Scraps of My Geek Life » conference

Tag Photos With Links Using ThingLink

Michele — Mon, 14 May 2012 21:16:12 +0000

Have you ever had a photo where you thought, “wouldn’t it be great if I could tag photos with links?” With ThingLink you can.

Why Tag Photos With Links?

Here are a few examples of why you would want to tag photos with links:

Group Photo – You take a group photo at a blogging conference and you want to tag the person with their blog.

Family Reunion – You take the big group photo of all 200 of your relatives and you would like to tag each person with their Facebook Page.

Review Photos – You review a lot of products and take a lot of photos of those products. You would like to tag the photos with the link to Amazon or maybe to a video review of the product.

ThingLink Example

Here is a photo that I tagged with a Facebook Page and YouTube Page link. I tagged this one in ThingLink and embedded it in my post which is one way of creating ThingLink tagged photos.

A second way to tag your photos with links is to install ThingLink on your blog which will enable you to tag all your photos right on your blog. Just be sure you log into your ThingLink account when you are tagging your photos.

ThingLink offers both free and premium accounts.

Let’s Talk About Why You Tag Photos With Links!

What other uses do you have to tag photos with links?

Disclosure: Not paid. Just writing because I thought it was a cool tool!

Photos are screen prints or from press kit.

Tag Photos With Links Using ThingLink originally posted at Scraps of My Geek Life.

Follow CES 2012 From Home

Michele — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 21:41:05 +0000

This year, I am unable to attend CES in person, but that doesn’t mean I won’t be bringing you all the CES news. I’ll be monitoring all the Live press conferences and scouring the tech sites for the latest news. As usual, I will show you the newest technology to enhance your life.

Here are some of the places you can get the latest CES information (as well as here of course!)

Scraps of My Geek Life CES Coverage

2011 CES Review Post

CES Live Video Streaming

CES News Coverage

Follow CES 2012 From Home originally posted at Scraps of My Geek Life.

Looking Awesome at Blogher11 With Fresh Produce

Michele — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 18:02:20 +0000

If you know me, then you know that I do not like to get dressed up at all. I prefer to be very comfortable. I would live in my PJs all day every day if I could. I discovered Fresh Produce Clothing last year and I have been a fan ever since. Everything is made with comfort in mind.

Fresh Produce sponsored a few of my BlogHer11 outfits because even when I have to look nice, I want to be comfortable.

Fresh Produce for Traveling

The first Fresh Produce outfit I wore was perfect for traveling to BlogHer. Coming from the DC area, it is a long flight and often I have to get right to work so I need to look nice too.

This top has a HUGE pocket that was great for keeping my ticket, phone, id and a few dollars. It also doubled as a hand warmer on the COLD airplane.

Tahitian Flower Travel Tunic in Thistle

I ended up wearing this cami under the tunic. I thought that if it was really warm, I could take the tunic off and I would still have a shirt on.

Simply Cami

These Fresh Produce Getaway Clamdigger Pants were so comfortable. I had them in gray and I love them. You can wear them cropped or all the way down. For me since I’m short, the cropped style was more comfortable.

Getaway Clamdigger Pants_

And here are a few pictures of me in my Fresh Produce outfit before I left home. I was alone, so the best way to get a full length picture was in the mirror.

And this was really early in the morning as I was leaving to catch a 6am flight. So please excuse the tired face…

Fresh Produce For Brunch

And the second outfit I have from Fresh Produce for BlogHer is this tank dress. This dress was the most comfortable. I wore it on the last day of BlogHer because I attended a Ladies Who Tech Brunch and I was getting on a plane and flying 5 hours home. Once again, I wanted to be very comfortable. The dress easily went from looking dressy to being a comfortable travel outfit.

I even brought the Fresh Produce Tank Dress with me on our beach vacation. I wanted something I could wear over my suit so I’d be ready for lunch or shopping AND I could dress it up with some awesome blingy shoes and be ready to go out for a nice dinner. I never needed it for dinner, but it was great to know it was there.

Pockets ‘O Plenty Tank Dress

Here is me in the tank dress. I wore it with a white tank top I had and paired it with a boyfriend shirt I also had in my closet. In my hotel room getting ready.

And here I am at the Clever Girls’ Ladies Who Tech Brunch. I got a lot of compliments on the Fresh Produce dress. Everyone said that color looks great on me and of course it’s orange.

