Yesterday the organizers of Hamilton’s first ever WordCamp event launched a gorgeous looking WordCampHamilton.com. If you haven’t heard of a WordCamp before, here’s how WordCamp.org describes them:

WordCamps are casual, locally-organized conferences covering everything related to WordPress, the free and open source personal publishing software that powers over 25 million sites on the web.

WordCamps come in all different flavors, based on the local communities that produce them, but in general, WordCamps include sessions on how to use WordPress more effectively, beginning plugin and theme development, advanced techniques, security, etc. To get an idea of the types of sessions typically seen at WordCamps, check out the WordCamp channel at WordPress.tv.

Personally I’m thrilled that WordCamp is being organized in Hamilton – and it’s not just because I’m slated to speak at the event. 😉 I’ve been using WordPress for years now for Software Hamilton, my personal blog, and other projects. I’ve used Joomla and other content management system’s in the past, but in terms of quickly getting a blog website up and running WordPress has been the best. The ease of the install, the simplicity of the back end, and the huge selection of plug-ins are what make WordPress useful to me. All these things allow me to save time and focus on doing things that I actually want to be doing.

I think this ease of use is a big part of why WordPress is now powering over 60 million websites worldwide, including 22% of new websites. Ease of use and resulting time savings shift the economics of web development and allow more people to accomplish more online than they could before.

I think there’s a lot of people in Hamilton that could benefit from WordPress. Whether using WordPress as a cost effective way to build an online presence, or utilizing WordPress plug-ins to create an e-commerce website, individuals, organizations, for-profit and non-profit businesses alike should know about WordPress.

That’s why it’s fantastic that WordCamp is coming to Hamilton. Events like these can galvanize a community and act as a catalyst for growth. I wish we had more initiatives aimed at catalyzing specific communities / sectors like AppsForHealth and Open Hamilton. Hamilton has a Joomla community in the form of JUGSWO – now it’s time for a WordPress community too! BraveNewCode, Orbital and Hamilton Economic Development have stepped up as sponsors and organizers, and I hope others in the community decide to step up and sponsor as well. You can check out the sponsorship packages here, with levels ranging from $250 – $2000.

The one-day event will cost $25 to attend, with 7 speakers on a variety of topics, and will include a continental breakfast, catered lunch, and more. Ticket sales will start this Monday June 1st, with a tentative date of Sunday June 23d for the event itself. I think WordCamp Hamilton is a perfect way to keep the momentum in our community expanding into new areas, and I strongly encourage everyone to support WordCamp however they feel they can, be it through sponsorship, promotion, attendance or giving a talk!