Sam Hotchkiss will tell us about Best Practices in Plugin Development!

Sam’s WordPress profile

Sam has been developing sites with WordPress for over 10 years. He built and ran an enterprise-level agency, then built a plugin business around BruteProtect, a security plugin which was acquired by Automattic in August of 2014. Sam now leads the Jetpack development team, working on the Jetpack plugin in use on millions of WordPress sites across the internet.

Sam Hotchkiss travelled to Mumbai, India for last years WordCamp and is keen to travel again.

He will speak on Best Practices in Plugin Development!

He is very approachable and friendly and you can discuss all things WordPress with him, be it things like blogging, photography, cutting edge tech issues or even building a business around WordPress.

You can connect with him on Twitter @HotchkissWeb

Find out what do your WordPress customers want with Shilpa Shah

shilpa-shahWe are announcing our first speaker for WordCamp Mumbai today! Shilpa Shah will speak on “What do customers want?”

Shilpa will tell us how to get inside the head of customers who use WordPress products. This session makes sense towards a whole range of WordPress users – from full stack developers to casual bloggers to people who are new to WordPress.

While Shilpa can’t help you develop super-natural powers, she is definitely going to try – by sharing her learnings, explaining how to read and understand customer expectations, tune yourself to receiving feedback (often times it is disguised !) , act on it and delight your customer.

About Shilpa

Shilpa joined the WordPress party a little late but has been completely enamoured by the WordPress community since then. Shilpa co-founded Hummingbird Web Solutions in 2011 which nurtures a number of popular WordPress products ( SlideDeck, CyberChimps , WPeka Club, WPAuctionSoftware and SurveyFunnel amongst others)

She was bitten by the travel bug pretty early on and was lucky enough to have a job (in her earlier corporate avatar) that took her to various countries , meeting some truly wonderful people everywhere !

Connect with her on Twitter @IdleGazer

Stay tuned for another speaker who will be announced tomorrow!

Who is speaking at WordCamp Mumbai 2016?

So who is going to speak at WordCamp Mumbai 2016? That is a question which we will soon answer piece by piece. Yes, we will be announcing every single speaker in a dedicated blog post! Some of the names will be new, some will be familiar in the WordPress scene from India and some also will be travelling from other shores for this WordCamp.

Based on the applications we have received and confirmed at this point of time, we are coming up with a rough idea on the three types of sessions we will have. The three are Developer, Business, User/Community.

These won’t be parallel tracks as the venue does not have this facility. So these tracks will follow one after another. All this is still a rough idea and after we announce our speakers, we will release a more formal schedule of sessions.

If you think you want to speak at WordCamp or if you know someone go ahead and fill in the Speaker application form.

And keep in touch, we will start announcing our speakers from tomorrow onwards.

Call for Sponsors

WordCamp Mumbai 2016 will have two full days of speakers sessions and discussions on 12th and 13th March 2016. The venue, Manik Sabhagriha Auditorium has seating capacity of 800, of which 550 are stall seats and 250 balcony; we are aiming at filling up the entire stall space i.e. about 550 participants.

Participants will include WordPress enthusiasts, Developers, Web Designers, bloggers and open source software supporters.

This is a great opportunity to support the WordPress community here in Mumbai. Sponsors enable us to have such a large venue, better facilities and most importantly create a great platform for educating ourselves on WordPress.

We have four different types of sponsorship slots. They are Gold, Silver, Bronze and Friends.

Gold Sponsorship: Rs. 75,000/- (USD 1200) + Service Tax*

  • Acknowledgement and thanks in opening and closing remarks of the event.
  • Dedicated blog post thanking each of our Gold Sponsor.
  • Logo & company details on the WordCamp Website
  • Large Desk at Networking Area.
  • 2 Standees at Venue entry / main lobby space. 3ft by 6ft (Roll-up Vinyl Standee)
  • Social Media Mentions: Multiple Mentions before, after and during event. Sponsor logo on Cover image
  • Multiple Announcements during the event
  • Logo on Sponsor Standee (Most prominent placement)
  • Allowed to have flyers or Give away in Attendee Kit
  • Five entry passes to attend WordCamp Mumbai

Silver Sponsorship: Rs. 50,000/- (USD 800) + Service Tax*

  • Acknowledgement and thanks in opening and closing remarks of the event.
  • Dedicated blog post thanking each of our Silver Sponsors.
  • Logo & company details on the WordCamp Website
  • Single Desk at Networking Area
  • 1 Standee at Venue entry / main lobby space. 3ft by 6ft (Roll-up Vinyl Standee)
  • Social Media Mentions: Multiple Mentions before, after and during event
  • Mention in Pre-Break Announcements
  • Logo on Sponsor Standee (Second Most Prominent Placement)
  • Allowed to have flyers or Give away in Attendee Kit
  • Three entry passes to attend WordCamp Mumbai

Bronze Sponsorship: Rs. 25,000/- (USD 400)

  • Acknowledgement and thanks in opening and closing remarks of the event.
  • Dedicated blog post thanking each of our Bronze Sponsors.
  • Logo & company details on the WordCamp Website
  • Social Media Mentions: Before & During Event
  • Mention in Pre-Lunch Break Announcements
  • Logo on the common Sponsor Standee
  • Allowed to have flyers or Give away in Attendee Kit
  • Two entry passes to attend WordCamp Mumbai

Friends: Rs. 10,000/- (USD 160)

  • Acknowledgement and thanks in opening and closing remarks of the event.
  • Mention on Twitter and Facebook about your sponsorship.
  • Mention on the WordCamp Website
  • One entry pass to attend WordCamp Mumbai.