Disclosure: I received the clothing from Fresh Produce to wear at BlogHer in exchange for this post. All opinions of Fresh Produce are 100% my own.

If you are looking for comfortable clothing for conferences, every day wear or vacation, check out Fresh Produce. So many of their outfits can be worn at the beach and at a conference depending on your accessories.

Looking Awesome at Blogher11 With Fresh Produce originally posted at Scraps of My Geek Life.

Tech Companies Supporting Women Should Be At BlogHer

Michele — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 17:42:15 +0000

I attended my first BlogHer in 2009 and I expected to see at least a few tech companies supporting women, but, I was disappointed. Last year in New York, there were a handful of tech companies. I felt it was worth my while, but I still wanted more. This year, BlogHer in San Diego had a good share of tech companies supporting women.

Sony Supporting Women at BlogHer

BlogHer is all about supporting women and blogging, so I would expect to have many communities and industries represented at BlogHer. While I would love if it were all tech companies supporting women, that isn’t realistic and it isn’t what BlogHer is all about.

Yahoo!, Tech Companies Supporting Women at BlogHer

My BlogHer disappointment in 2009 showed that tech companies supporting women was not a high priority, even though women were often the decision maker of purchases in the family including computers. It has been a slow process, but many of the tech companies are seeing the value in marketing to women and in particular, moms. This may not be a new concept for many companies, but for the tech companies it is.

Microsoft, Tech Companies Supporting Women at BlogHer.

Tech Companies Supporting Women at BlogHer

There is a big difference between selling to women and marketing to women. The difference is as big as the differences between men and women. Sure, tech companies do not have a problem with women buying their products. But to really market to women, you need to be where the women are. You need to understand how and why women make decisions when purchasing technology. BlogHer is the perfect conference to talk to women and find out what they want and what drives them to make a technology purchase. Tech companies supporting women should be at BlogHer!

Samsung Relax Zone, Tech Companies Supporting Women at BlogHer

Tech Companies I Support

When I am looking at companies to work with, I want to be sure that the tech companies are supporting women and not just selling to women. The company needs to support women by being where we are and having conversations with us. Chicalogic is one of those companies that definitely supports women. Their tag line is,

Empowering Women in the Information Age.

Chicalogic Lunch, Tech Companies Supporting Women at BlogHer. Photo by @TechSavvyMama

I strongly believe that more technology companies will follow Chicalogic and work to empower women. The tech companies supporting women may be slow, but we have made some strides in the past few years.

More Tech Companies Supporting Women

Logitech, Tech Companies Supporting Women at BlogHer

HTC, Tech Companies Supporting Women at BlogHer

LeapFrog, Tech Companies Supporting Women at BlogHer

Disclosure: This post was written as a ChicaAmbassador. I am compensated for my participation. All opinions are 100% my own.

Let’s Talk About Tech Companies Supporting Women!

Did you go to BlogHer? What are your thoughts about the number of technology companies present at BlogHer? Are enough tech companies supporting women?

BlogHer 2011 – Conference Highlights (marketingtowomenonline.typepad.com)

Tech Companies Supporting Women Should Be At BlogHer originally posted at Scraps of My Geek Life.

Have You Heard of the SheStreams Conference?

Michele — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 19:51:43 +0000

Have you heard of the SheStreams Conference?

According to the SheStreams site, it is a conference

spans two days of informative and engaging sessions intended to catapult women and brands into the future of social technology.

That sounds like the perfect conference for me. I wish I could go to every conference, but there just isn’t the time. My family wants me around some of the time.

Check out the list of speakers. If you look at the sample sessions list for the Agenda, there are some really different sessions like,

Creating Your Own App to Build Your Brand
Turning Traditional Radio Into Interactive Social Media
Connecting With Moms Via Video

So we will see if it’s in the plans for me to attend.

Let me know if you are attending the SheStreams conference!

Have You Heard of the SheStreams Conference? originally posted at Scraps of My Geek Life.

Heading to Blissdom Conference

Michele — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 20:24:44 +0000

In a few days I will be heading to Blissdom. Blissdom is a blogging conference in Nashville, TN put on by Alli Worthington and Barbara Jones. The Blissdom site describes the conference as:

Blissdom is the premiere conference for women who find and express their bliss by publishing online.

