WordCamp Orange County 2014: Awesome Moments
Recently, I attended WordCamp Orange County 2014, not to be confused with WordCamp Orange County 2013. Here are a few of my favorite moments.
The Women
Mary Baum’s class on responsive design was Sunday’s funniest seminar. She kept us entertained while educating us on design challenges. And apparently, she loves golf!
Chris Lema
Chris Lema helped make the conference a community. He followed his own advice of being helpful. Getting the Most from Your Blog was definitely not about any get-rich quick schemes. Chris Lema set the tone for much of the conference.
Live Tweeting
You may have read my blog post about Live Tweeting at Conferences. Live tweeting is a fab way to connect with new friends. In fact, two of my besties (Bridget Willard and Peter Woolvett) were both people I met through Twitter. Some people we met couldn’t believe you could actually meet people from Twitter. Who knew? And here’s a partial hashtag report, in case you think live tweeting doesn’t make a difference in amplifying an event.
Offsite Meetups
Offsite Meetups at WCOC 2014
Another favorite moment was going to Café Vitaly with friends for extra-strong doses of coffee or the best sorbet and gelato around. Strolling on the beach, walking back from the Durty Nelly’s after party, and seeing some unusual trees (and giant cockroaches) along the way were also good ways to “play hooky.”
Jason Rosenbaum’s Business Coaching Workshop on Contracts and Proposals
Jason Rosenbaum’s talk was surprisingly useful. As a result of hearing his talk, I’ll be changing how I word some of my proposals. For instance, no more 100% guarantees—especially if clients want to “do it themselves.” Good, solid advice.
Slide Presentations and Videos at the Speed of Light
Session videos are starting to come online. All videos will be available here: http://t.co/ASwvuiPAfa and on our site. #wcoc
— OC WordCamp (@OCWordCamp) June 10, 2014
As we watched on Twitter, the presentations started to appear online. Many presenters uploaded their talks even before the weekend was over. How awesome is that?
Food Trucks
Gourmet food trucks, with items like Coconut Risotto (A Bite Truck), Mexican food, and bacon (of course!). Worth the wait. Also the gourmet mini-cupcakes, Skittles, and gluten-free brownies.
Artwork at Cafe Vitaly
Style Revisions
Derived straight from the creatives at Minecraft, WordCamp’s new direction feels somewhere between Super Mario and Flappy Birds.
The style is everywhere, from the giant mugs and t-shirts to notebooks, stickers, and buttons!
Chance Meetings
Meeting people like Justin @student_otc at one of the first talks, connecting online with @DownTownRob who met me and my friends at Durty Nelly’s. Meeting attendees and speakers while waiting in line.
Generosity and Friendliness at WordCamp Orange County
Generosity and Friendliness
Without the volunteers and sponsors, WordCamp Orange County would not have been such a success.
Finding Work/Life Balance As a Remote Worker
Jon Brown’s course outlined ways to stay sane while working remotely. And he was even more fun when he went off-script and discussed all the tools he uses (such as electronic devices to bring while backpacking!).
Did I Leave Anything Out?
What were your favorite moments?
Pinterest: Top Ten Tasks (and Power Tips)
Top Ten Pinterest Tasks
You may have seen my previous post on Top Ten Twitter Terms. Here are the first tasks you should tackle on Pinterest. If you’re more advanced, skip to the “Power Tips.”
Set Up Your Profile
Fill out your profile. Go to “Settings” on the top right, scroll to Profile, upload your picture or avatar and fill out the “About You.” Connect your Facebook, Twitter, etc. You can invite friends at the top left of your home page. If you plan to sell on Pinterest, you’ll need to set up a business account.
Power Tip: Use Location for a short descriptive sentence, if you prefer. Make sure to click “save settings.”
Create Boards
Boards are how you organize pins on Pinterest. Choose an easy name for your boards—nothing fancy. For instance, Blogs, not Words Words Words, will be found easier. Create a category and description for each board. And, since Pinterest is a visual medium, make sure your board covers are pretty!
Power Tip: Create at least 5 boards of 5 pins each before you start following anyone. People want to know what your pins are like, and what your interests are before they’ll follow you.
Add Pins
A pin contains an image and description. Upload an image from your computer using the red plus icon at the top right of your Pinterest account, or use the Pinterest browser button, available from Pinterest.
Power Tip: Fill out each pin’s description completely. If you’re repinning, change the description to make it yours. Think about how people would search for that pin. For instance, if you’re pinning a watercolor painting, you could use the words, water color, painting, and art. You might also add the dominant colors and the topic, since people sometimes search that way.
Find Others to Follow
Pinterest is visual, so make your boards pretty!
Click on the icon–which turns red when you hover over it–in the top left corner and you’ll see all kinds of categories. Explore your interests and find boards and pinners to follow.
Power Tip: You can follow a single board or an account. If you don’t like one or two boards, follow all, then unfollow the boards you don’t enjoy.
Repin
When you find a pin, either through search, or through discovery in your own stream, you can repin it. When you repin it, change the comment.
Power Tip: Click all the way through a pin to discover where the pin leads. If a pin leads nowhere or to spam, don’t repin. You can report spam and Pinterest is pretty good at removing it.
Like
A “like” is not as strong as a repin. You might “like” a pin rather than comment, if it’s outside your niche.
Comment
People rarely comment on Pinterest. It’s a very powerful way to be noticed by influencers.
Power Tip: If you want to be noticed, comment. You can ask questions or tag others in a comment, too.
Give Credit
Pinterest usually gives credit to the destination of the original pin. Authors and artists also appreciate getting credit.
Power Tip: If you don’t know whose image you’re repinning, you could ask your followers right in the comment of the pin, such as “Does anyone know whose image this is or have any more information?”
Know Your Audience
As with all other social media platforms, know what people are looking for. For instance, if you’re a spa owner you might also pin tips on relaxation, how to get good sleep, smoothie recipes, etc.
Power Tip:After awhile, you’ll get a feel for what your audience likes by what gets repinned. Repin more of the popular content.
Clean Up Boards
Occasionally, you can delete pins that don’t get much traffic.
Power Tip: At first, none of your pins may get much traffic. If you believe something will get traffic (but wasn’t seen the first time you pinned it), you can repin it to the top of the same board, and delete the one further down.
Did I Forget Anything?
Please let me know in the comments! Thanks!