Archive for the ‘Blogworld2009’ Category

The world of PR is still a distant one for me. There are many things I need to learn about how to utilize this method to bring in more readers. I have worked with a few sites, but never thought of creating my own PR site for Geekazine.

Enter in MyPRGenie – They are a site that lets you create your own PR channel to be sent to over 4,000 newswires, as well as multiple social networks like Facebook and linkedIn. With a custom pricing plan, you can setup a free plan, to a fully featured plan for only $99.

In this video, Holly explains how MyPRGenie works and how you can set up your own PR channel.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (131.3MB)

Too Lijit – too lijit to…

O.K. we won’t end that pharse for royalties issues. But if you are a content creator that would like to have an easy site search, then you might want to try this program. Lijit spiders your content and other sites to get a more tailored search experience for those looking for something specific.

Signing up for the program is free and easy. It displays results in a quick manner for you to get results.

In this video, Perry from Lijit talks about it’s functionality.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (88.7MB)

For bloggers, video content might be constrained to items without copyright. They cannot record a video from TV and post it. Otherwise, they might find themselves in a legal issue. So what would happen if a company brought that content to the bloggers to use?

That is where Redlasso comes in. They collect video content from all sources and post it up for you to use.

I talked with Gil from Redlasso. He showed me how a content provider can use the content to promote their site. Once you sign up, you choose your region and pick from the videos provided. Then just blog about it.

The local news stations are the majority of clips in Redlasso right now. But you never know – you may be seeing a Geekazine video clip in there someday.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (164.3MB)

We all are looking for ways to put more meat into our posts, while helping with SEO. Search Engine rules state that within that algorithm, the more links we have, the better. Therefore, linking to related information – especially from within your own site – is a key to ranking better.

Outbrain is a program that lets you do just that: link to information that relates to the article at hand. It takes your keywords and puts related links on the bottom of the post. It can be internal or external links, completely controlled by you.

We talk with Kate from Outbrain about how this system works and any other particulars involved.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (43.9MB)

We have used TechSmith products for a while. The best part of these products is the ability to capture the screen. Camtasia is their most notable item – it will let you record a screen, add a webcam, insert notation and a whole lot more.

While at Blogworld, I got to talk to the guys at TechSmith. Troy came on camera and talked about the screen capture software. We discussed how you can use it in your daily video work.

Other items in the TechSmith family – Jing: an online version of Camtasia, Snagit: a screenshot software, Camtasia Relay: an appliance for Camtasia, Morae: a marketing tool for your site or product.

Further, it can all be hosted on Screencasts.com

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (71.0MB)

On the Expo floor of Blogworld, we talked with Remco about a cool product called Yubby. Yubby is a system that lets you find, collect and publish videos on your site. With over 30 video sites in the mix, Yubby definitely has an interesting take on how to add video.

We found out that Yubby was on the front page of the Blogworld site – you would highlight the speaker and a small video would pop up with them. Pretty impressive in it’s presentation.

Yubby is free, but there is plans to make a subscription side which will be relatively low in price.

On the first day of Blogworld, I headed to South Hall, got my badge, then – since I didn’t have the full pass and couldn’t watch sessions on day one – sat outside talking to the people to see what was going on. I ran into Brett from Mashable, Marla and Liz. They were congregating, talking about going somewhere. I thought it was just going to lunch at first, but when the Zappos bus showed up, I knew there was something more.

Zappos sells shoes online. They also sell other items like handbags, clothing and housewears – but they are known best for the shoes. So it was exciting to see a company that relies solely on the internet to build their business. After all, many other companies started with a physical store.

On the bus I met a lot of great people. Ryan – from Hubpages – was the first. Paolo from Microsoft, Shauna from Social Media Club, Sarah, David and a lot others.

We got to the campus in Henderson and piled into the lobby. We were met by Rosie – the Jetsons’ housemaid – who for some reason was a coffee machine. They had Sphinx and Pyramids and… POPCORN!

The tour was a lot of fun. I could talk about it, but I made a video. So check it out:

I like a good burger. When I get a burger for free, I am all over that. That is, unless I am then turned into a Zombie. But I don’t think that’s going to happen anytime soo…. uuuuhhhhh….. brainssssss…..

