A few weeks ago I had the fortunate opportunity to attend the first ever PressNomics conference in Chandler, Arizona. PressNomics was launched to bring together some of the best contributors to the WordPress economy and entrepreneurs who solely use WordPress for their business ventures.
The Good
PressNomics was simply awesome! I can’t thank the team of Page.ly enough for hosting this event and pouring their time into making this conference a reality. PressNomics was way better than any WordCamp I’ve ever attended and the atmosphere couldn’t have been better.
The attendee list was incredible. It’s not often that you get that many well known WP personalities into one room to share and talk shop. But even without the more widely known contributors in the WordPress economy, the entire guest list was filled with top-notch people all passionate about what they do. Some of the people I really enjoyed meeting and visiting with included James Collins, Troy Dean, Chris Lema, Jarret Cade, Pat Ramsey, and Shawn Hesketh. These guys are legit and really down to earth.
The speakers were also very good and they offered some excellent take-aways. My favorite sessions were led by Micah Baldwin and Mikkel Svane, both had messages that I thought had excellent viewpoints for my current situation. And if the speakers didn’t float your boat, you just couldn’t beat the personal conversations being had over at San Tan in the beautiful Arizona weather!
The Bad
Any conference you go to is going to have at least one bad thing attached to it. PressNomics was no different.
The biggest issue we had for a bunch of web geeks was that the WiFi and hotel internet connectivity just plain sucked. San Marcos just wasn’t prepared for this challenge and the conference router was stolen the night before. I feel bad for Page.ly because it wasn’t their fault. On the flip side, it was nice NOT to be constantly tethered to email and Twitter.
The VIP status that allowed certain people to go to the Phoenix Suns game and get additional perks was sort of a debacle. Based on what I heard from a few people, there was some bad mojo going around. I think this was eventually clarified to why this situation took place, but when you invite people to a conference because they are all VIPs and then single out some people for extra perks, it’s gonna cause some division and hard feelings.
The Ugly
If I am to be brutally honest as Micah Baldwin talked about, there were a few really ugly memories that had nothing to do with the conference itself, but with a few select people.
All I will say is this, treat other people the way you want to be treated yourself. You never get a second chance to make a first impression and some people you connect with could be the people who help pay your bills or share your story. Always do your best to be courteous and friendly no matter what.
Overall
PressNomics was worth every penny. Being able to connect with the wide variety of WordPress professionals at PressNomics was valuable, but even more so, having the ability to personally share our wisdom or experiences with each other was priceless!
My hope is that we will continue the conversations throughout the year and that we will strengthen the new connections we made in Arizona. While we may not all have the same vision or values, we still share one common bond — contributing to the WordPress ecosystem, and this is a good enough reason to keep “pressing” forward.
Suggestions
This may be a little self-serving, but I do think this is a valid observation – I’d love to see more designers or design focused tracts at any WordPress type of event. While WordPress is dominantly a code poet’s paradise, there are quite a few people who just like to color. I’d love to see more connection between developers and designers … and I am working on some things personally to do just that!
Sketchnotes
Yes, I am almost finished with my sketchnotes from the sessions I attended. It’s taken me longer than anticipated but I promise to share those soon!
Great thoughts, here! Small tidbit – I actually used to own that the twitter handle that Micah Baldwin now has. Was way back when Twitter was in it’s infancy, and I hadn’t latched onto it whole-heartedly yet. He requested it and I obliged. Kinda kick myself for it now.