Update about the GatherPress project

We were invited to give regular updates about GatherPress.

Here are the significant advancements made by GatherPress since our initial proposal. GatherPress continues to evolve, thanks to the active participation and feedback from community members. Here’s a detailed overview of our progress.

Call for Feedback and status of the Proposal

We are actively seeking feedback from 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. Your insights are invaluable in helping us refine GatherPress to better meet the needs of the WordPress community.

There are several ways to help:

  • You can test GatherPress right now using this Playground demo in your browser or test it on your own site installing the 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 available in the plugin repository and provide your feedback in the comments below or in our main GatherPress GitHub repository.
  • If you are a Meetup organizer, you can start testing GatherPress by publishing your Meetup events in our Demo site joining the current WordPress Meetup groups that are already using this platform, helping us to test real cases. Read the home page here, fill the form to join the tests and provide your feedback on the same site or on our GitHubGitHub GitHub is a website that offers online implementation of git repositories that can easily be shared, copied and modified by other developers. Public repositories are free to host, private repositories require a paid subscription. GitHub introduced the concept of the ‘pull request’ where code changes done in branches by contributors can be reviewed and discussed before being merged be the repository owner. https://github.com/ repositories: For the plugin features on our main GatherPress repository, and for the Community integration, on the Gatherpress-WP-org-integration repository.
    We would like to know if it was easy or not for you to add a venue, an event, and your general feeling about the use of GatherPress. ideally we would like to have feedback from attendees as well, so feel free to share the form with your attendees.
  • If you are a member of the Community or 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. teams, please add feature requests and reply to questions for what is needed to create the integration between GatherPress and the 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/ network (user accounts, user activity in profiles, email sending, group creation and management, etc) here on the Gatherpress-WP-org-integration GitHub repository.
  • You can spread the word about the tool, invite event organizers to join the tests, invite people to test the tool and send feedback, etc.

It’s only after GatherPress has proven its viability through your feedback that the Meta team can implement it on the .org network for the pilot program, as we proposed in January. Therefore, your input is crucial to ensure a successful integration. Please test and provide feedback before the end of September 2024.

Improvements

Since introducing GatherPress, we have focused on integrating features that enhance event management within WordPress. Our initial release has been well-received, and community feedback has been instrumental in guiding our development process. Based on user feedback, we have implemented several improvements:

  • We added OpenStreetMap to load the maps by default, Google Maps is still available as an option,
  • Customizable post type and taxonomyTaxonomy A taxonomy is a way to group things together. In WordPress, some common taxonomies are category, link, tag, or post format. https://codex.wordpress.org/Taxonomies#Default_Taxonomies. slugs with localized defaults,
  • Improvements to accessibilityAccessibility Accessibility (commonly shortened to a11y) refers to the design of products, devices, services, or environments for people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design ensures both “direct access” (i.e. unassisted) and “indirect access” meaning compatibility with a person’s assistive technology (for example, computer screen readers). (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accessibility),
  • Import and export events, venues and topics using WordPress’ native tools,
  • Now using WordPress Playground to:
    • Enable the “Live Preview” on .org/plugins
    • Instantly preview changes from a commented Playground-link on each PR
    • Automatically generate multilingual screenshots for .org/plugins
    • Run end-to-end tests
    • Curate and maintain a set of demo-data, that is re-used in all of those Playgrounds,
  • And more, all our released features can be seen in our main GitHub project.

GatherPress on the WordPress Plugin Repository

GatherPress is now available on the official WordPress Plugin Repository since the end of June. This makes it easier for users to discover, install, and update GatherPress directly from their WordPress dashboards. Additionally, you can test GatherPress using the Playground. We encourage you to try the plugin, and as always, your feedback is invaluable.

Translation Availability

GatherPress is now available for translation. We invite community members to contribute translations, making GatherPress accessible to a broader audience. Please share it with your Polyglots teams to organize translation sprints and to get it translated to as many languages as possible!

Thanks to all the polyglots around the world, who have already translated GatherPress into 8 languages!

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. US Contributor DayContributor Day Contributor Days are standalone days, frequently held before or after WordCamps but they can also happen at any time. They are events where people get together to work on various areas of https://make.wordpress.org/ There are many teams that people can participate in, each with a different focus. https://2017.us.wordcamp.org/contributor-day/ https://make.wordpress.org/support/handbook/getting-started/getting-started-at-a-contributor-day/.

