WordCamp Osnabrück 2019 showed just how professional German WordCamps have become. Thanks to the extremely good work of the German community, WordCamp participants were able to concentrate fully on the content.
At WordCamp Osnabrück, we were able to gain more insights than ever before. Two colleagues helped out in the core organization team: Our colleague Leefke in the marketing and social media team and Johannes, our founder and managing director, as the organizer for the workshops (yes, there were finally workshops at a WordCamp again :)).
We can therefore report first-hand how professional the German WordCamps have become and how the community manages to maintain the high level of previous years. Particularly noteworthy here are of course the WordCamp Retreat in Soltau and the one that was organized in record time WordCamp Cologne 2018.
So if you've been hesitant so far, we can only recommend community work to you - especially, of course, the WordCamps and Meetups.
Teamwork³ - how a WordCamp is created
Of course, we were also able to gather a lot of input on the topic of community work for our recap. I conducted a short interview on site with Leefke, who was very close to the organization work as part of the marketing team.
Leefke, what exactly attracted you to the task of organizing WordCamp?
I was already a volunteer at the WordCamp Retreat in Soltau and WordCamp Cologne 2018. This time I dared to join the core team - a decision I would definitely make again! Because in the community, you work with professionals from a wide variety of fields: From photography, web design, programming and marketing. And with community members of all ages (in our case from 26 to 54).
I personally benefited enormously from the ideas, skills and experience of the team. So if anyone is thinking about getting involved in the community, as a volunteer for a WordCamp or as part of an organizing team, I can only say: go for it, it's worth it!
And how exactly do you become a member of the organizing team?
There is usually no official application process for small WordCamps. The WordPress Foundation's requirement is that the lead organizer applies to the Foundation with their desired WordCamp and then looks for suitable co-organizers.
Since the idea for WordCamp Osnabrück was born a few years ago within the WP Meetup Münster/Osnabrück, the organizing team was formed relatively quickly from the Meetup members.
Once the team is in place, the first step is to establish the general framework. In the first organizational meetings, we determined when, where and in what format the WordCamp Münster/Osnabrück should take place.
The next step was to allocate the areas of responsibility. In our team, it became clear relatively quickly who would take on which area - it's best to focus on the interests and skills of the individual team members. However, we initially lacked someone for volunteer planning. We could have "advertised" this task externally, for example, which was ultimately not necessary because a Meetup member agreed to do it.
And what about the time involved?
If you want to help organize a WordCamp, you must of course have enough time. After all, you will have regular meetings (initially every two weeks, later weekly) and various tasks in the run-up to the camp. Of course, the teams are flexible, so not everyone always has the same amount to do. For example, sponsor acquisition has to start early, whereas volunteers can be organized at relatively short notice.
Most of the work is then done at the WordCamp itself. Then it's all about the finer details: setting up and dismantling, filling swag bags, checking the technology, training volunteers, keeping the information on the website up to date, handing out speaker gifts, helping participants find their way around, answering questions on site and via social media, taking photos and simply making sure that everyone feels comfortable. I hope we managed to do that 😉
Our top sessions & workshops from WCOS 2019
Before we get to our top presentations, we have to take this opportunity to say a special thank you to our session hero Matthias: Despite tearing his ligaments three times, he came to Osnabrück and held his session "How to deal with difficult clients". But more on that later.
Spoilt for choice - our top sessions & workshops
Of course, we would like to cover all the workshops and sessions that we attended at WordCamp Osnabrück in our recap. For reasons of space, however, we will limit ourselves to our personal top picks. If you are still missing a session, just write a comment on this post 🙂
>> Workshop: Health Check - Performance and Security
After a long absence, the workshop format finally made a comeback at WCOS 2019. At a WordCamp in barcamp style anyone can propose a presentation and the participants then vote democratically on which topics they would like to hear and when.
Workshops, on the other hand, have the advantage that the organizing team can set thematic priorities. For example, you can offer a stage to supposedly niche topics. In addition, the workshop leaders can adapt to their participants before the start of the camp and adjust their topics and the difficulty of the workshop.
The workshop that was particularly interesting for us, of course, was the safety and performance workshop by Michael Hörnlimann. With the help of Webpagetest, Hacker Target and a few other tools, he shows you how to quickly create a meaningful audit of your pages.
Michael took three pages from participants and explained live what needs to be optimized in each case. You can find all the tools he used directly in his Recap of the WordCamp Osnabrück 2019. Unfortunately, there are no video recordings of the workshops themselves.
