Author: Saurabh

Speaking at a WordCamp for the first time

Speaking anywhere for the first time is harrowing enough. However, a WordCamp is a bigger deal for most of us because it comes with a whole lot of professional cred. The stakes are a little higher and so is our apprehension.

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So, if you’ve been nursing ideas of speaking at WordCamp Pune but otherwise are not sure what to do, worry not, we’ve got you covered. We’re hosting a Workshop on Speaking at a WordCamp. While primarily meant for the first timers, experienced speakers may also pick up a technique or two to sharpen their game.

So, if you are in Pune on the 4th of July, you might want to attend this one: Workshop on Speaking at a WordCamp.

Please welcome Sudar Muthu

Sudar Muthu is speaking at a WordCamp for the first time, though he’s a seasoned professional. At WordCamp Pune, Sudar is going to help developers raise their game to the next level by familiarising them with Unit Testing for WordPress. He’ll speak in English.

Sudar has been programming for more than a decade and is a polyglot. He has written production code in more than half a dozen programming languages – and most of it was using Vim!

Sudar first discovered WordPress in late 2005 while searching for a self hosted blogging platform for his migration away from Blogger. After tinkering with WordPress for his blog, he published his first WordPress plugin in late 2007 and has since continued to release more than 20 plugins with a total of nearly half a million downloads. He blogs about WordPress and web development at http://sudarmuthu.com.

Our first workshop by WPML is unbelievable!

We are kicked to announce a multilingual workshop on building multilingual websites by a multilingual team from WPML at the multilingual WordCamp Pune 2015.

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Oh yes, you read that right. The team from WPML consists of Bigul Malayi, Harshad Mane, Ankit Gade, Minesh Shah and Sumit Singh. Each of them speaks a different native tongue, making the team multilingual as well! 🙂 These experts are going to conduct a hands-on workshop on building multilingual WordPress websites.

The workshop titled “Let your site speak multilingual!”, will be conducted in three languages at the same time: Hindi, Marathi and English. Now it’s up to you to make use of this opportunity and learn how to make all content and meta content of your WordPress site multilingual!

Photo Credit: A bad cross between Hindi and Marathi by Meghana Kulkarni is licensed under CC BY NC 2.0.

Introducing Akshay Raje, our first speaker

Meet Akshay Raje. Akshay’s speaking about Importing content from other systems into WordPress and WooCommerce at WordCamp Pune 2015. His talk will be a mix of English and Marathi. You might recognise Akshay from WordCamp Mumbai; he spoke there, as well.

He discovered WordPress in 2008 and has been in love with it since then. He started moonlighting on small client projects and custom plugin development. He subsequently tried to bootstrap a WordPress services firm just to discover that services is not something that he wants to do for a living.

He does customer support for WP All Import and also supports a couple of WordPress plugins authored by him. He aspires to build a successful WordPress product company some day.

We’re still accepting speaker applications, in case you’re wondering but it may not be for long. We’re already in discussions with a couple of speakers and plan to discuss with a couple more applicants. We even have a platform if you want to showcase your blog or a plugin/theme that you’ve authored. We’re more eager to hear you speak than you’d believe! Go ahead, apply before it’s too late.

Don’t know Hindi or Marathi? Here’s what you do at WordCamp Pune

Most reactions to our post on promoting the local languages of Hindi and Marathi have been very encouraging. Some, however, are very apprehensive, especially from some of our friends from the other side of the Vindhyas:

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Will all the sessions be in Hindi/Marathi?

We wish to encourage Hindi and Marathi speakers so that the local population can benefit more. It doesn’t mean we wish to replace English altogether. The local language scene doesn’t exist as of now. We’re just kickstarting it. So, some sessions will be Hindi/Marathi, the rest would be in English.

Spoiler alert: The rest of the post contains spoilers about what’s going to happen at WordCamp Pune 2015. Read ahead at your own risk.

What will I do when a Hindi/Marathi session is on, if I don’t understand them?

