We have some interest in “User Experience re-write of the WordPress for iPhone app” which is being organised by some developers in Melbourne.

We also have some Community Building expertise from Miraz Jordan plus insights from her other projects.

Here are two other examples of two more topic ideas from content wiki page

Keep those ideas flowing thanks.

Title: Code without Coding
Name: Ryan Helyer

Many website owners find the coding side of web development to be too complex. They should be able to modify their own site designs easily, without ever having to type a single line of code. The intial automated coding systems produced by PixoPoint web development will be shown, including the development behind the PixoPoint menu plugins. The capabilities built into the current PixoPoint template generator and reasons for open-sourcing the latest developmental system will be outlined. The server-side CSS coding engine which is crucial for the development of these systems will be discussed.

Title: Blogging in Education & Gov
Name: Sarah Jones

Blogging and social media – as more personal and casual forms of communication – are changing the dynamics of the interface between civil servants and the public. The Public Service Code of Conduct states that civil servants must be fair, impartial, responsible and trustworthy. What civil servants say publicly is typically subjected to internal discussion and checked and verified before publication. Protocols specify who can and who can’t speak to the media. Social media presents new challenges to these processes. Lively and Lunchbox blogs, established by the presenter, will be used as examples of how blogging is changing the way government communicates with the public.

1. Wellington is home base for the world famous WordPress Ecommerce plugin. That is co-organiser Dan Milward’s company. Instinct also famous for games.
2. Wellington is the capital city of new Zealand which means museums and cultural organisations like the film archive are well supported. The main Drama School is there.
3. Peter Jackson and Weta Film Studios are based in Wellington sometimes called Wellywood as a result. There was a joke that the entire population of NZ was in LOTR but really it was only Wellington people.
4. Silicon Welly. An old statistic says that NZ has the highest percentage of programmers in the world per head of population (after Iceland.) Not sure about that but mention Ruby on Rails or Webstock or gaming and it is clear that much of the top IT talent has a presence in Wellington.
5. Last but not least – Wellington is hosting the first WordCamp in New Zealand on August 8th & 9th 2009.

What would you add to the list?

We have noticed at previous wordcamps that certain venues get nominated as the wp venue.

Do you have a cafe / restaurant/ bar/ hotel in wellington that you think might be particularly useful for wordcamp visitors? Follow us on Twitter @wordcampnz

“I wish I was in Wellington, the cafes and the bars
The music and the theatre, and the old Cable Car
And you can walk everywhere ’cause nowhere’s very far*”

(*from The Muttonbirds song – I Wish I was in Wellington.)

Here are our top 10 reasons to visit Wellington list . You can probably think of more. Part 2 on Thursday.

1. Music – Flight of the Conchords came from Wellington’s vibrant music scene which includes Fat Freddys Drop and Fly My Pretties. Black Seeds. The Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra Shihad,  Luke Buda The Phoenix Foundation and many others.
2. Coffee. NZ is the real coffee capital of the world- bigger than Italy. A little known fact. I’m talking coffee roasting drinking on the streets in the middle of winter / that’s how good it is. As an Aucklander I won’t pick the best cafe in Wellington but please let us know and maybe we can set up a poll to pick the best one. Fidels? |  Coffee Roasters | coffee sign | Wholly Bagels has free wifi via Zenbu with their coffee – that sounds useful.
3. Bandwidth. Dark fibre. Mmmm. Due to creative thinking by Wellington council staff way back in the early days of the internet, many kilometres of high capacity cable was strung from cablecar lines. They didn’t have to go underground and so got the jump on local utilities creating a bandwidth magnet for businesses in NZ. Citylink story. | Innovation capital sometimes called Silicon Welly.
4. Lots of Snow this year in NZ. Ski-fields are a only few hours away. I believe 27 ski-fields or more. For Northern Hemisphere readers – Winter season here has just started. Bring your board get a few days on snow and then come speak at Wordcamp NZ
5. Mountain-biking heaven. Wellington is a hilly city with a beautiful harbour. I have personally ridden Battle Hill to the North and Wrights Hill where the turbine is. There is now a mountain biking park at Makara peak.

What do you think – Is this a fair list? What have we left out? What would be your top 5 or top 10?

@wellyal says boutique shopping

For more information on visiting Wellington please keep an eye on getting here for more travel resources and tips as they come in.

Special Hi to @wordcamprdu this coming weekend in NC. Follow us on Twitter @wordcampnz

Last November Anthony – Co-Organizer, Dan from Instinct – a key presenter and myself were at WordCamp Australia (#30) which was held in Sydney. Even though that was only 6 months ago there have been another 25 wordcamp events since then with the mothership event in San Francisco just finishing now.

There are several more in the next few months and so wordcampNZ will be about number 62. WordCamp UK and WordCamp Chicago among them.

What to Expect?

Lots of inspired and community minded people who love using technology in a way that is genuinely helpful. There will be presentations on Themes (design sets), Plugins (mini -applications)  and the glue that holds it all together.

It will be an opportunity to compare notes with others working across town or elsewhere including those working with incredible subject matter and projects.

From my personal experience (Jason) I have worked with every content management system from the early days up to Vignette and very big proprietary systems.  What sets WordPress apart is the speed with which is can be utilised by project people who have a passion without needing to get too fussed about the technical side. It just works.

As a project manager I look after more than 50 websites and every now and then I have to go rescue someone who is stuck, but the underlying logic and overall flexibility means we can always find an easy fix to almost any scenario out there.

As an English & Law graduate from way back I have been looking forward to the day when the technology can be pushed in almost any direction without most of the previous tech constraints.

WordcampNZ is an opportunity to break down more technology barriers and genuinely help businesses and personal enthusiasts alike to express themselves.

See you in Wellington on August 8th & 9th.