Blogging Events

Exciting stuff: Blogging for Dummies and SXSW panel

Posted by Susannah Gardner on 08/23 at 07:59 PM • About the Book(s) -- Blogging Events

Blogging for Dummies coverHi all, two exciting pieces of news have made me put the blog back in action today. First, I’m working on a new book: Blogging for Dummies, 2nd Edition.

The first edition was written by Brad Hill, but the publisher—Wiley—wanted to revise the book this year and Brad wasn’t able to fit it into his schedule. So Wiley asked me if I would take the book on, and I’m working away at a revision. Revising a book like this is challenging. Wiley doesn’t really put any of the Dummies books out of print, so I wanted to write a book that would be different enough from the first edition that Brad and I weren’t in competition. Ideally, someone who buys the first book would also benefit from the second. But also, blogging sure has changed a lot! So there’s loads more stuff to try to fit in. I’ll post the proposed table of contents when its a little more firm. At this point, the book should be out in March 2007, and in the meantime you can definitely finds lots of great blogging information in the first edition: Blogging for Dummies.

The other exciting news is that my fellow blog designers and I have put together a panel proposal for SXSW Interactive for 2008: Blog Tool Death Match! We’re really excited to get out there and try to evangelize for our favorite programs, but we do need your help. There are more than 680 panels proposed for SXSW, but only about 120 spots. You can vote for us in the SXSW Panel Picker to help us get there, though. Go to http://panelpicker.sxsw.com, register to vote, and once you’re in, do a search for “death match” and you’ll get our panel to come up. Give us a 5—we’d really appreciate it and we’ll do our darndest to give you a great great panel. Here’s what we proposed to the organizers:

Every blog project starts with the same question: Which blog platform is the right one to use? Answering this question correctly can make or break the final product. Get the nitty-gritty on each platform from experts who will defend their software choice against all challengers. Will it come to blows?

THREE TAKEAWAYS: Our three panelists will argue vehemently about the strongest features and flaws of each platform. Expect tosee sites demonstrated that highlight the best of each blog software choice, and bring your own questions and criticisms to get tips and workarounds.

PANELISTS:

Thanks!

 
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An Event and Awards to Make Note Of

Posted by Susannah Gardner on 04/12 at 10:14 AM • Blogging Events

Chris Abraham of ”Because the Medium is the Message” messaged me this week to let me know about the Blogger’s Choice Awards and Postiecon, two thing I thought you should also know about.

imageThe Blogger’s Choice Awards, Chris says, are “like a Webbys for blogs.” Nominate yourself or a blog like you, and voting will determine the winner. There are way more categories than I can duplicate here, so this is just a quick taste: Best Geek Blog, Best Podcast, Best Pop Culture Blog and Worst Blog of All Time. Why not head over and nominate yourself?

imagePostieCon is in Orlando, Florida, at the beginning of June. According to the copy on the site:

We are here to educate bloggers on how to build traffic and readership, and use your notoriety and unique brand to create value and monetize your voice. It’s not all about money and fame, our conference is designed to help you become a better blogger.

The schedule and speaker list already look good, and have a strong focus on blogging for money or business. A quick sampling of sessions include: Connecting with Advertisers, Turning Visits into Cash, and Vlogging Rockstar Style. Plus, there will be refreshments!

 
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Reaching Employees and Customers with Blogging and Podcasting

Posted by Susannah Gardner on 09/20 at 12:22 PM • Blogging Events

Got an email today about an interesting sounding event:

How To Use Blogging & Podcasting To Engage Your Employees, Reach Your Customers & Build Your Brand
October 18-20, 2006 – San Francisco, CA

Hear practical lessons learned and case studies from IBM, Southwest Airlines, U.S. Army, Cisco Systems, Mayo Clinic and others.

Link to the detailed agenda:  http://www.aliconferences.com/conferences/blogging_podcasting/1006.html

 
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Truths of Blog Marketing: Reaching Customers, Building Your Brand

Posted by Susannah Gardner on 07/18 at 03:57 PM • Blogging Events

MarketingProfs.com is offering a virtual serminar:

Are you an active blogger trying to convince your company to blog?  Or are you someone in the bleachers wondering what Kool-Aid everyone else is drinking?  Either way, you undoubtedly have questions and concerns about blogging - and we’re bringing you the answers.

Join us at noon Eastern on Thursday, July 27th for:

Truths of Blog Marketing: Reaching Customers, Building Your Brand

Presenter Jeremy Wright takes you beyond Blogging 101 and into the practical side of marketing with blogs. In this 90-minute virtual seminar, he’ll share some fresh case studies that illustrate what today’s marketers need to understand.

Read more and register here.

 
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Vote in MarketingSherpa’s Reader’s Choice Blog Awards

Posted by Susannah Gardner on 06/21 at 11:43 AM • Blogging Events

Voting ends Friday midnight EST (June 23) in MarketingSherpa Reader’s Choice Blog and Podcasting Awards.

