Attendance was noticeably down at WordCamp US this year. That was especially evident at the vendor hall, where my usual haul of swag yielded just one free shirt!
And, everyone was right… Phoenix in August is brutal. Any breeze feels like a heat gun blasting in your face.
Despite that, and just like every WordCamp I’ve attended before this, I’m so glad I came, and it was absolutely worth it.
If you’ve not been to a WordCamp before, it’s hard to explain…
It’s the serendipity, like the random Phoenician I met on the street who had no idea about the event, but had been working on starting his freelance career (shout out to Zak who bought a ticket and was mixing and mingling every time I saw him).
It’s the online avatars you’ve known for years, but in 3D. I’m still a bit starstruck every time I see Nathan Wrigley IRL (who is even lovelier in person) .
It’s the random conversations in the hallways — from plugins to the challenges of raising kids.
None of that shows up on the agenda. You can’t put “conversation with a stranger who becomes a shout-out in next week’s newsletter” on a schedule. That’s the part that’s hard to explain, and it’s what you miss if you stay home.
There are plenty of reasons not to come… the heat, a talk list that doesn’t grab you, the travel. All of that might be true… But those things are small footnotes in an otherwise amazing 4 days. And as corny as it sounds, being around your tribe is just good for the soul.
A huge shoutout to all the organizers and volunteers who put countless hours of work into the event!
