WordCamp Europe 2018 †What People Are Saying + Our Reflections

Whether youve just returned from Belgrade or you missed this years WordCamp Europe, the word is out WordCamp Europe 2018 was awesome. Just like it is every year. No one could be surprised that WordPress enthusiasts had such an incredible time at WordCamp Europe 2018.Youll be happy to hear that the number of passionate attendees rose and the no-shows dropped. Thats right 2018 was a vintage WordCamp Europe with many important numbers increasing on 2017s stats.But it isnt always about the numbers; the event had many memorable moments. From the party in the sky to the 33 talks and 9 workshops; there was something for everyone. And so that naturally brings us to our reflections. Now that we have all returned from Belgrade, and recovered a few hours of lost sleep, it seems natural to look back on the biggest European WordPress event of the year. I18n at @WCEurope.#WCEU pic.twitter.com/we5eTWAvcd Florian Simeth â“ ¦ (@floriansimeth) June 13, 2018We were also joined by 808 livestreamers from around the world. So, the final tally of 2885 WordPressers is on par with 2017.We were also treated to 65 speakers picked from a record number of 374 applications. While the number of participating countries was a little bit lower 76 the event still reached around the globe with over 6 million Twitter impressions via the official #WCEU hashtag.Traditional media helped us reach another 200k people from 67 media interviews.LocationWhile Belgrade does not have the same brand recognition as Paris; once people started arriving it was clear they were as excited as ever.Good morning beautiful Belgrade. Getting ready for conference day 1. I’m so excited. I feel like a kid on Christmas Eve. Big things are gonna come! #WCEU pic.twitter.com/uY3GLphbU0 Karin Berning (@YoastKarin) June 15, 2018For the local team, it was a great opportunity to show off their city to the wider WordPress community and it generated some genuine excitement. We got a good taste of Serbian architecture w ith the event split between two venues. The main conference was held in the colossal Sava Center which once held UN meetings and retains much of its authority.My heart is pounding so hard and I get dizzy just by being here at Sava Centar and realizing we managed to bring #WCEU here in Belgrade, Serbia 💙 pic.twitter.com/Xs71Tsj7Il Ivana Ćirković (@i_cirkovic) June 14, 2018Meanwhile at the Sava Centar our #WCEU is getting ready for launch. pic.twitter.com/LUZMrElfFO WordCamp Europe (@WCEurope) June 14, 2018I think the Sava Center is the largest building I have ever been in and one of the largest audience halls in Europe. I was told it is due to be renovated and the hall that hosted Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Nina Simone, and Ray Charles will soon lose a lot of its 70s charm.THIS IS SAVA! #WCEU pic.twitter.com/bfo5RRsR0K Taco Verdo (@TacoVerdo) June 13, 2018A short walk from Sava, 30 minutes or so, was the second area; the Belexpo Center. This was the main social fo cus with both the after party and contributor day held inside the giant hall.Wir sind beim #WCEU in Belgrad mit dabei und waren heute beim Contributor Day. Hier treffen sich viele fleißige Leute, um WordPress weiterzubringen und zu verbessern. #WordPress #WordCamp #Community #Belgrade pic.twitter.com/k4JF9rqdGh WP-Projects (@wpprojects_de) June 14, 2018Contributor DayThe contributor day record was shattered this year with 529 contributors each doing their thang in one (or more) of 24 teams. There were some new teams with Tide and GDPR Privacy teams making their first appearance.Contributor day at #WCEU https://t.co/FADyn1TpQ2 pic.twitter.com/uS0ebeP0kp Aaron D. Campbell at #DerbyCon (@aaroncampbell) June 14, 2018The word of the day was connect. While we werent able to connect to the wifi with confidence, plenty of people had an opportunity to connect in a more traditional sense.Already the last day @ #WCEU. Sad but true. Thanks @luminus for an awesome conversation there. #contr ibutorday pic.twitter.com/XsVF91xk5S á ´Å Ã¡ ´â€¡ÃŠâ‚¬Ã¡ ´ Ã¡ ´â€¡Ã‰ ´ Ê€á ´ Ã¡ ´â€ºÃ¡ ´â€ºÃŠ  🇠§Ã°Å¸â€¡ ª (@JeroenRotty) June 16, 2018 View this post on Instagram #wceu 2018 Contributor DayA post shared by Florian Ziegler (@florian.ziegler.photo) on Jun 14, 2018 at 10:17am PDTAs the day wore on, plenty of work was completed, particularly the Coding Standards team who created more patches than a retired tailor.Coding-Standards sind in #WordPress essentiell. Unser CEO @FlipKeijzer hat heute ebenfalls dazu beigetragen. Das Team make/coding standards hat viele Patches erhalten.