* Service Tax will be 14.5%

Along with these sponsorship slots, we are also open to “In-Kind Sponsorships” if someone wants to provide everyone attending with T-shirts, pens, notepads or as long as they are fair to every attendee. Sponsors can also make payments directly to vendors / or take up sponsoring a particular aspect of the event for e.g. Food Catering, WiFi, Video Recording and so on.

We will not be running any give away contests or lucky draws for our sponsors at the event. This may be obvious, but still worth mentioning that all Sponsors, if distributing WordPress-derivative work (Themes, Plugins or WP Distros) they should be under 100% GPL or compatible license like in WordPress.org.

If you are looking to sponsor, do fill in the form below and get in touch with us. We will close the “call for sponsors” once we reach our fundraising goal.

Call for sponsors is now closed

Story of a young speaker at WordCamp Mumbai

Last week we announced Call for Speakers. Here is Raj Mehta recollecting his journey from volunteering at meetups to becoming a speaker at WordCamp Mumbai.

I took a session about “Typography and WordPress” at WordCamp Mumbai 2015, and although I would just love to go on and on about how awesome it is to speak at a WordCamp, let me tell you a little backstory.

How it all started

Most people discover WordPress as a software first and fall in love with it. Eventually the community factor comes along and people start loving it even more. It wasn’t the same with me — I discovered the community first and then tried the software!

It was the beginning of March 2014 when a friend referred me to something called WordCamp Mumbai happening just after 2 weeks. I read a little about WordCamps, and WordPress in general, and decided to give it a shot.

So here I was, a 17-year-old WordPress noob attending a WordCamp for the first time and it — was — amazing! The people I met, the things I learned, and the value I got out of a 2-day-event was too good to be true.

No longer a noob

I got into WordPress, started taking web design clients and, lucky for me, started attending these monthly meetups which are conducted in Mumbai.

I was no longer dealing with strangers. They all became friends, and eventually one huge family. Months passed by; I was no longer a WordPress noob I had once been.

My bet at speaking

On one such meetup, everybody was planning about WordCamp Mumbai 2015, the next big WordPress celebration in our city.

WordCamps, by their very nature, are locally focused WordPress conferences that bring together local communities and celebrate the cool stuff they’ve done with WordPress in the last year.

The organizers were discussing how they would love for local folks to come forward as speakers. And it was at that moment when it occurred me — maybe I can apply as well! And apply I did.

Surprisingly, I was not only accepted but encouraged to speak. The organizers were so nice, as they helped me prepare for what would be the biggest audience I would ever address.

And it happened. I took the session, answered questions and met lots of new folks. One of the things that baffled me was the amount of twitter discussion going on while I was giving the talk and later as well.

In a way, speaking at a WordCamp is a volunteer contribution to the WordPress project. Just like submitting a patch to the core.

But despite it being a contribution, you get so much in return — respect from community, people knowing who you are, a chance to convey what you think about WordPress and obviously, free entry to the WordCamp!

On to you

So that’s my story. If a kid like me who was a complete WordPress noob a year back, can speak at a WordCamp, so can you!

Our call for speakers is already out. If you’re in Mumbai, don’t hesitate to apply. I hope I’ll be hearing some of you speak WordCamp Mumbai 2016. Cheers!

Come along and speak at WordCamp Mumbai

It usually takes me more than three weeks to prepare a good impromptu speech. – Mark Twain

The major activity at any WordCamp are speaker sessions. There is no WordCamp without speakers, without new speakers stepping up and speaking in front an audience for the first time in their life.

Many of the speakers are obviously experts in WordPress and technology around it. But there are many speakers who speak not as experts but as someone who have something unique to share.

It could be a unique WordPress story, a unique perspective that challenges how things are viewed in the WordPress community, a unique way at looking at customer support. As long as it’s unique there is a good chance conversations can be had around it.

Today we are announcing “Call for Speakers” for WordCamp Mumbai 2016.

Fill in the speaker form and our speaker review team will get in touch with you. Some quick pointers before you apply.

  • These are not paid gigs. Speakers are not paid to speak at WordCamps or paid by organisers to travel. They have to either fund themselves or ask their company to do so. Think of speaking at a WordCamp as part of volunteering.
  • Speakers will be selected based on their availability, overall topics they suggest and their relevance to the WordPress community.
  • No one is a celebrity at WordCamp Mumbai. Speakers when they apply should co-operate with the speaker review team to work on the content of their topics. Just like you, they too have full time jobs and careers and are volunteering their time to WordCamp Mumbai.
  • The time limits for a speaker sessions are usually about 20 mins.
  • The call for speakers will continue until 15 January, 2016.
  • If you have more than one topic in mind, go ahead an apply twice or thrice. Just do not spam us 😉
  • Do remember, there is limited time and limited resources. Not everyone who applies can be accommodated. Be nice! 🙂

My WordCamp Mumbai journey as a Volunteer!

