CBC '10, why I read C Jane

I've been sharing a bit about my experiences at
CBC '10- The Casual Blogger Conference.
(click on the CBC label at the bottom of this post to see earlier posts on this)

The closing session ended with Courtney Kendrick -aka*CJane speaking.
I am a big fan of her blog C Jane Enjoy it- I enjoy her writing style, her sense of humor and her spunk. Lately, I've been loving her spunk. I am not a spunky person mostly-I'm pretty quiet...I have to say that I admire Courtney's spunk/joy of living, her huge personality (she just sparkles with personality) but,most of all, I admire how she seems to forget about herself and just have fun- and makes sure others are having fun. Click over to see a video on her blog that illustrates what I mean about her spunk/personality **CJane sings Christmas song

I started reading CJane because I heard about her sister and the accident, I remain a reader of CJane, because I love words- and beside being funny and quirky, she makes art with words.

This post- "Unrequited"

...As I watch Gigs follow Lucy around, insisting that all her attention belongs to himself, I am more convinced of my personal theory about having sons. A boy needs to be constantly in love. ....Of course I am finding out that the other part of my theory is that the mother falls just as hard for her son....

-which she read aloud to us, -had me crying at CBC10 - and missing my boy.
(click the title to read)
go read it, I promise it's worth it.

Janae, C Jane, me-CBC'10

Casual Blogger Conference 2010- my continued report

At the CBC10 conference, I think I took the most notes at the talk on SEO by Sarah Kimmel of Tech4mommies.com

I actually took a few pages of notes...so I'll just report back on a few points that really jumped out at me:

• use google's keyword tool for adwords to see how simple changes in your wording can make huge differences in traffic.
• always chose to open a link in a new window, do not send people away from your site.
• make sure your keywords are relevent and popular
• when hyperlinking, never use the words "this post' or "here" ( um yeah, guilty...)
• get and use a google webmaster account

she went through a list of "worst practices" here are a few;

• don't have primary navigation that requires flash/java
• don't use mostly or all images with no text
• don't target too many keywords
• don't participate in link farms.

Jaime Chase presented on Product review, here are a few top things I wrote down...I see I was pretty note-heavy with this discussion, too;

• Have a media kit
• use images and or video of product, or you using the product
• a buyer description of who the product is for, how to use it
• have a call to action- where to find it, a giveaway...
• be descriptive in your review, do not be vague

The Casual Blogger Conference was all about learning how to do better...how to blog better, how to use and take better photographs, how to find your voice. It was also about connecting to other bloggers- the social part of the conference was the life of the conference, really. Thursday night we had a girl's night out event- it was a great way to mix and meet, I met several bloggers finally in person, and also met many new friends. Friday night's social included a concert..frankly, as an introvert, I was a little fried by Friday night. So, I headed back to my room after dinner with the Blog Frog team and..what else, ...blogged, talked to Sky on the phone and recharged.

to be cont...

Conference for the casual blogger

I attended my very first blog conference Memorial Day weekend- and yes, I'm just now sitting down to blog about it..life's been a little hectic since I got back!

I chose The Casual Blogger Conference, since it seemed to be just the right size for this little blogger who doesn't swim with the big bloggers. Beside learning about blogging better, blogging platforms and SEO, there were also workshops on photography, niche blogging and sharing your faith in blogging. It was a small conference, with tickets limited to around 400 attendees.

The thought of a really big conference in a really big city, like blogher or bliss kind of scares me..but this, I figured, I could do. And I did!

Here is a pic snapped of me tweeting from the cbc10 flikr stream. I have to say, that I finally came to a firm handle on twitter and all it can do-all conference related.

I'm a little shy, the thought of going to a conference all by myself was a little scary. I was really looking forward to meeting Janae in real life, after connecting as blog-friends. We have a lot in common, we definitely connect on a kindred-spirit level; meeting her was a big highlight of the conference for me. Love ya, Janae!! :)

She has 6 daughters! I know, I don't believe it either!..look how young she is!

The opening meeting was given by Rustin from the blogfrog community. He was a great speaker, very personable. A few points from his talk that stayed with me:

• find your niche first, then expand
• do your homework -pass on the bad ideas and grab the good
• partner-up
• pivot-keep one foot on what you have learned, and when your original plan does not work out, use the other foot to change direction
• sacrifice to get to the next level
• don't get discouraged -there is no such thing as an overnight success.

It was very insightful listening to Rustin talk about how he started blogfrog. I've been part of the blogfrog community from pretty early on- though not at the very early beginning- but early enough to see it really grow in an explosive way. I really enjoyed hearing how he started it, the different ideas and failures he had, and how big it has gotten; their success is very inspiring.