Successful Blog

I'm at WordCamp Dallas This Weekend!

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Liz and Lorelle

WordCamp Dallas Logo

Just put the finishing touches on my presentation. It’s called, “C’mon Let’s talk.”

I thought I’d send up this post again as a reminder . . .

One might expect to see Lorelle VanFossen, THE Lorelle of Lorelle on WordPress, to be speaking at an event such as WordCamp Dallas. But, I’m delighted to announce that I’ve been invited to participate as well.

The event, WordCamp, was started by WordPress founder, Matt Mullenweg, and has become an international event. Here’s a bit of the history described by the Weblog Tools Collection Blog.

The first WordCamp conference was held in July of 2006 in San Francisco. Matt Mullenweg pulled this event together in only three weeks time and ended up with about 300 people in the Swedish American Hall. The first international WordCamp event was held in Beijing China on September 1st, 2007. However, not too many people knew of the event. So the first KNOWN international WordCamp event took place in Israel on October 25, 2007. Since then, there have been WordCamps all across the world including Hamburg, Melbourne and soon to be Dallas.

WordCamp Dallas is a two-day event being held in Frisco, Texas at the George A. Purefoy Municipal Center on March 29 and 30, 2008. Here’s the list of speakers and what presentations are about.

You can see plenty of reasons to attend! Click this logo to register now!

 

Let me know if I’ll get to see you there!

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!

SOBCon08 is May 2,3,4 in Chicago. Register now!

International SOBCon08 NEWS and Updates!

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Updates and News

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We’re all looking at less than 6 weeks until we’ll be in Chicago. People from Scotland, England, France, Denmark, Mexico, Canada, and the US are coming — It’s hard not not be singing!

I thought I’d remind you of something I promised last October over on the SOBCon08 blog.

. . . you’ll have plenty of reasons you’ll be glad you made the investment to come.

Here are just 3 of them:

  • SOBCon Quality. We’re keeping the size intimate — quality time with quality people.
  • Actionable Ideas We’re pushing every topic from the Theory into Practice — solid plans tailored to your needs.
  • Interactive format We’re redefining the word conference even further — authentic experience working together.

The biggest reason, of course, is the people you’ll get to spend quality time talking with. Imagine who’s going to be on that one weekend together — talking business and blogging until 3 in the morning.

Some Housekeeping

Hotels are filling up and the room block releases soon. What does that mean? Well, it means two things:

  1. We’ve laid out funds to reserve rooms at a rate lower than the rack rate at the preferred hotels. Your chance to get that rate will likely disappear with the loss of the room block.
  2. Rooms that go unbooked, we’llhave to cover ourselves. It’s a risk we felt important to take so that none of you were left with no where to stay, but if you can book before April 1. You’ll be saying us an unnecessary expense.

Also we’ll need final numbers to commit to food and seating by April 11. So, even though, if you’re like me, we like to book at the last minute — my credit card likes that too — if there’s some way that you could register early or let us know that you plan to come, we can make sure that we don’t end up in a bind for great food.

Already our audience includes entrepreneurs, company bloggers, nonprofits, and some corporations. The folks at the Summit are so excited about the event that they’re extending an invitation to corporations who use their facilities. The Summit thinks that we have a lot to offer their patrons regarding about what we do.

And the Network Solutions folks are going to start taking appoints for in-depth blog consultations for 30 lucky attendees starting on April 1.

It’s going to be an exciting event!

Oh and don’t forget Chrisg’s contest with over $2000 worth of prizes sponsored by Chrisg and Blog Catalog!!! Make sure you sign up for Chris’ Authority Blogger newsletter to be eligible for the full prize and to see all the competition announcements.

Lot’s of reasons not to be an April Fool!! Can’t wait to see you in Chicago!

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!

Work with Liz!!
SOBCon08 is May 2,3,4 in Chicago. Register now!

Thanks to Week 126 SOBs

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muddy teal strip A

Successful and Outstanding Bloggers

Let me introduce the bloggers
who have earned this official badge of achievement,

and the right to call themselves
Successful Blog SOBs.

I invite them to take a badge home to display on their blogs.

muddy teal strip A

They take the conversation to their readers,
contribute great ideas, challenge us, make us better, and make our businesses stronger.

