Congratulations to Sarah B & Shana! I’ve sent you both e-mail and will need you to respond by Tuesday at 10:00am CST or I’ll have to choose another winner.

One of the fun things about attending Blissdom is the quality of swag. Even though I keep very little swag for myself, I love to see what’s in the bag. Attendees this year received $20 to Red Lobster (which I gave to one of my roommates) and some other coupons (which I also gave to my roommates). I brought home my Lands End bag and a water bottle and some Jockey undies (it would have been weird to give those away, I think). And I brought home two necklaces: one from The Vintage Pearl and one from Lisa Leonard. They are extremely nice necklaces, but frankly, I won’t wear them because I don’t wear a lot of jewelry. Rather than keep them in their boxes and let them tarnish, I’d like to pass them to one of you who couldn’t attend Blissdom to be gifted with such amazing swag.

Lisa Leonard Necklace		The Vintage Pearl Necklace

What do you have to do to win one of these amazing necklaces from Blissdom 2011? It’s simple, really.

First, I ask that you only enter if you weren’t able to go to Blissdom. If you were at Blissdom, you already have these beautiful necklaces. I’m trying to spread some love to the gals who couldn’t go. It’s hard to be at home following that Twitter stream, missing out on the action.

There are two ways to enter. You can do one or both, your choice! But you can only do them once. So if you’re entered more than twice, you’ll be disqualified.

1. Leave a comment on this post telling me what type of panel you’d attend when you go to your next blog conference. What would give you goosebumps? Learning how to use your dSLR? Or making your own Facebook fan page? Or upping your SEO game? Or learning how to market yourself on etsy? Tell me! I really want to know.
2. Go over and Like the Blogging Basics 101 Facebook fan page, then leave me a separate comment here telling me you’re a fan. If you’re already a fan, excellent! Thank you! Just leave a separate comment here telling me.

This giveaway is open to US residents, ages 18 and above.

The giveaway starts Thursday, February 3 and ends Friday, February 4 at midnight.

On Saturday morning, I’ll use random.org to choose 2 winners.

I’ll contact the winners and they’ll have three days to respond.

If I don’t hear from them, I’ll choose new winners.

GOOD LUCK!

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My friend Deb of Deb Works invited me and a few blogging friends to attend the #140Conf Smalltown in Hutchinson, KS earlier this month. Unfortunately, my work schedule didn’t permit a road trip that week and I asked my buddy Kelly Kinkaid of Kellyology to wrangle some bloggers and make the trip for me. She agreed because she’s awesome like that. Thank you to @DebWorks, @Kellyology, @andsosheblogs, and @VickiMaeisOK.

In 2009 the 140 Characters Conferences, #140Conf, began.  These conferences “explore the effects of Twitter on a wide range of topics including:  Celebrity, ‘The Media,’ Advertising, Politics, Fashion, Real Estate, Music, Education, Public Safety, Public Diplomacy and quite a few other topics.”  They have been hosted  in New York, Los Angeles, Tel Aviv, London, San Francisco, Barcelona, Austin, Washington D.C., and on Monday, November 1st, Hutchinson, Kansas.  Now if, to you, Hutchinson, Kansas seems like a weird place to have a media conference that focuses on the global impact of social media, you’re not alone.  The idea for the conference was the brainstorm of Becky McCray, a self-proclaimed entrepreneur and rancher from Hopeton, Oklahoma, population 262. She approached Jeff Pulver, the creator of #140Conf, and suggested that it would be interesting if one of the #140Conf would explore the impact of social media on Small Town, U.S.A.  It would be called (wait for it) #140Conf Smalltown.  And so it began.

#140Conf Smalltown was held at the historic Fox Theater and was attended by 250 visitors from over 12 states. In addition, thanks to live-streaming, many more people were able to attend remotely, including a host of international viewers. What was the draw? Everyone was interested in hearing about how Twitter could impact, has impacted, or will impact the members and the businesses of small town communities.”  And although the list of speakers was long and diverse including college professors, journalists, community activists, ranchers and farmers, members of the Hutchinson police force, educators, marketing experts, and some guy who tweets while riding his self propelled tractor, the message seemed to be the same from all and included three main ideas:

1. For members of small town communities, Twitter is the great equalizer.  On Twitter large companies with huge marketing budgets cannot outspend community activists, small business owners, or the guy on the tractor who wants to talk about his opinion concerning the latest elections.  All you need is the ability to create tweets with purpose, have a defined mission about what you wish to accomplish, and have the ability to create tweets with personality that make people want to join your conversation.
2. For members of small town communities, Twitter eliminates the problems that could exist by living in a more isolated area. You can live in Hopeton, Oklahoma and have a thriving national business.  You can build an international company working out of the basement of your home.  And you can have conversations and share knowledge with people that you otherwise might not have access to — all because you have opened yourself up to the rest of world by creating a Twitter account.
3. The most important aspect to consider when opening your Twitter accounts are the the relationships you build with others. You never know what you might learn about your area of expertise from a relationship you build with someone in another part of the country or even another country.  You never know when a conversation about a great recipe from a twitter friend might lead to a mutually beneficial professional relationship.  You never know how important a Twitter friendship can become to you personally even though you’re communicating with someone who you have never met in person.

