State of the Word 2024

Attention WordPress MeetupMeetup Meetup groups are locally-organized groups that get together for face-to-face events on a regular basis (commonly once a month). Learn more about Meetups in our Meetup Organizer Handbook. Organizers Worldwide!

It’s that time of year again! We’re thrilled to announce the State of the Word 2024, and we’d love your support to make it even more memorable by hosting more local in-person watch parties than ever!

This annual event, presented by WordPress Co-Founder Matt Mullenweg, will highlight the latest developments and the future vision of WordPress. This year’s State of the WordState of the Word This is the annual report given by Matt Mullenweg, founder of WordPress at WordCamp US. It looks at what we’ve done, what we’re doing, and the future of WordPress. https://wordpress.tv/tag/state-of-the-word/. will be held in Tokyo Node Hall, Japan, on December 16, 2024, at 09:00 UTC (18:00 JST). For those unable to attend in person, it will be live-streamed via the WordPress YouTube channel.

Mark your calendars and consider bringing your community together by organizing a State of the Word watch party! It’s a wonderful way to engage local WordPress enthusiasts, learn about new updates, and celebrate the journey of WordPress.

To make planning easier, we’ve prepared a State of the Word Watch Party Handbook with tips, resources, and best practices for hosting a successful event.

This is an incredible opportunity to connect your local community with the global WordPress family. Start planning your community’s State of the Word 2024 watch party today, and let’s make this event truly unforgettable!

P.S. If you have any questions or need support, reach out to the WordPress Global Community TeamGlobal Community Team A group of community organizers and contributors who collaborate on local events about WordPress — monthly WordPress meetups and/or annual conferences called WordCamps. at support@wordcamp.org. Let’s make this a celebration to remember!

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Community Team November Meeting Recap

Attendance: @zinanga @nukaga @peiraisotta @harishanker @_DorsVenabili @sippis @tacoverdo @dpknauss @alexcu21 @rjekic @golosins @patricia70

Notes

This recap is a summary of the Community Team monthly meeting. It will cover the discussion points, ideas, and decisions that came up during the meeting. The aim of this recap is to provide a quick overview for those who were unable to attend, as well as an overview for everyone. These meetings were based on the Agenda for November and are held in our #community-team SlackSlack Slack is a Collaborative Group Chat Platform https://slack.com/. The WordPress community has its own Slack Channel at https://make.wordpress.org/chat/. channel on Make WordPress.

You can find the meeting chat log here:


Please leave your comments if you have any feedback. 

Additionally, each agenda item discussed may have its own Make post related to its topic with more information, and you can add to the discussion directly to that post.

Chat Summary

Here are some discussion points from the meeting.

Highlights to Note

Here are a few things everyone should be aware of:

Some comments:

Taco Verdo asked who is organizing watch parties and about expected turnout. Rocío Valdivia responded that Devin (she/her) is coordinating the watch parties.

Open posts

Current open posts

Comments on open posts:

Isotta had encouraged to nominate for community team repTeam Rep A Team Rep is a person who represents the Make WordPress team to the rest of the project, make sure issues are raised and addressed as needed, and coordinates cross-team efforts. for 2025. 

Announcements / Newsletters

Some announcements: 

Open Floor

Isotta brought to our attention about: Kim Parsell Memorial Scholarship Expands to WordCamp Asia and WordCamp Europe!

The Kim Parsell Memorial Scholarship will now be available for WordCampWordCamp WordCamps are casual, locally-organized conferences covering everything related to WordPress. They're one of the places where the WordPress community comes together to teach one another what they’ve learned throughout the year and share the joy. Learn more. Asia and WordCamp Europe, in addition to WordCamp US.

The scholarship is designed to support those who are passionate about contributing to WordPress, especially individuals who might otherwise face financial barriers to attending.

Next Meeting

Community Team Meetings are held the first Thursday of every month. There are two meetings to support different time zones. The meetings will take place on #community-team on Slack.

Call for Meeting Facilitators

The Community Team Monthly Meetings happen on the first Thursdays of every month. These meetings can be facilitated and run by any member of the community team, and is a great opportunity to engage with the rest of the community and team.

If you are interested in facilitating any of these meetings in the future, please feel free to comment or get in touch with any of the Community Team Reps.


