Category Archives: General

WordCamp Orange County 2020

Dear WordPressers, WordCamp Orange County Organizers, Volunteers, Sponsors, Attendees,

Community is the most crucial ingredient of WordPress. 

As you are all following from the media, the world is facing a big epidemic. For the safety of all WCOC organizers, volunteers, and fellow attendees, we have decided to cancel this year’s WordCamp OC.

Have a safe and healthy 2020, and see you all at WCOC 2021.

Cemal Tashan  

Lead organizer WCOC 2019

Singing Fish Karaoke at WCOC After Party

Fill Your Gills at the WCOC After Party

Get ready to make a splash at the WCOC After Party!

All are welcome to experience enchantment by the sea (within 5 nautical miles, anyway) at Durty Nelly’s, the highlight of WordCamp Orange County. Get ready to find your inner Ariel on the karaoke stage or connect with other WordCamp attendees over song and conversation.

Drink tickets will be passed out as you enter so please bring your ID and badge for admittance. Durty Nelly’s is located near the camp, at 2915 Red Hill Ave in Costa Mesa.

We will dock at Durty Nelly’s on Saturday, April 27 at 7 pm and pull up the anchor at 9 pm.

See below for some event tweets and photos from last year.

Winners from 2018 Golf Pre WordCamp Gold Tournament

Pre-WordCamp Golf Tournament

For the past several years, we have held a golf tournament on the Friday prior to WordCamp and it has become an awesome tradition! It’s fun, it’s low pressure, and it’s a great way to get to know other community members. Last year, the players shown above won a trophy, but that’s not what this event is all about.

Whether you’re new to golf, or you’re a veteran player, you’ll enjoy hanging out with fellow WordPress community members in a no-pressure, 4-player scramble tournament (everyone always hits from the best shot in your group). Everyone has a chance to earn prizes for both good and no-so-good performances.

Chips that you can “earn” for your “achievements” and redeem for prizes.

If you’re interested in playing in the tournament, sponsoring the event, donating prizes, or have any other questions, enter your name and email in the form below and we’ll be in touch. Note: The price of this extra event is not covered in your ticket price.

Last Year’s Sponsors

Check out the signs we had made for each of our hole sponsors last year!

WCOC 2019 Tickets on Sale Soon!

WCOC Tickets Go On Sale Tomorrow! Don’t Miss Out

Here’s a quick reminder that WCOC tickets go on sale tomorrow, Tuesday, February 26, 2019 at 12 pm. Historically tickets sell out quick so please set your alarms and join in the WordCamp Orange County fun on April 27-28! We can’t wait to “sea” you there!

Please note that lunch both days and amazing swag, including a commemorative T-Shirt from WordCamp Orange County 2019, IS included in your ticket price. Women’s T-Shirts are 100% cotton and Unisex T-Shirts are a cotton/poly blend, so please remember shrinkage when choosing shirt size and plan appropriately.

WCOC 2019 Electrifying Speakers Announced

WCOC 2019 Speakers Will Hook You For Sure!

We watched and waited, hoping to net many talented individuals in our call for speakers at WCOC 2019. As time passed, we grew more excited, seeing the submissions flow in.

Luckily many speakers that would make any electric eel spark applied!

Please review those listed below as you prepare to enter the uncharted waters of WordPress that can only be found at WCOC 2019. In the coming weeks you’ll learn more about these individuals and the waves they tame each day, but for now, we hope a glimpse of their names and companies will suffice.

Please welcome with us:

Alex Vasquez from DigiSavvy
Amy Hall from MailChimp Help
Andy Fragen from the WordPress Plugin Repository
Andrea Zoellner from SiteGround
Beth Livingston from WP Roadmaps and Coaching
Bob Watson from HSF Affiliates
Cami Kaos from Automattic
Chris Lema from Liquid Web
Chris Ford from Reaktiv Studios
David Ryan from Bluehost
Dwayne McDaniel from Pantheon
Emily Lema from emilylema.com
Erik Wardell from webShine
Francesca Marano from SiteGround
Jennifer Bourn from Bourn Creative
Jennifer J Brueske from Iceberg Web Design
Jessi Gurr from Iceberg Web Design
John Hawkins from Revelry Labs
Jonathan Desrosiers from Bluehost
Joseph LoPreste from St. Pete Design
Kara Bullock from Kara Bullock Art
Kari Sletten from Iceberg Web Design
Matt Kopala from SiteDistrict
Maura Teal from Pagely
Mike Benayoun from 196 flavors
Nathan Ingram from iThemes
Natalie MacLees from Purple Pen Productions
Rahul Nagare from ScaleDynamix
Wrigley Gannaway from Need Someone To Blog

Plugin-a-Palooza 2019

It’s time for the 5th annual Plugin-a-Palooza! This is a feature event at WordCamp OC where teams create an original WordPress plugin and present it in front of our panel of judges on stage at WordCamp.

First prize is $3,000 cash and a Sucuri Business License. Pitch your plugin idea using the form below, but don’t delay – the deadline for pitches is January 11. We’ll confirm your entry into the competition after reviewing your pitch.

