WordCamp Chicago

It’s been a week since WordCamp Chicago 2010 ended and I, personally, have yet to really put thoughts and pictures together from the event – but it was a great success….and one that we are definitely going to repeat next year!  We’re already plotting and planning!  I will have my photos up within the week – I have a TON of them, so be prepared 🙂

For anyone who has organized an event like this, you know that it’s NO small task and takes a lot of organization, time and work to pull it off.  I want to take this opportunity to thank the individual folks responsible for helping me get it done:

• Chris Wilson, my husband – – he is not on Twitter or Facebook, nor does he have a blog or website (but he does have his own hashtag) – so I have no URL to share for him … he’s not much of a WordPress user, but he supports my work and my passion and helped a great deal in organizing WordCamp Chicago from the venue planning, sponsors, equipment, printing, t-shirts and overal preparations – as well as volunteering and helping at the registration table, and during the event.  Now that’s love!
• Lindsey Hardegree | @#LindseyATTizzy | Tizzy Consulting – aside from donating $200 towards the event, Lindsey was extremely helpful in helping me pull together information for the web site, Twitter announcements and some last minute organization of speaker information, photos and bios.  Lindsey was also priceless on the day of the event by playing ringmaster at the registration table and keeping 500 WordPress fanatics in line and organized during registration, as well as answering questions and general help throughout the weekend – thank you, Lindsey!
• Melissa Hoppe | @MelHop91 – Melissa is my daughter and she was SUCH a big help before, during and after the event with all the planning and preparations that needed to go in to it.  She is not a WordPress user – – really, she doesn’t know much about WordPress beyond that fact that her mother wrote a book about it 🙂  But, she’s a helpful soul and really got into the weekend.  Now that it’s over – she wants to become a WordPress Power User!  Thank you, Melissa!
• AJ Arend – @ConsoleMayhem – AJ was extremely helpful at the registration table all weekend long!  Thank you, AJ for your time and hard work helping us make WordCamp Chicago a successful event!
• Brian Gardner | @BGardner | StudioPress – Brian was instrumental in bringing together the fine list of speakers that the attendees were able to enjoy all weekend long!  Brian also spent all weekend entertaining the folks in the Dev Track, while I entertained in the User track – thank you, Brian!

To all of our speakers who made the event special – thank you very much for sharing your time and experience with all of us at WordCamp Chicago!  I cannot tell you how many emails I’ve received with feedback that the sessions at this year’s WordCamp were AMAZING – and it’s because of all the speakers who gave their time, work and wisdom that helped all of our attendees bring home some great knowledge, tips, tricks and ideas in their journey through WordPress.  THANK YOU ALL!

Find your WordCamp Chicago 2010 Speakers and Organizers on Twitter:

To our sponsors – – a great big thank you from everyone at WordCamp Chicago – – we would NOT have been able to do this without you!

• InfoLinks – Big thanks to Shay and Tomer from InfoLinks as our Platinum sponsor for WordCamp Chicago.  They sponsored the event, as well as hosting a booth at the event where they baked yummy chocolate chip cookies all day long, while providing attendees with some great information on monetizing a WordPress blog with their great new plugin for in text advertsing.  They are a really nice bunch and made the event so much fun with their involvement – thank you, InfoLinks!
• GoDaddy – As a Gold sponsor of WordCamp Chicago – GoDaddy helped us make the event rock!  They sponsored our power stations and Flavio and Dana attended the event and several WordPress users had the opportunity to sit and chat with them about GoDaddy’s services.  They also provided us with some really super swag bags that we filled up with goodies for our attendees. GoDaddy included some of their own swag in the bags – – one of which were orange GoDaddy stress balls which were used to show Cory Miller our appreciation after his presentation was over.
• ForDummies – the For Dummies division of Wiley Publishing sponsored WordCamp Chicago as a Gold level sponsor .. which was great since they were representing my own books, WordPress For Dummies and BuddyPress For Dummies.  Thanks, Wiley and ForDummies for helping us put on such a fabulous event in Chicago!
• Wiley Publishing – not content with simply sponsoring with the ForDummies brand.. we also had several other Wiley authors in the house in Chicago including Brad Williams, Hal Stern and David Dramstra who all wrote Professional WordPress.  As another Gold level sponsor of WordCamp Chicago – we thank you and were proud to have you involved!
• iThemes – aside from having two very informative speakers at our event (Cory Miller and Chris Jean), iThemes also sponsored as a Silver Level sponsor this year and their support was well recieved and very much appreciated!  They also gave away 500 iThemes t-shirts at WordCamp Chicago which were very popular with the slogan “My Blog Can Beat Up Your Blog” on the front – – nothing like some blog wars to get the energy pumping at WordCamp!  Thank you Cory and your team at iThemes – they are great friends of WordCamp Chicago!
• Shopp Plugin – BIG thanks to Jon and John over at the Shopp Plugin, an e-commerce solution for WordPress users.  Their generous support as Silver Sponsors really helped make the event a success.  They also attended WordCamp Chicago, which was really super since attendees and users were able to meet the folks behind such a great plugin!
• GetShopped (WP E-Commerce) – another Silver level sponsor and the owner/founder/developer of the WP E-Commerce plugin, Dan Milward (ALLLL the way from NZ!), also gave generously of his time and expertise by speaking at the event on the topic of WP E-Commerce and BuddyPress.  Thank you Dan, and GetShopped.Org, for supporting WordCamp Chicago!
• DigitalPure – a Copper Level sponsor of WordCamp Chicago this year – thank you, DigitalPure!
• ServerBeach – a Copper Level sponsor of WordCamp Chicago this year – thank you, ServerBeach!
• Margaret Roach – a Copper Level sponsor of WordCamp Chicago (again!) this year – thank you, Margaret!

All in all, the event was really fabulous!  I cannot begin to tell you all about the amazing people I met and connected with – – and it was really super to sit back and watch other people connecting and sharing experiences and ideas, which is what WordCamp is ALL about!

We are really looking forward to another great event in 2011!  We are beginning the preliminary planning for it already – and will be making announcements here again later this year.  Let’s all stay in touch and do this again next year!!