WordPress meetup organizer newsletter: August 2018

This newsletter was sent to 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 via the meetup.com messages system today. 🙂
Hello WordPress Meetup organisers!
Welcome to another meetup organizer newsletter full of news, information, and inspiration for your local meetup.
Newsletter contents:
– WordPress 4.9.8 Maintenance Release
– The New WordPress Editor
– Idea for a new meetup format
– Call for organisers for open-source workshop
– Diversity Outreach Speaker training for MeetupsMeetup 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.

WordPress 4.9.8 Maintenance Release

WordPress 4.9.8 was shipped out as a maintenance release. This release had a fix for 46 bugs, some enhancements and tasks. The Twenty Seventeen theme, which is bundled, also received an update.
You can read more at the announcement post.

Try GutenbergGutenberg The Gutenberg project is the new Editor Interface for WordPress. The editor improves the process and experience of creating new content, making writing rich content much simpler. It uses ‘blocks’ to add richness rather than shortcodes, custom HTML etc. https://wordpress.org/gutenberg/ Callout

Another update with the WordPress 4.9.8 Maintenance Release is the “Try Gutenberg Callout”. Most users will now be presented with a notice in their WordPress dashboard.
In WordPress 4.9.8, the callout will be shown to the following users:
1. If Gutenberg is not installed or activated, the callout will be shown to Admin users on single sites, and Super Admin users on multisites.
2. If Gutenberg is installed and activated, the callout will be shown to Contributor users and above.
3. If the Classic Editor pluginPlugin A plugin is a piece of software containing a group of functions that can be added to a WordPress website. They can extend functionality or add new features to your WordPress websites. WordPress plugins are written in the PHP programming language and integrate seamlessly with WordPress. These can be free in the WordPress.org Plugin Directory https://wordpress.org/plugins/ or can be cost-based plugin from a third-party is installed and activated, the callout will be hidden for all users.
This is a great time to talk to your meetup group about Gutenberg as many of your members will have started using it for the first time. You can learn more by reading  “Try Gutenberg” Callout in WordPress 4.9.8.

Idea for a new meetup format

From time to time we like to share some tips or some new things meetup groups are doing that is interesting.
Some community organizers are experimenting with creating a system for local communities to propose topics and vote on them. This is a popular trend among some Spanish Meetup groups.
Covering topics that your meetup group are directly interested in hearing about is a great way to attract and retain members!
Here are some of examples from Madrid, Irun, Barcelona and Tarragona.

Organize an Introduction to open-source workshop

Last year the WordPress FoundationWordPress Foundation The WordPress Foundation is a charitable organization founded by Matt Mullenweg to further the mission of the WordPress open source project: to democratize publishing through Open Source, GPL software. Find more on wordpressfoundation.org. funded two introduction to open-source workshops in Kanpur and Mombasa. This year the foundation will be funding four such workshops.
Event should be free of cost, open to anyone, and held in 2018. Strong preference will be given to organizers who are already members of a community group that is part of 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’s meetup chapter program, but have not yet organized a 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..
Read more about it here and do apply quickly, as applications close on 23rd August 2018.

Diversity Outreach Speaker training for Meetups

The next Diversity Outreach Speaker training for Meetups will be:
Saturday, Aug 25 @ 4pm-6pm UTC
Wednesday, Aug 29 @ 4pm-6pm UTC
To sign up and get the details, either fill out our form and comment on  which date you’d would like to attend:http://tiny.cc/wpwomenspeak, or reply to a message you’ve already written to to the working group at speaker-training@wordcamp.org
If you’re interested in helping 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. with diversity initiatives like this, and others, check out this call for volunteers for a diversity working group!
That’s it for now — chat to you next time!
Your friends on the Community Team

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