
Best Buy is not only one of the largest companies in Minneapolis, but it also has one of the largest corporate installations of WordPress!
Are you a WordPress user? Has WordPress helped you change the world in your own unique way? Are you looking to give back to the WordPress community but don’t have the hefty budget of a large organization? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then we have an opportunity for you!
We are excited to announce our latest speaker, Tim Shoffelman!
Tim will be leading a session titled “Extending Functionality Through Custom Fields” for the Advanced Track.
For more information on Tim check out his bio on our speaker’s page!
Erik Hare will be speaking at WordCamp MSP!
Erik will be leading a session called “Word Press as a New Media Strategy” for our Beginner Track. This session will focus on how to define a strategy for social media and use WordPress to build a web presence which implements it. Please be prepared with specific examples to work through in an interactive and practical discussion on the perspective that sets “new media” apart from the old – and then making it work. The flexibility and simplicity of WordPress makes creating a solid win simple once you have your strategy clear!
For more information check out Erik’s bio on our Speakers Page!
Julie Kosbab and Joe Leyba are our newest speakers for WordCamp MSP!
Julie and Joe will be leading a session called “Site Analysis Workshop” for the Intermediate track. In this session they will take live URLs of audience members and show the audience what to look for from an SEO perspective, with a few takeaways for each URL on how to improve the optimization of the site. They’ll offer tips on what to look for on your own URLs, as well as some broadly applicable ideas from which everyone can derive SEO benefits to their sites.
For more information on Julie and Joe check on their bios on our Speakers Page!
Todd J. List will be speaking at WordCamp MSP!
Todd will be leading a session called “Theme Selection” for our beginner track. Learn how to avoid the common traps from the start then figure out what you do to take your theme to a more advanced level.
For more information check out Todd’s bio on our Speakers Page!.
Brad Marsh will be speaking at WordCamp MSP!
Brad will be leading a session called “WordPress as a CMS” for our Beginner Track. This session will go into depth on the ease of using WordPress as an all-purpose content management system. Especially from the standpoint of how developers can quickly turn out quality, administrable websites for their clients with just a few key plugins and a base install of WordPress.
Want to learn more about Brad? Check out his bio on our Speakers Page!
Are you looking for a great way to get connected with local WordPress enthusiasts? Did you know that there’s an entire group dedicated to just that? Check out the MSP WordPress Users Group website or visit the Google Groups page for more information.
Better yet, are you free tonight?! Join us at the WordPress Users Group meeting! We’ll be kicking off the meet-up with a WordCamp update. It’ll be a great time to share your thoughts and get involved!
WHO: Everyone is welcome!
WHAT: This month’s meeting will focus on the ins and outs of installing and running WordPress locally.
WHERE: The Nerdery – 9555 James Ave S, Suite 245, Bloomington, MN 55431
WHEN: Pizza at 6:30 p.m., rock-and-roll at 7.
HOW: To register for this month’s meeting, simply join the Google group (if you haven’t already) and add your name to this list:
http://groups.google.com/group/mpls-stpaul-wordpress/web/msp-wordpress-8—august-26-2010
Our latest WordCamp MSP speaker is Rick Mahn!
Social media strategist, Rick Mahn will be leading a session called “One Plugin too Many” for our Intermediate Track. This session will explore the use (and over-use) of plugins on your WordPress blog. What you should look for, and what you should leave behind.
For more information on Rick check out his bio on our Speakers Page!.
Mitchell Hislop is our latest speaker for WordCamp MSP!
He will be leading a session called “Beyond Hits: A look into metrics beyond the simple” for our intermediate track. In this session, he will be delving into analytics beyond pageviews/hits. Mitchell will go into some of the more advanced features in Google Analytics, as well as compare several other analytics options.
Find out more about Mitchell Hislop! Check out his bio on our Speakers Page!
Toby Cryns will be speaking at the 2010 WordCamp MSP!
Toby will be leading a session on Zero To WordPress In 45 Minutes for our Beginner track. At the end of this interactive session, you will be the proud owner of your very own WordPress.com website. He will teach you how to set up your WordPress.com account, create a website, change your website design, start blogging, add images, add videos, add hyperlinks, insert your Flickrfeed, insert RSS feeds, and more!
Do you want to know more about Toby Cryns? Check out his bio on our Speakers Page!
We are excited to announce the Social Media Breakfast Twin Cities chapter has partnered with WordCamp Minneapolis-St. Paul!
The SMBMSP is currently the biggest chapter in the US with over 2100 online members! Since it’s founding, SMBMSP has been a regularly occuring event where like minded social media folks across the Twin Cities get together to share and learn about social media.
