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/. is an annual keynote delivered by Matt Mullenweg, co-founder of the WordPress project. This event provides key updates about the WordPress project and community, highlights from the past year, and a look ahead at how the project will grow in the coming year. It is streamed online for those who can’t attend in person.
If you can’t attend in person, consider hosting a watch party with your local community. Below are tips and resources to help you organize a fun and engaging event as we reflect on the past year and look forward to the future of WordPress.
Why Organizing a State of the Word Watch Party?
- Your 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. group members might not know the State of the Word or its impact on them. Hosting a watch party gives them a chance to experience it firsthand.
- A watch party is an inclusive and fun way to wrap up the year, reconnect, and celebrate with your WordPress community.
Organizing an In-person Watch Party
1. Find a Venue
You don’t need a fancy venue for the watch party! All you need is a place that has:
- Enough room for your community, preferably wheelchair accessible
- A screen large enough for YouTube streaming
- A decent audio system
- A reliable internet connection for smooth HD video playback
This could even be a community member’s home or office. Prioritize finding a free venue, but if that’s challenging, explore securing a donated space through sponsors or submit a Meetup Venue Support Request to cover the cost of a paid venue (you don’t need a 3-6 month invoice and commitment, as this is a special event).
To find additional suggestions for searching for venues, refer to the FAQ page.
2. Create Meetup.com Event
You can use a Meetup.com Template to Schedule a State of the Word Watch Party.
3. On The Event Day
If your group is meeting at an unusual location, post clear directions and maybe even put out some signs to make it easy to find the party.
Try playing a video before the event (such as previous years’ State of the Word recordings) to see if the video is playing well and if the audio is clear.
Organizing an Online Watch Party
Here are two ways to organize an online watch party. The difference is the link you share with your meetup group. Both are good options. Pick what’s right for you!
Option 1: Use the State of the Word Streaming Link
- Schedule an online event for your Meetup.com group; you can use the template if you’d like.
- Add the State of the Word YouTube streaming link, which will become available on the State of the Word landing page.
- If you’d like to chat with your group, create/pick a space on a third-party application such as 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/., Discord, or a WhatsApp/Telegram group. Include that link in the invitation.
Option 2: Use a Zoom or Google Meet Link and Screen Sharing
- Schedule an online event for your Meetup.com group; you can use the template if you’d like.
- Add a Zoom or Google Meet link that is exclusive to your group.
- The host will broadcast the Livestream to the attendees using screen sharing.
- Meetup attendees can interact with each other over video, audio, and chat as they listen to State of the Word.
There are also a few other ways to host a watch party as well, using Chrome Extensions and third-party tools, too.
Are you looking for a Zoom Pro account to host your online watch party? Request a community Zoom Pro account for your event!
Tips for a Successful Watch Party
- Plan a short, post-event retrospective where attendees can discuss the contents of State of the Word and what they learned.
- Plan some fun activities. After the event, how about a pop quiz on WordPress trivia?
- Share on social media. Post your pictures, videos, takeaways, and observations using the hashtag:
#StateOfTheWord
and#WordPress
.
Streaming Tips
- Test screen and audio sharing using your video tool, along with playing back a YouTube video before the event. Enlist some attendees to check if the audio is clear.
- Ensure that captions are enabled on YouTube.
- Ask attendees to restrict their interactions to chat within the video-sharing tool. If attendees speak as the stream is playing, it might make it difficult for other participants to follow.
- Encourage everyone to keep their mics muted as the stream plays.
Additional Resources
- Email templates for State of the Word Promotion and organizing your watch party
- Using a Meetup.com Template to Schedule a State of the Word Watch Party
Feel free to use the following image as the featured imageFeatured image A featured image is the main image used on your blog archive page and is pulled when the post or page is shared on social media. The image can be used to display in widget areas on your site or in a summary list of posts. for your meetup event.
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