GatherPress will have a dedicated table at the upcoming WordCamp US Contributor Day (September 17, 2024). This is a fantastic opportunity to meet Mike and Mervin, discuss the project, provide feedback, and contribute to the development of GatherPress. We encourage you to join us and get involved. You can even join us remotely via a video call during the Contributor Day if you do not attend the WordCamp.

Involvement can happen in many ways, for example:

  • Contribution with tasks we have identified as important for our next version.
  • Small backlog tasks to help get your feet wet with the project.
  • Testing and identifying issues in the plugin and documenting them in a ticket to be prioritized in a future release of the plugin.
  • Helping test our code by contributing to unit tests (JavaScriptJavaScript JavaScript or JS is an object-oriented computer programming language commonly used to create interactive effects within web browsers. WordPress makes extensive use of JS for a better user experience. While PHP is executed on the server, JS executes within a user’s browser. https://www.javascript.com/. or PHPPHP PHP (recursive acronym for PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor) is a widely-used open source general-purpose scripting language that is especially suited for web development and can be embedded into HTML. http://php.net/manual/en/intro-whatis.php.) or end-to-end tests (playwright).
  • Work with the Meta team for the integration with the WordPress.org network.

Development Roadmap

Looking ahead, we have an exciting roadmap for GatherPress. Upcoming features include:

  • Recurring event management, 
  • BlockBlock Block is the abstract term used to describe units of markup that, composed together, form the content or layout of a webpage using the WordPress editor. The idea combines concepts of what in the past may have achieved with shortcodes, custom HTML, and embed discovery into a single consistent API and user experience. updates and improvements,
  • Email notification when event starts,
  • Event federation using ActivityPub,
  • New calendar block,
  • And more, all our planned features can be seen in our main GitHub project.

Furthermore, we are building addons to easily build integration with other plugins. 

We are also working to integrate GatherPress with the WordPress.org network, and are identifying the requirements with the Meta and Community teams before creating a full roadmap with dates for the integration and the start of the pilot program.

We are committed to continuous improvement and look forward to delivering these new capabilities.

Join the Team

We invite community members to join the GatherPress team. Whether you are a developer, designer, translator, community member or simply passionate about improving event management in WordPress, your contributions are welcome. Together, we can shape the future of GatherPress. You can join the GatherPress Slack or GitHub and participate in our weekly huddles on Fridays at 15:00 UTC (16:00 UTC from November to March). The upcoming huddles are always listed on the homepage of our website.

Get to know GatherPress and the Team

You can visit our blog and watch the interviews we gave, they are packed with information about GatherPress. To know more about who we are, you can have a look at the team page.

We are grateful for the community’s support and look forward to your continued involvement as we refine and expand GatherPress. Together, we are shaping the future of event management within the WordPress ecosystem.

For any queries or to provide direct feedback, please reach out to @mauteri or @patriciabt on WordPress 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/..

Thank you for your support!

The GatherPress Team

Written and reviewed by @patricia70, @mauteri, @carstenbach, @malgra from the GatherPress team, and reviewed by @_dorsvenabili, @nao, @peiraisotta.
Many thanks!

+make.wordpress.org/meta/

#meetups, #community-management, #community-events, #community-team, #learn, #meta, #meta-wordcamp

#meetups, #community-management, #community-events, #community-team, #learn, #meta, #meta-wordcamp

Proposal: Pilot program to test GatherPress on the WordPress.org network as a Meetup alternative

Introduction

We propose a pilot program to test GatherPress, a community-developed 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, within interested and active 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. groups. This initiative stems from our community’s need for an innovative event management tool tailored to the unique demands of WordPress event organizers and participants.

The pilot program would be held in real-world conditions with WordPress Meetup groups.

We have expressed commitments to a trial run from New Jersey and Nashville groups in the USA, French-speaking groups in Switzerland, and potential interest from groups in Spain, Japan as well as from learn.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/.

Overview of GatherPress

GatherPress, led by @mauteri and @hrmervin, is a plugin designed with functionalities akin to Meetup.com, but specifically crafted for the WordPress community by members of the WordPress community. It is the result of the WordPress community’s desire for new event management tools that meet the diverse needs of event organizers and members. 

You can find more information on the website and on GitHub.

Documentation pages, including a demo video, are available on the website.

