The adrenaline and excitement from WordCamp Melbourne 2011 took its time to abate. Once it did, we could (objectively) get stuck into reviewing your feedback.
And this is what we revealed.
Who attended WordCamp Melbourne 2011?
Approximately one quarter of the crowd was WordPress developers (of varying degrees of expertise) with the remainder being WordPress lovers, designers, publishers and hobbyists.
Did the venue rate?
You thought so; 90% of survey participants felt the venue was either good or excellent. The remaining 10% felt the venue was OK. No one thought it was terrible or bad – although it did get a little uncomfortable in the upstairs room, being much smaller than the main hall.
What about the length?
Over half felt the event was just the right length, with a quarter saying it was too short, and the remainder, too long.
The vast majority, however, felt the midday start on the Sunday was an excellent decision. For early breakfast networking, you see.
And how about the quality of the speakers?
You were really happy with the calibre of speakers, but you did mention some could work on their presentation skills.
You also said that those that were good were very, very good.
What was the biggest standout of the event?
You.
You all loved meeting one another and getting to know all sorts, all with one thing in common: a desire to learn and share, no matter the experience or skill set.
What you said: “The one thing I liked most about WordCamp Melbourne 2011 was…
…it was accessible to people with different levels of interest and engagement in WordPress.”
…the fact there was people from all walks of life from Australia there. Australia generally doesn’t manage to pull a large number of people for events, but this really turned out well.”
…the cold beer at the pub after the first day and meeting other participants.”
…the excellent balance between developer- and content-oriented presentations, as well as topics that worked well for both groups.”
…because it was great for a newbie like me.”
…the variety of presentations.”
But you also wanted a few things improved. So this is what you can expect from WordCamp Melbourne 2012:
Organised – and targeted – networking/social opportunities
“As an experienced publisher with key needs for help in designing new websites, I was hoping for some way of hooking up with some of the obviously experienced developers there. I want to pay a good local expert for work, how do I find them? Win win. I met another guy who left early who was trying to do the same thing.
Maybe a micro market exchange on a whiteboard, or business cards: People with needs. People with expertise.”
Meeting like-minded peeps was one of the most mentioned topics in the feedback. And lots of delegates were looking for other delegates with complementary skills.
So what this means is we’ll be incorporating more pre-organised, structured activities over the weekend (and possibly a few days prior) so you can easily seek out either like-minded people or hunt for someone with a particular skill. Whilst nursing a drink.
Move over, SXSW.
More targeted presentations
“A technical session just for beginners (publishing/blogging).”
“No fault of WordCamp. It was a good conference. But it would be great if we could have a more technical, developer focused stream next time.”
Dividing presentations into content and developer didn’t account for the varying levels of expertise in the room.
2012 will target and grade each presentation. So if you’re a beginner, you’ll easily be able to spot which presentations are most suitable for you – instead of ending up in a room feeling completely overwhelmed with what’s being said.
Varied presentations
“It would be good to do hands on workshops.”
“… get more bloggers in for very short presentations about their blogs and how they run them.”
Listening and learning for a day and a half at a conference can be tiring work; there’s a lot to take in.
And with the majority of presentations being lecture-style, it’s even harder to concentrate for longer periods (not to mention limited interaction).
Expect to see a blend of lecture, interactive and workshop presentation styles next year.
Improved stage lighting
“Better lighting on the stage – was really difficult to see the speakers and lighting would also improve the videos.”
This was one of the biggest problems of 2011. Although the lectern was well illuminated, the rest of the stage was not – which didn’t lend itself to the roving speakers.
We’ll be speaking with the lighting technicians well prior to the 2012 dates, along with numerous test runs. The speakers will have nowhere to hide.
More access to the speakers
“Set up a break out room downstairs with speakers having 30 minute or so workshops ‘til the next speaker finishes.”
Speakers will be confirmed earlier than what they were for 2011. To take advantage of this, we’ll be interviewing the speakers for the blog so you’ll get to know ‘em better before you meet them at the event.
Thanks to the networking/social activities and the more interactive style presentations, you’ll also have a whole lot of opportunities to chat directly with the speakers.
Video in both rooms
“It would’ve been good to have videos of all of the sessions.”
While this is currently at the mercy of budget, we’ll be working hard to finance two videographers. Not only will you no longer be torn between which presentations in the stream to attend, you’ll be able to watch back and glean the bits you missed on the day.
If you really do have a valid excuse for not attending the weekend, then you can watch the lot from the comfort of home.
Thanks to your excellent feedback, we’ve already made excellent progress with the plans for WordCamp Melbourne 2012.
A final thought:
“WordCamp Melbourne 2011 was an absolutely brilliant experience and thanks to the organisers for making it happen. I’m now thoroughly excited and motivated to be even more involved in the wider WordPress community than ever before.”