Anyway – I participated in many events at Blogworld. One that was really fun to do was called the Fatburger Challenge. I have never had a Fatburger, so I was really stoked on this.

1/2 lb of meat on a bun with lettuce, tomato and all the fixins. I felt like this is a challenge for me. Therefore I signed up. It’s like I was the 12th grader competing in the 2nd grade spelling bee – I had no doubt I could finish this meal and still have room for more.

Twelve of us sat at a table with all the social mediaites around. 10 men and 2 women, ready to sink our teeth into a juicy Fatburger. Some of the names included Ed Morita, John Ciampa from Bloggers School, and a few others in which I sadly did not get names on. Except for Maria.

There were four groups of 12 that took the challenge. Out of all the groups, we had 11 out of the 12 finish the burger. One of them, was Maria.

In this video, you will see the competition in a shorter fashion.

We also look in on another 12 challengers, including Rick Calvert of Blogworld – New Media Expo, Zane from Zaneology, the Snuggie Guy and Rob, one of the very own Blubrry employees.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (268.0MB)

Well, whereas most people were getting on planes and shuffling home to their families, some of us stayed the extra days to enjoy the sites, sounds and warm weather. That, and it was a special deal if I left on Tuesday instead of Sunday.

The day started at 10 am as I woke up from a very hard sleep. I shuffled downstairs for a little while because the local fox affiliate had the Giants game on. Of course, I wanted to watch a bit of the Packer game.

By halftime, I knew this game was done, so I went back up to my room to nap and work. It’s an interesting multitasking function for you need mad skills to do it. Nonetheless, I finished uploading pictures and blog posts from the previous day.

The afternoon was mostly sight seeing. I walked down the main strip and back. It’s amazing how heat with little humidity can not make you sweat as much.

I got back to the room after dinner and started to get some more work done. That is when I found out, via Twitter,  a group of people were still around and wanted to get together for dinner. I already ate, but could use some desert. Therefore, I headed over to the Hilton for a little networking.

We deemed it the “unofficial Post blogworld tweetup”. It consisted of Zane from Zaneology, Wayne Sutton, Edward Morita, Kate Buck jr, Jen Wojcik and Nichole Simon. We talked about Blogging, Tweeting, Bumping (the iPhone Application, that is), Tattoos and SXSW.

The reason why on Tattoos is because Ed has a Wordpress Tattoo on his arm. He had a few, but this one was the coolest, in my opinion. And unlike the Zune guy, he’s not going to get rid of his tattoo.

We finished our drinks, the staff kicked us out of the Buffet, and that brought me back to the Hotel. I found out that the A/C – which I haven’t used all week – actually doesn’t work too well. It’s kinda loud. It wasn’t really hot in the room, but slightly uncomfortable. I ran it for about an hour, then everything was fine.

What a great day it turned out to be. I met some great people, learned a few more tricks and got work done. One more day, then I close the books on #BWE09.

Got up. Showered. Shaved. Walked to convention center.

Then I woke up.

The opening keynote jumped us into gear. A panel of Andrew Edwards,Robyn Antone, Mark Gross and Jermaine Durpri. The subject: Celebrities and Social Media.

Really great discussion about how they look at social media. Anthony Edwards promoted his efforts in Africa. Jermaine talked about how he talks with people until they show that ended with Anthony Edwards making his first tweet ever.

Took in some sessions. Flash animations was a great show. We learned how to make the podcast lively with flash video. Different approach to casting.

Cali Lewis was next as she talked about video cameras and green screens. She, along with her producer Neil, showed off the cameras they use and how they produce video for Geekbrief.tv.

The day then took me to walking the floor and talking to various bloggers and casters. That is, up until 1:45 PM when it was time to show my Wisconsin skills and eat a 1/2 lb Fatburger. We were the winning team of the weekend, as not only I finished the burger, but 10 others completed the massive consumption. This included Maria – the only female that did it all weekend. She did it with grace and distinction.

More walking of the floor as I ran into Cali again, then stopped by the Chad Vader booth. It’s cool to see those guys do well, especially since they are from my neck of the woods. Season 2 is almost over and they are planning for Season 3 already. Awesome!

