This time last week, Friday the 6th of February 2015, we were congregating in the hotel bar for our first UK Genesis meet up.
We had planned the meet up to be just before WordCamp Birmingham and this worked really well as everyone got to know each other and so no one felt on their own at the WordCamp.
James Roberts, Angie Vale, Gary Jones, Ben Furfie, Tomos Jones, Paul Smart, Carlo Manf, Karen Bugg, Jo Waltham, Sue Fernandes, Claire Brotherton and Mark Bugg.
Copyblogger had very kindly supplied us with some #genesiswp swag and T-shirts were distributed over dinner resulting in the picture below of the largest number of Genesis developers wearing #genesiswp T shirts. We throw down the gauntlet for other Genesis communities to try and beat that 🙂
Front row: Gary Jones, Angie Vale, Ben Furfie, Paul Smart and Sue Fernandes.
Back row: Jo Waltham, Tomos Jones, Claire Brotherton, James Roberts and Carlo Manf.
It was great to meet in person the people we hang out with on Twitter and Slack. To compare stories and to generally just to get to know each other better. What was of particular interest to me is that for 6 people in our group it was their first ever WordCamp and I’d like to think that they came partly due to the fact that our meet up took place.
Over to some of them and what they thought of WordCamp Birmingham.
Paul Smart | Paul-Smart.co.uk
I thought my first Wordcamp was excellent. I had a great time and learnt a lot about the WordPress community. It’s difficult to choose a favourite talk from Saturday’s Explore & Innovate sessions as they all brought so much value in their own unique ways. On Sunday Petra Foster and Rachel McCollin stood out for me, although I have to mention our very own UK Genesis rising star, Ben Furfie for a great talk on Sketch.
The social aspect of the weekend was the real highlight for me, I really didn’t know what to expect from this weekend and was pleased with just how friendly everyone was and so willing to share their knowledge and experiences with us newbies! I’d like to thank the organisers, sponsors and volunteers for all their hard work and most of all a big thanks to all the other UK Genesis guys and girls for making it such a great weekend.
You can read more about Paul’s experience in his own blog post.
James Roberts | LlamaPress.com
It’s been an absolute pleasure attending my first WordCamp this year. Meeting other UK-based Genesis developers has been fantastic, and I have made some awesome friends. As a start-up myself, I’ve found it particularly interesting talking to other WordPress individuals about how they got into the platform, and how they turned it into their profession. I left WordCamp feeling very inspired, and I have taken away some valuable tips and tricks, which I have started to implement within my own business. I think the biggest thing I took away from WordCamp this year is the realisation as to just how important networking really is. All in all, my first WordCamp has been an enjoyable, fun and extremely valuable experience, and I am already looking forward to the next meet-up.
You can read more about James’ experience in his own blog post.
Angie Vale | PurpleBabyHippo.co.uk
One of my goals for this year was to attend my first WordCamp and so when I received an invitation to a UK Genesis meetup at WordCamp Birmingham I decided that this would be the perfect opportunity to achieve my goal.
Perfect because I would get to meet other Genesis Developers that I only knew of online and because I would be part of a group including people that had been to a WordCamp before. I wouldn’t be on my own and they could teach me the ropes.
The weekend exceeded my expectations and turned out to be a fantastic, friendly, warm & welcoming introduction to the world of WordCamps.
The talks were great and I learnt loads of useful stuff but, more importantly, I got to meet other Genesis Developers in the UK and to forge friendships, something you cannot do online. I’m so glad I went and I can’t wait until the next one.
Your can read more about Angie’s experience in her own blog post.
Carlo Manf | CarloManf.id.au
#wcbrum was my first WordCamp and first opportunity to meet with other #genesiswp developers. Within 3 days of attending, I got invited to the GenesisWP Slack group, got contacted by an agency owner to help out with a Genesis project, got invited into the private group of Genesis core contributors, received a lot of new Twitter followers and got my first 3 plugins accepted into wordpress.org. In addition to all the new knowledge and new contacts I acquired at the WordCamp, I think that’s £25 well invested.
Leave a Reply