October 3rd, 2014 will live in the history books as the day when the first conference devoted to Pods took place. Organized by Scott Kingsley Clark, PodsCamp not only focused on the Pods plugin, but it was also the first time the development team was in the same physical location. In the following interview, Clark tells me how he thinks it went and whether it will become an annual event.
Overall, what is your impression for how the first ever PodsCamp went?
It was awesome! It could have only been made better by perhaps more tickets being available for WCDFW which was a barrier for folks coming from out-of-town. When tickets ran out for WCDFW, people couldn’t justify just coming out for PodsCamp, but could justify it if they were able to go to WCDFW that weekend too. Almost all (if not every single one) of our attendees went to WCDFW the next day.
What was accomplished by having the entire Pods development team under the same roof?
This was the first time we were together and it gave us an opportunity to have face to face conversations. We talked about all sorts of things like where we’ve been, where we’re going, and ideas on what we want to improve upon. One killer idea that came out of the weekend was from Joshua Pollock. We’re nailing down the specifics right now and should have an announcement post published as soon as we get things in place.
Do you have any initial feedback concerning the event?
We didn’t make enough from sponsors, Tilt, or ticket sales to cover the cost of the event. Our highest expense was bringing in four people from out-of-town and covering their accommodations. I hope in the future we can secure enough to at least break even.
Is PodsCamp something you’ll try to turn into an annual event?
Yes, we’re going to do this again next year just before WCDFW and will go over new topics now that we have established a baseline. We’re also considering 1-3 smaller meetup-based events near where our team members are located. One of which may be a mini-PodsCamp type of event in Austin, TX. I think that PodsCamp DFW will be our flagship one, which we would bring the whole crew out for, but the smaller ones could be more workshop and less camp.
I just want to again thank everyone who made this possible, especially Chris Lema, Jake Goldman, Tom McFarlin, WPEngine, and SiteGround. I’m so stoked we could pull this off!
Let Us Know if You Attended PodsCamp
If you attended PodsCamp, let us know about your experience in the comments! Slides from each presentation can be found here. Sessions recorded at the event will be added to the Pods Framework YouTube channel.
Pods just turned 6 years old this week, corresponding to our very first PodsCamp, coincidence? I think not! We have had awesome people involved over the life of this project and great prospects for the future. Also some cool announcements coming up through the remainder of 2014!