We welcome everyone to comment here, to test GatherPress (also for accessibilityAccessibility Accessibility (commonly shortened to a11y) refers to the design of products, devices, services, or environments for people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design ensures both “direct access” (i.e. unassisted) and “indirect access” meaning compatibility with a person’s assistive technology (for example, computer screen readers). (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accessibility)) or join the GatherPress weekly huddles, 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 or even the team.

Summary of Value Proposition

GatherPress

✅ Members and Attendance data lives on your website and database. Community Organizers define privacy policies, selectively publish attendees lists, gather additional data from attendees, etc.

✅ Democratized access to data and functionality, as WordPress is customizable

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.: free, and scaled with WordPress

Meetup and Commercial Apps

❌ Data Ownership, Data Integrity, Data Privacy

❌ Control of Roadmap, Enhancements, and Integrations

❌ Cost and Scale

❌ Control UXUX UX is an acronym for User Experience - the way the user uses the UI. Think ‘what they are doing’ and less about how they do it. and accessibility

Pilot Program Objectives

Real-World Testing

The pilot aims to test GatherPress in a live environment, providing practical insights into its functionality and user experience feedback.

Community engagement

Engage with the participating meetup groups from the international community. 

Feedback & Analysis

Collect feedback from both organizers and participants throughout the course of their use of GatherPress during the trial.

Analyse suggestions, feedback, and bug reports to refine the application into its next version(s).

Reports

Periodic summary posts on how the program is working for the whole community to know about it.

Future Planning

Following the completion of the trial, set the public roadmap of functionality and integrations to be released. Ultimately, the objective of GatherPress is to potentially replace Meetup.com as the centerpoint of the WordPress Community Events and Dashboard WidgetWidget A WordPress Widget is a small block that performs a specific function. You can add these widgets in sidebars also known as widget-ready areas on your web page. WordPress widgets were originally created to provide a simple and easy-to-use way of giving design and structure control of the WordPress theme to the user. source data. 

Benefits of the Proposal

1. Community-centric development

This pilot and this project, empowers the WordPress community by directly leading the development process of a tool designed by and for the community at large.

A major challenge of the community is influence over the roadmap of commercially available tools, to build features and functionality needed by organizers, participants, and users with accessibility needs. 

2. Enhanced Event Management

GatherPress promises to offer a more integrated and seamless event management experience within the WordPress ecosystem. Among our goals are to allow community organizers to gather data from attendees unique to each hosted event as needed. Additional capabilities are present for triggering additional reminders, customized waitlist workflows, and selectively publishing attendees lists. The GatherPress plugin is built to be extendable and configurable. Companion plugins will be able to seamlessly integrate with the coreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. plugin. GatherPress will also be built to leverage features of other community-based plugins (like BuddyPress).

3. Cost-Effectiveness

This project has the potential to reduce the community’s reliance on external platforms like Meetup.com. The estimated cost savings of leveraging our own application is approx $ 215,000 USD per year, coupled with the full control over event management tools and ownership of our community’s data. WPCSWordPress Community Support WordPress Community Support PBC is a Public Benefit Corporation, created specifically to be the financial and legal support for WordCamps, WordPress Meetup groups, and any additional “official” events organized within the WordPress Community Events program. pays Meetup.com $24.50 per group per month (inclusive of a 30% discount). There were 734 groups as of October of 2023.

4. Use-Case Specific Testing

An example of how this testing can grant case-by-case capabilities includes Localization (translated language). By opening the pilot program to groups from various countries, we ensure that the tool is adaptable and functional in a multilingual context, essential for the diverse WordPress community. Furthermore, communities will benefit from the open source nature of the application, enabling customization of RSVP and onboarding workflows.

5. Data Liberation

The WordPress Open Source community is indeed large, and our data is valuable, as is the privacy. GatherPress hosted by WordPress community proper, will enable organizers and leadership to 1) own the community’s data, and 2) make it selectively available for analysis. Insights learned from our community at large, will inform growth opportunities and strategic initiatives into the future. Today, WordPress operates the Data Liberation project, enabling users of commercial tools to migrate into a WordPress experience. You can learn more about the Data Liberation project at: https://wordpress.org/data-liberation/.

6. Meetup.com Importer

One of the first companion plugins the GatherPress team is currently working on is the ability to import meetup.com data to a GatherPress-powered WordPress site. This will make the transition from meetup.com to GatherPress as seamless as possible and simplify managing both as a group transitions from one platform to another.