In the United States today, 281 million people live in communities with a size less than 50,000 people (per the ers.usda.gov).  With an overall population of of over 310 million people in the USA, that statistic suggests that, in fact, the vast majority of Americans live in small town communities.  With the creation of Twitter and other forms of social media such as Facebook, Four Square, LinkedIn, etc., the people of the United States are growing more connected by the day.  And with each connection it seems to matter less and less about where you live.  Instead, according to the speakers at #140Conf Smalltown, all that matters are the connections and relationships you create on line.

#140Conf NYC 2011 will be taking place June 15th and 16th at the 92nd Street Y and another #140Conf Smalltown will be held in Hutchinson, KS on September 20, 2011.

This is a guest post by Kelly Kinkaid of Kellyology.

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Jody Halstead, the power behind the conference, started I_Blog last year because so many of the so-called major blogging conferences were in coastal cities and were expensive to travel to. She decided it was time Midwest bloggers had a place they could afford to come to and learn. Personally, I love Iowa. My family is from there, we try to visit several times a year, and it’s beautiful to me. When I found out about I_Blog last year, I couldn’t wait to take part and I don’t regret it a bit. I’m so pleased to be returning next week to make a presentation on beginning blogging and to serve on another panel with Jody and Ang England about monetizing your blog. Speaking of which, please, please, let me know what specific questions you have about beginning blogging or monetizing your blog (whether you’re attending I_Blog or not). I’d love to address those (both here at Blogging Basics 101 and at I_Blog next week).

Would you like a little more information about I_Blog? Let me help you with that.

When: November 5-7, 2010

Where: Hotel Pattee, Perry, Iowa

Tickets: Still available at http://iblogconference.eventbrite.com. A limited number of free Friday passes are also available.  Friday’s sessions include: Utilizing Linked In to Expand Your Network, Mobile Technology and Protecting Your Computer.

Registration is $199 for a full conference ticket. The following “a la carte” tickets are also available:

• Friday evening Iowa Wine and Beer Social $30
• Saturday only, $100

This year the conference will feature two tracks of classes: one for the beginner and one for individuals who have more experience in social media and blogging.

Classes are designed to educate attendees in social media techniques and are taught by experts in that area.

Speakers include:

• Joseph Lundberg, Linked In Corporate Solutions on Utilizing Linked In to Expand your Network
• Claire Celsi, the PR Princess on How to Use Social Media to Build Your Online Presence
• Brett Trout, P.C. on Intellectual Content vs. Owned Content
• Melanie Nelson, co-author Typepad for Dummies on Blogging Basics
• Plus tips on photography, how to use video online, the importance of SEO and much more!

Rooms still remain at the Hotel Pattee for conference attendees. To make a reservation, attendees should call the hotel at (515) 465-3511.

Halsted said that unlike other social media conferences, the focus of I_Blog is on the sessions, “not the swag.”  She said, “Our goal is to build a Midwest social media community; to give them the knowledge to create a social media presence that will help achieve their goals and fulfill their dreams!”

Melanie Nelson, owner of Blogging Basics 101 and co-author of Typepad for Dummies, highly recommends attending I_Blog. “I especially loved that everyone who attended last year (whether a new or seasoned blogger) learned something new,” she said. “All of the presentations were relevant to what people are doing regardless of their level (of social media involvement).”

More information about, and registration for, Destination Midwest at I_Blog Conference can be found on the website at www.iblogconference.com

Contact:
Jody Halsted, I_Blog Conference Organizer
515-707-6547
jody@iblogconference.com
http://www.iblogconference.com

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I don’t usually post press releases here at Blogging Basics 101 because I don’t feel the majority of them are relevant. I’m posting one today, though, because I specifically asked for a copy. There’s a conference going on November 1 that I think you need to be aware of and should attend if you can. It’s the Small Business #140conf and it’s being held in Hutchinson, KS on November 1 (in case you missed the title of this article </tongueincheek>). Here’s the scoop:

Heavy Hitters Head to Hutch

Monday November 1, the Fox Theatre in Hutchinson Kansas will be the host to some of the most cutting edge personalities in the online universe. Hosted by Jeff Pulver and Becky McCray, the 140 Character Conference is coming to small town America.  These conferences have been hosted in cities like New York, London and Tel Aviv.  #140conf Small Town will be a ground breaking opportunity to look at the effects of the real-time web on the people and the businesses inside of and around Small Towns.

The #140conf events provide a platform for the worldwide twitter community to: listen, connect, share and engage with each other, while collectively exploring the effects of the emerging real-time internet on business. It creates serendipity in talking to each other, sharing ideas across industries, and exchanging thoughts with people like you and not like you. To put it in rural terms, we’re going to cross-pollinate some ideas. Or think of it as hybrid vigor: your new ideas are much stronger than the ideas that brought them about.

Who’s speaking?  At the release of this article there are 31 contributors lined up. This conference will be flexible and there may be more speakers as well.  These are just some of the topics that will be covered – and the bios of those presenting.

Anita Cochran  – from TV to Twitter. A self-proclaimed “News Goddess,” Anita Cochran became a household name as a News Anchor in her home state of Kansas. A graduate of Wichita State University, her Radio/TV/Film degree morphed into a career that took her from Hays to Garden City and back to Wichita and allowed her to cover stories from all corners of the state and even across the country. In spring 2009, Anita celebrated her 20th year on camera, and walked away from the Industry she loves. Today, a mother of two daughters, and wife of almost 24 years, Anita has gone through a downsizing of her material life, to upsize her spiritual one.   She’s blogging and writing a book about that experience…..and living on one-fourth the income, her family became accustomed to.

