Today I attended the excellent conference/unconference WordCamp Portland, and was amazed.

Like at most conferences, the networking and learning opportunities were terrific.  I came away with several resources and ideas that I will use on my blog (look for a new theme soon), and I was very happy to meet many people in person for the first time.

But that’s not why I think #wordcampdx was a life-changing, and perhaps world-changing experience.

It begins with this, the WordPress philosophy, as shared with us by our fairy blogmother Lorelle Van Fossen:

You give your best work
You give it away
The universe will reward

And, she says, this is actually changing the economy.  Boy, if there’s anything we need right now, it’s a change in the economy!  Could the WordPress model be one of the keys to that?

There’s also the way this conference was run.  Aaron Hockley and his team did an outstanding job not only organizing this, but organizing this so that it was affordable for anyone to attend.  This conference cost $10 to attend!  And for that $10, we got the conference sessions, a t-shirt, and three meals.  You can’t beat that anywhere.

How did they do that?  With sponsors.  Those who have some money made WordCamp Portland affordable for everyone.  How cool is that?

The model is already being used for another upcoming conference — CyborgCamp.  CyborgCamp will also be offered for a low price (not officially set yet, but probably $10-20) with sponsors picking up much of the tab.

Is this the future of our economy?   Is it?  Because it makes me all giddy to think about it.  Not like that bailout thing.

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