We are super excited about this opportunity and are looking forward to working together with the SMB in the months to come. For more information about the Social Media Breakfast Minneapolis-St. Paul, check out their website!
We are extremely excited to announce that Mykl Roventine will be speaking at WordCamp MSP this fall!
Mykl will be leading a session on “Making WordPress Your Own: Theme Customization and Creation” for the advanced track.
Want to know more? Read Mykl’s bio on our Speakers Page!
Show your support for WordCamp MSP by adding a badge to your site! We have an assortment of badges to chose from. We have a badge for attendees, sponsors, speakers and even the dreamers! Badges can be found on the badge tab, just above. Just chose the perfect one for you! Don’t forget to tell your friends about WordCampMSP!
John Hawkins will be speaking at the 2010 WordCamp MSP!
John will be leading a session on Building your First Plugin for our Intermediate track. He has lead this session at several WordCamps in the past year and we’re all very excited that he’ll be bringing his expertise to Minnesota!
Do you want to know more about John Hawkins? Check out his bio on our Speakers Page!
WordPress Users and WordCamp Fans, WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! We will be posting discussion board topics on the WordCamp MSP Facebook Fan page to chat about all things WordPress and WordCamp related. Join us every Monday – Friday to connect with local WordPress enthusiasts, collaborate with other users and give feedback to WordCamp MSP Organizers. We will be posting new topics often but if you want to start up your own discussion, feel free!
Just visit, WordCamp MSP on Facebook! Happy typing!
WordCamp MSP is getting closer, and we are still graciously accepting sponsors and in-kind donations! Because WordCamp is a user organized event, we rely on fundraising to help us make this event affordable for everyone.
Check out our sponsorship page to see our different sponsorship opportunities! This page includes information about the four sponsorship levels and directions for securing a sponsorship. These sponsorship packages—ranging from $250-$3,000—were designed to give sponsors targeted exposure while maximizing the impact and ROI through multiple avenues. Our goal is to help you connect with potential customers.
http://www.wordcampmsp.org/sponsors/sponsorship/
If you aren’t part of an organization that has a hefty budget to become a sponsor but would still like to contribute to this unique event, we have set up an in-kind donation area on our registration page. All in-kind donations will be recognized at WordCamp MSP.
http://www.wordcampmsp.org/registration/
We are also on the lookout for schwag and other promotional items. If you or someone you know has extra pens, lanyards, notebooks, ANYTHING—let us know!
Continue to stay updated on what’s going on with WordCamp MSP by joining our Facebook page and following us on Twitter. If you have a website or blog, add one of our badges for some extra flare and help us spread the word!
http://www.wordcampmsp.org/badges/
Thanks for all of the support thus far, you are all awesome!
We are extremely excited to announce that Kate-Madonna Hindes is the latest confirmed speaker for the 2010 WordCamp MSP!
Kate will be leading a session on Social Marketing for our Intermediate Track. From Facebook to Twitter and everything in-between, her social marketing expertise is sure to teach us all a thing or two!
Do you want to know more about Kate-Madonna Hindes? Check out her bio on our Speakers Page!
We are very excited to announce that Teresa Boardman will be speaking at WordCamp MSP!
Teresa will be leading a session on “Finding your Blogging Voice” for our Bloggers Track. Teresa will cover everything from content generation and finding your voice, to how to blog and how not to blog.
For more information about Teresa check out her bio on our speaker’s page!
WordCamp MSP will be posting a WordPress related question on Facebook and Twitter every Monday – Friday (a.k.a. as often as possible) leading up to the event and we’d love to hear from you! Your answers will not only help us pick the program topics and speakers, but it might even help us learn a thing or two along the way! Plus, it could be really entertaining.
Please feel free to submit your question ideas via our contact page!
StudioPress has officially signed on as a WordCamp MSP sponsor! We are all very excited about their contribution and look forward to keeping an eye on new StudioPress themes in the weeks and months to come!
StudioPress offers professional, affordable themes that are perfect for all WordPress user levels. Their vast array of themes include everything from corporate and real estate sites, to photography and women’s interest sites. Whether you’re looking to start a new website or update an existing one, StudioPress is sure to have something for you!
For more information about StudioPress, check out their Sponsor profile page or click here to visit their website.
9Seeds is a development studio headquartered in Las Vegas, NV that works primarily with the WordPress platform. However, they can code just about anything you request! With years of experience, they can handle anything from plugin and theme development to full scale web development to affiliate marketing, SEO and Ecommerce solutions.
We would like to thank everyone at 9Seeds for sponsoring this event. Your generous contribution will definitely help WordCamp MSP become a huge success!
