DigitalFanGirl

2009 is near and I’m starting to map out which conferences I want to attend. Earlier this year I had the priviledge of attending CREATE South in Myrtle Beach, SC as well as PodcampNY in Brooklyn, NY. Both conferences were AWESOME!!! I met some amazing people, shared a lot and learned a great deal.

Both of these conferences were filled with people whom are extremely excited, motivated and active in social media on various levels and hearing & seeing what they’re doing was truly inspiring. And of course it’s always a wonderful thing to be around like-minded people and meeting folks you connect with online in person; putting an actual face to a name.

The one thing that was a little disappointing for me was the fact that after these conferences were over, the conservations were over as well. I was somehow hoping to keep some of those ideas and conservations alive. Now, there were a few people I met at PodcampNY specifically, that I still keep in touch with, but overall, all those other conservations died once the conference ended.

I wondered what I could have done to keep those conversations active, but realized it is something that has to be desired on the part of all parties involved. There were even a couple podcamp sessions I attended where we actually talked about setting up a wiki or something to keep the conversation going once the conference was over, but no one took the initiative to start it up. Now that I think about it; we were pretty much all on our laptops with wireless connectivity and could have easily set up a wiki right there in the session and none of us did that – including me. Maybe it was not a thought at that moment. I mean, I’m just thinking of it hindsight.

So, I’m baffled as to how to extend the conversations I engage in at these conferences after the conference is over. I suspect others who attend workshops and conferences are wondering the same.

We all tote around and pass out business cards at these things, but that’s just an exchange of 3.5in x 2in paper – not exactly extending the conversation. So as I set up my conference schedule for 2009, I’m hoping to find a way to take these conversations from the conferences to the “afterconference” if you will.

If you’ve perfected the art of keeping conversations from conferences alive or if you have any ideas on how to make this happen, please share your methods and ideas by leaving a comment on the blog. I’d love to hear your ideas and opinions.

I am writing this post fron my BlackBerry Curve for the first time. Let’s see if it really works.

I joined Twitter in November of 2006. I wanna say it was Thanksgiving day, but I cannot recall. I think Twitter actually launched in March or May of 2006, so when I got on there it was pretty new. No one I knew was on Twitter or had even heard of Twitter. I used Twitter, but I didn’t get obsessed with it until the summer of 2007. From November 2006 til that time I was following people who shared similar interests and making some new Twitter friends.

For the first year and a half I really enjoyed Twitter. People were fun, it was a very light-hearted landscape and I had a blast on it.

Now, for those who don’t know what Twitter is (I don’t see how you couldn’t these days. Even mainstream media has caught the Twitter bug). Twitter is a microbloggibg service that allows you to write a message in 140 characters. Twitter asks one thing and one thing only: WHAT ARE YOU DOING?

So, in the beginning Twitter was fun and people were having a good time and it was a cool place to be. Well, I can no longer say it’s 100% fun and it’s definitely more annoying at times and it’s mainly because of the attitudes of certain people.

Let me explain so you understand exactly what I’m talking about. Let me also preface this by saying sometimes us techie folks and these self-proclaimed gurus or marketing superstars have the ability to literally suck the fun out of everything. I mean every damn thing.

Twitter asks WHAT ARE YOU DOING? and that’s exactly what people were doing in the beginning and it was great. Then fast forward a year and a half later and everyone is asking how can you monetize Twitter, how does it help your business, who are the best people to follow, how can twitter increase your blog subscribers, etc, etc. In addition certain people were and are still saying “if you’re not adding value, I’m not going to follow you”. The Twitter landscape changed drastically. It’s no longer fun. People were and still are conplaining saying there’s too much noise and saying they don’t want to read what someone ate for breakfast and on and on. All this talk = sucking the fun out of Twitter.

I have a few points. Let’s not forget what Twitter asks. Say it with me: WHAT ARE YOU DOING? So for those saying they don’t want to read what someone ate for breakfast or dinner I say: When a company starts a business that provides a service that asks you write what you’re doing in 140 characters, what do you expect. There are rules to Twitter. You don’t have to be a phd to join Twitter and Twitter isn’t asking anyone to write 140 character thesis, so when people on Twitter start talking about if you’re not adding value I’m not going to follow you – I say get over yourself. All this talk is really quite sickening and annoying. Twitter was a fun place and now you have these Twitter snobs measuring the value of a tweet and making you feel like crap if you haven’t found a way to boost your business using Twitter. To those people I say: have you ever thought maybe, just maybe, some people like to use Twitter as their water cooler?
Go figure.

These Twitter snobs have really turned me off from Twitter, so I’ve found myself unfollowing several people and trying to find new folks to follow who have less of a Twitter snob attitude.