Last week we announced a Call for Volunteers! Here is nice write up by Ajay Maurya about his experiences as a volunteer for WordCamp Mumbai 2014 and 2015

It was February 2014, I just Googled “What is WordPress”. And look what I found a blogging platform which is free and easy to use. Going through few more pages I came to know that WordCamp is a WordPress Conference and it was happening a month later in Mumbai. So I planned to visit and then I found a post on ‘Call for Volunteers’

I applied as a Volunteer, and it was any first event which I planned to volunteer. Soon I got a call from Aditya about my Volunteering request.

We exchanged more information about open source culture and about some Code of Conduct rules of the conference and I was now a volunteer for WordCamp Mumbai 2014.

In the meanwhile I read more and more about WordPress and made a list of things to ask people attending the event.

The first day of WordCamp started. I started at the registrations table and that made me made me interact with many people right away.

I truly started to appreciate what is WordPress, what is Open-source, blogging and what exactly are startups on day one.

Talking and conversing with like minded people is the best part of WordCamp. I ended up being introduced to many people and made many friends. Soon this event also came to an end.

But it gave me a start, I was introduced to a new set of people where people who were passionate enough about WordPress that they simply shared their views and ideas for free. They were helping each other by sharing their knowledge and trying to spread the use of WordPress.

I started attending monthly WordPress Meetups and they would be a lot of fun. I decided that this time I want to work more closely with volunteering for WordCamp 2015 in Mumbai. I started helping out with community events and WordCamp tasks and soon became co-organiser of the event.

Back then I was new to WordPress. Today, I make my living out of WordPress and it’s because I simply decided to get involved. The awesomeness of WordPress is its community.

If there is a WordCamp or a WordPress meetup in your city, I would highly recommend you to volunteer some time there. You will always end up gaining more than you give.

WordCamp Mumbai 2016 – Call for Volunteers! 

Happy Diwali Everyone!

I’d like to wish you all a Happy Diwali on behalf of everyone here at WordCamp Mumbai & Mumbai WordPress Meetup Group.

wcmumbai-diwali

May this festival bring you joy and prosperity, like it has for us. We have recently finished some backend work and have a fix on dates for WordCamp Mumbai 2016.

So the next WordCamp Mumbai is on 12th & 13th March, 2016.

We recent announced a call for volunteers and would soon put a call for Speakers and Sponsors.

WordCamp in Mumbai needs helping hands

volunter-wordcamp-mumbai

May the source be with you. ~ unknown

Just like our favourite software “WordPress” which is open source and hence its source of awesomeness is usually the WordPress community.

Community of volunteers who fix bugs and submit patches to keep making WordPress better with every version. WordCamps are a lot like the software. It might be an event but its open for people to get involved. Actually at its heart is the idea of getting involved.

The biggest source of strength of any WordCamp are the volunteers!

Fill in the form below (or this link) and we will get back to you with more details on how to get involved. You can also participate in the local meetups we have in Mumbai.

We will also be writing a lot about this topic so subscribe to the updates of this website.

Image Source
License: CC0 Public Domain

Mumbai and WordPress

stay-tuned-for-something-awesome

In 2016, if all things go right, Mumbai will be the first city in India to host WordCamps three years in a row. We missed a year in 2013 but it will also be the only city in India to host four WordCamps overall.

So it is safe to say, Mumbai has fallen for WordPress and the community is very vibrant just like the city.

Unique City

It is a very unique city with an unique attitude, unique culture and life is often lived in the fast lane. For visitors who visit Mumbai and get astounded by the sheer humanity they see on the roads, wait till you get into a local train. 😉

Mumbai houses probably the largest film industry in the world, it is the commercial capital of India and the state capital of Maharashtra. It has a national park inside the city, ancient Buddhist caves from almost two millennia ago and people from several dozen ethnicities call it home .

We have food, culture and lore that will fascinate and inspire you. It can be fast, intimidating, crowded and hot along with humid, but we Mumbaikars love it. Though everyone loves their own city, we often call our Mumbai, the most unique city in the world!

Unique WordCamp

The WordPress community in Mumbai is also unique. It has college students, big and small publishers, journalists, writers, social activists, freelancers and more in huge numbers and many of them using WordPress.

Hence we need your help! To make Mumbai WordCamp 2016 a lot like the city. The most unique in the world!

How can you participate in planning?

Are you from Mumbai or visiting Mumbai frequently? You can start by attending a WordPress Meetup.

We will be rolling out call for sponsors, volunteers and speakers soon. You can subscribe to our blog where we will make these announcements.

Subscribe to WordCamp Mumbai updates. You can also follow updates on Facebook and Twitter.

Or simply say hello to us via the contact form and ask any questions you have about WordCamp Mumbai 2016.

 

WordCamp Mumbai 2016 is over. Check out the next edition!