Survey Results – Preliminary

We had 44 surveys returned after the event. Thank you!

According to our survey (which we handed out during the final session), WordCamp Victoria was generally well received. Here are the scores, out of 10, that people rated the event:

No Score – 3 people
“3” – 1 person
“6.5” – 2 people
“7” – 8 people
“7.5” – 1 person
“8” – 17 people
“9” – 9 people
“10” – 3 people

42 people indicated they would attend again, the person who rated the event “3” was the only one who indicated they would not come to another WordCamp, while another person left the question unanswered.

I also asked whether WordCamp should be Quarterly, Every 6 Months, or Annually, and here were the results:

“Quarterly” – 9
“Every 6 Months” – 22
“Annually” – 12

Based on this feedback, I’m thinking that approximately every 6 months will probably work best, at least for now.

Again, there were almost as many “content was too technical” comments as there were “content was not technical enough”. Given the diversity of skill levels, interests and capabilities, it’s a difficult balancing act. I’m open to ideas as to how to solve this conundrum. I could have speakers rate the “technical” nature of their talk (i.e. 1 to 10, or use the same designations ski-hills use)? I also recognize that we need more technical speakers, so if you have a speaker contact that falls into this category, please let me know now, so we have that information before we start organizing the next event.

One idea that came out of discussions at the event, was to have a “4th” stream, where we would have a pre-determined “topic” (perhaps determined through crowd-sourcing), and allow a completely unmoderated discussion – people just show up and chat, either in a big group, or in smaller groups.

We had a similar concept last November, which I affectionately called the “Camp Out”. The difference was that we didn’t pre-determine the topics. As a result, there was only 1 session that actually came together – but those who attended that session were generally very happy with it.

I’m hoping to pour through the data more in the coming weeks, and incorporate more of the feedback into planning for future events.

Thanks again to everyone who volunteered, spoke, facilitated, or attended! You make the event great!

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Featured Speaker – Raul Pacheco-Vega, PhD.

Raul Pacheco-Vega was one of the first speakers at Social Media Club, Victoria, and Victoria locals in the social media world who weren’t already fans quickly became so.

Raul is an academic by day, and a blogger and social media personality by night.

While speaking in his unique and entertaining style, he has an uncanny ability to make complicated ideas simple.

Raul uses WordPress for his personal and professional sites, using different themes, layouts, and blogging strategies. In his talk, WordPress for Professional and Personal Blogging: Two Approaches, One Site Building Platform, he will show you how you can use the same blogging platform and customize it to make your personal blog as fun as you want, and your website as professional looking as you need it to be.

Raul also featured prominently in the video DCMC Productions did from the last WordCamp:

We are absolutely thrilled to welcome Raul back for the second WordCamp Victoria.

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Speakers and Facilitators for WordCamp Victoria 2010

WordCamp Victoria 2010 is excited to announce the final list of 21 exciting speakers and facilitators for WordCamp Victoria on Saturday, May 15th, 2010.

Check out the complete list of speakers here, and the workshop facilitators here.

There is something for everyone here – whether you are a beginner, a businessperson using WordPress for your website, an avid blogger, a designer, a social media personality (or wannabe social media personality), or a programming wizard.

There is limited space. Registration is open now.

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Featured Speaker – “Raincoaster”

When I first heard about “Raincoaster” and checked out this amazing blog, I thought, “wow, this guy’s totally hilarious!”

Seriously. Check out the Raincoaster blog – you might think so, too!

But you’d be wrong!

Well, you’d be wrong about the “guy” part, anyway.

Having met her three times now, I can assure everyone that “Raincoaster” is, in fact, a she.

She is Lorraine Murphy, an incredibly talented asset to British Columbia’s blogging community!

Her entertaining writing style is legendary, and so is her speaking style.

If you missed her last time, we’re happy to announce that Lorraine Murphy will be back again on May 15th for WordCamp Victoria!

If you saw her last time, you may remember her as the first presenter to drop the F-bomb at a WordCamp lecture, and the first to illustrate the differences between WordPress.com and WordPress.org with pictures of bras.

Her topic this time is Comments and Community Management, which are two things she has attracted in droves online: comments and community. We can’t wait to see what pictures she chooses!

Lorraine is also a regular contributor on True/Slant, which she describes as “like the Huffington Post, only with REAL writers.”

You can also catch Lorraine on The Shebeen Club, Lolebrity, Ayyyy! and, of course, Twitter.

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Going to WordCamp? Show it off on your blog!

WordCamp Victoria, May 15, 2010Special thanks to Katharine Holmes for designing some fabulous WordCamp banners.

If you’d like to add one to your blog, please link it back here, or to the reservation page.

Please feel free to use them in a blog post!

In WordPress, this can easily be added as a Widget, using the following directions.

The Quick Method

  1. Go to the Appearance section, and select Widgets.
  2. Drag a new Text widget to the sidebar of your choice.
  3. Copy and paste the following code into the text widget:
  4. Make sure it looks nice, and works.

Speaker and Alternative Image Sizes

The default is 250×250, there is also a 125×125, and a “Speaking at WordCamp” button you can use, too.

  1. Do the steps above.
  2. Download the ZIP archive, and unzip it.
  3. In WordPress, go to Media, then Add New. Select the file of your choice, then upload it.
  4. Once the upload is complete, copy the entire contents of the File URL field. It should read something like this (only your website address):
  5. Highlight the URL that appears after the <img src= in the code you pasted above, then paste in the new File URL.
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