I still use Twitter, but not nearly as much as I did a year ago. I also follow some really great people. Some of them Tweet about politics, food, DC/MD/VA happenings, web resources, wordpress stuff, family stuff, and many just tweet about any and everything. I enjoy them all and think they all have valuable tweets and they make it fun for me to be a part of Twitter.

How has your experience been on Twitter?

Here’s an extract of what I listened to last week.

Today I couldn’t get enough of Queen Latifah. Take a listen..

What artists did you listen to last week? Did you discover any new artists?

What is your level of Decoration Tech? Find out what geeky things Melissa, Tony and Naomi do during the holidays.

Read the full show notes over at Moms Gone Geek

It seems like all podcasts are hosted and co-hosted by adults. I have run into very few podcasts hosted by teens (two to be exact). I was starting to wonder if they were into podcasting or would ever be into it. Well to my surprise, I find out high schoolers are not into podcasting per say, however, they are into hosting talk shows on BlogTalkRadio. Yes, you heard me right – high schoolers are hosting shows on BlogTalkRadio.

So of course my curiosity level was at its highest and I just had to do an off-the-cuff interview with my 15yr old.

*INTERVIEW BEGINS HERE*

Me: How many of her friends host shows on BlogTalkRadio on a consistent basis?

My Daughter: 10 of my friends hosts shows.

Me: How many shows out of those 10 do you actually listen to on a consistent basis?

My Daughter: 3

Me: Do you ever call in to any of the shows?

My Daughter: Yeah, that’s the best part!

Me: What do your friends talk about on their shows?

My Daughter: They talk about a wide variety of things from fashion, music, all the drama in high school, crazy teachers at our school, what we want to major in at college, what kind of careers we want to have, sex, and friendship. Really, anything….

Me: So, how do you guys tell each other when your shows are going to air?

My Daughter: We just text all of our friends with the show time, topic, call-in number w/code and then recipients pass it on from there. Pretty fancy show marketing right *wink*

Me: Why do you guys use BlogTalkRadio?

My Daughter: Because it’s the first thing everyone found out about. It all started with this boy at my school who calls himself CEO and he was using BlogTalkRadio to play go-go music and to talk about go-go shows and we all used to listen. Then everyone really started getting into it and started hosting their own BlogTalkRadio shows and more and more of us were listening and doing shows. It just became really fun.

Me: So do you think any of your friends would go even further and start an actual podcast?

My Daughter: I don’t know. It’s a lot more work and time invested in doing a podcast. With BlogTalkRadio you just log in, set up your call and text your friends with the info.

*INTERVIEW ENDS HERE*

Pretty interesting stuff. Sounds like BlogTalkRadio is the easiest form of producing a show for teens. The barrier to entry is so easy for them. They don’t have to worry about investing in any of the tools and programs needed to host a podcast. Nevermind the fact they may not have the money to obtain the things necessary to start and manage a podcast. It’s just interesting to hear about them entering this form of media and being so excited and enthused about it all.

Do you know any teens or are you the parent of a teen who’s either podcasting or doing shows on BlogTalkRadio? What do they talk about? What’s their experience been like?

Mark your calendars. Free Comic Book Day is coming to a local participating comic book shop near you on May 2, 2009. I cannot wait!! I’m already excited and full of glee.. The 2009 Gold Sponsor Comics were announced today.

The list:
* Archie Comics- Archie Presents: The Mighty Archie Art Players
* BOOM! Studios- Disney/Pixar’s Cars
* Bongo Comics- 2009 Free For All
* Dark Horse Comics- Star Wars: Clone Wars
* DC Comics- Green Lantern: Blackest Night #0
* IDW Publishing- Transformers Animated/G.I. Joe
* Image Comics- Savage Dragon #148
* Marvel Comics- The Avengers
* Oni Press- Resurrection #0
* Viz Media- Shonen Jump Presents: Ultimo

Don’t forget to mark your calendars!

Am I the only one who thinks Jason’s idea is genius? I just can’t be. I ran across his site [ http://iwearyourshirt.com/ ] while searching for geeked out t-shirts and it truly sparked my interest. This is what it’s about:

In this up and down economy I’m outsourcing my wardrobe (namely shirts) to corporate america and you! I’m going to wear a different shirt for 365 days straight in 2009, take multiple pictures throughout my day and blog about it. Days are sold at “face value” so January 1 is $1 and December 31 is $365.

Well it’s a pretty simple idea and I’m a pretty simple guy. For 2009, I am selling the upper-half of my wardrobe (shirts). I am selling every day of the year at face value, so January 1 is $1 and December 31 is $365. I will be selling all 365 days without exception!

