Why every journalist should attend WordCamp Miami (and SPJ Florida’s discount code!)
What once started out as a 150-person developer’s conference has morphed into a two-day convention where speakers from across the country speak about the Internet.
WordCamp Miami, now in its 8th year, is Feb. 19-21 at Florida International University. Aside from a track specifically targeting WordPress developers, there are dozens of sessions that specifically help journalists. There’s even a track dedicated to content and design.
David Bisset, president of Dimension Media and a lead organizer for WordCamp Miami, says that there is a WordCamp almost every week happening somewhere in the world, and journalists can benefit from them.
“Journalists are practically doing everything online these days, so in many ways they should be aware of best practices when it comes to content, publishing, media, and other related things,” he says. “WordPress is the most popular content management system for media, so it would be in journalists’ best interests to be familiar with it.”
Whether you’ve got a full-time job, part-time job, you’re a freelancer or you’re looking, WordCamp has something for every facet of journalism. There’s several networking opportunities from the pre-conference party on Thursday, Feb. 18 through the after-party on Saturday, Feb. 20. Don’t forget the freelancer’s workshop on Friday, Feb. 19.
Session highlights include improving your website’s SEO, how to avoid getting hacked, and WordPress for beginners. Look out for sessions that help with mobile video production and how to increase your content online. Throughout the conference, you can visit the “Happiness Bar” — volunteer WordPress users who can answer all of your WordPress questions, whether you have a website or you’re looking to build one.
You can attend the conference for only $35 (It’s an $15 extra for that freelancer’s workshop the day before). This gets you access to both days of the conference, lunch, T-shirts, other swag, and entry into the after-party. Changes happen often, so sign up for the mailing list to get up-to-date info.