TL;DR This post announces WordCamp Toronto 2018’s theme and provides the first details of the speaking opportunities. Updates to the call for speaker, speaker information and talk ideas posts (the speaker package) are being published as a result.
Apply now to speak at WordCamp Toronto 2018.
The theme in brief
We decided on the Gutenberg and the WordPress of Tomorrow theme this week and so are quickly resetting our speaker and session scheme and updating the posts in the speakers’ package.
In addition, we’ve rushed this and the updated posts so we’ll provide more information for potential speakers in the days and weeks to follow. In short, stay tuned.
The theme is about what WordPress will be in 2-3 years and what it will be like when we get there. Given the imminent arrival of Gutenberg* and its potential to fundamentally change WordPress, it’s timely to focus on it in this way.
The theme has two parts. Half of our sessions are devoted to Gutenberg* and the other half to other popular topics.
The Gutenberg sessions will span the gamut of things people want and need to know to understand and adopt to the change. They will cater to the whole range of people, experiences and skills in the WordPress community.
The other sessions will be roughly equal in number, one session per broad topic category. In other words, assuming we have the sessions proposed by potential speakers, there’ll be one in authoring/publishing (with only a minimum on Gutenberg), marketing/SEO, site administration, plugins, site and page builders and so on.
There is one key difference from sessions in our past WordCamps. Speakers on these other topics are required to devote at least a third of their session to the future of WordPress and that, necessarily, includes Gutenberg.
Theme details
The theme isn’t what the future of WordPress is or may be but what it will be like when the changes we can expect have occurred. That may sound like a distinction without a difference but what we want to avoid is navel gazing, starry-eyed glimpses of a future. Instead, ask yourself:
- What will we be doing that significantly different from today?
- What could we be doing that we now can’t?
- What will be the new opportunities and issues?
For the Gutenberg sessions, our goal is to provide the best one-day learning experience available in our community for the arrival of this important change. In broad terms, we aim to deliver a basic introduction, the current state of its implementation and the extent to which it realizes its goals, the impact of Gutenberg on themes, plugins, etc. and what new capabilities and opportunities Gutenberg represents.
If you’re interested in proposing a Gutenberg session, then pick one of the following topics and develop it in your submission:
- an overview of the change and the changeover mechanics suitable as an introduction for for all backgrounds and skill sets and, if you could attend only one Gutenberg session, then this is the one;
- strategies for the new era ushered in by Gutenberg including implementation timing (assuming that there is a choice), adoption, customization (blocks, plugins, templates) and other aspects for which planning is recommended (could include enterprise level issues but focus should be on business);
- the impact on the authoring UX with a focus on adoption techniques including requirements, availability and opportunities for tutorials, demos and training resources
- custom blocks including their purpose and role, examples, likely path of development, in-house vs third party development and development tools
- impact/opportunities on themes, plugins (especially site and page builders) and other major components of WordPress
You are free to propose another Gutenberg topic that addresses some important aspect that these don’t and that complements the others.
The Gutenberg sessions would have a mix of content to span beginner to expert in each session. In other words, each session will have a mixed audience in terms of skills and experience. The ratio may vary session to session but the idea is that anyone and everyone can and should attend all of them.
Note that, as a group, we’re committed to Gutenberg and its successful adoption and ongoing development. For that reason, skip the comparisons to the Classic Editor and page builders and why either may have advantages except in the context of a transition to Gutenberg.
As stated, there are 2 groups of sessions. (They could be called tracks except that term usually refers to the room to which a session is assigned). What would be different about these other or non-G sessions is that approximately a third of each session is required to answer the question, How does this affect Gutenberg and the future of WordPress?
We’ve added to the talk idea post a list of broad topics for the non-Gutenberg sessions. Each has a group of sub-topics. These are examples and and no session proposal would be expected to address them all.
We’re still working out …
We’re still working on the theme details and the assistance we can provide to potential speakers. There’ll be announcements and posts to help you understand our theme and how you can work with it. A theme makes different demands on event organizers as well as potential speakers than the usual WordCamp so we’re open to ideas and recommendations to make this our best one ever.
So stay tuned and make sure you’ve subscribed to this blog to receive notifications of new posts by email.
A final thought
The Gutenberg and the WordPress of Tomorrow theme phrase was inspired by Morten Rand-Hendriksen‘s 2018-01-06 Gutenberg And The WordPress Of Tomorrow | YouTube video of his WordCamp presentation.
Turns out Something of Tomorrow is itself borrowed (e.g., “world of tomorrow” (images); the 1939–40 New York World’s Fair promised visitors they would be looking at the “World of Tomorrow.” (s)).
*In case you’ve been living on another planet, Gutenberg is the new authoring UI/UX due in WordPress 5.0 that is expected to be released just before or after our event. It’s causing quite a stir in the blogosphere. There are lots of resources but you’ll find The new Gutenberg editing experience | WordPress.org and Gutenberg | WordPress.org are good starting points. The WordPress 5.0 release date query will lead you to the latest.
What are you waiting for?
Apply now to speak at WordCamp Toronto 2018.
Important dates:
- Submissions close Monday, October 15th, 2018 at midnight.
- Selections will be made by Wednesday, October 31st, 2018.
- All applicants will be notified in the following week whether their applications have been accepted.
- Speakers selected will be announced at the beginning of November.
Please understand that, as volunteers, we won’t not be able to provide a detailed response to each submission.
If you have any questions, contact me at mailto:wcyyz18+speakers@gmail.com.
Robin Macrae
Co-Organizer, WPToronto & WordCamp Toronto 2018