So what do you get for the day(s) you purchased? Well I’m glad you asked. You mail me your shirt (size: X-Large) and you get:

* Daily Video on YouTube & Ustream.tv
* Daily Photos on the blog & Flickr
* Daily Posts on the blog & Twitter
* Calendar (You/Your Company’s Logo & Website)
* All of these with me wearing your shirt and information about you, your company and/or your product.

Pretty dang genius; I know. He’s already sold out for January, February AND March… What a great way for Jason to make a bit of change, fulfill his passion for marketing and help businesses to get their name out there.. I suspect this will be a fun and adventurous year for Jason and it’ll be cool to see how it’s all going – getting a day-to-day glance at this entire project. Since he has a passion for marketing; I’m hoping he’ll do some sort of case study on this project. Would be interesting to see how it all played out and helped those who paid for a calendar day..

I’ll be checking out Jason’s blog on a regular basis to see the video, blog posts and pics he’s uploaded for each company.

Best of luck to Jason and all companies involved in this 365 day iwearyourshirt project!!!!

While playing on Twitter this evening I ran across a post of someone pumping up BlissDom ’09. It sounded cool, so of course I followed the link to go check it out. After all, I am planning my conference rounds for year 2009. I get to the website and I always jump right to the sessions and speakers. To my disappointment; out of the 29 speakers they have lined up – I don’ see not one African-American, Asian, Hispanic, Asian or Latina blogger – WOW!!! It’s was a bit shocking and it sent a very bad message to me. I cannot and refuse to believe there are no bloggers of color who could’ve been asked to speak. [See their list of speakers]

BlissDom ’09 says:

What does “Bliss” mean to you? For some it means keeping a happy home, for others it’s taking over the world. And for the women attending BlissDom ‘09…it’s having it all. And by having it all we mean our hopes, fears, laughter, and tears. This conference won’t be about being big, it will be about being real. You can bet on learning about the latest in blogging, entrepreneurship, social media, and being the best women we can be. You better believe you’ll be bonding, opening your heart, and opening your mind as experiences are shared and friendships are forged. Everyone’s got a state of bliss…at BlissDom ‘09 you’ll define it and achieve it!

My question is; does this not pertain to bloggers of color? Are bloggers of color “unqualified” to speak on such topics? I mean, what gives? Just asking a question…

Am I saying this is not going to be a great conference? NO

Am I saying the speakers aren’t worthy of presenting at this conference? NO

Is it sad that a womens conference in 2009 fails to add bloggers of color to the list of speakers knowing not all bloggers are of Caucasian decent? ABSOLUTELY

Am I saying that is the very reason I will SKIP this conference? You better believe it.

I decided last year, I would not support/attend any conferences that lacked a show of diversity. That’s why I am so happy the new conference Blogging While Brown exists. We clearly need to create our own events because most of the time we are not invited to sit at the table. I was unable to go to Blogging While Brown this year because it was the same weekend as my family reunion, but it’s not in 2009, so I’ll definitely be there.

How do you feel about conferences that have speakers of entirely one dominant streak; whether it be all men, all white women, etc… Does a lack of diversity bother you or concern you on any level?

Share your thoughts…

This week I am featuring Twitterberry. Not because it’s new; because it isn’t. However, the Twitterberry developers have just updated it and it is FA-BU-LOUS… It is so much better than the older version. If you’re a BlackBerry user and on Twitter; you should definitely be using Twitterberry.

There are some new additions to the upgraded version of Twitterberry that us BlackBerry users have been demanding since they launched. Well, they listened and have added the following options:

1. Read and send direct messages
2. Get your friend list
3. Send photos to Twitpic
4. Mark a tweet as a favorite
5. Follow a user from the timeline window
6. Leave (unfollow) a user from the timeline window

These are major changes because they are ones us Twitterberry version 1 users have been asking for. So we are extremely pleased with this latest version and of course we love being listened to. (If only other folks would follow suit).

I highly recommend Twitterberry. IMO, it is the best Twitter app for Blackberry out there…

I think podcasts are the greatest thing since slice bread. I listen to all kinds of podcasts; marketing, technology, photography, film reviews, soap opera talk, parenting and the list goes on. Out of all the podcasts I listen to, there are a few that I just cannot go without listening to and they are as follows:

This Week in Photography

Why I love this podast: I’ve always been a fan of photography and have always enjoyed taking photographs. Recently I’ve decided to upgrade to a DSLR from my digital point & shoot for my birthday. I am a bit fascinated with photography and would like to learn more about it in general; so this is my newest hobby. This Week in Photography is hosted by [enter host names here] and they are so knowledgable and always have something great to share. It’s an excellent learning podcast and they have quite a large community, which is also nice. Everytime I listen to a show I learn something new and these guys really encourage you to go out and shoot as much as you can; afterall, that is how you learn and get better. Whether you are a novice, pre-professional or mature professional photographer; I highly recommend subscribing and listening to This Week in Photography.