Dennis Deery   – Small Towns & Online – Melding Two Visions of Community. Dennis Deery is the founder of Irish Rose Consulting, a technology consulting firm located in western Wisconsin. He has worked in the field for over 20 years, specializing in technology planning, software development and web site development. Irish Rose Consulting works with small- to mid-sized companies, non-profit organizations and government agencies throughout the United States and Europe. Dennis also does extensive work in the field of community development, focusing mainly on small towns and rural areas.

Warren Parker and Michelle Tucker – Bridging the Gap between the Farm and Urban Areas. Warren Parker has a degree from Fort Hays State University in Communications and Radio/Television.  He worked for 10 years at WIBW-TV/radio in Topeka Kansas as reporter, anchor, and chief photographer.  He covered the Kansas legislature and courts, covered three national political conventions, and created an award-winning television feature series ‘Parker’s People’ seen nationally and internationally.

After leaving the media, Warren moved to the Kansas Farm Bureau as lobbyist and governmental relations assistant director for membership-approved policy in Topeka, Kansas and Washington D.C. He is now the web development director for Kansas Farm Bureau managing the organization’s website.

Warren says “I appreciate all kinds of agriculture, and embrace them. However, in my travels to different parts of the world, and seeing complex political and geographical diversities, I have learned there is a need to feed that world, and a safe, modern agriculture that allows our food security, as well as trade with other nations, is required.  I believe in true, science-based solutions, and have little patience for agenda-driven hype and emotion.  I look forward to sharing views.”

Michelle Tucker. I am a mother, wife, Farm Insurance nerd and all around people lover.  I am currently raising the 5th generation in the same home that was placed there over 100 years ago.  While we do not farm for a living, we are still active in raising some cattle and help my father who still farms the land.  I love sharing my story of Ag and life on Twitter and having the amazing opportunity to connect to others I would otherwise not have met.  Oh and I love my Kansas State Wildcats!!

Debbie Lyons-Blythe – Life on a Kansas Cattle Ranch. Debbie Lyons-Blythe is a cattle rancher in central Kansas, in the heart of the grasslands of the Flint Hills. She has been married to Duane for more than 20 years, and they have five kids. They have about 250 mama cows raising calves, and 300 heifers (cows that haven’t had a calf yet). Debbie sells bulls and heifers and sometimes feeds out steers to enter the food chain.

Debbie’s job is to raise the cattle and kids. She and her husband believe that connecting to the people who do not live on a ranch is very important to their children’s future on the ranch. Debbie blogs weekly about her life, shares beef recipes and stories about the ranch at KansasCattleRanch.blogspot.com.  She uses Twitter and Facebook to connect to people across the world.  She says, “I am a typical rancher, albeit a woman. But we do things like everyone else around here does—with a basic respect for the cattle and the land. Our future depends on the sustainability of our ranch. The only difference is that we realize that we must make the time to open our lives up to ‘city folk’ so they can see what we do and why we do it.”

Cort Anderson – Support Your Local Newspaper. Cort Anderson is the CEO (Chief Everything Officer) of Cort D Anderson Limited Company and a Senior Partner in Identis, LLC.  He provides a variety of services for his clients from software training to graphic design to web consulting. In addition he shoots occasional news assignments for local newspapers and fine art photography.

At Kansas State University he studied journalism and went on to work for newspapers and a wire service.  For the past 20 years he has combined his knowledge of photography, printing and computers to help companies move into desktop publishing and digital imaging.

From 1999 until 2009 Cort was the Technology Consultant for the Kansas Press Association. He traveled the state working with small newspapers on training and technology issues. He has presented programs on digital photography, PDF creation, websites and other newspaper technology hurdles for various state and national press associations.

Jonathon George Micro-messaging: Creating Signal in the Noise. Jonathan George is the founder and CEO of AppRemix, a real-time mobile micro-messaging company known for its popular iPhone application Boxcar.  Prior to AppRemix, Jonathan led and developed several web startups.  With 10 years of web and software entrepreneurship, he is particularly familiar with the many important aspects of usability, interaction design and their relationship to technology.
Jonathan is from Coffeyville, KS and currently resides in Wichita, KS.  He is known for his candor and insights into the internet and application industries, and blogs on a non-regular basis.

Gus Wagner – Using Social Media to Drive Reaction to Agribusiness in Government. Gus is originally a farm kid from Franklin County, Missouri. He spent 12 years as a manufacturing consultant before launching The Rocket Group in 2001 where they focus on Relationship, Graphic and Communication Strategies for Business, Politics, and Government. After being an early adopter of Facebook and Twitter for client marketing, he became certified in Social Media Strategy in 2010.

Gus says “My official capacity in government was as a Chief of Staff to two Missouri State Senators over an 8-year period. My responsibilities included managing all the legislative issues involved within the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Food Production, and Outdoor Resources and a Senate district in Southwest Missouri with one of the fastest growing population areas in America. . My company and I have managed, assisted, or contracted on more than 135 campaigns from small city halls to the halls of Congress since 1998 and have been victorious more than 70% of the time.”