>> Session: Wireframing - With style to more customer confidence and productivity
Arne Albers from Motion Media shows in his BarCamp session how you can optimize your design and development workflows with sensible wireframes.
If done correctly, you can use the design drafts to promote understanding of your work among your customers and shorten feedback loops. This also improves communication with your customers and builds confidence in your abilities.
>> Workshop: Gamification - It's the planning that counts
The workshop "Gamification with WordPress - An Introduction" by Carlos Fischer Fernández and Frank Staude (who unfortunately couldn't be there - get well soon :)) shows you how to gamify your WordPress projects.
The focus here is clearly on preparation. Because without a proper concept and a clear goal in mind, says Carlos, the playful approach unfortunately doesn't really achieve much.
"The most important part of the entire WordPress gamification process is the groundwork."
During the workshop, Carlos will show you which plugins you can use and which hurdles you need to overcome when implementing them. With a good concept, you can use gamification to engage your users or communicate your product and service in a more playful way.
>> Sketchnotes for beginners
Leefke fell in love with this interactive session! 😉 Because Bettina Schöbitz shows in her session "Sketchnotes for beginners" super beginner-friendly, how you can quickly create beautiful sketchnotes. Even if you're a complete beginner, you'll be able to master the basics after Bettina's session. And with a little practice, you might be able to create your own live sketchnotes at the next WordCamp.
Here is Bettina's session for co-signing:
>> Workshop: WordPress as a marketing machine
Stefan Kremer and Thomas Maier have taken on the topic of marketing in their workshop. Using the example of a travel blog, they will show you how you can optimize your site in terms of SEO and content for maximum reach.
The two provide input on all important topics, from keyword research to building a fanbase. Including helpful plugin tips, of course. A great talk for all of you who want to start a new project soon.
Economy for the common good, pagespeed & customers from hell
Of course, we also shared our experiences and input with the community in sessions and presentations. Our colleagues Matthias, Johannes and I held sessions on the topics of customer communication for freelancers, PageSpeed and the idea of the economy for the common good:
For freelancers and agencies: Taming difficult clients
Matthias, our Head of Product Development, has compiled examples of particularly difficult clients from his twelve years as a freelancer. And he shows how you can deal with these difficult clients as a freelancer or agency.
His tips will give you more confidence in the acquisition process and can minimize or even completely avoid conflicts later on in the project. You can watch Matthias' extremely interesting (and entertaining) session here:
Beyond PageSpeed - measuring load time correctly
In my session, I have dedicated myself to my favorite topic: page speed. Using a live analysis, I'll show you why you shouldn't just rely on the results from Google PageSpeed Insights and what advantages a real load time test offers you.
I'll give you a brief overview of the tool and show you how you can quickly generate reasonable measured values. I have also written an e-book about this, which you can download at any time at any time. You can also find the printed version in your WCOS swag bag. 😉
Economy for the common good - bureaucracy for all!
In his session, our Managing Director Johannes introduces the concept of the Economy for the Common Good. He explains the background, how exactly the concept works and, above all, how you can take the first steps towards common good certification with your company.
The session is perfect for entrepreneurs who have always wanted to take a closer look at the topic of sustainability and the common good, but have not yet had the time or opportunity to do so.
Photos from WordCamp Osnabrück
Many thanks to the organizers
As Johannes and Leefke were also directly involved in the organization of the WCOS this time and we at Raidboxes now know even better how much work is behind a WordCamp, we would like to take this opportunity to once again express our special praise for the entire organization team.
As a normal participant, of course, you rarely notice how professionally the WordCamps are organized. You are happy about the seamless Wi-Fi, the delicious food and the central location of the venue. But if you take a look behind the scenes, you get a completely different view of the challenges of organizing a WordCamp.
You experience first-hand all the effort and stress that the organizers voluntarily put themselves through for the good of the community. And you can see how cool the organizers remain despite everything.
A big thank you from the entire Raidboxes team for the excellent work at WCOS 2019! Thanks also go to all the volunteers, speakers and workshop leaders! Without your commitment, the WCOS would not have been possible in this form 🙂
Your local Meetup as an introduction to the WP community
If you're now interested in community work, take a look at where and when the next WordPress Meetup is taking place in your area. At meetup.com and in the community section on wordpress.org you can find a whole range of information about community work and the Meetup landscape in Germany and Europe.