Voting criteria to consider:

  1. Personality
  2. Usefulness & content value
  3. Usability & design
  4. Would you revisit?

Blogs are sorted into the following categories:

  • B-to-B marketing blogs
  • Email marketing
  • Blogs on search marketing
  • Advertising
  • Marketing to a specific consumer demographic (ie. women, Hispanics)
  • Affiliate Marketing
  • Blogs on PR
  • BEST Podcast (New category!) about marketing, advertising, or PR
  • Blogs on small business marketing
  • Blogs in other languages
  • Blogs on general (multiple topic) marketing

Even if you don’t vote, looking through the nominees is a great way to find some good blogs to read!

 
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We Made the SXSW Honor Roll!

Posted by Susannah Gardner on 05/03 at 12:17 PM • Blogging Events

Congratulations to Peter Flaschner, Joelle Reeder, Lisa Sabin and Paul Chaney: our SXSW panel “How to Make $$ with Your Blog Design Skills” made the SXSW Honor Roll!

We had a lot of fun doing the panel, and it’s great to know that others enjoyed it to.

Incidentally, the panel was recorded, so if you’re interested in listening to us all pontificate, you can download the MP3 (26 MB) and go to town.

 
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Social Signal Blogging Workshop

Posted by Susannah Gardner on 04/25 at 03:26 PM • Blogging Events

Alexandra Samuel and Rob Cottingham of Social Signal have put together a blogging workshop that focuses less on the technical side and more on the strategic, communications and writing aspects of blogging. It’s a four-day intensive workshop at the Hollyhock Centre on Cortes Island. We’ll focus on blogging as a key element of an integrated communications strategy, and work with participants to help them create an authentic, distinctive online voice for themselves or their organizations.

Tuition for “Word Power: Finding Your Blog’s Unique Voice” is $395 (accommodation and meals are extra). You can get more information at http://www.socialsignal.com/hollyhock.

Check out the event brochure (PDF).

 
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BlogHer Speech

Posted by Susannah Gardner on 04/17 at 09:10 AM • Blogging Events

If you haven’t already registered for BlogHer (July 28-29), time is of the essence! Organizers have increased capacity for Day One, but there are a limited number of seats, so don’t dawdle!

This is the second year of the BlogHer conference. I was present at last year’s event, and it was by far my favorite tech event of the year. Organizers Elisa Camahort, Jory Des Jardins and Lisa Stone did an amazing job of breaking the usual conference paradigm it large and small ways, from getting panel moderators out into the crowd with microphones to allowing time to self-organizing sessions of like-minded bloggers. And no, it wasn’t all women.

This year, I’m excited to be attending, as well as speaking on a panel that is going to be really fun: “So, You Have This Crazy Idea...”

You want to start a community-based blog site, but aren’t sure where to start. Melanie Morgan, Nancy White, Susannah Gardner & Lauren Gelman are among those who will help you examine what’s out there, define what you can do differently, and create a plan to develop content, promote your efforts and watch your back.

There are tons of other terrific sessions, too. I’m really looking forward to Day One’s sessions on Audience Building and Design/Style/Customization, and the Day Two sessions Is the Next Martha Stewart a Blogger? and Is Your Blog a Gallery or a Canvas?

Hope I see you there!

 
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I am SXSW

Posted by Susannah Gardner on 03/11 at 10:54 AM • Blogging Events -- Blogs

After an unending day of flying yesterday, I’ve finally made it to Austin for the SXSW Interactive Festival. When I left Vancouver Friday morning, I left two inches (to my inexpert eye) of snow on the ground. I arrived in Austin near midnight to 78 degrees and humidity. My body is still reeling from the change.

This is my first visit to SXSW, and I’m so excited about it. This festival is huge—my cabdriver ("It’s not that I’m prejudiced; I just don’t like foreigners.") told me he expects to make $800 in cab fares from festival attendees every day of the event. Even at midnight last night, the streets and hotel lobbies I caught a glimpse of were packed. There’s a lot of energy here, and it’s almost all GOOD.

Wish me luck now—I’m off to pick up my badge and find my fellow panelists for our 3:30 talk about making a living designing blogs. I haven’t met Peter, Joelle or Lisa in person before, and I know we have tons of talking to do, comparing our businesses and this industry. Paul Chaney, our moderator, I have met before and it’s always great to reconnect with him. There are some busy days ahead!

 
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I’m Too Sexy for My Blog

Posted by Susannah Gardner on 02/21 at 12:59 PM • A Little Design -- Blogging Events

imageOK, I’m not really too sexy for my blog, but that was the name of the talk I gave at Northern Voice on February 11th. My talk was about blog design, with a bit of a focus on what you can do without being a professional web designer yourself. I promised to post my slides, so here they are!

And, here are the URLs of the blogs I shows as examples during the talk:

And, finally, courtesty of Bruce Sharp, here’s a link to the audio (which is even edited!). Thanks, Bruce, and everyone at Northern Voice for the opportunity.

Photo taken by Kris Krug

UPDATE: Ha, ha, it helps if you actually put in the link to the slides when you say you’re going to!

 
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Blog Law & Blogging for Lawyers Conference

Posted by Susannah Gardner on 02/14 at 04:53 PM • Blogging Events -- Law and Ethics

If you’re blawging (blogging about the law) and interested in how the law affects bloggers, check on this ”First Comprehensive Conference on Blog Law & Blogging for Lawyers.”