Gigi Belmonico – Living Life Connected. Image Consultant, Glamour Girl, and Bombshell Coach! Many entrepreneurial women lose their femininity and friendships as they build amazing businesses and Gigi shows them how to turn up “The Bombshell Factor™”!  An Image Consultant for over 25 years, she’s shown thousands of women how to feel powerful in their femininity through tools such as body typing, makeup and fashion personality, core wardrobing, and much more so that EVERYday is Bombshell day!

Many women have qualities that make them “look” beautiful, but Gigi takes it even further and teaches the “missing link” …the more esoteric qualities that truly connect women with each other without the typical drama, trauma, and jealousy so prevalent today.

She was featured in “Mom Spa: 75 Relaxing Ways to Pamper a Mother’s Mind, Body, and Soul,” by Gin Sander, and was a contributing author in Gin’s book “Raging Gracefully: Smart Women on Life, Love, And Coming into Your Own”.

Mark Linder – Mobilized to Feed the World. Entrepreneur, Investor, New Media and Podcasting Pioneer and former Fortune 500 executive. Managing Partner of ND Partners, LLC (Owner & Operator of Sola Salons in Texas) and President/Principle of Forefront Media Labs (producer of New Media and Social Media projects.) Early Podcaster featured on PodShow/Mevio since their beta days. Speaker at 2008 SXSW, 2007 Portable Media Expo, 2008 New Media Expo and 2008 Thin Air Summit. Finalist for 2009 Podcast Award from PodcastAwards.com. Forefront Media Labs has worked on many New Media projects one of which included heading the team which brought Barack Obama to Second Life. Based in Dallas, Texas, his company currently produces three podcasts for Mevio, operates Internet Radio Stations, creates social media programs and websites for a variety of organizations and has a soon to be released in print audio book.

Heather Lytle and Cyndy Hoenig – Trust me: How to Use PR & Social Media to Create Brands People Know, Like and Trust. Heather Lytle is a New Media Strategist and Technology Specialist. As senior partner with H&L Media Partners, Heather uses her extensive corporate background as well as her intimate understanding of the needs of small business owners to offer clients a unique marketing perspective with a focus on new technologies. She also owns HVM Solutions, which offers a full range of technology solutions for business from web design and development to iPhone applications, and ShopGadgetGirl.com, which started as a blog but after generating a huge buzz went retail in March 2009.

Heather holds a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism from University of Central Oklahoma and a MBA in Leadership and Organizational Development from Oklahoma Christian University. She serves on the Board of Directors for Keep Oklahoma Beautiful and served as the Corporate Sponsorship Co-Chair for Go Red for Women. She was just named a 20 under 40 by the Business Times and awarded a 40 under 40 by OKC Biz. A very busy and successful year for one who won’t turn 40 for seven years.  Lytle lives in Edmond, Oklahoma in the house she grew up in with her husband Kevin and cow dog, Shawnee. She loves Edmond, Lake Tenkiller, writing and her family.

Cyndy Hoenig’s career has taken her from her home in Oklahoma to a 20-year entertainment career in Los Angeles, where she served as Director of the Television Division of Bender, Goldman & Helper, and a top public relations agency. Her area of expertise centers on planning and executing media relations programs that achieve high levels of coverage. Cyndy has managed media relations for the Emmy’s, Screen Actors Guild and VH-1 Music Awards shows, as well as top television shows for NBC, CBS, FOX, Carsey-Werner, Aaron Spelling, Disney Channel and 20th Television.

She organized the media for the Oklahoma City National Memorial’s 10th Anniversary, handling over 700 media outlets. A program she planned and managed for Oklahoma City’s Race for the Cure enhanced awareness to a level that resulted in a 35% increase in participation.

Currently, Hoenig owns Pure PR, a PR company in Oklahoma City, and is partnered with Heather Lytle in H&L Media Partners, a company that offers consultant services and trainings in PR and Social Media.

Hoenig is a sustaining member of the Jr. League of OKC and PR chair for the Edmond Women’s Club. She studied communications at University of Central Oklahoma and St. Edwards University in Austin, Texas.   Residing in Edmond with her beloved dog, Digger, Cyndy has four grown daughters and eight grandchildren.

Andrea Springer – Tell Me Why I Should Care – Nonprofits, Social Media, and Storytelling. Andrea says “I’m looking forward to my first #140conf and am tickled that it’s going to be in the Fox Theatre.  In a previous life, I was executive director of the theatre’s restoration.  It’s a 1931 art deco movie palace, restored to its original glory and a great space.  We hope everyone enjoys their time there.

In addition to what you read, I was raised on a farm in Illinois but consider myself a Kansan by choice, having been here for over 25 years.  Fourteen of those years were spent working in public broadcasting – both radio and television.  I’m passionate about community in all its forms – online and off.  In addition to my consulting work with nonprofits I volunteer with four local organizations with missions ranging from the arts to social services to economic development.  I’m also a knitter and teach classes at a local yarn shop on a regular basis.”

Andrea’s background includes 25 years of experience working for and with nonprofit organizations. She served as Capital Campaign Manager and Director of Development for KPTS Public Television in Wichita, Executive Director of the Fox Theatre restoration project in Hutchinson and Senior Consultant for HartsookCompanies, a national fundraising firm. She is also a founding member of the Kansas Historic Theatre Association. In 2004, Andrea started Springer Coaching and Consulting, a firm that focuses on the specialized needs of small nonprofits.

