More Than Professional Growth

It was the first barcamp I’d ever attended, but that’s not the only reason it will be hard to beat. Within the first hour, I was impressed by the proactive and mutually supportive group of experts who willingly suggested sessions and openly shared their knowledge. Most participants came from the content management system (CMS) space, representing agencies and CMS vendors, or attended as freelancers keen to learn more.

Not expecting many women at a tech conference like this one, I was pleasantly surprised to meet so many inspiring developers, digital product designers, client partnership coordinators, marketing managers, and content writers. The interdisciplinary exchange was what made the camp so insightful, because everyone there had something to give. Creatives and editors like me, who came with less technical literacy than most, were appreciated for our user perspective and encouraged to share honest feedback.

In a session by Emil Novakov, CEO of Scaleflex, I learned how important visual experiences, such as video hotspots, image hotspots, and 360° views, are for e-commerce. In Scaleflex’s Visual Experience Platform (VXP), Digital Asset Management (DAM) and Dynamic Media Optimization (DMO) work together: you store each image or video once in the DAM, and DMO automatically delivers it in the right size and format for every device. The files are sent through Cloudimage, Scaleflex’s image content delivery network (CDN), so pages load faster. That helps with search engine optimization (SEO) and generative engine optimization (GEO), meaning visibility in AI tools like ChatGPT. Setting up the visual experiences is simple: you upload a CSV file (a spreadsheet of product data), the tool creates editable hotspots, and you add the visual to your CMS with a short code snippet. That makes it easy for non-technical people like me.

It wouldn’t have been a CMS camp in 2026 if we hadn’t talked about AI and how to use it wisely. Several sessions suggested workflows that ensure AI quality. We brainstormed best practices for four stages: “preparation,” “do,” “quality assurance,” and “publish.” New to me was the simple idea of asking AI to write its own prompt for the task at hand, so you can check from the very beginning that it understood exactly what you’re looking for. This prevents endless cycles of “improvements” that don’t just waste time but actually lower your content quality more and more.

A session by content writer Nina Kozłowska was structured as an interview. We asked her about client expectations when it comes to writers using AI. She explained that some clients expect her to use AI so she spends less time, which makes it cheaper for them. Other clients specifically ask her not to write with AI, for maximum quality and authenticity, and accept that the process takes 2.5 times longer. Both groups are fine with her using AI tools like Surfer SEO for keyword research and SEO/GEO checks.

Overall, I was impressed by the CMS Camp culture, the level of expertise shared, and the spontaneous can-do attitude of organizers and participants alike. One of the principles Volker stressed when introducing the barcamp format was: “The people in the room are the right people.” That mindset set the tone for the camp. It created space for every perspective, professional background, and skill level, leading to an encouraging environment that leaves a mark. A big thank-you to the sponsors who made it possible: Bloomreach, mittwald x Spec Kitty, Hygraph, TYPO3 (presented by sitegeist and b13), Scaleflex, eCentral, Neos, and thePHP.cc. Most of all, I want to give a shout-out to Volker, who put in countless hours to make CMS Camp exceed expectations and become what it turned out to be: a supportive community where people grow as individuals, not just professionally.