Now doesn’t that sound awesome. I never really thought about it like that, but I do find bliss in what I do. That’s why I do it. It doesn’t feel like work. Every day when I make the long commute from my bedroom to my office downstairs I feel so lucky. I absolutely love what I do and I’m figuring out how to make it a career.

This is my first time attending Blissdom. I’ve wanted to go for years, but could never make it happen. Thanks to AMD, this year I am attending Blissdom. I am honored to be a 2011 AMD Mom and you will be hearing a lot more about AMD in the future.

Here is a sample of some of the sessions I’m planning to attend at Blissdom…

Wisdom Workshops Wednesday

Advanced Branding: Building Your Personal Brand in a Crowded Market
Monetization Models: Customize Your Plan
SEO & Analytics: Why You Should Care

Thursday & Friday Conference Sessions

So You Say You Want a Revolution?:Peek Behind the Curtain of PR-Blogger Relations
Implementation and Professionalism: The Stage is Set, Now Deliver
Collaboration & Curation: How to Amplify Impact through Social Media Alliances
Advanced Monetization is Not for Whiny Complainers: Make Your Own Opportunities

I will be taking lots of notes and share what I learn.

I don’t think I have ever spent any time in Nashville. I’ve been in the airport and that’s it. The conference is at the Opryland Hotel and I have heard nothing but good things about it (and bring comfy shoes because it’s big!)

Can’t wait to see everyone at Blissdom!! If you are heading to Blissdom and you see me (the short blonde with long hair, the short haired short blonde is Bantering Blonde).

While I’m gone, I’ll be posting the story of my health the last 10 years. I promised to write it all out and now I’m delivering. I will end with my plan for 2011 to get my health back on track.

Barbara Jones of One2One Network Interview: SOTB 2010 (technorati.com)
Marketing to women – it’s not about free stuff (bargainista.blogspot.com)
Create Your Own Charitable Giving Foundation with GiveBack (blissfullydomestic.com)

Heading to Blissdom Conference originally posted at Scraps of My Geek Life.

Headed to BlogWorld Expo

Michele — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 11:51:03 +0000

I’m headed to BlogWorld Expo today. I am more than excited. I remember last year watching and listening from my office at home and I swore than I’d be at BWE next year and here I am. Since I’m just getting over strep (this is my first day not in bed), I’m going to try to take it easy and get sleep each night, but I also know how crazy conferences can be. I guess this will be a good test of my ability to manage my time well!!

Watch my tweets and I may live blog a few sessions. Depends on how the week goes.

Headed to BlogWorld Expo originally posted at Scraps of My Geek Life.

The #1 Reason to Attend BlogWorld Expo

Michele — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 18:42:01 +0000

Attending BlogWorld Expo is an investment in yourself. That is the #1 reason I am attending BlogWorld Expo this year. I followed BlogWorld Expo from afar last year and I was so inspired by all the information and networking and I was thousands of miles away.

I knew right then, I would definitely be attending BlogWorld Expo in 2010. In about a month, I will be heading to Las Vegas with about 4,000 other people to attend BlogWord Expo.

Today is the last day you can buy your pass at the discount rate. Shhh! I have a little secret. If you follow ScrappinMichele (that’s me on Twitter), check my stream for the code to get 20% off the discounted rate. It’s a special Twitter discount.

Investment in Knowledge

I will be attending sessions because I know that I could learn so much from others. There are session tracks for Tourism and Travel, Social Health, Real Estate, Digital Broadcasting, Mobile and a ProBlogger Workshop. I have at least 2 sessions marked for each time slot. I am seriously considering looking into cloning before October because I am not sure how I am going to choose which sessions to attend. Here are a few of the session choice decisions I have:

How to Write for Your blog
Brand of You
Monetizing Your Blog
Video Podcasting
SEO for Your Blog
How to Turn Your Hobby Into a Full-Time Job
32 Ways to Make Your Blog Suck Less

Those are some really tough decisions and that is only a small portion of the content available at BlogWorld Expo.

Investment in Relationships

I will be investing in my relationships because I know that the social in social media is all about the relationships. The first year I blogged as a business, I was frustrated because I felt like I was not getting ahead. I wasn’t bringing in new readers. Then I attended a few networking events and that is when it all started. Yes, it is wonderful that we can work for ourselves from home, but there is still nothing like good old-fashioned networking. It is crucial to any business and with 4,000 people at BlogWorld, there will definitely be a few people I haven’t met yet.

