This month, I attended WordCamp Phoenix, where I finally had the chance to meet people in real life whom I had previously only spoken to online. As a representative of Ninja Forms, I enjoyed meeting new people and exploring Phoenix, a place I had never visited before.
If you have the opportunity to visit Phoenix, I definitely recommend it. If you aren’t into driving, downtown is very walkable. My partner and I rode scooters to a pizza joint called Via Della. The food was phenomenal, and riding the scooters was a blast.
To commute to and from the airport, we decided to try the city transit and took the Phoenix Valley Metro Rail. It’s only $2 a ride and very easy to access and navigate.
Favorite WordCamp Talks
Here are the highlights from a few of my favorite WordCamp Phoenix talks:
Passwords are Broken: Passkeys Are Coming to Save Us — Kathy Zant
Kathy’s talk was one of the first talks given to kick off WordCamp Phoenix 2023, and she crushed it. She spoke about why passwords are broken, what Passkeys are, and how we can start implementing them in our everyday lives.
So what are Passkeys, you ask? Passkeys are a way to login that requires either biometric authentication like a fingerprint or facial recognition — or a PIN or swipe pattern.
If you own an iPhone, you’re likely already familiar with using facial recognition to unlock your phone. How cool would it be if you could start using facial recognition to login to websites?
Session slides here.
Make the Impossible Possible: Create a lasting impact on your community by doing work worth doing – Keely O’Connor.
The granddaughter of Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor gave her first public speech, and boy, was it inspirational. In her public speaking debut, she walked us through her story of how she got her start with her animation studio Prosperitas.
Slide deck here.
The Art of the WordPress Pitch: Relationships and Sales – Laura Bryne
Laura’s talk on sales pitches was dynamite. I can see why she’s a member of the WebDevStudios team. Here are a few takeaways:
- Define Yourself.
- Know what your mission is and stick to it.
- Testimonials are everything. Get a testimonial when your customer is most happy, aka when you are ready to launch.
- Record your calls.
- Tempt them to take a second step! No one is buying anything purely on your website copy.
- People don’t buy the software. They buy benefits. What is the benefit of working with you?
- Do not signup every human to your newsletter. Give them what they need when they need it.
- Once they have the paperwork, let them sit with it.
Slide deck here.
Content UX: How to Create Great Reader Experience – Maddy Osman
I spoke with Maddy during lunch on the first day of WordCamp just to get to know her a little better, as we are both writers. I learned that in her spare time, she enjoys watching reality tv and curling up to a good Stephen King novel. Her Stephen King recommendation to me was The Stand.
Maddy wrote a book called, Writing for Humans and Robots and is the owner of The Blogsmith, an SEO agency for B2B tech companies.
- Including a Table of Contents shows your reader respect and assumes they aren’t going to read your entire article.
- Every 300 words or so, include a heading, text, and a visual/blockquote.
- Do not use images that are not representative of your brand. If you must use stock images, use premium ones.
- Incorporate blockquotes into your text. Consider tools like Canva.
- Write “people first” content.
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Final thoughts on WordCamp Phoenix 2023
I’m going to be honest, attending a WordCamp is an extremely extroverted thing to do. You are there to meet new people, network, and commune together in large groups, learn from the up-and-coming voices in WordPress, and party. As a self-described introvert who hasn’t ventured out much in the last three years, I found the experience quite overwhelming.
By the end of the first day, I was exhausted. I opted not to attend the second day and watched a few talks from the comfort of the hotel pool I was staying at 😂. Overall I would say my WordCamp experience was a success. I initiated conversations with people I had been following online for the last few years and met a few new people too.
Attending a WordCamp can be an overwhelming experience, particularly for introverts like myself. But don’t let that stop you! I pushed myself out of my comfort zone and ended up having a great experience. I made new connections, learned from talented speakers, and had some fun along the way.
If you’re considering attending a WordCamp, my advice is to go for it! Just remember to take breaks and recharge when needed. You might surprise yourself with how much you enjoy it. And if you’ve already been to one, what are your thoughts? Share them in the comments below!
