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Auckland WordCamp and “The Smell”

I went to my very first WordCamp yesterday at Auckland’s AUT and it was fabulous. I thoroughly enjoyed the entire day: all the speakers were terrific, the people were incredibly friendly, and I learnt lots. It was a great turn-out with around 130 people all up.

I think my talk went reasonably well. The only downside was that not long after I began, a mysterious hydrogen sulfide smell permeated the entire room. It was so bad that I stopped my talk at one point and we all considered evacuating. Then a manager informed us that the air-conditioning system was malfunctioning. So I continued and as soon as I finished my talk, the smell vanished. Now everyone will associate my talk with the shitty smell. Oh well.

A couple of people tweeted pics:

https://twitter.com/ChrisWardYoung/status/492925019907833856

Someone took a pic during my talk:

And I also got this pic with Kevin Trye, one of the organisers of the event:

IMG_6218

I’m sure this will be the first of many more WordCamps for me.

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Comments

17 responses to “Auckland WordCamp and “The Smell””

  1. Victor Venema Avatar
    Victor Venema

    Isn’t is winter in Auckland? Why do you need all that winter clothing and a scarf to protect yourself against the cold of the Airco? Can we read the blog tips from @billbennettnz somewhere?

    Reply
    1. Rachel M Avatar
      Rachel M

      Bill Bennett’s tips were excellent and I think he’s going to put his slides on his web site – http://billbennett.co.nz – but they’re not there yet. I can tell you what some of his tips were. These are quotes from his slides:

      * Write clearly, use understandable language, be unambiguous
      * Use simple words, grammar and sentences
      * Prefer Anglo-Saxon words to French or Latin ones
      * Go easy on adjectives and adverbs
      * Use lots of full stops
      * Keep sentences short, less than 20 words where you can. Less than 15 words is better
      * Paragraphs should be three to four sentences: 40 to 50 words

      He also quoted the mathematician Blaise Pascal:

      I would have written a shorter letter, but I did not have time.

      It is winter in Auckland and when I say air-conditioning system, I presume it was blowing out warmish air rather than cold air. We were in a lecture theatre in the basement so it needs some kind of air-conditioning system.

      Reply
    2. Rachel M Avatar
      Rachel M

      Victor – http://billbennett.co.nz/2014/07/27/how-to-blog-like-an-old-school-journalist-wordcamp-auckland-2014/

      Reply
  2. Denise Avatar
    Denise

    You look so relaxed and happy despite the smell.  That would have stressed me out big time.  

    Well done on the talk!

    ________________________________

    Reply
    1. Rachel M Avatar
      Rachel M

      Thank, Denise! It was lots of fun. I really enjoyed giving the talk, despite the smell.

      Reply
  3. melissa nacinovich Avatar
    melissa nacinovich

    Now they have a trigger that will make them remember what you said, it’s not all bad. It could turn a gassy husband into an inspiration of sorts….just sayin’ LOL

    Reply
    1. Rachel M Avatar
      Rachel M

      Yes, true. And on the plus side, I now get to say that mine was the shitty talk.

      Reply
  4. Bill Bennett Avatar
    Bill Bennett

    Slides are coming. I just realised there’s no easy way to embed Apple Keynote slides in WordPress.com.

    Reply
    1. Rachel M Avatar
      Rachel M

      You can export the slides to a movie. Go to File > Export to > QuickTime. Then you can upload the file to Vimeo or YouTube or Cloudup, or something similar and then embed it in your blog. Let me know if you need help and I can do it. I have a copy of your slides 🙂

      Reply
  5. Susie Avatar
    Susie

    Congratulations Rachel, sounds like it went well for you. The “shitty smell” just makes the event a more interesting and memorable story.

    Reply
    1. Rachel M Avatar
      Rachel M

      Thanks, Susie. Yes, it’s always nice to be remembered even when it’s for the wrong reasons.

      Reply
  6. GrahamInHats Avatar
    GrahamInHats

    … or the cessation of it 🙂

    Reply
  7. WordCamp Auckland 2014 Review | Chris Young Design

    […] for Automaticc (makers of WordPress and other products). She did really well considering the strong smell created by the faulty […]

    Reply
  8. Heather Avatar
    Heather

    I, for one, was left with only a “happy” impression from your presentation, Rachel – thanks for sharing!

    Reply
    1. Rachel M Avatar
      Rachel M

      Thanks, Heather. That’s lovely to hear! I’m glad you enjoyed it.

      Reply
  9. Druesome Avatar
    Druesome

    Glad to know it went well despite the smell. Congrats on your first WordCamp Rachel! (I made that rhyme on purpose 😉 )

    Reply
    1. Rachel M Avatar
      Rachel M

      Thanks, Druesome. I hope your event goes well too!

      Reply

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