Rules

  • Teams can be 1-3 participants.
  • A maximum of 10 teams will be accepted to compete.
  • Each participant can only be part of one team in the competition.
  • Each team must build their own plugin.
  • Your plugin must be GPL compliant.
  • Existing plugins are ineligible.
  • Eligible plugins will be developed between January 11 and March 22.
  • Plugins must be submitted to the WordPress repository by March 22.
  • Your plugin be accepted into the WordPress repository by April 13.
  • All teams will present their plugins at WordCamp OC on Sunday, April 29.

Judging

Our judges will vote live at the event, and the winner will be announced LIVE. Plugins will be judged on the following:

  • Plugin Idea – Is this a unique concept or an innovation on an existing plugin?
  • Plugin UX/UI – Is the plugin intuitive? Does it require FAQs?
  • Code Quality – Does it follow WordPress coding standards?
  • Plugin Page – How is the plugin presented in the WordPress.org directory?

Prizes

Plugin-a-Palooza is sponsored by Sucuri and prizes include:

  • First Place – $3,000 cash and 1 Sucuri Business (VIP) license
  • Second Place – $1,500 cash and 1 Sucuri Business (VIP) license
  • Third Place – $500 cash

Enter Plugin-a-Palooza Now!

Call for Sponsors

WordCamps wouldn’t be possible without the generous donations from our sponsors. We appreciate every single sponsor who has helped our Camp in years past.

WordCamps are casual, volunteer-run events. Sponsor support for WordCamp enables attendees to experience the event for a low cost! A low cost ensures accessibility to individuals, small businesses, and nearly anyone who wants to attend.

Being a sponsor gives you a unique opportunity to invest in the OC WordPress community.

The 350 attendees are made up of web-savvy professionals who work in media, publishing, software, art, technology, education, healthcare, financial services, government… you name it. Letting members of our community know you support them will earn you their goodwill.

We’ve created sponsorship levels to fit every budget from the big business to small local agency to independent freelancers building with WordPress for a living.

The following sponsorship levels are currently available for WordCamp OC 2019:

Gold Sponsor: $4,000

  • TABLE at event
  • Logo on the site
  • Company description on the site
  • Recognition in a blog post thanking all sponsors just before the event
  • Tweet and post to Facebook (etc) thanking the sponsor
  • Logo on slide projected between presentations
  • Logo on program
  • Recognition in a post-event email
  • Recognition in opening or closing remarks
  • 3 tickets to WCOC 2019
  • 3 tickets to Speaker/Sponsor dinner

Silver Sponsor: $1,500

  • Logo on the site
  • Company description on the site
  • Recognition in a blog post thanking all sponsors just before the event
  • Tweet and/or post to Facebook (etc) thanking the sponsor
  • Logo on slide projected between presentations
  • 1 ticket to WCOC 2019
  • 1 ticket to Speaker/Sponsor dinner
  • 2 items of swag on the self-serve swag table

Small Business Sponsor: $750

  • Logo on the site
  • Company description on the site
  • Recognition in a blog post thanking all sponsors just before the event
  • 1 ticket to WCOC 2019
  • 1 item of swag on the self-serve swag table

Individual Sponsor: $250

  • Name listed on the site
  • Recognition in a blog post thanking all sponsors before the event
  • 1 ticket to WCOC 2019

Apply Now!

Call For Volunteers

***CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS IS NOW CLOSED***

Dive in and join the crew! No WordCamp happens without the help of brave shipmates committed putting on a great event.

We’re looking for volunteers!!!

We need folks we can count on for both days of our weekend: April 27th & 28th. If you are interested, fill out the application form below to be considered. In exchange you’ll get:

  • a free ticket to the event,
  • an invitation to the speaker/sponsor dinner,
  • our extreme gratitude,
  • and the adoration of attendees.

Common Questions for first time Volunteers:

Q: Will I get so see any of the event?
A: You will be working, but we also try to make sure there is some time for you to attend the event as well. But remember that all the sessions are recorded and posted on WordPress.tv, so you won’t miss anything.

Q: What kind of work will I be doing?
A: It could be anything related to the event, so ushering people traffic, monitoring rooms, moving boxes, opening boxes, breaking down boxes (we get a lot of boxes), helping speakers, monitoring the swag table, monitoring the snack table, helping with registration, answering attendee questions, helping and being awesome.

Q: I broke my arm and wouldn’t be able to lift boxes…
A: We dig. We have lots of jobs for everybody. The most important thing we are looking for is a commitment from you to be there on time and being willing to contribute.

Q: What if I’m not a developer?
A: No problem at all! New to WordPress? New to coding? New to WordCamping? This is a great introduction to the Orange County community. In the grand scheme of WordCampin’ 90% of the work is done off the computer. Again, all we need is commitment and a good attitude.

Q: Why do it?
A: Because it’s awesome. It’s rad to be a part of a WordCamp from the inside. It’s a great way to give back to the WordPress Community.

We are GO for WordCamp Orange County 2019

We’re happy to announce that WordCamp Orange County 2019 is officially launched! Mark your calendars for April 27th & 28th, 2019. This WordCamp will be our 10th consecutive camp, and we couldn’t be more proud and excited. We will be holding the camp at The Cove of UCI as we have for the last 3 years.

Stay tuned for calls for Sponsors, Speakers, Volunteers, and dates for tickets to go on sale. 

Subscribe using the form in the footer to stay up to date on the most recent news. We’ll be keeping you posted on all the details over the coming months, including speaker submissions, ticket sales and more!

Seriously, 10 years!