Next steps

The ideal setup for the pilot is to run GatherPress on a multisiteMultisite Multisite is a WordPress feature which allows users to create a network of sites on a single WordPress installation. Available since WordPress version 3.0, Multisite is a continuation of WPMU or WordPress Multiuser project. WordPress MultiUser project was discontinued and its features were included into WordPress core.https://codex.wordpress.org/Create_A_Network. within the wordpress.org network, in collaboration with # 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.-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., # community-events, # meta, and # learn. This approach ensures seamless integration and alignment with the existing WordPress infrastructure, potentially allowing other meetup groups to join and already be in the definitive environment if the pilot program is successful. 

Alongside this trial, meetup groups should continue to leverage Meetup.com in parallel to GatherPress.

Timeframe

We are prepared to commence immediately and suggest a minimum of a 6 month duration to meet our pilot’s objectives.

Conclusion

This pilot program presents a unique opportunity to shape the future of event management in the WordPress community. By leveraging the collective knowledge and experience of our meetup groups, we can ensure that GatherPress evolves into a tool that truly resonates with the needs and expectations of our global community.


This proposal has been written by @patricia70 and @hrmervin and reviewed by @mauteri.

Suggestions, edition and additional information (thank you): @annebovelett, @devinmaeztri, @harishanker, @harmonyromo, @iandunn, @isvictorious, @javiercasares, @kcristiano, @nao, @peiraisotta, @unintended8, @_dorsvenabili

The draft was submitted for feedback to other community members as well, the above list only includes the persons who commented.

#meetups, #community-management, #community-events, #community-team, #learn, #meta, #meta-wordcamp

Getting more Learn WordPress Discussion Group leaders and attendees

Learn WordPress is getting closer to its full launch and more workshops are being published, worked on and planned. One essential idea with workshops are discussion groups, that are a great way to share thoughts and ideas between others that have watched the recorded workshop.

Discussion groups can be held via Zoom or in #community-events 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 by original workshop presenter(s) or anyone who wants to be a discussion group leader. Virtually anyone interested in leading a discussion group on any of the workshops on the site is welcome to do so.

To make the most out of workshops and discussion groups, it would be great to have at least two discussion groups per each workshop. These discussion groups can happen anytime and even after the workshop has been published already months ago – it’s up to the discussion group leaders interest.

Currently, discussion groups are a bit hidden in the Learn WordPress platform. I’m proposing the following additions in order to raise awareness about discussion groups happening and more attendees and discussion group leaders:

1. Add “Upcoming discussion groups” section between “Recent workshops” and workshop idea submission CTA on the front page.

This new section would list three next upcoming discussion groups and link to the meetup.com page where all upcoming discussion groups are listed. This way also older workshops get some attention on the front page if new discussions groups for those are scheduled.

We already have code to get 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. from meetup.com, so it shouldn’t be a big job to get scheduled discussion groups from there as well. Of course, it needs some dev time, but I’m sure it will be worth it.

2. Add “Interested in running a discussion group?” CTA next to current “Have an Idea for a Workshop?“ CTA on the front page.

I’d like to have many discussion group leaders, so running those won’t fall into the responsibility of a workshop presenter(s) and a small group of an active group of Learn WP deputiesProgram Supporter Community Program Supporters (formerly Deputies) are a team of people worldwide who review WordCamp and Meetup applications, interview lead organizers, and keep things moving at WordCamp Central. Find more about program supporters in our Program Supporter Handbook.. With this new CTA in place, we make it more visible that virtually anyone can run a discussion group if they find a workshop they’re really interested in and there’s no scheduled discussion group for that workshop.

Quick mockup showing how upcoming discussion groups and new CTA could be places on the front page.

3. Add details about discussion groups in workshop pages.

Currently, the page of a single workshop only has a button “Join a Discussion Group” which is a bit vague. We should add a small blurb on top of the button explaining what is a discussion group. Below the button could be a small text, much like the CoCCode of Conduct “A code of conduct is a set of rules outlining the norms, rules, and responsibilities or proper practices of an individual party.” - Wikipedia notice, saying that if there’s no scheduled discussion group for this workshop, apply to be a discussion group leader to run one.

4. Create a new “Be a Discussion Group leader” page

As you might notice, two previous proposals contain a link to a page that doesn’t exist at this time on Learn WP platform. We should create a new page where it is explained what discussion group is, what it means to be a discussion group leader and how to apply. Currently, this information exists only in this make/community posts.