I thank all of our SOBs for thinking what we say is worth passing on.
Good conversation shared can only improve the blogging community.

Should anyone question this SOB button’s validity, send him or her to me. Thie award carries a “Liz said so” guarantee, is endorsed by Kings of the Hemispheres, Martin and Michael, and is backed by my brothers, Angelo and Pasquale.

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Want to become an SOB?

If you’re an SO-Wanna-B, you can see the whole list of SOBs and learn how to be one by visiting the SOB Hall of Fame– A-Z Directory . Click the link or visit the What IS an SOB?! page in the sidebar.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

SOB Business Cafe 03-21-08

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SB Cafe

Welcome to the SOB Cafe

We offer the best in thinking–articles on the business of blogging written by the Successful and Outstanding Bloggers of Successful Blog. Click on the titles to enjoy each selection.

The Specials this Week are

Problogger explains five ways to get your conference return on investment.
Conferences can be a prime space for bloggers to recruit new readers. Last week at SXSWi it was fascinating to watch hundreds of bloggers attempt to standout from the crowd, network and develop fruitful relationships with others there.

Copyblogger explains how to keep your blog ideas red hot.
Specifically, your content has become flat and routine. You’ve found a modest audience that likes you, but your ideas and your writing aren’t sharp enough to pull in, energize and keep new readers.

bub.blicio.us explins how a new product might change our view of the Internet and the people we relate to.
It not only allows you to bookmark and save notes in an easy to retrieve place, it adds a new dimension to the Web itself by revealing, at the page level, the community of people who have also interacted with the content.

Virtual Impax explains how knowing your customers makes a difference in your business.
I am his IDEAL client. His themes are incredibly well coded and I don’t EVER have to contact him about “support”.

Blog about Your Blog explains what we might have gotten wrong.
Recently I tried my own linkbait, 8 reasons to link to our blog today. I wouldn’t say it failed because we did get some links (which I definitely appreciate). However it wasn’t as many as I had hoped.

Related ala carte selections include

eMom explains how she chooses her conferences and which she recommends.
Many of you know that I spoke at / went to a lot of conferences in 2007. Each was great in its own way, and I’m trying to get back to every single one of them again this year, plus hoping to add a few if I can.

Sit back. Enjoy your read. Nachos and drinks will be right over. Stay as long as you like. No tips required. Comments appreciated.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Twittering at Hollywood and Vine

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Come to SOBCon and Find Out Why You’re There

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Everyone knows some folks who invest time on Twitter.

Successful business folks make conversation, relationships, alliances, and connections. What they share is witty, intelligent, and useful. They’re curious, interested, and interesting. I’ve learned about surveys, trends, and what’s important to people who’s opinion I value. I’ve also found breaking news that keeps me aware of the larger web community.

Other folks go to Twitter to be seen. They spend time like girls in the 50s waiting at the drug store at Hollywood and Vine — hoping someone will discover them.

The difference between the two groups is that the successful business folks think about why they’re there and how being there fits with their business. They go in looking at the purpose of investing their time.

The same thing happens on every social networking site I’ve seen.

How do your social networks serve your business?

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!
SOBCon08 is May 2,3,4 in Chicago. Hear Muhammad Saleem speak on which social networks are right for you! Register now!

The Mic Is On All Day: Reflecting on Being Too Sick to Be Here

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It’s Like Open Mic Only Different

The Mic Is On

Here’s how it works.

It’s like any rambling conversation. Don’t try to read it all. Jump in whenever you get here. Just go to the end and start talking. EVERYONE is WELCOME.
The rules are simple — be nice.

There are always first timers and new things to talk about. It’s sort of half “Cheers” part “Friends” and part video game. You don’t know how much fun it is until you try it.

I Won’t Be Here, But the Mic Will be. . .

As soon as I write this, it’s back under five blankets for me.

Sometimes the fact that no one died of the common cold is no consolation at all.

Feel free to leave . . .

  • a comment
  • a quote
  • a poem
  • a recollection
  • a story
RIP

And, whatever else comes up, including THE EVER POPULAR, Basil the code-writing donkey . . . and flamenco dancing (because we always get off topic, anyway.)

Oh, and bring example links to share a link about every disease and cure that you know.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Related article
What is Tuesday Open Comment Night?