There’s a nasty rumor going around that I am a tad on the neurotic side. I’m not exactly sure how this rumor started, but it’s likely that #BlogathonATX Part 3 had something to do with it. Now, that’s not to say the event itself was tense and Xanax-filled (present company excluded), and hopefully none of the attendees could tell, but I do have a tendency to worry a bit. Unfortunately, there’s a good chance some of the members of my planning team noticed a personality shift during the weeks leading up to the event.
Perhaps it was the the 27 emails I sent to Kay and Laurie about napkins or the panicked phone calls to Blair and Cathy about sentence structure and trash cans. Did the the worry tweets I regularly aimed at Amanda hint at a tad of insecurity, or was it my preoccupation with Julie and Jeremy’s choice of fonts that gave me away? It’s really hard to say exactly what may have tipped them off. [click to continue…]
Ilene Haddad held her third BlogathonATX on Oct. 1st at Link Coworking on Austin’s north side.The event, which ran from 9 a.m. until 9 p.m., was the largest yet, she said. About 100 people showed up to eat, drink, network, blog and attend training sessions.
The background on the event:
About a year ago, Ilene Haddad, started the first BlogathonATX because she wanted to meet other bloggers and learn from them.
“I”m not a good or consistent blogger,” Haddad said. “I was looking for accountability.”
Apparently, a whole lot of other Austin area bloggers wanted to network with others too. The first BlogathonATX sold out within a few days, Haddad said.
“It exploded overnight,” she said. “Obviously I wasn”t the only one that needed a little help.”
Haddad, a graphic designer for 20 years, has blogged for the past 2 years.
“I love to write so much,” Haddad said. ” I just started to write about all sorts of things. It”s my take on day to day stuff.”
Her blog has benefitted from the community that gathers at BlogathonATX, she said. The first event, held in August of 2010 sold out and so did the second event, held last January. The third BlogathonATX takes place on Saturday, Oct. 1 starting at 9 a.m. and running until 9 p.m. at Link Coworking . This time, Haddad is expecting more than 100 people, up from 60 at the last two events. This was the largest #BlogathonATX ever with 100 bloggers registered to attend. During #BlogathonATX, plenty of people produced posts about the event or just wrote blog posts. But Haddad did not. She has yet to blog at a #BlogathonATX.
rehor: At The Crossing of Marketing & IT, a summary of the #BlogathonATX V-Blogging session by @Talmadge – http://t.co/RB6phFt3
The food was a big hit at #BlogathonATX and prompted lots of tweets about the eats.
webalicious: Yes, amazing! RT @ATXFoodnews: Still thinking abt #BlogathonATX cake from @CakePlateAustin. Vanilla & Chocolate aka Fantastic & Phenomenal
latorres: Glad I didn’t dig into my kale chips at #blogathonATX. That shizz is all up in my teeth .
evinschmevin: Wearing my #BlogathonATX shirt to take my kid to the bus stop. Everybody in Liberty Hill TX is going to know I’m fucking AWESOME.
@ATXFoodnews: @waialuasoda we r now converts 2 ur delicious soda! #BlogathonATX” Thx 4 the #Aloha! FYI we r available @HEB & @CentralMarket
@CRREdwards: Last night I had a little taste of magic. @rhythmsuperfood’s Bombay Curry Kale Chips. The #BlogathonATXsponsors spoiled us HARD.
ATXFoodnews: Still thinking abt #BlogathonATX cake from @CakePlateAustin. One was vanilla & the other chocolate, or as I call ‘em, Fantastic & Phenomenal
austindirtydog: Dearest @WholeFoodsATX, I’m not even sure how to say THANKS loud enough for the spread you brought to #BlogathonATX. Amazing doesn’t cover!
WholeFoodsATX: Dearest @austindirtydog We LOVE our local blogger community, thx for the chance to show it at #BlogathonATX. So glad y’all enjoyed the food!
IleenieWeenie: Mr. Weenie says there might be too many photos of food from #BlogathonATX. Is that a problem?
My friend Elmer Boutin wrote several articles about the most recent #BlogathonATX. This one is an excellent review of our session on video blogging, led by Talmadge Boyd. I really love Elmer’s note-taking style. I think we’ve found the official scribe of Blogathon!
Talmadge Boyd (@Talmadge) headed up with first session at BlogathonATX and gave out some great tips on video bloggin. Here they are, in no particular order of importance:
Anyone who’s not afraid of their face should video blog. You shouldn’t be afraid, how you look like how you’re going to look.
Don’t use the excuse that “I’m just not into it today” or “The muse just isn’t with me” for creating. If you create for a living, get out there and do it.
Content-wise, everything needs to be bite-sized. People don’t consume things like they used to. A challenege it to make thjngs short enough and compelling enough to to get your message across.
Write a short piece and then shoot based on on that idea or thought.
Don’t overthink things to the point where you don’t actually do anything. You can have a great idea but it’s no good if you don’t actually produce something to get your idea out somehow.
It’s a great idea to make sure you include a transcript of your content when you embed video in your site. Very important for SEO purposes.
Make sure to include keywords from your content in your file name. Don’t neglect keywords in descriptions and keywords when you upload to YouTube.
Video quality is very important, but audio quality is just as important. People will watch content with good audio and bad video more than the opposite. If you’re trying to articulate something, you need to be heard. Consider investing in a condenser microphone – not too expensive, but very effective.
Don’t let editing get in the way of creative time. It’s almost better to just reshoot the thing (if it’s short enough). Don’t be afraid to practice a little, too.
When doing webinars, consider sitting a camera off to the side to record yourself so you can have multiple angles and repurpose the content.
Natural light is great. Use the sun as much as you can.
Invest in a small tripod. It helps so you don’t shake too much.
Rule of thumb for length is 1:30. But, if you have compelling content, people will watch (think Ted talks).
David Haddad offered this tip: If you’re too blue (because of lighting), consider putting a different color on your monitor screen to balance out the color of your face.
For those who are interested in a white balance card, check out this article on Wilsonart’s “The Statement” blog: http://goo.gl/AwU2B (Disclaimer: I work for Wilsonart)
Hello iPad, my old friend
I’ve come to play with you again
But this network is slowly creeping
Dropped the Wi-Fi while I was Skyping
And the iTunes that were planted in my brain
Still remain
Within the walls of Apple
The internets I walked alone
My iPod and my iPhone
By the halo of an iMac
Ten hours of Photoshop won’t break my back
When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of some rare sunlight
(I worked all night)
Just like the staff at Apple
And in the iTunes store I saw
Ten thousand mobile apps or more
People sharing songs on Spotify
Checked in on Foursquare though I don’t know why
People writing blogs that no one ever shares
’cause no one cares
Except the nerds at Apple
Hardware choices start to grow
MacBook Air or MacBook Pro
They say the iPhone 5 is coming soon
When it does I’m pretty sure I’ll swoon
But my hopes, like silent teardrops fell
And echoed
Within the well of Apple
And the people bowed and prayed
To the Apple god they made
And their thumbs all hurt from texting
Too many hashtags and LOL-ing
And their texts said, “The words of the iCloud will be posted on our Facebook walls
And ‘liked’ by all”
And whispered in the halls of Apple
Be nice. Be respectful. Tolerance for foul language is very high, but don’t
use it against anyone else, or you’ll be bound, gagged and forced to watch Fox News. I reserve the right to delete comments as I see fit because I’m the head boss lady in charge. So there.