If you wish to add points to discuss, comment on this post or reach out to one of the team reps:@peiraisotta, @Shusei, @leo, or @nukaga

#community-team-meeting, #community-team, #mentorship-cohort-oct-2024

Meetup Organizer Newsletter: November 2024

Hello WordPress Event Organizers,

We’re excited to bring you this month’s updates and resources. Here, you’ll find tips on why there’s no venue too small for a successful meetupMeetup Meetup groups are locally-organized groups that get together for face-to-face events on a regular basis (commonly once a month). Learn more about Meetups in our Meetup Organizer Handbook., highlights from recent gatherings, and a reminder on the WordCampWordCamp WordCamps are casual, locally-organized conferences covering everything related to WordPress. They're one of the places where the WordPress community comes together to teach one another what they’ve learned throughout the year and share the joy. Learn more. ticket process.

Plus, if you ever need extra support from the Global Community TeamGlobal Community Team A group of community organizers and contributors who collaborate on local events about WordPress — monthly WordPress meetups and/or annual conferences called WordCamps., we’re here to help, with special assistance available in Spanish and other languages for those who need it. Let’s keep growing together!

Be Part of State of the WordState of the Word This is the annual report given by Matt Mullenweg, founder of WordPress at WordCamp US. It looks at what we’ve done, what we’re doing, and the future of WordPress. https://wordpress.tv/tag/state-of-the-word/. 2024 Live from Tokyo!

Join us on December 16 at 9:00 UTC for State of the Word 2024, live from Tokyo! Open to everyone—from WordPress enthusiasts and website owners to developers and contributors—this annual event, hosted by Matt Mullenweg, celebrates all things WordPress and unveils what’s next for the platform and the web.

Whether you tune in from home or gather with friends at a watch party, this is your chance to connect with the global community, hear exciting updates, and get inspired for the year ahead.

There are only a few in-person tickets left, so be sure to request yours today at the State of the Word website.

Don’t miss this unique opportunity to experience the future of WordPress firsthand!

There is no small venue for a Meetup

Whether you’re expecting 5 or 50 attendees, every meetup has the potential to bring value to the WordPress community. Sometimes, we worry about spaces being “too small,” but in reality, the magic of a meetup lies in the connections and learning that happen within those walls—not the venue’s size. Small venues can foster more intimate discussions, helping people connect profoundly and learn from each other.

Here are some tips for making any space work for your meetup:

  • Get creative with seating: Set up a circle to foster conversations or use small tables for group work.
  • Use every corner wisely: Consider areas like lounges, open spaces, or even patios if weather permits.
  • Bring in some atmosphere: Simple touches like music before the meetup starts or a banner with the WordPress logo can set the tone and make any space feel welcoming.
  • Have a flexible schedule: A small space often feels cozy and personal, so leverage this by creating activities where people can move and interact.
  • Take advantage of virtual participation: For spaces with limited capacity, consider live-streaming parts of the event or creating a hybrid experience to reach a broader audience.

A small venue can inspire big ideas and strong community ties. Don’t worry about the size—embrace it and let the quality of your connections shine!

Some recent Community Events 

A grid of 48 people participating in a virtual meeting, each in their own video frame. Most are smiling, and some are waving or giving thumbs-up. The backgrounds vary from home environments to virtual backdrops. Microphones appear muted, indicated by red icons on screen. At the top left, a banner mentions "Trabajo remoto: transformando el futuro con WordPress."
WordPress Denia 2024 (online) event dedicated to Remote Working
A group of people posing together indoors in front of a bright green screen displaying "WordCamp Guate 2024" with a colorful graphic. The group consists of diverse individuals, some wearing event badges and lanyards, smiling and standing or kneeling in multiple rows. The setting is WordCamp Guatemala 2024.
First WordCamp in Guatemala
A large group of people is gathered indoors for a photo, smiling and posing together. Many are holding conference bags, and some have signs. In the foreground, there is a "WP Campus Connect" logo on the floor, and a standee listing sponsors and event details is visible on the right.
One of the four days of WP Campus Connect Ajmer, India

Reminder for WordCamp Ticket Sales

If you are organizing or giving visibility to an upcoming WordCamp or WordPress Event, please remind attendees that they need an active WordPress.orgWordPress.org The community site where WordPress code is created and shared by the users. This is where you can download the source code for WordPress core, plugins and themes as well as the central location for community conversations and organization. https://wordpress.org/ account to purchase tickets. Here’s a quick guide to share with attendees:

Create or Log In to WordPress.org: Attendees can go to login.wordpress.org and log in to their existing account or create a new one if they’re not yet registered by visiting the Create an Account link.

Once logged in, attendees must check all required fields. This step is important as it helps organizers gather the necessary information for event planning and personalized interactions.

Proceed with Ticket Purchase: After logging in, attendees can easily access the ticketing page and complete their purchase without issues.

Remind attendees to complete this process ahead of time to make registration and check-in as smooth as possible.

Some WordCamp organizers, like WordCamp Delhi 2024, have created a video explaining the process step by step on their tickets page.