Marci Penner – How 8 Wonders Drive Online Success. Marci Penner is the director of the Kansas Sampler Foundation, a non-profit founded by her and her father in 1993.  The office is based on the family farm near Inman.

Major stops have been at the University of Kansas, the University of Wisconsin, and the Philadelphia area.  In 1990 Marci moved back to Kansas and has been working with rural communities ever since. The mission of the Foundation is to preserve and sustain rural culture by educating Kansans about Kansas and by networking and supporting rural communities.

Some of the better known projects are the 8 Wonders of Kansas, the Kansas Sampler Festival, and Rural Kansas: Come & Get It, the Kansas Explorers Club, and the Kansas Guidebook for Explorers.  Marci went to every one of the 627 incorporated cities in Kansas in the early 2000s to research for the guidebook.

Marci served as a co-chair for the Governor’s Rural Life Task Force, was named Distinguished Kansas of the Year in 2005 and has received other state and national awards for her work with rural communities.

Jay Ehret – Your Tweet is Your Brand: Small Town Business Branding. Jay Ehret is Chief Officer of Awesomeness for The Marketing Spot, a marketing coaching and consulting firm he founded in 2001 in Waco, Texas. He is a marketing coach, consultant, speaker, and blog author. He helps entrepreneurs and brands build marketing plans based on the four essential spots of marketing: Branding, Experience, Conversation, and Promotion. He empowers his clients with knowledge, giving them a course in marketing, turning entrepreneurs into marketers while transforming businesses into extra-ordinary brands. Jay has developed a full-day workshop that teaches participants how to build and implement their own marketing plan.

He is a frequent speaker at conferences and industry association events. He was a featured speaker at the 2010 National Golf Course Owners Association annual conference. Jay has presented at numerous marketing and trade association conferences and been a featured speaker at South by Southwest Interactive, the Optimization Summits, and the Global Golf Marketing Conference in Seoul, Korea.  Jay authors the award winning Marketing Spot Blog and hosts the Power to the Small Business podcast.

He is married to Carol and has four grandchildren and two dogs. He is active in his church, is a wine lover, and dreams of someday playing in the World Series of Poker. (Jay is on the left)

Cody M. Heitschmidt – What is Your OPA …Online Presence Assessment? Cody attended Hutchinson Community College Classes while at Hutchinson High School, graduating in 1993.  United States Marine Corps followed from 1994 – 1998.  After leaving the military and returning to Hutchinson, Kansas, Cody did a short but enjoyable time with Koch Industries, leaving to develop and build H&R Outfitters, a hunting guide business. Although he enjoyed it tremendously, it did not prove to be financially prudent so he teamed up with his wife, Tamara, in her business LogicMaze, Inc. Web Designs and Small Business Marketing to do her sales and marketing in 2004.  Together they grew the business and sold it to Harris Enterprises/Hutchinson News in December, 2009.  They continue to manage, design and market the business for the Hutchinson News.

Cody was one of the original committee members in the development of the Young Professionals Organization in Reno County that now has grown to over 250 members; he was also instrumental in the marketing and publicity of organizing the first Third Thursdays that are now a popular event in the downtown area of Hutchinson.

Deb Brown – Volunteering Pays. Deb was born and raised in Franklin County Iowa.  Luther College educated her and she lived in Chicago for many years. She’s worked as an insurance underwriter, a retail management professional, salesperson, a teacher and a writer. Deb returned home to Iowa to care for her elderly parents. Much to her surprise, the Iowa Deb remembered was so much more than just a place to raise pigs. Franklin County has a rich prairie heritage, is loaded with historical sites and treasures, welcoming neighbors and good old fashioned entrepreneurial spirit. It was the perfect place to begin Debworks – combining many years of experience in various fields into her own business.  Social media merging with volunteer activities has created another line of income in her income stream.  Deb believes everyone can make a difference if we just live into our greatness and teach others to do the same.

Lynn Woolf – From the Farm: Advocating for Agriculture Using Social Media & Other Tools. Today’s consumers are looking for more than a great product, service or cause. They want — and deserve — ways to become engaged and to interact as part of a community. Credible, interesting and “fresh” online content and social media initiatives can help you do just that. And, traditional forms of communication — print media and newsletters, for example — are still important ways to build relationships.

“I am a copywriter with journalism and PR experience — that’s a double dose of expertise in creating informative, engaging and persuasive content for web sites, publications, company collateral and more. “

Simran Sethi – Social Media for Social Change in the Classroom (and Beyond). Simran blogs about sustainability for online outlets including The Huffington Post, Mother Earth News and Oprah.com. She has been a featured guest on NPR and is host of the Emmy-award winning PBS documentary, “A School in the Woods.” Simran has lectured at institutions ranging from the Commonwealth Club to Cornell University; keynoted conferences including Bioneers by the Bay, the green Business Conference and the North American Association for Environmental Education; and moderated panels for the Clinton Global Initiative University, Demos and The Climate Group.

