You’ve likely heard a lot about the WordPress economy over the past couple of years. Tens of thousands of people make their living with WordPress. It’s likely that many thousands more work at news sites, agencies, or other companies where WordPress is a key platform. Naturally, interest in business tracks at WordCamps has been strong.
Jake Goldman, the founder of 10up, brought up a valid point the other day that there is potential for “snake oil” types to infiltrate such business tracks at WordCamps. His initial comments were a bit more pointed, but I understood his point. He’s worried about WordCamps turning into gimmicky events.
Sure, there is potential for abuse from speakers in WordCamp business tracks. But there is potential for abuse for every type of track, especially when organizers are volunteers. Organizers have to work hard to screen speaker applicants to try and filter out potential bad apples. Will some make it through? Sure. But at least we can learn from our mistakes and do better next year.
So, while I understand where Jake is coming from, and I did enjoy the conversation that came from his tweets, I do think there is value in these tracks. People are curious about how others are integrating their WordPress talents with business acumen. They are looking to learn from one another’s ideas and methods.
That said, business tracks should never be a primary focus for WordCamp. That’s what makes new events like PressNomics (which Jake also supports) so great. It’s specifically geared toward such content.