Part of those relationships will be with brands. There are companies from many blog niches including technology, mommy, travel, food, photography and more. You can find a list of exhibitors and sponsors at the BlogWorld Expo website.

Regardless of where you are a newbie or old-timer, mommy or foodie, female or male, you will find that BlogWorld Expo will be the best investment in YOU, you can make. After you go buy your pass, check out my article on the BlogWorld Expo Blog detailing how to prepare for the best BlogWorld experience and I will see you in a month!

Let’s Talk! Are you making an investment in YOU?

Disclosure: I was not paid to do this post. I am helping to promote BlogWorld Expo through my social media channels and writing posts for the BlogWorld Expo blog in exchange for a full pass to BlogWorld Expo. All opinions are my own.

Discount Pricing Ends Tomorrow! Don’t Miss Your Chance to Save Money & Register Today (blogworld.com)
9 Ways to Rock Blog World Expo (chrisbrogan.com)
Why You Should Come To BlogWorld If You Are A Content Creator (blogworld.com)
How a Geek Gets Organized for BlogWorld Expo (blogworld.com)

The #1 Reason to Attend BlogWorld Expo originally posted at Scraps of My Geek Life.

Wordless Wednesday, Miami's Dancing Mermaids

Michele — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 15:25:21 +0000

This past weekend, Jason and I left our kids with my mom and we headed to Miami. We were attending a PCMA (Professional Convention Management Association) Education Foundation event. I was in Miami a few years ago for an IAEE meeting with Jason and I fell in love with the city. I’m not sure I’d want to live there full time because I imagine the summers are hotter than “you know what.” I’ve been in Miami in December and April and both times the weather was beautiful. Everyone in Miami is very friendly and relaxed. I believe it is because they don’t ever get the winter blues because they think 60 degrees is cold. I would love to think 60 was cold. But, I do plan to visit Miami more often.

Here are some of the pictures from our adventure:

The bathroom had a TV in it and this geek was totally impressed. I told Jason I need that. Now if only they had wifi in the room!!!

We got to check out the new Liv Nightclub in Miami and it will forever be known as the place where ScrappinMichele lost her Kodak Zi8. Don’t even ask!! And some famous rapper (they wouldn’t say who) had the placed closed down that night for his big birthday bash. So if you see a famous rapper with a black Kodak Zi8, let him know that ScrappinMichele would like it back. But I did get to drink some sort of raspberry martini. Very fruity and strong.

I happened to catch this picture on the way from Liv to dinner.

This picture is kind of blurry since I took it with my iPhone as I was walking, but I didn’t want to miss this picture. As you can see in the lower right, my foot is there. For the dinner on Saturday night, we walked across this glass enclosed walkway and under our feet were a mermaid and 2 mermen (is that the proper term?). It was very bizarre. They said not to worry about having a dress on because their eyes were closed, but her eyes do NOT look very closed to me.

And just in case the mermaid walkway wasn’t enough, we had 1 mermaid dancing on the buffet table right behind the meet carving table.

Here you get a better idea of the layout of the dancing mermaid. Very bizarre!

This was the table setting and you can see some of the images on the wall too. Our dinner was supposed to be pool side, but we had bad weather looming so they brought it inside and wanted us to feel like we were still pool side.

Some very cool ice sculptures at the seafood table.

And last is this gorgeous flower arrangement. I want to recreate that in my house.

Wordless Wednesday, Miami's Dancing Mermaids originally posted at Scraps of My Geek Life.

Digital Soul Hour on MomTV: Mom 2.0 Recap & Upcoming 2010 Conferences

Michele — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 17:55:08 +0000

Digital Soul Hour

10:00 PM EST

Tonight

Discussing: Mom 2.0 Recap & Other 2010 Conferences

Join me tonight for a 30 minute show. I will recap the Mom 2.0 conference that I attended this past week and upcoming conferences I plan to attend. Have a question about conferences? Ask away!

Chatting About Mom 2.0 on The Chatterbox Show (scrapsofmygeeklife.com)
Mom 2.0 Summit Recap with Scrappin’ Michele and Bantering Blonde – Feb 24,2010 (blogtalkradio.com)
Mom 2.0 Summit 2010 (momspark.net)
What you do Matters ~ What I WANT to do Matters (banteringblonde.com)

Digital Soul Hour on MomTV: Mom 2.0 Recap & Upcoming 2010 Conferences originally posted at Scraps of My Geek Life.