[wp-edu] Hosting WordCamps

[Jane Wells]

One of the biggest hurdles for organizing a WordCamp in any city is 
finding a venue. Ideally, venues are donated, so that the organizers can 
focus on content rather than raising lots of money for room rentals, and 
one of the best sources of venue donation is college and university 
campuses. They tend to have various room sizes, projectors, etc. and are 
usually easy to get to. Since academia is a growing area of WordPress 
use, it frequently happens that hosting a WordCamp at a college campus 
is possible because someone at the college wanted to be involved in 
bringing a WordCamp to their school. A faculty member who wants his/her 
department to host/sponsor a WordCamp has built-in access to facilities 
and services, while an outside organizer would be handed off to 
conference rentals, when what is usually appealing about campuses is the 
classroom format.

Why am I telling you this? If you are on this list, chances are you're 
using WordPress in an academic setting. Some WordCamps, like New York 
City, feature an academic track due to close collaboration with college 
personnel, and I'd like to see this trend continue.

If you work for a college with a campus that would make a good setting 
for a WordCamp and would be interested in getting involved, let me know. 
I can try to put you together with local people who are also interested 
in organizing a WordCamp. Whether you try to include an academic track 
or not, bringing WordCamp to your campus has benefits on all sides.

While I'm at it, is anyone here affiliated with any San Francisco 
universities? :)

Jane