Tracking all the upcoming discussion groups and keeping an eye that each workshop has at least two groups

It would be nice to have at least two discussion groups for each workshop. These can happen anytime after the workshop has been published, even months later.

To keep track of upcoming discussion groups, we’ll use meetup.com where all scheduled discussion groups are being added.

In parallel to public listing on scheduled groups, I suggest that we create a new Google sheet with each workshop listed on it. In the sheet we can track if;

  • Zoom discussion group has been scheduled/held
  • Slack discussion group has been scheduled/held
  • Additional discussion groups have been scheduled/held

It would fall mostly under my lap, as I promised to manage discussion groups, but everyone who schedules a new discussion group in meetup.com should update this sheet.

With this sheet, we can track if a workshop hasn’t had any discussion groups and we can reach out to our discussion group leaders and workshop presenter(s) (not too) regularly asking whether they would like to schedule one. In future, the list of workshops needing a discussion group leader, could be added to the new “Be a Discussion Group leader” in Learn WP platform.

What do you think? Thoughts, ideas, comments, questions? How we could attract more discussion group leaders and attendees in your opinion? Please share your feedback before 2020-11-09.

#discussion, #discussion-groups, #learn, #learn-wordpress, #learn-roadmap

Monthly Newsletter Marketing for the Community Team to WordCamp

Editorial Calendar for Community Team to Empower & Educate 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. or 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

At WordCamp US’ Contributor DayContributor Day Contributor Days are standalone days, frequently held before or after WordCamps but they can also happen at any time. They are events where people get together to work on various areas of https://make.wordpress.org/ There are many teams that people can participate in, each with a different focus. https://2017.us.wordcamp.org/contributor-day/ https://make.wordpress.org/support/handbook/getting-started/getting-started-at-a-contributor-day/., the Community Marketing Team came up with this basic structure for an editorial calendar for Meetup Organizers.

It’s important to note that whatever is currently working for you should continue on. This may help spur ideas for new organizers or those who feel like they need a nudge. In no way was this meant to be mandatory.

How to Use This Editorial Calendar

This editorial calendar is designed to help (You) the volunteer community team create a monthly newsletter directed towards Meetup organizers & WordCamp organizers. The goal of the newsletter is to empower & educate organizers.

We have created a suggested format for the newsletter that will update the organizers with current happenings, helpful tips / resources for their events, and a recurring summary paragraph remind them of all accumulated resources as they grow.

When you are writing the newsletter use the outline below. There is an example email template following this format included in this document.

There is also a series of ideas organized by month to help you create your monthly newsletter. These include things such as community happenings, initiatives, & resources. If there is a more relevant topic feel free to use that instead.

Expectations

January is an example month with completed content of how your newsletter might look after following all of these guidelines.

Monthly Newsletter Format

  1. Hello & Happenings
  2. This month’s tip & resource
  3. Complete resources
    1. Checklist
    2. Swipe Files
    3. Best Practices
  4. Call to Action / Open LoopLoop The Loop is PHP code used by WordPress to display posts. Using The Loop, WordPress processes each post to be displayed on the current page, and formats it according to how it matches specified criteria within The Loop tags. Any HTML or PHP code in the Loop will be processed on each post. https://codex.wordpress.org/The_Loop.

Monthly Newsletter Template (AKA Swipe File)

Hello Organizer!

This is what’s happening this month in WordPress. We have had another successful WordCamp in [location]….FILLER HERE

As part of our continuing series to help you be awesome at 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. & WordCamps we have created [AWESOME RESOURCE]

As always we have compiled all of these tips into one amazing resource which includes [RESOURCE 1 LINK], [RESOURCE 1 LINK], [RESOURCE 1 LINK], and even more.

Don’t forget, if you have any other questions or need help with your Meetup, feel free to call [???] ??? [???]. Check your inbox next month for even more great stuff. (Remember, some of our emails go to your spam folder.)

 

Monthly Content Ideas for Happenings & Resources

Remember, these ideas are not set in stone. If something is more currently relevant, feel free to make that the focus topic for the month. You are responsible for finding links from the greater WordPress community that can help organizers cover the topic. Note: January is an example month.

January

Hello Organizer!

This is what’s happening this month in WordPress. We have had another successful WordCamp in the Pitcairn Islands. It was their first camp and they attracted over 100 people with the main focus on growing WordPress in Micronesia.

Happy New Year! As part of our continuing series to help you be awesome at Meetups and WordCamps, this month we’d like to focus on the new possibilities for your Meetup group: how to attract new people and newly energize the ones you already have.

