Press Release: Fayetteville Hosts Fifth WordCamp

I just received the following press release from Angela Belford, Wordcamp Fayetteville coordinator…

Fayetteville again will host the region’s WordCamp for bloggers and web designers of all skill levels. Novices are very welcome. The fifth annual WordCamp Fayetteville will be Friday-Sunday, August 1-3.

The conference itself is that Saturday. Its hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., held at the Donald W. Reynolds Center for Enterprise Development at the Sam M. Walton College of Business of the University of Arkansas. The Friday night welcome is set for Powerhouse Seafood and Grill, 112 N University Ave, off Dickson Street from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Saturday night an after party will be held at The Chancellor Hotel, 70 N. East Avenue. Sunday morning’s Guru Gallery, one-on-one help sessions, will be at The Belford Group, 1142 N. Futrall Drive, off Wedington Drive, from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

The $30 fee covers a souvenir T-shirt, food Friday night, a continental breakfast and box lunch on Saturday, that night’s after-party food and a light breakfast on Sunday. Participants are strongly encouraged to bring their laptop or tablet computers Saturday and Sunday. Ticket purchase and program details are available at www.wcfay.com. The Reynolds Center capacity for this event is about 250 people, so getting tickets soon is advised.

WordCamps are held worldwide, by design locally run and low cost. WordCamp Fayetteville is Arkansas’ only conference dedicated to WordPress and web fluency.

These seminars are sponsored by WordPress, the open-source, free, not-for-profit platform for individuals, groups and businesses to build their own blogs and websites. WordPress.org began in 2003. Its administrators call it the “largest self-hosted blogging tool in the world, used on millions of sites and seen by tens of millions of people every day.”

Similar to previous years, Fayetteville’s 2014 WordCamp will divide its 17 workshops along three tracks, from basic to professional.

• WordPress 101 is for people new to website design or WordPress. The sessions are designed for novices who want to blog or be on the web for other personal projects. Likewise, operators of small businesses or charities will learn here how to promote the enterprises with their own websites with no coding or other technical knowhow.

• Users Track is one step up, for site owners, established bloggers and entrepreneurs to learn how to communicate with a designer, how to blog effectively, and how to tell whether matters are going well. The overall focus is on website content. Students in the Users Track need familiarity with HTML, the basic coding language of the Internet.

• Designers Track will find interest among professionals and DIY (do it yourself) WordPress builders. The presentations here will focus on the graphical end of design and customizing website themes (templates). Skill with HTML and CSS is recommended.

Sessions are being developed, and their topics are expected to include: “Quick and Easy WordPress.com,” “Self-Hosted WordPress,” “Podcasting,” “What Is BuddyPress,” “Blogging: Cheaper than Therapy” and “How to Start and Market a Profitable Business through WordPress,” as well as sessions on search engine optimization and analytics.

Speakers will include clinical psychologist Dr. Margaret Rutherford, user experience architect & user interface designer Dustin Williams, web developer and keynote speaker Cotton Rohrscheib, and staff members of The Belford Group, Blue Zoo Creative, and Haden Interactive.