Simran is a 2010 fellow in the Poynter Institute’s Sense-Making project, a Ford Foundation-funded program that is studying the integration of new media and democratic values. She has also served as an associate fellow at the Asia Society since 2008. Simran is a member of the Sustainability Advisory Board, a mayoral appointment in the city of Lawrence, Kansas. She holds an M.B.A. in sustainable business from the Presidio Graduate School where she now lectures in their sustainability certification program and graduated cum laude with a B.A. in Sociology and Women’s Studies from Smith College. She is the 2009 recipient of the Smith College Medal, awarded to alumnae demonstrating extraordinary professional achievements and outstanding service to their communities, and the 2010 recipient of the American College Personnel Association Champion of Sustainability award for leadership on sustainability within academe.

Elizabeth Norton – Living in a Victorian Town in a Real Time World. Even at the age of 28, Elizabeth has had many opportunities to play her share of different roles. While her journeys have taken her to stage, writing, children party entertainment and beyond, her finest casting role is one of being a mother. Elizabeth Norton is never at a loss for words. What is more important is that she is a wife and mother to over 25 children while 23 of those have come and gone through Elizabeth’s house through the foster system of New Jersey 2 birth children remain who are delightful(sometimes) boys.

Elizabeth pokes fun at her own imperfections as she discusses matters of motherhood, party planning, and hot topics that affect the families of today. She is a voice for various motherhood panels and owner of the Party Planning Professor.

Patsy Terrell – Twitter is Today’s Civic Club. Patsy Terrell is a writer and artist. She does public relations for the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center. She is a columnist for the statewide magazine, Kansas Country Living, and writes freelance for a number of publications. Her background includes being a journalist, a graphic designer, and executive director of a non-profit. She consults with businesses and organizations about how to incorporate social media into their marketing; she speaks to groups about social media, food and food traditions, and creating a meaningful life.

Details:

The lineup is a great one – and this is one event you won’t want to miss in Hutchinson Kansas.
November 1, 8 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. at the Fox Theatre, 18 East 1st Avenue.  Stay overnight at  Ramada Hotel and Conference Center Hutchinson (formerly known as the Grand Prairie Hotel and Convention Center) 620-669-9311 or 800-362-5018.  A block of rooms has been assigned for conference attendees.

The schedule is posted at http://smalltown.140conf.com

You can purchase your ticket at http://smalltown.140conf.com/register

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Wait.

What?

Yes. I said I love Iowa. I was born there, lived there for a short while as a baby, and try to return every year to visit my grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. I love that state. Like Oklahoma, where I currently reside, Iowa doesn’t get a lot of play as being a hub of technological innovation. In fact, both states are overlooked in general because people assume we don’t have a draw for the masses. And that’s wrong. I know for a fact that both Oklahoma and Iowa have some excellent and very successful bloggers. And we like to get together and share our knowledge and experience with others. And that’s what I want to share with you: the I_Blog conference being held in Perry, IA in November.

I love the I_Blog conference because I love Iowa, blogging, and learning and I_Blog gives me all of that. It’s a conference just big enough that you will meet and get to know everyone attending and have a chance to have your own blogging questions answered. Heck, you’ll probably have a one-on-one session with someone who can give your blog the once-over and boost you up to the next level of blogging!

I attended and spoke at I_Blog last year and I’ll be doing so again this year. I cannot wait. Last year I came away from every session with some new information and I know the new bloggers in attendance came away with an abundance of ideas and help that they’re still drawing from today! I’ve been fortunate enough to keep in touch with a few of the attendees from last year and I’ve been hearing from them even now that they’re using what they learned from I_Blog last year.

There are blogging conferences throughout the year and they all serve excellent purposes from networking to high-level discussions on various blogging topics. But if you’re looking for hands-on learning, discussions about your concerns and questions, or one-on-one help with your blogging needs (not just the theory of blogging), it can be hard to find those opportunities at large conferences. I_Blog is exactly big enough to ensure you come away with the things you’re looking for. You won’t be disappointed.

I’ll be speaking about blogging basics (of course) as well as on the panel about making money with your blog. You can find more information about the conference topics and speakers at the I_Blog website.

Here is some additional information about I_Blog:

Despite an intimate feel, I_Blog Conference, November 5–7, 2010, in Perry, Ia., will feature “big-conference” speakers.

Perry, Iowa – August 23, 2010 — Speakers for the I_Blog Conference, November 5–7 at the historic Hotel Pattee in Perry, Ia., include experts in social media, mobile technology, writing, vlogging, photography and more. Event organizer Jody Halsted, who has attended numerous social media conferences across the country in the past several years, says that she and her planning partners have worked hard to put together a lineup that packs a lot of punch without a lot of fluff. “This conference isn’t all about the swag,” she says. “It’s about helping attendees build on their knowledge base and build their community. It’s about coming away with stuff you can put into practice immediately.”

Among the speakers are Joseph Lundberg, LinkedIn Corporate Solutions; Melanie Nelson, BloggingBasics101.com and Typepad for Dummies co-author; Beth Blair, TheVacationGals.com; Carol Schiller, Cozi.com; Angela England, AngEngland.com and author of Making Money from Your Blogging; Claire Celsi, the Public Relations Princess; Darcy Milder, GraphicallyDesigning.com and His & Hers Photography; and Linsey Knerl, Wise Bread.com and TheFreelanceFarmer.com.

To see the full schedule of session topics, visit www.iblogconference.com.

Saturday evening will feature “Destination Midwest,” a first-of-its-kind event that will bring together Midwest destinations and Midwest bloggers to form relationships and work together to showcase the Midwest.