  1. Attend another session! The organisers have always believed that everyone doesn’t like the same thing. That’s why we have options and the freedom to choose. Of the three parallel sessions at any given point, only one would be in Hindi/Marathi. You still have two to choose from.
  2. Start your own session. Who says all you can do at a WordCamp is attend sessions? We have something called a Session Overflow which you can utilise, unconference (BarCamp) style, and conduct your own session, if you have a willing audience!
  3. Network. Go on, meet other people, talk to them and collaborate on some code or maybe a blog post. Help someone with their WordPress related problems. Get someone to help you for your WordPress issues. We have a dedicated WordPress Lounge where you can do all of the above or just chill out and socialise with other enthusiasts. Oh, and your cuppa is on us, the whole day!
  4. Hire or get hired. Use the Job Board at WordCamp Pune to find your perfect employee or employer as the case maybe.
  5. Chat with our sponsors. Our sponsors are going to have stalls/tables or at least representatives who are only there so they can reach out to you. Do us a favour by reaching out to them, instead. You’d be helping the cause of all future WordCamps in India.
  6. Become an instant volunteer. See if we, the organisers or volunteers need any help. Your good deed will be really appreciated.

So, let’s meet at WordCamp Pune 2015 to learn and have fun, irrespective of the language we speak or don’t speak!

Who are the locals at WordCamp Pune 2015?

The 80:20 rule

When selecting speakers, it is recommended that locals be given preference over out of towners. The general consensus is to try and keep the outsiders limited to roughly 20% of the sessions while letting the local speakers take up 80% of the sessions. It makes complete sense.
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The question is, who is a local for us?

Simple answer: people from Pune. Right answer: You’ll get it after this

Quick Quiz

  1. How many WordCamps happened in India in 2013 and 2014?
    2 in 2013 (Baroda and Pune) as well as in 2014 (Baroda and Mumbai).
  2. How many WordCamps this year?
    Two, Mumbai and Pune
  3. How many WordCamps in the rest of Maharashtra, apart from Mumbai and Pune?
    0
  4. How many WordCamps in the rest of India, apart from Mumbai and Pune?
    0
  5. How many WordCamps are being planned right now, in Maharashtra or elsewhere in India?
    0
  6. Should people from the rest of Maharshtra be placed in the 20% slot?
    No, we think.
  7. Should people from the rest of India be placed into the 20% slot?
    No, we think.

So, if you live anywhere in India, you are a local for us, although we’d always give preference to a Punekar, then a Maharashtrian (i.e. someone who lives in Maharashtra) and then other Indians.

We’ve even included Hindi and Marathi so all of us locals can have clearer and more meaningful interactions this September.

So, if you or someone you know have anything to share with us, why not let us know.

 

Hindi and Marathi at WordCamp Pune 2015

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We’re not going into the elitism involved with English vs other languages phenomenon that’s become a standard. English is the formal language of work, education, conferences (like WordCamps), etc. Hindi/Marathi are casual languages used for entertainment, conversation, banter and “ordinary” activities.

We wish to try and change that.

“Which Indian language will grow the most?”

– Jimmy Wales, co-founder, WikiPedia

  1. We’re making WordCamp Pune more fun and interactive so that all of us can use Hindi/Marathi more comfortably in a more informal setting.
  2. In the opposite direction, we’re introducing Marathi and Hindi into the “formal” activities like learning about WordPress.
  3. While doing that we don’t want to indulge the Hindi/Marathi shared elitism of using shuddha(pure) Sanskritised words for everything. Hinglish, Marathi Hinglish are very practical and useful concoctions. Let’s use them instead.

Even though more people speak Hindi and/or Marathi comfortably than those who speak English, we aren’t blind jingoists. English remains the default and dominant language of WordCamp Pune 2015. We say “more” Hindi/Marathi not “all”. We are also part of an awesome international community and English is our best friend there! 🙂

Now, if you know a couple of friends (as I do) who have great knowledge and skill but shy away from English and a large crowd, ask them to apply. They can speak in Hindi/Marathi to a more intimate audience and take some community love and good karma home!

6th September, Modern College of Arts, Science and Commerce

I’m absolutely stoked to announce that Modern College of Arts, Science and Commerce is going to host WordCamp Pune 2015, as well. So, on the 6th of September, head towards the heart of Pune and we’ll camp like no one’s camped before!
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By the way, 6th is also the date for Dahi Handi, so you are in for some visual treats as well.

Calling WordPress Lovers in Pune

Announcement
We meet this Saturday to finalise a venue and kickstart the actual organising process. You can be a part of it. All we need is that you love WordPress and are willing to help with the WordCamp in any way.

The details are on meetup.com, but be sure to RSVP before coming.

WordCamp Pune 2015 is over. Check out the next edition!