#WCEU #ContributorDay #nomoreWordStress https://t.co/dHLAGlg04Q Savvii DE (@SavviiDE) June 14, 2018We’ve moved one of the Core:Editor tables to the Crowne Plaza hotel bar. Everyone who wants to tackle some Gutenberg issues is more than welcome! #wceu #contributorday pic.twitter.com/WYNFMjhAeZ WP Munich (@WPMunich) June 14, 2018 And the core team? Core never sleeps, so they kept on Gutenber ging after the event.Indeed, contributor day was kept alive throughout the entire event with a room designated as the Contribution Area where people kept contributing until the final day.Contributing is not limited to contributor day, theres a room for continued contribution during the whole WordCamp #WCEU pic.twitter.com/2LsrrTY65b Mathieu Sarrasin (@IceableMedia) June 15, 2018Volunteer SocialAnyone who volunteered in Paris will remember the boat that set a high bar for the Volunteer, Sponsor, Speaker Party. WellBelgrade somehow managed to raise the bar even higher. 25 five stories higher in fact..@zgordon et al on top of Belgrade at Top of the Hub at #WCEU pic.twitter.com/XAvHKLfLIZ K. Adam White (@kadamwhite) June 14, 2018What a view to accompany good food and great people at the volunteers social last night! Now we are ready to enjoy the first day of talks at #wceu pic.twitter.com/EiRiesOUM9 Mind Doodle (@MindDoodleCom) June 15, 2018 The view from the top of the building was a p erfect way to relax and prepare for two days of intensity. The combination of excellent views, incredible food, and amazing people proved the perfect tonic for any last minute stress they might feel.WCEU Day 1One of the things we noticed was the movement of workshops away from Contributor Day. The workshops ran alongside the main event for the first time. This helped keep Contributor Day on point. However, it also created an exhaustive daily schedule for those looking to make the most of the learning opportunities. In fact, we made this comic along those very lines.With Gutenberg slated to go Core in WordPress 5.0, this was always going to be the WordCamp of Gutenberg. However, there was also a good focus on JavaScript, mental health, and accessibility.Gutenberg was the focus of an epic 3 hours workshop with the Gutenberg team, a concurrent 90-minute workshop for block building, and the keynote. This is just the first day. On the second day, we had another workshop combining Gutenbe rg with JavaScript and two talks.   So, for now, lets concentrate on day ones Gutenberg roundtable and the keynote.The Gutenberg roundtable was held with the Gutenberg team and they revealed some juicy secrets about the editor. They also allayed the fears of many with the knowledge they shared, in particular, backward compatibility was confirmed.Here I am getting excited about #Gutenberg at #WCEU thanks to @karmatosed 😠Ã¢Å"ŠðŸ  ½ pic.twitter.com/4CqteL2dce Melin Edo (@melin_edo) June 15, 2018What you must know is that the editor is nearly ready and by the end of June it should be feature complete. After features are frozen, possibly in early July, we should see a refining of the UX with a view towards release. WPTavern has a comprehensive review of the entire workshop including customization and theme building processes.How to edit plugins in Gutenberg by the Gutenberg Team #WCEU pic.twitter.com/6uiAoujfKE WordCamp Europe (@WCEurope) June 15, 2018While we post this phot o of a fully packed Milky Way track during @photomatt session yesterday, we are happy to say that so far 2058 people went through our registration desks. 2058 people sharing the same #WCEU values. Thank you! ⠝ ¤Ã¯ ¸  pic.twitter.com/lX3p2mI0jS WordCamp Europe (@WCEurope) June 16, 2018For the first time, I think, a presentation from Matt Mullenweg played to a room large enough to hold everyone. As you can imagine, there was a lot of Gutenberg talk with a touch on how it has evolved and how it will unfold.The month of June will be a big one as site influencers will be encouraged to move sites over to Gutenberg. From then on, data will be collected about the editor and how users are using it, or not. A lot of bugs will be squished during this period. WordPress of the future looks like getting a release date in August..