WordPress Event Organizers, We Want to Feature You!

We love highlighting WordPress events from around the world in our newsletters. Want your Meetup to be featured? Share a picture with the Community team! Rename your picture as “Meetup-name_event-date” and upload it here in jpg or png format. Remember to ask permission from your group members before taking and sharing photos.


A special thank you to our Global Sponsors: Bluehost, GoDaddy, Automattic, WPBeginner, and Woo!


Need Support or Guidance From the WordPress Global Community Team?

If you have any questions, Community Team Supporters are here to help. Please email us at support@wordcamp.org or join the #community-events Slack channel. Thanks for everything you do to grow and support the WordPress community — let’s keep sharing knowledge and inspiring each other with our contributions!

See you online soon!

The following people contributed to this edition of the Meetup newsletter: @josvelasco, @_dorsvenabili, @peiraisotta and @bjmcsherry.

#community-team, #meetup-organizer-newsletter, #newsletter

Extra: Need special help in Spanish? Visit wplatam.org to talk to this group that is focused on supporting and promoting WordPress in Latam. They can help you find good speakers for your  Meetup group, invite you to participate in Quedadas WordPress en Español, and discuss how to reactivate your Community.

#community-team, #meetup-organizer-newsletter, #newsletter

Community Team Meeting Agenda for 7 November 2024

The Community Team chat takes place the first Thursday of every month in the #community-team channel on SlackSlack Slack is a Collaborative Group Chat Platform https://slack.com/. The WordPress community has its own Slack Channel at https://make.wordpress.org/chat/.

This meeting is meant for all contributors on the team and everyone who is interested in taking part in some of the things our team does. Feel free to join us, even if you are not currently active in the team!

Asia-Pacific / EMEA friendly meeting: Thursday, 7 November 2024 at 12:00 PM UTC
Americas friendly meeting: Thursday, 7 November 2024 at 21:00 PM UTC

You will find a preliminary agenda for the meeting below. 

If you wish to add points to discuss, comment on this post or reach out to one of the team reps: @peiraisotta, @Shusei, @leo, or @nukaga. It does not need to be a blog post yet, the topic can be discussed during the meeting nevertheless. We use the same agenda for both meetings.

Call for meeting host and notetaker
If anyone is available to host this month’s or next month’s Community Team meetings and/or write the recap notes , please reach out to one of the team reps: @peiraisotta, @Shusei, @leo, or @nukaga.

Check-ins: Program and Event Supporters / Contributors

  • What have you been doing and how is it going? 
  • What did you accomplish after the last meeting? 
  • Are there any blockers? 
  • Can other team members help you in some way?

Highlights to Note

Here are a few things everyone should be aware of.

Open Posts

Check out these new and ongoing discussions needing review, feedback, thoughts and comments.

Announcements / Newsletters

Open Floor

This is your chance to discuss things that weren’t on the meeting agenda. 

We invite you to use this opportunity to share anything that you want with the team. If you currently have a topic you’d like to discuss, add it to the comments of this post and we will try to update the agenda accordingly.

Hope to see you on Thursday, either in the Asia-Pacific / EMEA (12:00 UTC) or Americas-friendly version (21:00 UTC) of the meeting!

#agenda, #meeting-agenda, #team, #team-chat-2, #team-meeting-2

Impact and Growth: First Year of the Community Reactivation Project in Latin America

Context

The WordPress Latam Community Reactivation Project was launched nine months ago to revive and strengthen WordPress communities across Latin America. With a vision to foster collaboration, mutual learning, and active member participation, this initiative aims to empower individuals, build strategic alliances, and create consistent monthly events that engage, connect the community, and activate local leaders and communities in the region.

Key Achievements

The WP Latam team has driven the growth and reactivation of WordPress communities across Latin America, creating spaces for mentorship, teaching, and collaboration. Today, more people of all ages are connected and have access to technology in their language and time zone, strengthening this supportive regional network.

Key Results

  1. Community Reactivation: We reactivated communities in:
  2. Community Expansion: Additionally, new communities were formed in:
  3. Support at WordCamps: WP Latam provided support at events like WordCamp Bogotá and WordCamp Guatemala, managing social media, registration, and volunteers. It also led contributor tables in marketing, support, and community.
  4. Regional Communication Channels: With Telegram (+150 members), social media, and email, we facilitated connection and learning throughout the region.
  5. Regional Latin American Meetup: This monthly space connects communities, showcasing local achievements and specialized topics in WordPress, development, and marketing.