As part of our continuing series to help you be awesome at Meetups & WordCamps we have selected our favorite three suggestions of getting new people to your meetup this month:

  1. Ask three to five current members to present a 5-7 mins on the favorite new thing they learned that has helped them with WordPress during the past year. Make sure the items are varied to hit a variety of perspectives from blogging/content, to SEO, to plugins, to security. Pick your favorites.
  2. Ask each of your current members to invite a friend, even if that friend doesn’t work with WordPress. Ask that person to share what’s the best new thing they learned this year. We are betting that item has great WordPress possibilities.
  3. Remember to Tweet your Meetup using hashtag #WordPress and the words “local help and community support.”

As always we have compiled these tips into one amazing resource which includes: 11 Ways to Get People to Meetings, Six Ways to Make Meetings Fun…or at Least Not Suck, and even more.

Don’t forget if you have any other questions or need help with your Meetup, feel free to contact our Meetup point person this month who is [name]. You can catch her 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/. at [username], Twitter [username], or [email].

Check your inbox next month for even more great stuff. When we are going to tackle WordPress Love and Design.

February

Theme: WordPress Love and Design

Hello Organizer!

This is what’s happening this month in WordPress. We held successful WordCamps in [insert locations]. Meetups and WordCamps are changing people’s lives! Thank you for your contribution to making them happen!

This month we’d like to focus on how you can continue to grow your Meetup group, by sharing the love of WordPress! Tell a story about how you’ve made friends and felt community support as you attended a WordCamp.

Here are three ways you can spread the love of WordPress this month:

  1. Reach out to three to five active members and ask them to share your group on social media and how attending the Meetup has helped them to make friends, gain knowledge, get professional feedback and support or anything else.
  2. Ask each of your current members to invite friends. Explain that we are an inclusive community and that we know we can create amazing things together. WordPress newbies are encouraged to come and learn.
  3. Remember to Tweet your Meetup using hashtag #WordPress and the words #community #techsupport #learn. Make sure all levels are welcomed.

As always we have compiled these tips into one amazing resource which includes: 11 Ways to Get People to Meetings, Six Ways to Make Meetings Fun…or at Least Not Suck, and even more.

Don’t forget if you have any other questions or need help with your Meetup, feel free to contact our Meetup point person this month who is [name]. You can catch her on Slack at [username], Twitter [username], or [email].

Check your inbox next month for even more great stuff. Next month we are going to tackle Updating WordPress and Keeping Code Current.

March

Theme: Earth, Sustainability – Updating WordPress and Keeping Code Current

Hello Organizer!

March is a time to turn inward and express gratitude for the word in which we live. As usual there is much to witness in the WordPress world. WordCamps were held in [insert locations] in February, inspiring more users and leaders in our ever growing community. We are so grateful that YOU have chosen to be a WordPress Meetup organizer and want to assist you in any way possible. Please let us know specific ways we can support and sustain your efforts.

This month we’d like to focus on sustaining membership and enthusiasm in your Meetup group! Take a few minutes to let your members know what is happening with WordPress as a whole and with WordCamps worldwide. Let them know that as they spread the word, they are growing a community that contributes and makes WordPress even better!

Here are three ways you can sustain your members and WordPress this month:

  1. Honor one another’s contributions. Take time to highlight special projects or specialties of your members. Each one has something valuable to contribute to the group and everyone loves a little recognition.
  2. Share a snippet of a talk from a local or far-off camp and discuss the value of learning and working together. We sustain one another as we contribute to the worldwide discussion and share code with one another. Remind your members that WordPress extends far beyond a 40 mile radius and that help is there, across the globe, should they need it.
  3. Remind your members to update their website code and use tools such as GitHubGitHub GitHub is a website that offers online implementation of git repositories that can easily be shared, copied and modified by other developers. Public repositories are free to host, private repositories require a paid subscription. GitHub introduced the concept of the ‘pull request’ where code changes done in branches by contributors can be reviewed and discussed before being merged be the repository owner. https://github.com/, make.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/ and WordPress.tv to further their own knowledge. Ask tyour members to invite friends in person and on social media to your Meetup using hashtags such as #WordPress alongside #community, #techsupport, #websitehelp and #dev.

As always we have compiled these tips into one amazing resource which includes: 11 Ways to Get People to Meetings, Six Ways to Make Meetings Fun…or at Least Not Suck, and even more.

