Many moons ago, I was convinced Boston was the city I would call home. Back then, I applied to Boston University and Emerson with the hope of attending college in that magical city. As luck would have it, I was accepted to both but received a scholarship to a university closer to home. Therefore, my Boston dreams were put on hold and I’m sure it was for all of the right reason. So when I had the opportunity to apply to speak at WordCamp Boston 2018, I jumped on it!
I arrived Thursday evening and was instantly ready to dive into some seafood. After scouring Twitter for some recommendations via the #WCBos hashtag, I opted to hang out at the hotel and perfect my slides for my talk. Traveling is exhausting and I knew I was about to head into some super busy days. Friday night, though, my seafood dreams were realized as I joined some friends for a feast overlooking the water.
The festivities began on Saturday morning. Walking into a WordCamp the morning of registration is still exciting. You know you are entering something great and you know you are about to be inspired. The keynote presentation “The Gutenberg Journey,” given by Tammie Lister, kicked off the event. It was brilliant. Her talk was an inside look at the reasons behind Gutenberg and where the future of WordPress is headed.
I attended quite a few sessions that day, more than I usually do because I was very drawn to this year’s content. My talk was scheduled for 4:10 p.m. on Saturday; so like any good speaker, I fueled up on coffee and snacks about an hour before. You know what I learned? I’m loud. Like, really loud. Like, louder than you may think. They actually had to have me back away from the mic and then turn it down!
But overall, it was an entertaining presentation, I even included a text message from my mom telling me that I would do great. Raving reviews like that deserve to be shared. This year’s presentation was on “Selling to Enterprise Clients,” and I hope that everyone enjoyed it as much I enjoyed presenting it.
“You must demonstrate value. This has nothing to do with price.”—@Jodie_Riccelli so true! #WCBos there is so much that happens during the discovery phase with clients. #WCBos #WordPress @webdevstudios pic.twitter.com/kx42adcUfY
— Laura Byrne Cristiano (@NewYorkerLaura) July 21, 2018
I really enjoyed the sponsor hall this year at Boston. It was perfectly set up with coffee in the middle and the awesome sponsors on the perimeter. As I wandered, I ran into some old and new friends like the folks at Pressable, Pantheon, and GiveWP.
As with every great WordCamp, the night ended with an after-party. I want it on the record that I played cornhole and ring toss and was not terrible at either. Athletics and I usually don’t go together, not that cornhole and ring toss are the most athletic, but I’ll take the win.
What is really important to note, however, are the organizers and volunteers. They did a fantastic job and put together a wonderful event that was loved by all. Thank you, WordCamp Boston. Until next year!