Tag: WordCamp JHB 18

WordCamp JHB After Party

Posted on by Trisha Cornelius

WordCamps literally feel like family reunions  – Andrew Lima

The WordPress community of Joburg is a welcoming bunch to everyone – regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, programming ability etc, and the afterparty gives us the time and space to kick back and relax, catch up with old friends and make some new ones.  It allows us to continue the chats that were started over the course of the two days, or to start some new ones.

The WordCamp JHB after-party will take place at the Focus Rooms (the same place where we are having our conference) on Friday night. There will be a limited quantity of finger foods and drinks available free of charge as we continue to build the relationships that make the WordPress community such a fantastic group to be a part of.

The after-party will start at 6 pm on Friday and continue until 9 pm. Admission to the after-party is included in your ticket to WordCamp JHB.

We hope to see you there,
The WordCamp JHB

Why Hetzner loves WordCamp (and WordPress, of course)

Posted on by Anchen le Roux

Hetzner has been a proud sponsor of WordCamp for a few years, but we can’t talk about this event without talking about the WordPress community. For us, WordPress, the monthly Meet-Ups and WordCamp are extensions of each other － and extensions of the vibrant South African WordPress community. WordPress is the go-to platform for website design and development in South Africa, and a relationship between Hetzner and WordPress is a natural fit.  

 

Here are the top FIVE reasons we love supporting the WordPress community:

 

  1. Hetzner hosts more than 45 000 WordPress websites currently.
  2. We love being able to meet our customers face-to-face at the annual WordCamp. We also love listening － and learning －as they talk, engage and debate about all things WordPress and the changing landscape of website design and development.
  3. WordPress affords everyone the opportunity to give functionality, style and navigation to their dreams. It offers entrepreneurs a space to showcase their enterprises; and inspires creative expression for budding and seasoned designers and developers. These are all qualities that resonate with us here at Hetzner.
  4. We are proudly South African and love that WooCommerce is the leading shopping cart plugin for WordPress.
  5. Our fifth (unofficial) reason is that WordCamp affords members of our team the opportunity to head out of the office for two days, and into a creative, stimulating space where we are surrounded by similarly-minded people.

 

We understand that people pour their passions, vision, creativity and business goals into their websites. We offer a safe, secure space where a dream today is often a successful venture tomorrow. People, not technology, are at the centre of our business. Our solutions are designed around the needs of our customers – we believe that WordPress shares that vision.  

Thank you! to all our generous sponsors

Posted on by Trisha Cornelius

One of the many cool things about WordCamp is that it is one of the most affordable technology conferences. It’s not unusual for conferences to charge over R1,000. With WordCamp, we keep our ticket prices to be less than 20USD per day. The reason that we can do this is because of our amazing sponsors who step up and help us.

Without their continued support, there is no way that we would be able to make WordCamp as affordable and accessible as it is. There financial support means that we are able to deliver   for two days, including all meals.

So, without any further ado, please join me in thanking:

WooCommerce – built on WordPress, WooCommerce is a fully customizable, open-source eCommerce solution

JetPack – powered by WordPress.com JetPack connects your site to the global services, community and support provided by WordPress.com so that you can focus on the stuff that matters.

GoDaddy Pro – Offering a robust suite of products for designers and developers to save time and improve the management of all their clients. The GoDaddy Pro’s time-saving tools let you update WordPress core, plugins and themes with one click, as well as automate WordPress backups, cloning and migrations

bluehost – a WordPress partner since 2005 that powers over 1 million WordPress websites worldwide. Bluehost helps their customers (novice or pro) to create a thriving online presence at an affordable price.

uAfrica.com – offers eCommerce tools to help businesses streamline their fulfillment and shipping processes.

Hetzner –  focuses on delivering web hosting service that is reliable and consistent, focusing on infrastructure stability, performance value and good service deliver in order to live up to its brand promise: “Trusted in Hosting”

PayFast – the go-to South African payment gateway that allows you to start selling online with the least amount of effort possible. PayFast offers a wide range of payment methods through a single integration.

Trisha Cornelius – is a freelance WordPress developer who helps people get their business, cause or personal site online with a minimum amount of stress and fuss on time and on budget.

Paid Memberships Pro – is a 100% GPL compliant WordPress membership plugin with over 60,000 active installs and 6 top payment integration. It’s flexible enough to fit the needs of almost all membership-based companies and organizations and includes extensive hooks, filters, and recipes allowing developers to tailor it to your specific needs.

Servebolt provides high performance managed hosting for WordPress and WooCommerce, applying its speed to both the front-end, the backend and the databases . Servebolt opened a South African data center in October 2018.

Flicker Leap is a web development, marketing and problem-solving agency.  They provide digital solutions (development, marketing, eCommerce and server/email infrastructure) to companies with a focus on achieving growth through partnership, actionable metrics and quick iterations (hey agile!)

