Genius Schedule 2

Schedule Revised 1

Download the Revised Schedule

We’re starting at 9 AM today, for safety reasons. This does mean the schedule is being pushed back.

• Because of the weather, we are accepting late registrations, as well as walkups. You must have exact change to register onsite.
• T-shirt and bag pickup is today for people who purchased earlybird or regular tickets, as well as speakers.
• It is required that each attendee WEAR THEIR BADGE on the SCAD campus for security reasons, as well as for lunch. If you do not have your badge, you cannot get lunch.
• Lunch is being provided by SCAD in the Hub. It is directly across from the two rooms on the second floor.
• If there is any trouble, the trouble desk is at the registration table. Please use it, and someone will contact either Brandon or Tessa.
• If you are a sponsor w/literature, please notify someone at the registration table. It’s very important, and we want you to get everything out of your sponsorship.

Yes, there is an afterparty. It’s being held at TAP, at 1180 Peachtree ST NW, 30309. We’re heading over there very quickly (it’s cold!) after sessions end today.

We want you to know that WordCamp Atlanta is still on!

After checking the Weather Channel, there is no more snow coming in, and the roads are recovering better than expected.

But please, PLEASE, (really) be careful out there. We’d much rather you be safe about this from wherever you are.

Don’t speed thinking you’re going to be late, don’t especially fret if you’re late. We’re going through this too, our sticker order isn’t coming
in in time, we’re working with SCAD to make sure everything is still set.

Amani Channel, award-winning video journalist and principal at Visual Eye Media is presenting “Secrets of Mobile Vlogging” at WordCamp. Get a glimpse into his session with this video.

We’re just over a week away from WordCamp Atlanta (also known as the #bestwordcampever), and it’s time to bring in the WordPress experts/gurus/specialists/people that just know it together for our Genius Bar. It’s another way of giving back to the community.

What’s the Genius Bar? Taking a note from San Francisco, the Genius Bar is a place here WordPress users can get help on getting started, installing the right plugins, themes, upgrading WordPress, almost any trouble you have! If you come out of a session scratching your head about something, or simply need to bounce an idea off of someone that’s more experienced, this is the place to be.

If you’re experienced with WordPress, you should follow the read more link and fill out the form. As always, you can email me directly. You should also follow us on Twitter and stay in touch via Facebook.

We’re excited to announce that we’re moving WordCamp Atlanta to the center of Atlanta’s creative community, the Savannah College of Art and Design! Thanks to them, we have a larger space with free parking and some of the city’s best art from students around the world.

Named one of the nation’s “Most Interesting Schools” and one of “25 cutting-edge schools with an eye toward the future” by Kaplan-Newsweek, SCAD offers more degree programs and specializations than any other art and design university in the United States on campuses in Savannah and Atlanta, GA., in Lacoste, France, and soon Hong Kong. Their recently opened Digital Media Center in Atlanta offers a professional experience in animation, interactive design and game development, motion media design, visual effects and broadcast production. So when we say this new location is awesome, we mean it.

We’re proud to announce that Microsoft is our second platinum sponsor for WordCamp Atlanta. Their commitment means we’ll be able to provide you with a more fun and educational experience.

Microsoft is committed to excellence and helping their customers achieve their full potential. Their dedication to making WordPress easy with their Web Platform Installer, to the exciting announcement about WordPress’ deep integration across their Azure cloud platform make WordCamp Atlanta very excited to have them supporting. Glen Gordon and the team at Microsoft Atlanta is very supportive of the technology community here, and we’re a good match.

Andy Peatling at WordCamp SF (from seanosh/flickr)

Things are going well at WordCamp Atlanta! We’re lining up additional sponsors, secured excellent airfare and hotel deals for you with Georgia Tech and AirTran, and have already confirmed some of the best speakers out there. We’re releasing the schedule, as well as additional awesome speakers this week.  All of this planning is going into making #wcatl one of the best WordCamps ever!

But that doesn’t mean we’re done with speakers! We’re still looking for speakers for the unconference-like lighting rounds portion of the event for Friday night, as well as speakers aiming for the beginner track focusing on design, user experience, and development of  themes/plugins. We also want a diverse pool of talent, so if you’re new to this, don’t be shy! Put a proposal in! You never know what will happen.

Submit your presentation!

If you’re coming into Atlanta, we’ve got really, really good news for you. Not only have we negotiated the lowest rate for hotel that you’ll ever find in Midtown Atlanta, but we’re also making flying 10% cheaper, thanks to AirTran and the Georgia Tech Hotel and Conference Center.

AirTran is offering 10% to attendees flying into Atlanta, with available flight dates of January 6th-January 11.

This comes with added perks:

• Confirmed upgrade to Business Class, when available, for passengers booking in the “B” and “Y” fare levels
• A one time waiver of Change Fee per reservation for any name or itinerary change, but any applicable fare increase will apply.
• Special discounts from their air partner, Hertz.

To get these fares, you must call AirTran directly at 1-866-683-8368 and give them the following code: ATLA010810 (WORDCAMP ATLANTA)

As well, we’ve negotiated an $89 rate for January 8-10th with the Georgia Tech Hotel and Conference Center, down from their lowest rate as of this post, $152. This 3.5 star, 92% recommended (according to their Hotels.com review) hotel is on the campus, a very short walk from the venue.

Call their reservations line at 404-838-2100 or 1-800-706-BUZZ (2899),  ask for the WordCamp Atlanta rate, and be prepared to cover the first night of reservations.

If you’re wanting to speak at WordCamp Atlanta, you just got an extra week! We’ve received a lot of interest in speaking, and as well, a lot of interest. While we’re busy preparing for the camp, we wanted to give potential speakers more time to prepare and send in their proposals.

The new deadline for submissions is Friday, December 11 by midnight.

Remember, we’re looking for new, fresh content that hasn’t been seen before, as well as a diverse pool of talent, including designers, developers, enterprise users, marketers, and more. You can have either a full length presentation for Saturday, or a shorter (no more than 20 min) lightning presentation on Friday night.

If you’re ready to submit a proposal, head over to the call for speakers form now!