@photomatt showing off the copy and paste functionality in @gutenberg from Google docs, Apple pages, Microsoft Word, Evernote, random web pages, and Markdown. #WCEU p ic.twitter.com/y28XYVdm3R David Bisset (@dimensionmedia) June 15, 2018He also asked devs to dive into JavaScript. Deeply. Again. And gave away a cookie.WordCamps are always great events for their focus on accessibility, but this year we also saw a good focus on mental health. This focus emerged in the second half of day one with two talks; staying healthy in the digital space and easing the anxious mind.Many small but helpful tips: drink enough, excercise, get your workspace properly organised and many more can help you stay healthy —@varrocreative #WCEU pic.twitter.com/0vpdAfOMvt WordCamp Europe (@WCEurope) June 15, 2018Christina Varro gave a detailed talk about the perils of freelancing based on her experience from nearly 10 years of freelancing. Her tips have helped her move beyond the sleep disorders, physical health and anxiety disorders that often go hand in hand with heavy computer work. The tips themselves are small but very powerful in helping us stay healthy.At WCEU 2018 a lot of speakers and workshop leaders stepped up to say Youre not alone. Let us help. Laura Nelson is open about her own struggles and shared her experience and knowledge to an eager audience.Dont trivialise issues. Anxiety can be an impairing condition as much as a broken leg. EMPATHY. Thank you so much for sharing your experience @laura_nelson_ #WCEU pic.twitter.com/3hHMT9NJdz à lvaro Gà ³mez Velasco (@Mrfoxtalbot) June 15, 2018These two first day talks set the wider stage for a conversation about mental health in a number of talks and workshops on day 2.WCEU Day 2How does #Drupal community sees #WordPress? â€Å"In recent years I think in recent years it has becomes less of a competitor and more of a collaborator.† @davidneedham at @WCEurope #WCEU pic.twitter.com/FsRhWp2hBc David Bisset (@dimensionmedia) June 16, 2018Day 2 had big shoes to fill after an inspiring first day, but somehow it managed to achieve it. If you are a fan of connections and contributions, t hen you will be happy to hear that WordPress and Drupal share a decent amount of love. We share so much love that we are lending them   Matt Mullenweg for the Drupal Europe conference in Berlin this September.Sharing love was also the theme of Davide Casalis talk on feedback. This was the talk of the day in my opinion. Giving and receiving feedback is actually quite challenging and often times we find ourselves falling into ridiculous traps. Casali helped redefine the process and provided strategies for moving forward. This is the best quote from a highly quotable talk:This talk was epic, @Folletto is amazing 😠 #wceu pic.twitter.com/QmiNnY4K29 cate (@catehstn) June 16, 2018We say negative feedback but lets reframe it to feedback that you know what to do with. Positive feedback is confirmation feedback keep doing what youre doing.Thank you to everyone at #WCEU who signed up early and packed the house for our Advanced #Gutenberg #React and #Redux Workshop!!! pic.twitter.com/ Zr6n85SLHI Zac Gordon (@zgordon) June 16, 2018We also witnessed an epic 3 hour Gutenberg and React workshop with Zac Gordon and Julien Melissas. Attendees enthusiastically packed the room and happily squeezed into chairs without desks. Their deep learning of JavaScript paid off handsomely with a love heart counter to keep.Sherry Wallings workshop provided attendees with superpowers to help them stay healthy and productive. The workshop was completely full which vindicates the decision to put focus on mental health at this WordCamp.Mental Health Superpowers: Self-reflection, relaxation, and connection for the productive life with @zenfounder at #WCEU pic.twitter.com/4jfG6wyCuz Pierre Saà ¯kali (@psaikali) June 16, 2018The workshoppers also participated enthusiastically in the exercises.Lets switch back to Gutenberg for the final summary. We had two hardcore Gutenbergers delivering talks with Tammie Lister considering design patterns and Matà ­as Ventura taking a deep dive into the technical side of Gutenberg and what it means for publishing.Anatomy of a block: #Gutenberg design patterns with @karmatosed. Great features for an advanced