Impact on Communities in 2024

  • Continuous Mentorship: Local mentorsEvent Supporter Event Supporter (formerly Mentor) is someone who has already organised a WordCamp and has time to meet with their assigned mentee every 2 weeks, they talk over where they should be in their timeline, help them to identify their issues, and also identify solutions for their issues. support leaders in organizing events and developing strategies.
  • Regional Collaboration Network: Active exchange of best practices and resources between communities.
  • Structured Training: Monthly MeetupMeetup Meetup groups are locally-organized groups that get together for face-to-face events on a regular basis (commonly once a month). Learn more about Meetups in our Meetup Organizer Handbook. sessions with high-value educational content.
  • Empowerment of New Leaders: New leaders have emerged, expanding communities and motivating others.

Key Contributors

Next Steps in 2025

  • Expanding WordPress events in San José (Costa Rica), Buenos Aires (Argentina), Nicaragua, and other cities.
  • Podcast featuring inspiring stories from the community.
  • Virtual Contributor Latam event.
  • Series of events for training new WordPress Event and WordCampWordCamp WordCamps are casual, locally-organized conferences covering everything related to WordPress. They're one of the places where the WordPress community comes together to teach one another what they’ve learned throughout the year and share the joy. Learn more. organizers.

The WP Latam mentorship team has significantly shifted collaboration and visibility for WordPress in Latin America. We’ve joined forces in a strong network that grows our community and fosters technology access for all!

Thanks to @peiraisotta and @_dorsvenabili for inspiring, mentoring, and supporting this initiative!

The following people contributed to this post: @lidarroy, @alexcu21, @sion99, @josvelasco, @arburola, @_dorsvenabili

#community-team, #community-management, #meetups, #wordcamps, #latam

#2024, #reactivation, #recap, #wplatam

X-post: Training Team Updates – November 2024

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Community Team Rep Nominations for 2025

Hello, it’s November. It’s time to decide who will represent the new community team next year!

Last year, we made the following proposals, and in 2024, four people served as reps.

Change the number of years in office from one to two years (step down is possible if desired), with one or two of the three remaining the following year to facilitate continuity

In 2024, @leogopal and I (@nukaga) will leave the Reps, and @peiraisotta and @st810amaze will remain.

Then, two new Reps for 2025 will be elected.

Team RepTeam Rep A Team Rep is a person who represents the Make WordPress team to the rest of the project, make sure issues are raised and addressed as needed, and coordinates cross-team efforts. Role

Each team has representatives in the WordPress open sourceOpen Source Open Source denotes software for which the original source code is made freely available and may be redistributed and modified. Open Source **must be** delivered via a licensing model, see GPL. project, abbreviated as “reps”. 

Team reps are responsible for communicating on behalf of the group to the other contributor groups via weekly updates, as well as occasional chats. 

As a reminder, it is not called “team lead” for a reason. While the people elected as team reps will generally come from the pool of folks that people think of as experienced leaders, the team rep role is designed to change hands regularly.

This role does have a time commitment attached to it, at least one hour a week. The main tasks include:

  • Writing the agenda for the Community Team meetings
  • Coordinating the facilitator of the meeting and the posting of summaries
  • Discuss the community team’s annual goals
  • Keep an eye on the moving parts of the team and provide reports for quarterly updates

How Community Team Rep Elections Work

Following our election process last year, the Community team is planning on these key steps: 

Nominations

Anyone can nominate a Community team rep! Self-nominations are welcome too. To nominate someone or yourself, please comment in this post. If you would like to nominate someone in private, please reach out to @peiraisotta, @st810amaze or @nukaga.

Nomination Open: 1 November 2024

Nomination Closes: 15 November 2024

We will only add people who respond positively to a nomination to the poll, so feel free to decline a nomination if you don’t feel like this is the right fit for any reason.

Voting

We will open voting with a new blog post as soon as nominations are closed. Community members can vote to select new Community Team Reps. 

Voting Open: 25 November 2024

Voting Closes: 10 December 2024

Results

We will then be able to announce our new team reps before the end of 2025! 

Nominate now

Please nominate people for Community team rep in the comments of this post or via private message by 15 November 2024.

Finally, if you have any questions, please also feel free to ask in the comments.

Nominations are closed. Thank you for all the comments!

#community-team, #team-reps

Pause on SWAG Shipments for WordPress Events, WordCamps, and Meetups

Hello, Event Organizers and Community team members!

Historically, the Community team has been responsible for shipping lanyards, buttons, and various stickers to WordPress events and WP meetupMeetup Meetup groups are locally-organized groups that get together for face-to-face events on a regular basis (commonly once a month). Learn more about Meetups in our Meetup Organizer Handbook. groups worldwide.