Don’t forget if you have any other questions or need help with your Meetup, feel free to contact our Meetup point person this month who is [name]. You can catch her on Slack at [username], Twitter [username], or [email].

Check your inbox next month to see how our theme of Spring Is in the Air allows you to Create Change with WordPress.

April

Theme: Spring Is in the Air

May

Theme: AccessibilityAccessibility Accessibility (commonly shortened to a11y) refers to the design of products, devices, services, or environments for people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design ensures both “direct access” (i.e. unassisted) and “indirect access” meaning compatibility with a person’s assistive technology (for example, computer screen readers). (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accessibility)

June

Theme: Soft skills

July

Theme Celebrating Summer

August

Theme: Community – International Friendship Day

September

Theme: Back to School

Talk Like a Pirate

World Gratitude Day

October

Theme: National CyberSecurity Month

International Music Day

World Mental Health Day

November

Theme: Gratitude

December

Theme: Holidays

Vacation

 

Alternative Themes:

  1. New things (skills, tech, plugins)
  2. Why Accessibility Matters to a Small Business Site
  3. Design
  4. Support
  5. Localization
  6. Community
  7. Training (ie Speaker Training – see curriculum https://make.wordpress.org/training/handbook/speaker-training/ )
  8. WordPress Security
  9. Soft Skills
  10. Giving back
  11. Backup Solutions and Best Practices
  12. How to ask for Support
  13. Googling as a Resource for Solutions
  14. Converting to httpsHTTPS HTTPS is an acronym for Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure. HTTPS is the secure version of HTTP, the protocol over which data is sent between your browser and the website that you are connected to. The 'S' at the end of HTTPS stands for 'Secure'. It means all communications between your browser and the website are encrypted. This is especially helpful for protecting sensitive data like banking information..
  15. Getting ready for httpHTTP HTTP is an acronym for Hyper Text Transfer Protocol. HTTP is the underlying protocol used by the World Wide Web and this protocol defines how messages are formatted and transmitted, and what actions Web servers and browsers should take in response to various commands./2.
  16. Site Speed for Developing Environments (3G, 2G)
  17. Must needed plugins for nonprofits, small business, blogs, etc.
  18. How to apply conditional logic to your forms
  19. Changing Themes and The Struggle with Shortcodes
  20. Why Child Themes are Important
  21. How to use the CustomizerCustomizer Tool built into WordPress core that hooks into most modern themes. You can use it to preview and modify many of your site’s appearance settings. in WordPress Themes
  22. Page Builders: The Good, The Bad, The Needs Improvement
  23. Moderated Forums: Why have password-protected on-site forums instead of a blog or Facebook Group?
  24. Project Management Tools for the Overworked Freelancer
  25. Partnering Up: Building Sites and Gaining New Client Work with Meetup Friends
  26. If SEO is more than a 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, how do I start to rank?
  27. How often should I blog?
  28. Content Marketing: Long-form versus Short-form
  29. Design for Accessibility: Color Blind, Nearsightedness, and vision-impaired.
  30. Teaching Tech to Kids
  31. Hackathon  Night — Bring your worst problems, we’ll fix them.
  32. JavaScriptJavaScript JavaScript or JS is an object-oriented computer programming language commonly used to create interactive effects within web browsers. WordPress makes extensive use of JS for a better user experience. While PHP is executed on the server, JS executes within a user’s browser. https://www.javascript.com/. Libraries and WordPress Theme Development
  33. Leveraging the REST APIREST API The REST API is an acronym for the RESTful Application Program Interface (API) that uses HTTP requests to GET, PUT, POST and DELETE data. It is how the front end of an application (think “phone app” or “website”) can communicate with the data store (think “database” or “file system”) https://developer.wordpress.org/rest-api/. in your WordPress Site.
  34. Building Your First Plugin
  35. PH What? An Introduction to the beginner.
  36. What is WordPress Really? An introduction to LAMPLAMP LAMP is an acronym for Linux, Apache, MySql, PHP – a stack of free software programs that can function as the environment for running WordPress..
  37. No Stupid Question Night. Seriously. Ask. Let’s chat.
  38. Mentorship Night. Let’s pair up and keep ourselves accountable to continuous learning.
  39. Empathy in Tech – Why Marketers should learn Dev and Devs should learn Marketing
  40. WordPress as a Platform for Apps

 

Original GDoc. 

#marketing-community