Thank you again to all our generous sponsors. We wouldn’t be able to do this without you 🙂

Practical Information about our Venue

Posted on by Trisha Cornelius

WordCamp Joburg is 2 weeks away, and we are getting super excited. Our venue, the Focus Rooms, is amazing. Here’s some things that you need to know:

Where to find the Focus Rooms

The Focus Rooms is at the Core Shopping Centre, on the corner of Leeukop and Kikuyu Roads in Sunninghill, Fourways, Johannesburg. If you are coming by car there is free open-air parking. If you want to use the underground parking it will be R25 per day.

If you are coming via the Gautrain take the train to the Midrand Station. After that take the Midrand-Sunninghill bus route to the Square Centre bus stop and walk approximately 500 metres to the Core Shopping Centre and The Focus Rooms. Alternatively you can get off at the Eskom bus stop.You can download a PDF with directions here.

If you are taking the Metrobus use the Gandhi Square to Sunninghill route and get off at the corner of Rivonia and Witkoppen Roads (stop 5D). From there you can easily walk to the Core Shopping center.

What you need to bring

Day one is Workshop day and you will get the most value if you bring a laptop and work along with the presentations. Cabling is provided but please remember to bring chargers and adapters.

Day two consists of a variety of talks and panels. You are welcome to bring your laptop again and we recommend something to take notes.

Special requirements

If you have any specific requirements regarding accessibility, please let us know so we can do our best to work out how to accommodate your needs.

We will be sending out an email to attendees next week asking about special dietary requests.

We are looking forward to seeing you in two weeks at WordCamp Joburg.

 

Where’s WordCamp JHB – The Focus Rooms

Posted on by Trisha Cornelius

What can you expect from our hosts, the Focus Rooms, this year?

  • We have organized 100mbs Wi-Fi*
  • There will be “brain-juice smoothies” available on request – freshly made, just for you
  • You can sneak in a 5-minute mini massage (I had one, and it was delightful)
  • Bottomless tea, coffee and snacks
  • Some mid-afternoon popcorn
  • A goodie bag (over and above the WordCamp Joburg swag) with fun little surprises
  • There is free open-air parking (and reasonably priced underground parking as well)

If you are one of the people who like to plan in advance, you can look for accommodation around Sunninghill. A few of the folks from Cape Town have already booked their Airbnb.

If you want to take a bus the Gautrain bus has a nearby stop on its Midrand-Sunninghill route at the nearby “The Square” shopping centre (stop M3-17). The Johannesburg Metrobus also has a convenient stop at the corner of Witkoppen and Rivonia Roads (stop 5D).

We look forward to seeing you at WordCamp Joburg!

*(but please remember that you are sharing it with the other 119 delegates) and it is subject to the technical goblins who sometimes interfere with the lines not making mischief.

Places to visit around Johannesburg

Posted on by Trisha Cornelius

This is the first of a series of posts where we are going to boast a bit about our lovely city of Johannesburg and hopefully convince you to join us in our summer towards the end of October. If you are a WordPress user, designer or developer coming from outside of South Africa, this is an excellent opportunity because there is WordCamp Johannesburg on 25 – 26 October and WordCamp Cape Town a week later.

Johannesburg was established as a mining rush town in 1886 (and while the first government believed that the city would be short-lived as gold ran out) Jozi is now home to over 7 million people within the vast metropolis. Joburg has grown to become the country’s economic capital; it is a vibrant city influenced by a large number of cultures. If you have a limited amount of time in Jozi, one of the best ways to experience some of the sights is using the Johannesburg City Sightseeing bus which allows you to hop on and off a number of stops:

  • Constitution Hill: Is a living museum that tells the story of South Africa’s journey to democracy. The seat of South Africa’s Constitutional Court and the home to the Constitutional Court art collection.
  • Johannesburg Zoo: Founded in 1904 the zoo covers 55 hectares of land and is divided into thematic exhibits.
  • South African Military Museum: Our gracious hosts for WordCamp Johannesburg last year the South African military museum showcases the history of all military conflict in which South African’s have played a part.
  • Mining district outdoor mining museum: As you walk through this open-air museum you will be able to see some statues and sculptures, as well as a mining stamp mill and mine’s headgear.
  • Carlton Centre: Africa’s tallest building boasts spectacular views of the city.
  • James Hall Transport Museum: South Africa’s largest land transport museum boasts an extensive collection of vehicles including animal-drawn vehicles from the earliest days of Johannesburg, bicycles, fire-engines, cars, steam-driven vehicles, trams and trolley buses.
  • Gold Reef City Casino and Theme park: The hotel and theme park offers rides as well as a historical tour and an underground mine tour.
  • The Apartheid Museum: Built to resemble the prison-like conditions of Robben Island the museum offers interactive displays, film footage and historic photos depicting Apartheid South Africa and the country’s transition to democracy.
  • SAB World of Beer: An interactive tour that allows you to explore the history of beer and gives one access to the Sci-Bono Museum: A science centre featuring over 400 exhibits, and the Workers’ Museum:  This museum is housed in an old renovated building and is one of the original compounds built by the city for migrant workers.
  • The Origins Centre at Wits: The Origins Centre forms part of the University of the Witwatersrand’s Faculty of Science and is the world’s only museum dedicated to exploring the history of humankind.
  • The Grove, Braamfontein: The Grove is one of the precincts in the Joburg Central Business District that provides evidence of the city’s rejuvenation. This contemporary space offers excellent coffee shops, street art and the latest fashions.

