WordCamp Cologne was one of the biggest WordCamps in Germany for the year with 250 attendees. I was one of this year’s co-organizers, putting heart and effort into it for weeks. Colleagues Patricia, Jan and Jörg couldn’t wait to be in the beautiful city, that welcomed us with wonderful weather.
Contributing to WordPress
Before the actual WordCamp event, we held a WordPress Contributor Day in the stylish Microsoft premises where 80 people contributed to the open-source project. We had WordPress Core, Meta, Accessibility, WP-CLI, Hosting, Polyglots, WordPress TV, Design, and Community.
We’re at #WCCGN #ContributorDay today. Great discussion on #innovation, #WordPress and #WebHosting pic.twitter.com/12djpTvaCL
— Plesk (@Plesk) November 17, 2017
Jan and Jörg joined the Hosting team and connected the community with hosting companies to improve WordPress hosting. Amidst organizer duties, I also took part in discussions and Q&A at the Community table.
It was an amazing Contributor day at @WordCampCGN . People contributed to #WordPress Core, Accessibility, CLI, Hosting, Polyglots, TV, Design, Community and many more! #WCCGN #BarCamp 💜🐙💜 pic.twitter.com/P69R13LKI1
— J_Strotmann (@JStrotmann) November 17, 2017
A Heartwarming WordCamp Start
Saturday early morning, we set up our brand-new Plesk booth and arranged numerous giveaways.
Hi, Carole + Joerg here. We’re at #WCCGN today and we’ll take over the Plesk account. Stay tuned for more news about this awesome #WordPress conference! 😊 pic.twitter.com/72342TPW7M
— Plesk (@Plesk) November 18, 2017
And we just had to spoil our WordPress friends with delicious sweets to power their day:
Want to have some sweets? We are happy to share some exclusive #Plesk #cakepops with y’all! Visit us at our booth at #WCCGN #WordPress #BarCamp pic.twitter.com/WlJcNhYFwC
— Plesk (@Plesk) November 18, 2017
I was honored to co-host with Marc Nilius, this year’s lead-organizer. The most special and emotional moment was when the community surprised me with a personalized community Wapuu. I almost burst into tears.
New Community #Wapuu for @CaroleOlinger was just announced at #WCCGN ! pic.twitter.com/4o3Ytn1cxN
— Alain Schlesser (@schlessera) November 18, 2017
BarCamp, Talks and Speakers
This year’s WordCamp Cologne was a BarCamp – no session or speaker in advance, but attendees interested in giving a talk presented their topic in under a minute. If the audience was interested, the session got scheduled. Plesk CTO Jan Löffler pitched two sessions and both got a slot. See the slides (German) for WordPress auf Speedand Web Trends in Zahlen und wie sich Hosting verändert.
Altogether, 39 sessions were scheduled on website performance, design, accessibility, web security, Gutenberg, web development, mental health, digital law and digital nomad lifestyle.
WP Toolkit and Plesk Courses
The attendees were super interested in WP Toolkit demos. They asked how they can use Plesk for their private or business purpose. If you missed this part, don’t worry, find out more by clicking below or get in touch with our experts.
Feedback from the community was more than valuable for us – a company always trying to improve. They also loved that we offer free courses on how to use Plesk in Plesk University. Take some time to check them out.
WordCamp Goodies and Atmosphere
It wouldn’t be a WordCamp without swag. WordCamp Cologne gave attendees a t-shirt and branded scarf in soccer-fan-style.
Swag time! Get your t-shirt and your shawl at the front desk! #WCCGN pic.twitter.com/xUS7e3VceF
— WordCamp Cologne (@WordCampCGN) November 18, 2017
We couldn’t keep a straight face – it was just so much fun.
#Pleskians in action at #WCCGN 😂👌 Because everybody can be serious… 😉 #Plesk @JStrotmann @jlsoft2 @CaroleOlinger @mazzomaz #WordCamp #Swag pic.twitter.com/ZeQ8wmzBb9
— Plesk (@Plesk) November 18, 2017
Of course, we also joined the social events with the community while discovering the lovely German and “Kölsch” culture.
Soooooo viele großartige Menschen! Hallo Freunde und Herzlich Willkommen in Köln ❤️ Auf geht‘s zum WordCamp Cologne 2017 @WordCampCGN #WordPress #WordCamp #Community #WCCGN pic.twitter.com/bE5BsMlBwY
— Mazzo (@mazzoIO) November 16, 2017
Plesk gets its own official Wapuu!
An international delegation of WP community members official released Plesk’s Wapuu:
#ElvisPlesky goes #WordPress : We are thrilled and proud to present a new cute member of our #Plesk family! 💜🐙💜Officially released at WordCamp Cologne. #WCCGN #community. Throw in your ideas to find a cool name! @WordCampCGN @mazzomaz @nullbytes @JStrotmann @CaroleOlinger pic.twitter.com/Vs3ZMUPzRe
— Plesk (@Plesk) November 19, 2017
We’re still looking for a cool name that will fit this little guy. Help us out by leaving your suggestions in the comments below.
Wrapping up WordCamp Cologne with captured memories
While overwhelmed by the positive feedback, I need to mention the 9 organizers, 16 volunteers, 42 sponsors & community-sponsors who made this event possible. It was hard to leave.
Thanks a lot for organizing this beautiful WordCamp Cologne – Absolutely superb from start to finish, huge thanks to everyone involved! @WordCampCGN rocks! #WCCGN 💜🐙💜 pic.twitter.com/VuelVbwotB
— Plesk (@Plesk) November 19, 2017
But we went home with lots of inspiration and positive energy. Here are some special moments captured below. Can you spot yourself?
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