WordCamp NYC 2012 – an excellent adventure

What happens when you combine WordCamp with New York City? An excellent adventure!

WordCamp NYC 2012 came back after an 18 month hiatus. The fun took place June 9 – 10 at Baruch College. This WordCamp was blast for so many reasons. Not only did I learn some new blogging tips at WordCamp NYC 2012, but all the experiences I had in the city while traveling to WordCamp NYC sparked my brain like nothing else. After all, isn’t blogging all about sharing thoughts and ideas?

If you are wondering what the heck is a wordcamp, it’s simply a conference that focuses on everything WordPress. I highly recommend WordCamp to all bloggers.

Here’s why WordCamp NYC 2012 was such an excellent adventure:

1. The trip to New York City.

It all started with the train ride into NYC. My dear husband and I stayed with my mother-in-law in New Jersey and we took the commuter train into the city. No more ticket offices, just ticket machines. I knew I was in trouble when I tried to fold the dollar bills and put them into the credit card slot. I wondered why the person standing next to the machine was giving me funny looks.

 

2. The schedule.

Wow, so much to choose from, it was hard to decide what to attend. There were over 70 sessions offered, ranging from general blogging, to seo to super-techinical. There was something for everyone. Each of the different colors on the schedule represent a different track.

 

3. The free stuff.

I love getting t-shirts. I must confess I have so many now, that I don’t wear them all, yet I still collect them. Aren’t these WordCamp NYC t-shirts just the thing?

4. The stickers.

I love stickers. I have no place to stick them, but I like having them on my desk.

5. The stairs at Baruch College.

As a health and fitness fanatic, I find it very hard to sit all day, even if it’s attending sessions on things I love, like blogging. So I made the most of things and took the stairs. This was quite a workout since some of the sessions were on the 9th floor. Needless to say dear husband did not join me on the stairs. I think he managed to climb down one flight, complaining the whole time.

6. Lunch.

The food is a very important part of a conference. I mistakenly checked off “vegan” for my lunch choice. Gingerly I bit into the sandwich and discovered it to be delicious! It was a marinated portobello mushroom on focaccia bread. Yay, so I ate vegan and lived to tell about it.

7. Dinner.

We planned to grab dinner somewhere in the city. I was in the mood for sushi and was hoping to convince dear husband that the sushi place was really a McDonald’s with an Asian influence. No such luck. We ended up eating at Ray’s Pizza.

Day 2

The Beginner’s WordPress class on Sunday was a bit too basic for us, so we just spent the day walking around NYC. Oh the sights you see just wandering around the city.

1. The unusual architecture in New York City.
How about the Gershwin Hotel? What a cool place. I’d stay there, just based on the architecture.

2. The serendipitous events in New York City.
We stumbled upon a Barbecue Festival in Gramercy Park, so we spent a pleasant afternoon listening to music and smelling barbecue.

All in all, an excellent adventure.

Photo credits listed below are all under Creative Commons Licensing:

New Jersey Transit ticket machine photo – Mulad’s Flickr Photostream.
Baruch College stair photo – sirexkat’s Flickr Photostream.
Portobello mushroom sandwich photo – Paxye’s Flickr Photostream.
Ray’s Pizza photo – WallyG’s Flicker Photostream.
Gershwin Hotel photo – sebastien.barre’s Flickr Photostream.
Gramercy Park photo – Djibouti’s Flickr Photostream.
The rest of the pictures are courtesy of Ken Loderick (aka dear husband), photographer extraordinaire and author of the Cranky Ken Blog!