A full conference ticket can be purchased thru August 31 for only $149 using the code Back2School. The following “a la carte” tickets are also available: Saturday only, $100; Friday evening social, $30; and Destination Midwest Saturday evening event, $30.  Tickets are available at iblogconference.eventbrite.com.

Specially priced rooms are available at the Hotel Pattee for conference attendees. To make a reservation, attendees should call the hotel at (515) 465-3511 and use the code I_BlogConference for that weekend. Reservations must be made by October 23 to receive the reduced rates.

I_Blog Conference also has sponsorship opportunities available at very reasonable prices for Midwest companies.  This is a great opportunity to get involved with bloggers who know how to use social media to help promote your company.  More details at iblogconference.com/sponsor-i_blog.

About Jody Halsted:
Jody Halsted has been blogging about traveling with kids since 2005 at HaveKidWillTravel.com and now FamilyRambling.com. She is a travel writer for a variety of other websites as well. Halsted resides in Ankeny, Iowa.

Contact:

Jody Halsted, I_Blog Conference Organizer
Phone: 515-707-6547
jody@iblogconference.com
http://www.iblogconference.com

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• Blog Conference Guide
• Blog Conference Newbie
• Blog World Expo
• Dave Rohrer
• Mom Bloggers Club
• Mom Central
• Mom It Forward
• Social Media Biz

Still can’t find something in your area? If you haven’t already, try engaging with other bloggers in your area. You might try finding a hyperlocal blogger (someone who is blogging specifically about your city or area only) in particular and ask them if they’ve heard of any local get-togethers. If no one has taken this on yet, do it yourself! I bet there are several other bloggers out there wishing there was a regular meeting where they could share ideas.

Also, if you are at all interested in moving to WordPress, there is usually a WordCamp in most major cities/areas during the year (just Google wordcamp and you’ll see). WordCamps are put on locally and focus on using WordPress effectively (but they also just offer great info on blogging better). They offer lots of help and are very welcoming of new users.

My favorite blog conferences to attend are

• I_Blog Conference in Perry, IA. November 5-7, 2010. First of all, my family is from Iowa so if there’s a conference there, I’m going to try to make it because I love Iowa. Second of all, Jody puts on a great conference in a beautiful, relaxed venue (the Hotel Pattee) that offers real learning experiences. It’s a very small conference (my favorite kind) so you really get to know the other attendees. I especially loved that everyone who attended last year (whether a new or seasoned blogger) learned something new. All of the presentations were relevant to what people are doing regardless of their level of blogging. I highly recommend this conference.
• Blissdom in Nashville, TN. It’s possible that I’m biased here because my friends Alli Worthington, Barbara Jones, and Paula Bruno put on this conference, but you’ll find that it’s a phenomenal event. It’s limited to 500 attendees so it feels more intimate than some of the larger conferences. What I particularly like about Blissdom is that there are very few cliques; I feel like I can approach any group of women and introduce myself and join in the conversation (and, as an introvert, I’m here to tell you that can be tough). I’ve explained my thoughts on Blissdom before; I recommend attending if you can.
• Blog World and New Media Expo in Las Vegas, Nevada. October 14-16, 2010. I usually try to keep to the smaller conferences because I like that vibe. I like to connect with people on more than a surface level. However, sometimes you have to jump out of your comfort zone and put yourself out there. BWE is the place to go to meet the movers and shakers in the blog world, meet the marketers that want to work with bloggers, learn new skills, and hear about where the Big Guys (i.e., Chris Brogan and Darren Rowse among others) think social media is headed. If you want to see the lay of the land and maybe meet your blogging heroes, this is the conference you have to attend. If you do decide to go, understand that there’s a lot happening and you should have a good idea of what you’re there for. I go to learn every new skill I can; I’m less interested in theory and more interested in hands-on so those are the sessions I focus on. If you can attend with a friend, divide and conquer! Take notes so you can share them with each other later.

I haven’t attended SxSW yet, but that may change in 2011. If you can’t make it one of the three conferences above, SxSW in Austen is your next best bet from what I understand.

So, tell me:

• What conferences have you attended in the past?
• Which are your favorite(s) and why?
• What are you looking for in a blogging conference?
• Do you have regular local get togethers that you attend? How do those compare to the national conferences?

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• Tutorial: How to Create an E-Book Cover with Photoshop via Standout Blogger. I always wondered how to do this and now I know. Beware, though, the instructions assume you have Photoshop and know how to use it. Design skillz not included.

• Small Biz Social Media Summit in Hutchinson, KS! My friend @DebWorks has put together an opportunity for small businesses to discuss how to use social media effectively. It’s going to be phenomenal. You won’t want to miss it. Make plans now to attend June 5-6!

• Money Will Flow Like Aquafina If You Can Come Up With A Better Idea Than Pepsi During SxSW via TechCrunch. Get your marketing thinking caps on. If you win, it could mean big bucks for you.