NosillaCast Mac Podcast
**I totally spelled Allison’s name wrong in the initial post and had to correct it – FORGIVE ME Allison**
If you’re a Mac fanboy or fangirl and you’ve never listened to the NosillaCast YOU ARE TOTALLY MISSING OUT. NosillaCast is hosted by Allison Sheridan and this woman is phenomenal. In each episode, Allison shares some tip, hack, web app, hardware/software/media gear recommendation, work-around or something. I’ve learned so much from her podcast and have really learned a great deal in listening to NosillaCast. She gives a really in-depth review of the things she recommends, which is really helpful. it’s like she’s done the legwork for you (thank you Allison). She also answers questions for listeners who are having trouble figuring things out on their own. In my opinion, this is a must listen to podcast and if you’re a Mac owner I’d go to iTunes right now to subscribe the NosillaCast.

Pine Valley Podcast

Ok, now I let you in on my dirty little secret (I LOVE SOAP OPERAS – ONLY ABC ONES THOUGH). That’s right – I love them. I’m a 26 year All My Children, One Life to Live and General Hospital veteran. Although I don’t get to watch them everyday I still enjoy them whenever I do get a chance to sit down and watch. Pine Valley Podcast is hosted by Ashley Mendoza, Taylor Crawford and Jordan Hudson (Taylor and Jordan are never on at the same time; they rotate shows). They do a weekly recap of All My Children and let me just say they are HA-larious. I love all the hosts, but I have to admit I do enjoy the chemistry between Ashley and Jordan more. This is a lively podcast and they are total soapologists (I just made up that word – I swear). I mean they know the entire history of these soaps; it is incredible. I cannot get enough of them. They are just so dang entertaining and I get my soap opera fix by listening. So if you’re an All My Children and you don’t know about the Pine Valley Podcast, you really need to get with it (and you call yourself a fan).

Girls Gone Geek

I listened to this podcast from the very beginning and I was so psyched to have found a podcast for girls who geek out like me. Although I liked the podcast from the start, they went through some co-host changes and I must admit; I like the show even more. Mainly because they dig a little deeper into design/development topics and seem to geek out a little more, which I love. The two new co-hosts are such a great addition to the show and really add an extra layer of geekness due to their own backgrounds and professional careers. Girls Gone Geek is on a little break right now and I am totally missing these ladies, but Liana has assured me they’ll get back to recording soon.

Boagworld

This is last, but certainly not least. I get so much out of this podcast and I love Paul Boag. Paul is super smart, really engaged in the web community (and I’ll admit; his accent is so awesome). I’m a web designer, so this is also a podcast that gives me things to take away that help me in my day job and freelance world. They cover topics from project management to scalability to libraries, version control, etc, etc. They also have a very active forum on the Boagworld blog, which is extremely helpful. If you are designing/developing for the web, Boagworld is definitiely a podcast you need to subscribe to TODAY.

I’m always seeking new podcasts to listen to and will share as I find them. What are your top 5 podcasts?

This presentation [What the F**K is Social Media?] on explaining social media is the best I’ve seen thus far. While watching this presentation, I thought this would be perfect to help management in some Government agencies get a clear understanding of what social media is. What I’ve found is they are trying their best to grasp what it is, but really don’t have a clue. They get hung up on things like whether or not to start a blog and if so, are the going to allow comments and if they do they begin to the possibility of someone leaving a comment that isn’t necessarily positive about the organization.

There is a fear, lack of understanding and resistance to change that prevents them from grasping the social media bull by the horns and getting in the game. I’m sure this is not true of all Government agencies, but I know for a fact it remains true for some (that will remain nameless).

One of the biggest problems here is many Government agencies are in the business of force-feeding information down people’s throats (whether they want it or not) and having a one-way communication street. These two habits go against what social media is about; people having conversations. There were some really interesting key points I feel could really help some Government agencies get a handle on what this social media monster is all about and how they can begin to build a plan to implement it into their communication efforts.

“1.5 million residents are on second life”

“57% have joined a social network”

“It’s not a fad; it’s a fundamental shift in the way we communicate”

“36% think more positively about companies that have blogs”

“By 2010, Millenials/Gen Y-ers will outnumber baby boomers”

Here’s THE MOST IMPORTANT message I got from this presentation; the thing Government agencies struggle the most with:

RELINQUISH CONTROL: “the goal is not to control the conversation”

Here’s another slide presentation I found that is really useful and provides excellent detail and information about social media for Government.

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