WordCamp2008 Israel: The Leftovers

Forgotten Things:When Hanan Cohen set up the WordCamp Israel RSS aggregator following the blogs of those registered, I went looking specifically for blogs that were hosted here on WordPress.com and came across this neat site that explains step-by-step in Hebrew how to set up a WordPress.com blog, Eden Orion’s “How to set up a blog in WordPress“. Very much needed and really useful. (Just be aware that WordPress.com is holding its collective breath waiting for the latest update to WordPress (2.7) to be implemented on WordPress.com sometime very, very soon. This will immediately outdate all the “under the hood” screenshots, but the basic info is still the same.)

Another fabulous resource for both COM and ORG users, in English this time, is the post that Lorelle wrote following her presentation at last year’s WordCampIsrael. If you haven’t read it yet, or even if you have, go read it.

Unexpected Surprises: After WordCamp2008 Israel was over, it was fun browsing other people’s summaries and reviews of the event. Many of the presenters have already put up their slideshows on their sites and it’s good to catch up on part of what I missed in the alternate sessions. Here are the ones I’ve found so far:

• Good Foundations for Blogging on COM or Blogli and Social Media and Blogging – Miriam Schwab
• Are Bloggers Believable? – Sharon Greenberg (Hebrew link)
  
• SEO and WordPress – Compucall (site often unavailable; try Google’s cached page)
• Interactive Video Blogging – Kaltura

I like to follow the links that people put in their posts because many times it leads to unexpectedly useful information. This time, however, following a link in someone’s post left me with my mouth open when I found that a WP plug-in developer is was using without permission a copyrighted image from my flickr photostream on their website’s About page. Rather ironic given the nature of the plug-in. (Update as of November 24: the image has been removed following my emailed request.)

Sorry for the lack of linkage to the website in question, but I’m still pondering what exactly to do about it.  I’ve been through the copyright mill a couple of times after writing an extensive FAQ about knitting and copyright, but this is really the first time I’ve been on the receiving end myself. Feel free to share your thoughts/suggestions in the comments.

WordTwitterFlickrRavelryQypeCampMeetup: WordCamp is an ideal opportunity to create an event mash-up with my other online activities and I was really sorry that my belated attempts to get together with fellow WordPress users from ravelry’s Yarn&Felafel group didn’t pan out. It’d be really great to have a meet-up at the next big event. If I’m already taking the day off from work and heading into the city, meeting my other online friends is an extra plus.  Count on it happening next year!

WordCamp2007Israel – Part 4 (Fini!)

Previous posts on WordCamp2007Israel: Pictures, Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3

So far I’ve written a synopsis of the WordCamp2007Israel event and how Lorelle is helping me to be a better blogger. Now I’d like to talk about my perceptions of the event.

For a first outing, WordCampIsrael was fantastically organized. Even though there were not a few rough spots, the people behind it deserve kudos for pulling it off, especially since I understand the event was put together in a relatively short period of time.

WordCamp2007Israel – Part 3

Previous posts on WordCamp Israel are here, here and here.

Lorelle‘s two presentations were for me the highlight of the conference and the reason I slogged through the entire 10-hour day from beginning to end. Lorelle is an energetic and enthusiastic speaker and even if you didn’t agree with everything she said or thought you couldn’t apply what she said to your own blog, you couldn’t help but be supercharged with her energy (and finding out that she’s also a fan of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld didn’t hurt either).

WordCamp2007Israel – Part 2

First of all a big hello to the folks who found their way here from Lorelle’s post on WordCamp Israel! My previous posts on WordCamp Israel are here and here.

WordCamp2007Israel – Part 1

Yesterday’s WordCamp Israel event at Michlelet Afekah in Tel Aviv was the first blogging event in Israel dedicated to a particular blogging platform. As it turned out, according to Lorelle VanFossen, WordPress evangelist and the keynote speaker, WordCamp Israel was effectively also the first international WordCamp. Another first for Israel. Douze points!*