user. Now I know what we have to do before August: teach all of our clients to use these new features. #WCEU attendees, how have you handled this? pic.twitter.com/koo6ffd9Vq Kenda (@kenda_x) June 16, 2018One of the most exciting implications from the Gutenberg editor is the placeholder because it makes blank, judgemental, pages less frightening. In other words, placeholders help us see how a page might take shape. You can see that people started getting excited for Gutenberg and some of their worries eased after the talks, workshops, and the keynote.If you were lucky enough to be at WordCamp US 2017, you probably remember the Gutenberg demonstration from Matà ­as Ventura during the State of the Word. The demo was a watershed moment when people started to get excited about Gutenberg. The markdown support is getting people excit ed. If you copy and paste markdown into the editor it will convert it into a bona fide Gutenberg block. Pretty tasty.Markdown support in #Gutenberg is going to be so awesome. @matias_ventura just showed it off on stage at #WCEU without even mentioning it, like it has always been there 😠 Omar Reiss (@OmarReiss) June 16, 2018.@matias_ventura is showing off nice smooth Markdown conversion in #Gutenberg, as @photomatt was mentioning yesterday. Like butter. #WCEU pic.twitter.com/jZOVtbwFb4 David Bisset (@dimensionmedia) June 16, 2018This presentation has me thinking that Matà ­as Ventura was the big star of WordCamp Europe because he helped many people get excited about the changes. To sum it up that the future is WordPress.What are other people sayingThe future is near according to the team at Sitelock, and they are excited for this new chapter. The event itself was near perfect. it is hard to disagree with that assessment from a team that attends a WordCamp nearly every week. T hese guys know WordCamps like I know pizza.For the local view Ivana, volunteer and happy sharer of Serbian facts wrote a piece focusing on the great talks and diverse workshops. There was also a shoutout for Adrian Rosellis mammoth accessibility workshop (with slides).Youll hear it said often that the Serbian people were welcoming and it was a great experience, and you might also hear a mention of two of the amazing food.As ever, the Gutenberg timeline got a lot of the focus. Without a doubt, the clarification of the timeline is a great step in the right direction.Volunteering and OrganizingAs with every WordCamp Europe since 2016, the ThemeIsle crew was all hands on deck as volunteers. It was my first experience as a volunteer and I really enjoyed it. It was stressful combining it with our role as media partner but I learned a lot. Next year will be even better.We had pirates volunteering all over the event. First off we had Madalin working in the happiness bar. Sounds like he had a great time (hopefully staying within the Code of Conduct).If you need a â€Å"shot†, we’re waiting you at the Happines Bar #WCEU https://t.co/KQtpbEhteb Madalin Milea (@MileaMadalin) June 16, 2018Another first-timer, Radu, said, I heard from a lot of the guys that WCEU is a great experience but I didn’t expect to have so much fun.Best way to end Day 1 of #WCEU Thank you @iamkriskorn 🠤â€" pic.twitter.com/Ownh7hY0cN Sabina Ionescu (@s2abina) June 15, 2018We also had two pirates on the organizing committee. Sabina was 2IC of the communications team. She was busy the entire event, and as a result, barely had time to grab swag. She did score some delicious Estonian chocolate from our new friend, Kris. Thats what we call engineering happiness.Finally, WordCamp Europe 2019 will be in BerlinFinally, the announcement for WordCamp 2019 in Berlin was one we can all get behind. If we thought the Sava Centre was big, then the Estrel Hotel and Congress Center takes it up a notch with room for 12,000 people.The Berlin WordPress community is strong as can be seen in the 1300 members of their monthly meetup. They also have dedicated meetups for developers, women, and beginners.So, while were all disappointed that WordCamp Europe 2018 is over already, the good news is the WordCamp Europe process has already started again. The call for organizers has been sounded and if youre quick you can make another awesome WCEU.And the rest of us will start counting down the days. #WordCamp Europe #WCEU 2018 - What people are saying + our reflections