Planning for WordCamp MSP is in full swing! Right now we’re focusing on creating the program—deciding on session topics and finding awesome speakers! With hopes of kicking off our debut year with a bang, we’ve set up 3 different tracks; one for every user level! Our beginner track will cover topics like blogging strategy, WordPress.com vs. self-hosting and tips for using WordPress to the fullest without any coding. For our intermediate users, we’re working on a program that will enhance your understanding of WordPress without leaving you overwhelmed. This track will cover beginning theme development, creating e-commerce sites and customizing the loop. Last, but certainly not least, our advanced track is designed to accommodate our programming aficionados with advanced SEO techniques, WordPress security and plugin development. Regardless of your user level, WordPress Minneapolis-St. Paul is sure to have something for you!
We are still looking for more speakers to talk about new and innovative WordPress ideas, uses and strategies. If you’d like to share your expertise at WordCamp MSP, please visit our speaker page at http://www.wordcampmsp.org/speakers/ and sign up to share your experience with other WordPress Users. We’d like to send a special “Thank You” to everyone who has already showed interest in speaking! We’ll be in touch soon!
Do you have a topic suggestion? We’d love to hear from you! Please visit http://www.wordcampmsp.org/contact/ to send a message with your idea or email us directly at info@wordcampmsp.org.
Are you excited for the 2010 WordCamp Minneapolis-St. Paul? Why not keep up to date on the latest happenings by joining our Facebook page and following us on twitter? Better yet, help spread the word! Add a badge to your website or blog by visiting http://www.wordcampmsp.org/badges/!
We want to thank everyone who has contacted us about becoming sponsors, speakers, and volunteers. We are currently in the process of sending out our sponsorship and speaker packages. If you e-mailed us a few months back requesting information and have not heard back from us, we have not forgotten about you. You WILL be receiving something from us shortly. Those of you who contacted us about becoming a volunteer, we will contact you later this summer. If you would like to be a part of WordCamp MSP and have not contacted us yet, let us know! All of the interest and support we have gotten this far is greatly appreciated. We look forward to working with you and have a great feeling about WordCamp MSP!
WordCamp is Coming Soon! It’s been a dream for a long time, and now it will be a reality. The Twin Cities will finally be hosting a WordCamp and we need all the help we can get. We are excited to have the help and support of our newest organizers…the Minneapolis – St. Paul WordPress User Group! Welcome…we are happy to have you!
No doubt, there are highly talented WordPress Guru’s among us…but we need help spreading the word. So, what can you do to help?
1. Blog posts, Tweets, Facebook and Forum Boards…get the Word out! Throw a WordCamp Badge on your blog, Join our Fan Page on Facebook, and Follow Us on Twitter!
2. Buy a Ticket! If everyone waits until the “Last-Minute” to buy a ticket, we won’t know what to plan for! Don’t be the one that screws up our head-count…buy your ticket early!
3. Become a WordCamp Volunteer or let us know you want to become a WordCamp Speaker. There will be 25-30 break-out sessions, so the need for Speakers and Volunteers is nearly endless. We NEED your help…don’t be shy…this is a great opportunity to showcase your skills and share your knowledge with others!
November 13, 2010…a Date that should be on YOUR calendar right now. Tell your friends, find a sponsor, and circle the date…it’s going to be a day to remember!
It’s Official…Now What?
The date is set, the venue is reserved, and we are ready to go! A HUGE thanks to WordCampCentral for their help and support. And a special THANKS to Maya for answering our random questions and helping to place us on the Official WordCamp Schedule!
Now that WordCamp Minneaplis – St. Paul is offically going to happen…let the planning begin! If you want to be involved, PLEASE let us know. Here are the 3 crucial things that we need help with:
1. Speakers: Whether you are a WordPress Guru or just want to share your experiences with a group, let us know you are ready, willing and able to be a WordCamp Minneapolis – St. Paul Speaker!
2. Sponsors: Because WordCamp is a User organized event, we rely on fundraising to help us make this Event affordable for everyone. You don’t need to be a large organization with a multi-million dollar budget to become a Sponsor…most WordCamp Twin Cities Sponsors are just like you! If you have as little as $50 to contribute, let us know.
3. Volunteers: No WordCamp can exist without the help of Volunteers. This Event is User organized and Volunteer friendly! No matter your level of WordPress experience, there is no shortage of need for your help. But, we won’t know you are out there unless you Sign Up to be a WordCamp Minneapolis – St. Paul Volunteer!
For those of you who are ready to sign up, tickets will go on sale March 1st. Keep checking the WordCamp Twin Cities Registration Page for more information.
We are official! WordCamp Minneapolis – St Paul will be held on Nov 13th 2010. Venue and registration information coming soon.