• The Definitive Guide to Choosing a Topic for Your New Blog (Pt. 1) via Skelliewag. I’ve been a Skellie fan for a long while. In this article she explains that choosing the right niche is important because your niche will “play a significant role in shaping the content you create, the people you communicate with, the readers you gather and how you reach out to your target audience.”

photo credit: selva

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The Quick & Dirty List of SEO Tips

Blog Posts

• Use a good, clear title that tells reader what the post is about.
• Use bold subheads for clarity (header tags have more authority than bold).
• Focus your post(s) instead of writing about several topics at once.
• Make sure your link text includes keywords, and not just “click here”.
• Update your blog frequently — Google comes if you’re updating regularly.
• Instead of using a weekly generic post title (e.g., Works for Me Wednesday), use a descriptive title w/a dash (e.g., SEO Training in Two Minutes – Works for Me Wednesday).
• Make sure your popular posts have a call to action (ask your readers to answer a question, link to another related article, etc.)

Pictures

• Use captions for photos w/your keywords.
• Rename your pictures to reflect your keywords or what the pictures show (Google image search can drive a lot of traffic!).
• Use dashes, not underlines, when you name your pictures.
• image captions can be the same as your Alt info.

Meta information

• Use tags as a navigational tool and to help w/SEO for posts that have SEO-unfriendly titles.
• You don’t need to use META keywords in your <head> or <body> tags because search engines ignore them completely.
• Google dislikes text link ads so make sure they are NoFollow.

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I attended Blissdom ’10 in early February and loved that the event offered Wisdom Workshops a day before the real conference began. These workshops were offered in four tracks: Business, Writing, Creative, and Geek. As you can imagine, I stayed in the Geek room. One of the best sessions I attended was the SEO panel. I’m a technical writer by trade and things like usability and findability were drilled into my consciousness for four years so by now SEO comes naturally to me. But I just knew you all would appreciate my notes from this panel. If you’re going to learn SEO, Kelby Carr and Angela England are two women who can teach it to you. What follows are my notes and thoughts on the panel. I’ve integrated my own thoughts throughout this recap.

Are Your Keywords the Right Ones?

My advice to anyone who wants to make sure they’re doing SEO right is to use the same terms within your article that you’d search for if you wanted to find that information. Think about which search terms you would type into Google to find your topic. Can you incorporate those terms into your post’s title or as some of the links within your article? Kelby and Angela agree and they suggest you even go to Google and type in your search terms to see what’s popping up. Try a few different combinations of terms to see what yields the most relevant results — those are probably the words you want to try to use in your post. Beware though: You don’t want to overuse the terms in a single article. If you do, your post will read like an SEO vehicle rather than a blog post. Try to find that happy medium where you’re still writing in your voice, but incorporating some important key words as well.

Kelby and Angela also suggest using the Google Keyword Tool to see how particular keywords rank with other, similar keywords. For example, they suggest typing in “mom blog” and “mommy blogger”. Then look at the Global Monthly Search Volume to see which words or phrases are being used the most.

Take Away Tips:

• It’s important to point out that, while you want to be sure people are searching for the terms you’re using, you don’t always have to use the top-ranked keywords.
• Type in variations of a theme. For example, search for picture, photo, image, etc. to see how each keyword ranks.

Fix Your Blog’s Title Bar

The screenshot below shows you where the title bar is, your blog’s title banner, and the post’s title.

The default for most blogs is to have the name of the blog (e.g., Blogging Basics 101) in the title bar of the browser. To encourage search engine bots to “see” your articles individually, rather than as a single blog site, change this to reflect the post title – blog name (e.g., Blissdom Recap: SEO & Counting What Count — Blogging Basics 101).

Take Away Tip:

• If you want search engine bots to register each of your pages separately (and you do), ensure that your blog’s page title shows the name of the article, then the name of your blog.

Google Analytics

If you aren’t running Google Analytics, you should be. It offers so many ways to track how readers are using your blog and gives you an overview of your blog’s trends.

Kelby and Angela suggest looking at

• what keywords are working for your blog (and continue to use them)
• which posts are most popular (then make sure they’re linked to other articles within your blog to encourage people to stay longer)
• the top referring sites and see what campaigns are working (e.g., did that ad you bought really bring in some extra traffic?)

Take Away Tips:

• If you’re not using Google Analytics, start. If you are using GA, pay attention to how your readers are using your site.
• Make sure you have plenty of internal links to more of your writing goodness to encourage people to stick around longer.

Tomorrow I’ll have a few more SEO tips from this useful panel for you. In the mean time, make sure you’re following Kelby Carr and Angela England on Twitter.

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photo credit: mrhayata

• Crafty Love by Arianne at To Think Is To Create. Arianne was part of a panel on writing well. She (along with Megan of Velveteen Mind, Deb of Deb on the Rocks, and Amber of The Run a Muck) shared their writing resources, tricks, and processes. This article is an overview of that session and contains links to even more resources.

• 4 Myths to Stop About Women and Public Speaking by Denise Graveline at The Eloquent Woman. Although the problem of too few women speakers at conferences is not new, it’s only lately been a discussion in the world of social media in the past year or so (most likely because social media is so much more personal and pervasive). Here are just four of the reasons (and the rebuttals to that logic) heard over and over about why women aren’t asked to speak at events.

• Blissdom Blogging Session Notes via Angela England. Five hundred women attended Blissdom and many of us have been sharing the wisdom we heard. Angela has a list of the recaps people have written for specific sessions.

• Create an Animated Sliding Button Using MooTools by David Walsh. If you’re in the mood to learn something new or just practice your coding, head over to David Walsh’s blog and try out this tutorial. He shows you a demo of what you’re making, then gives you the HTML, CSS, and MooTools JavaScript.

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