This was primarily done by processing orders through the Mercantile store. After we could no longer ship these items using the Mercantile store, we introduced some temporary alternatives, but none served as a permanent solution.

After several attempts to find alternatives and continue shipping SWAG for Community team events, we have decided to pause this program officially until our contributors have the bandwidth to conduct more research and identify a sustainable solution.

Next steps

Our first step will be to follow up and close any pending tickets related to SWAG requests.

If you are planning an event or would like to print these locally, please see the Swag Source Files for more details.

Feel free to reach out to support@wordcamp.org if you have any questions.

Future of SWAG shipments

While this likely won’t be prioritized right now as we don’t have many Community team contributors available, it will surely be reconsidered in the future.

If you have ideas or know services that might be able to address this on a global scale, please add your suggestions to the comments section. These will be reviewed at the appropriate time to reconsider options. The Community team will prioritize requests and solutions that require minimal time to manage.

#community-team, #meetup, #swag, #wordcamp

Community Team October Meeting Recap

Attendance: @nilovelez, @zinanga, @BobDunn-trainer, @patricia70, @matteoenna, @brandondove, @_dorsvenabili

Notes:

This recap is a summary of the Community Team monthly meeting. It will cover the discussion points, ideas, and decisions that came up during the meeting. The aim of this recap is to provide a quick overview for those who were unable to attend as well as an overview for everyone. These meetings were based on the Agenda for October and are held in our #community-team SlackSlack Slack is a Collaborative Group Chat Platform https://slack.com/. The WordPress community has its own Slack Channel at https://make.wordpress.org/chat/. channel on Make WordPress.

You can find the meeting chat log here:

Chat Summary

Here are some discussion points from the meeting.

Highlights to Note

Here are a few things everyone should be aware of.

Open Posts

Check out these new and ongoing discussions needing review, feedback, thoughts and comments.

The GatherPress project has made significant advancements since its initial proposal and continues to evolve through active collaboration. Regular updates are being shared with the community. Current meetupMeetup Meetup groups are locally-organized groups that get together for face-to-face events on a regular basis (commonly once a month). Learn more about Meetups in our Meetup Organizer Handbook. organizers are testing the project and providing feedback, expected by the end of the week. The team is in discussions with Ryelle from the MetaMeta Meta is a term that refers to the inside workings of a group. For us, this is the team that works on internal WordPress sites like WordCamp Central and Make WordPress. team and hopes to start the integration into WordPress.orgWordPress.org The community site where WordPress code is created and shared by the users. This is where you can download the source code for WordPress core, plugins and themes as well as the central location for community conversations and organization. https://wordpress.org/ soon. Additionally, @zinanga is excited to begin experimenting with a new group, allowing for real feedback to improve the project.

Announcements / Newsletters

Open Floor

The Contributor Mentorship program will begin on Monday, and participation is open to everyone in the community. Activities in the program are public, and members are encouraged to follow along, comment, participate, and even join calls in the #mentorship-cohort-oct-2024 channel. The program is not restricted to just mentorsEvent Supporter Event Supporter (formerly Mentor) is someone who has already organised a WordCamp and has time to meet with their assigned mentee every 2 weeks, they talk over where they should be in their timeline, help them to identify their issues, and also identify solutions for their issues. and mentees. Additionally, @patriciabt is leading a project to bring new contributors to BuddyPress and bbPressbbPress Free, open source software built on top of WordPress for easily creating forums on sites. https://bbpress.org., aiming to keep both projects active and thriving. @zinanga has expressed interest in participating and sharing their experiences.

There was a question about the new marketing expense guidelines for WordPress events. @brandondove suggested creating examples of acceptable marketing activities for organizers to use as a reference. @zinanga shared a link to the proposed changes and mentioned that some ideas were already recommended. @Rocío Valdivia added that @Fernando Lopez and @Paula Carmona are working on a draft with ideas on how to use the marketing funds, initially in Spanish. Rocío invited Brandon to coordinate with them to create an English version and share it on the Make Community blog for further feedback.

Next Meeting

Community Team Meetings are held the first Thursday of every month. There are two meetings to support different time zones. The meetings will take place on #community-team on Slack.

Call for Meeting Facilitators

The Community Team Monthly Meetings happen on the first Thursday of every month. These meetings can be facilitated and run by any member of the community team, and is a great opportunity to engage with the rest of the community and team.

If you are interested in facilitating any of these meetings in the future, please feel free to comment or get in touch with any of the Community Team Reps.


If you wish to add points to discuss, comment on this post or reach out to one of the team reps:@peiraisotta, @Shusei, @leo, or @nukaga

#community-team-meeting, #community-team