This is a tiny taste of the many attractions that Jozi has to offer, and there are more posts to come to entice you to visit us in sunny South Africa.

 

Last Call for Early Bird Tickets

Posted on by Trisha Cornelius

Our Early Bird Tickets for WordCamp Joburg are selling out fast. These tickets amazingly priced at R200 and limited to only 20 tickets are nearly gone. As I’m writing this.. there’re only 3 left!

Early-bird tickets give you the exact same benefits as full conference tickets but are specially priced to reward you for your enthusiasm. As a #WCJHB ticket holder you get access to two-days of WordCamp Johannesburg where you will meet amazing people. Day one is filled with practical workshops and day two follows a more traditional conference style approach with specific talks aimed at anyone who uses WordPress. You will be treated to some amazing food (morning and afternoon snacks, lunch), complimentary coffee and tea and fruit juice. You will be able to network with fellow WordPress users, designers and developers. You also get some exclusive WordCamp JHB 18 swag as well as an invitation to the After Party!

So hurry to get one of the last Early Bird tickets for WordCamp Johannesburg 2018 before they are all sold out! 3….2….1

Call for Speakers

Posted on by Anchen le Roux

[Speaker Application is now Closed]

The 3rd annual WordCamp Johannesburg will be held at the  Focus Rooms in Fourways, Johannesburg from 25 – 26 October.

We’re planning our largest WordCamp to date and are excited to bring together passionate designers, developers, business owners, entrepreneurs, marketing experts, bloggers and educators from around Gauteng and the country.

WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR

Don’t submit a talk on what you think we want to hear; offer to speak on something that you are passionate about. Everybody has a unique WordPress story to tell, and we want to hear yours.

  • What are you uniquely qualified to speak about?
  • Have you used WordPress in an interesting or innovative way?
  • Was WordPress the foundation for creating something meaningful in your community?
  • How has WordPress helped you grow your business?
  • What was your experience updating your code for the latest WordPress release?

TOPIC IDEAS

These topics are not meant to be prescriptive — they’re rather there as a guide to help you think of something you want to talk about.

  • Workshops for beginners
  • Workshops for designers (or for developers wanting to learn more about design principles)
  • Plugin/theme development
  • Setting up an online store (particularly with WooCommerce)
  • Gutenberg (for developers and content writers)
  • Workshops for running a WordPress business (remote work, managing an agency, scaling your business etc)
  • Lessons from the Open Source Communities
  • Marketing
  • Security
  • Building with the WordPress REST API
  • Coding and Development Best Practices
  • And any other WordPress topic you’re passionate about

TALK FORMATS

We will again invite different formats of talks to be submitted. Please indicate in the Talk Format text box what format your topic is ideally suited for.  Some examples:

  • Workshops are more practical and can be between 60-90 min in length.
  • Talks are between 30-45 minutes usually with slides and a Q&A afterwards.
  • Lightning Talks can be between 10-15 minutes. With or without slides.
  • Panel (Group of speakers)
  • Interview (Ask me anything)
  • Multi Session Workshop
  • Group discussion

Submissions will close on 21 September 2018 at midnight. All candidates will be informed as to whether or not their talk was accepted by 25 September.

If you’d like to propose multiple topics, please submit the form multiple times, once for each topic.

WordCamp JHB 2018 Tickets are live

Posted on by Trisha Cornelius

Tickets for #WCJHB are on sale. The first twenty tickets are available for R200. Your WordCamp Joburg ticket gives you:

  • 2 days of the WordCamp conference at the Focus Rooms in Fourways, Johannesburg.
  • A delicious lunch on both days as well as morning and afternoon snacks
  • Snazzy swag
  • Access to the WordCamp JHB 18 after-party
  • An amazing opportunity to network with and learn from other WordPress users, designers and developers.

Early bird tickets are limited to 20 people and only available for a limited time, afterwards tickets go up. So get yours now!