By 3 PM it was showing that the conference was wrapping up. You could see people packing up their booths and crews starting to knock down the exhibit. But the day wasn’t over.

Sat in a couple more sessions. Todd Cochrane and Rob Greenlee talked about getting your podcast cataloged. Sat in on a Wordpress session, too. All in, a great day. Time for Guy Kawasaki and the key note with Kevin Pollack, Matt Sloan and Aaron Yonda from Chad Vader and Jenny Lawson, the Bloggess.

It was a different keynote as it was more of a talk show than a keynote. Very open – of course if you’ve seen Kevin Pollacks’ show, you know what could happen. Yes, the Larry King game was played. Matt Sloan did an awesome job with it.

Jenny the Bloggess was the surprise for me. I did not hear of her until now and her interview was pretty funny. She tried to to get the Bloggers to tweet that Vegas has turned into Zombieland. Mmmmm, brains…

The show was awesome, but now it’s over. At least the conference. There was a lot more to happen during the evening. It all started at the Pool of the Hilton. Good food, drinks and more talk between the bloggers.

It was then downstairs to the casino where the party continued. Never thought I would be seeing Karaoke in the Star Trek area of the Las Vegas Hilton. I suppose I never thought I would be singing Karaoke in the Star Trek area of the Las Vegas Hilton. But I did. Queen – Somebody to Love. It was by request of Todd’s Mother – a Podcaster herself – of the Chericast.

What a great evening. What a great weekend. I met a lot of great people and did a lot of cool stuff. This is my 3rd time in Las Vegas – more as a participant – but I did get a lot of work done. Created a lot of video that I won’t probably be able to get ready until I get back, but once I get home, it will be processed.

BTW – this is the last picture I took of the evening. I don’t know why an orange was in the middle of the Hotel floor, but there was a woman sleeping just about 30 feet away. Guess she lost her key or something…

So now it’s time to relax in Las Vegas for the next 24 hours. Safe journies home, everyone.

Started the day on a down note, the phone had some problems. A call to AT&T fixed the problem, but it made me late getting things going. Add to that a problem with uploading video last night and a show that is still in the prep area. Oh well, life doesn’t stop, so it gets left behind for now.

Get to the hall to the keynote with Richard Jalichandra from Technorati. He tala about the state of the blogosphere. Basically, where we are in blogging and where we are going.

Richard showed us the increasing numbers of bloggers and where they come from. He then says something that got me into new media to begin with.. One thing that still hits hard today.

Be Passionate.

Next up: the panel keynote – the death and rebirth of journalism.Brian Solis, Joanna Drake Earl, Jay Rosen and Hugh Hewitt are on the panel. Special media guest – Don Lemon from CNN.

First point was the talk on the current news – like balloon boy. Don points out that with blogs, you hear about the event, but with a site like CNN, you get a full report.

Another point of new media – the ice age of Bloggers: Hitting the shelf where there will be too many to choose from for a reliable source.

The expo finally open, so myself and andy McCaskey started walking around. Talked to a few booths for more information.

Took in a session – facebook to success. Sexy scotch tape.

Then it was off to the expo floor where I got to meet a lot of great people and the products of new media. Programs like camtasia, myPRgenie, yubby are just a handful.

Angelo mandato did a piece on the blubrry player.

Some of the new media celebs are out. Watched Robert scoble on blog talk radio. Chris pirillo was at the raw voice booth. Adam corolla is on blogworldexporadio, and the keynote was Leo Laporte.

I took a little time to relax and charge the batteries. No, litterally. The iPhone was dying, the laptop battery was down to nothing and the camera was full with content.

I am not sure what happened, but I think I sat down before they had someone at the door. The floodgates opened and the room filled in a heartbeat.

Leo talked about new media and their direction. he discussed how hard it was to get a podcast noticed and advertised. Leo then showed off the new avenue of TWIT. A roku box with push content to the show. An amazing conversation.

The evening was a whirlwind of fun. Dinner with Andy Mccaskey, then off to blubrry for the nightly party. Many different celebrities in the new media area. Matt Sloan and Aaron Yonda from Chad Vader, Grammar Girl, Michael Butler to name a few. Elvis was there, too. He’s smaller than I expected.

The rest of the night was consumed with drinking and networking.