What You Will Learn

- Legal gray areas arising from the proliferation of Web logs - The future of blogging—a passing fad or here to stay? - The extent to which bloggers qualify for the First Amendment protections afforded to journalists - Content ownership and syndication issues - Employment issues arising from blogging within corporations - The latest in blogging technology, including audio and video feeds - How to set up a blog for your law firm or make your current blog more effective - How blogs differ from regular Web sites in generating traffic—and business—for your firm - Ethics questions surrounding the blog as a law firm marketing tool - PLUS an on-the-ground report from several law firm bloggers

The conference is being held April 20-21, 2006, in San Francisco.

 
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Only So Much Creative Energy in One Week

Posted by Susannah Gardner on 02/08 at 04:29 PM • Blogging Events

I’m excited to be speaking at the Northern Voice blogging conference this weekend, and have been working on my presentation this week. If the conference is anything like last year’s event, it should be good fun, with a mix of bloggers from the professional to the crafter to the technologist. Sad to say, if you haven’t already registered, the event is sold out.

image

I realized in the middle of the day today that it wasn’t going to look too great if I stand up to talk about blogging and haven’t updated my own blog recently. And this isn’t the first time I set out to do a talk and discovered that I’ve neglected my blog for a few days. I’ve decided that I’ve got a certain amount of creative energy to use, and if I use it up on creating a new talk, or have a week full of design work for my Web site clients, it’s not too surprising that the blog suffers. After all, blogging is a creative medium! (Perhaps that’s why so many bloggers have other work in creative fields, and why blogging has proven to be so popular among knitters!)

I’ll post my presentation from Northern Voice after I give it, so you can get the benefit of that creativity this week, albeit a bit delayed!

 
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Igniting Buzz Conference Feb. 27, 2006

Posted by Susannah Gardner on 01/17 at 12:17 PM • Blogging Events -- Marketing

If you’re thinking about viral campaigns, you might want to look into the Wall Street Transcript’s Igniting Buzz Conference being held Feb. 27, 2006, in San Francisco.

We have assembled a unique conference that will arm you with strategies for developing, executing and measuring the impact of sensational word of mouth marketing campaigns. Don’t miss this unique opportunity to learn best practices for Maximizing Returns on Viral Marketing Campaigns.

The agenda shows sessions on Best Practices for Seeding Buzz, Controlling Buzz, and Creating Buzz Through Blogs: Mastering the Art of Conversation Weaving. I’ll be sorry to miss the Legal Limits on Seeding Buzz session myself, but I’ll be in Banff talking about blogs at The Banff Centre’s Canadian Women in Communication/Corus Entertainment New Media Career Accelerator Program. (How’s that for a long seminar name?!)

 
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Blogsledding at Blogsndogs (and Other Topics)

Posted by Susannah Gardner on 12/06 at 05:12 PM • Blogging Events -- Blogs and Business

Well, I wussed out today and didn’t go dog sledding (Do you have any idea what the temperature is here in Banff? It turns out I’m more of a California girl than I thought!). Many of the participants went, however, including Travis, so I expect to see some great Flickr photos tonight.

Participants at BlogsnDogs seem pretty pleased by the program here so far, though there are the usual problems with packing so much technology talk into such a short time. There’s so much great energy and innovation around blogging that it’s really impossible to do much more than skim the surface of a few favorites. My fellow faculty member (and co-author!) Kris Krug did a session on Monday that highlighted some of his favorites, and attendee Monique Trottier wrote up his talk, along with a few highlights from other sessions.

I’ve uploaded my slides from a talk Robert Scales, Darren Barefoot, and I did on Monday, but probably the most pertinent item is the list of strategic reasons for blogging:

  • search engine marketing
  • direct communication
  • brand building
  • competitive differentiation
  • relational marketing
  • exploit the niches
  • media & public relations
  • reputation management
  • position expert status
  • build up trust

Tomorrow afternoon’s Blogging for Business session gives me another chance to really focus on this topic. What I’d really like to do is some hands-on exercises designed to talk folks through thinking strategically about business blogging—brainstorming about focus, audience, promotion, and so on. If you’re a BlogsnDogs attendee, help us tailor the session to you by leaving a comment describing what you’d like to explore more, and what you’d like to be able to take back home with you when you go! And if you aren’t attending, well, you can leave you wishlist, too. 

 
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Blogs n Dogs

Posted by Susannah Gardner on 12/04 at 12:42 PM • Blogging Events

imageToday I’m in FREEZING Banff, Alberta, Canada, for Blogs n Dogs, a combination blogging and dog sledding event. The blogging seminar runs through Wednesday night, and on Tuesday it’s all about dogs, snow, and sleds. Why a conference combining these two activities? Your guess is as good as mine. However, it has started me thinking about other “synergies.” How about:

  • Blogs n Baking
  • Blogs n Beaches
  • Blogs n Books
  • Blogs n Boats...

And those are just the Bs! Anyone have more good ideas? What conference would you go to?

 
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