October is nearly over, and that means in just over two weeks geeks from all over will be descending on Los Angelas.  BlogWorld’s bi-annual conference hits the west coast this year with a vengeance, and judging by the lineup it’s going to be a fantastic conference.

It’s funny though.  I always joke around with attendees because I’m sort of an anomaly.  Everyone attending BlogWorld is a blogger, podcaster, or new media professional, and then there’s me.  As I like to tell people, I’m the mechanic in the room full of car enthusiasts – I’m the silent sentry that’s ever vigilant on keeping their websites up and running, performing well, and looking nice.  Not that I don’t blog, or podcast, or engage with social networks; it’s just that I’m so busy giving that my own blog suffers.  The old saying goes, “The cobbler’s kids shoes are always the worst” and that rings true every time on my own blog, podcasts (when I am recording them) and twitter account.

BlogWorld for me is a change to recharge.  I’ve heard it mentioned before that BlogWorld is what South-by-Southwest was before it got huge – not that it’s necessarily small!  But whereas people at SxSW can get by with a party pass and a couch to crash on, BlogWorld is definitely more speaker focused – you’ll want to attend sessions just to see what all the fuss is about.

Plus, because of the nature of the conference, you get the chance to meet people you’d never otherwise see (other than online).  Chris Brogan, Jason Falls, Darren Rowse, Guy Kawasaki – I could go on and on but these are people who are in the trenches living and breathing this stuff every day and you and I get to meet them.

BlogWorld NY, earlier in the year, was a turning point for me as a speaker.  I’d always loved (and still love) doing WordCamps and BarCamps, but this is the major leagues and the expectations are high.  I was honored to see a packed house with people stuffed into the doorway trying to get in.  It truly vindicated me as an influencer (at least, I’ve tried to live up to the hype).

So for me, BlogWorld is a chance to get away from the “doing” that goes on day after day and get a fresh perspective.  It allows me to meet people who are doing the day-to-day magic that I strive to do, and see that 1) They’re normal people, just like you and me, and 2) They are willing to impart their knowledge.

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If I’ve piqued your interest, you’ll be happy to know that there are two ways you can attend.  You can hop on a plane and show up, or you can attend virtually.  If you want to attend in person (and believe me, it’s worth it if you can) then you can use this link to get 20% off (or click on the button in my sidebar – both lead to the same link).

Virtual tickets are new-ish to BlogWorld this year, but they’re super cool.  You get access to all of the recorded sessions, plus some behind-the-scenes interviews, videos, and all of that other stuff.  Plus, it’s a lot cheaper because you don’t have a hotel or airfare to contend with.  You can grab a virtual ticket here and join in from the comfort of your own bedroom.

I hope to see you there – and if you are planning on attending, look me up.  More than likely I’ll be the one wearing the awesome fedora and talking to people about WordPress

Hello, my name is Mitch Canter, and I’m a camp-o-holic…

It’s no surprise to anyone that I am a career *camper.  I travel quite a ways to jump in on BarCamps, PodCamps, and WordCamps all over the country.  Honestly, I’ve lost count as to how many (I know it’s in the upper 20s) I’ve been to in the last 3+ years.  My start was here in Nashville, though, at the PodCamp they held over at The Cannery Ballroom, and it was an experience I’d never forget.  I kept going to every camp I could drive to (and afford) and I’ve always come back with something worthwhile.  Whether that something was a new friendship, a client, or some juicy information – or all three – I came back with something fantastic.

I’ve managed to keep track of the small notes I’ve made to my mental self over the years, and I wanted to share a few of them with you.  Whether this is your first time at a BarCamp, or whether you’re a veteran camper looking to the event with highest expectations, here are a few things to keep in mind.  I’ve broken them down into a few Do’s and Don’ts for you:

1. Don’t Drink (too much) Too Early

“Whoa, Mitch,” you may be thinking, “That’s asking an awful lot.  This is Nashville!  We put the BAR in BarCamp, right?!” Truth be told, yes, but if you get sloshed before the afterparty, then all you’ve done is wasted a Saturday.  Take it easy in the AM (one or two is OK) and start ramping up in the afternoon if you must.  Cadillac Ranch is a fantastic place to grab a pint or two, but your main goal is information and networking, not beer and booze, so if you can, go easy on the drinks if you know you can’t handle it.  Besides, no one likes “that guy” in the corner heckling the speakers.

2. Don’t Go To Every Session Slot

I like to call this one the “hallway rule”.  Some of the best conversations and networking opportunities happen OUTSIDE of the session rooms.  Get out there and meet people.  Stroll on up to a table of people you’ve never met and introduce yourself.  You never know when the person you talk to is the contact you’ve been looking for (or that you are the contact they’ve been looking for).  Go to all of the sessions you can, but if you’ve made your schedule and you’re the least bit iffy about a session, then skip it and go mingle.  And for Goodness Sake, get to the afterparty.  I can’t tell you how many websites I’ve sketched out on cocktail napkins for (now) clients.

3. Don’t Skip a Session Because It’s Not “Your Thing”

On the opposite end of the spectrum, if you only have two or three sessions picked out, then by all means explore.  There’s a couple of non-WordPress and non-technical sessions I’m looking forward to, and you better believe that I’ll be in there in the seats even though it’s not my daily thing.  After all, you never know what useful information you’ll pick up that you can take back to your niche or business just by broadening your horizons.

4. Do Bring a Power Strip (with optional extension cord)

I try not to forget to bring this, but you never know what power options will be available to a crowd.  Be everyone’s friend and snag yourself a cheap power strip and a 6 foot extension cable.  If there’s no more plugs, ask a neighbor to let you slide in and free up some more outlets.  You’ll make new friends and people will like you.  That, and you’ll be guaranteed power.

5. Do Bring Business Cards

You’ll meet a lot of people while you’re there.  Make sure to swap cards.  Don’t do anything with them until the day after BarCamp, then sit down and email everyone you meet (personally – none of this fill-in-the-blank form letter crap).  It’ll solidify who they are in your mind and you can remember them as you see them out and about, or if you need a specific skillset you can call on them to hire them.

6. Do Have Fun

Don’t get caught up in the drama.  Don’t be a jerk.  Don’t think you’re being a jerk if you leave a session (rule of two feet), and don’t think that you have nothing to give.  Everyone participates at BarCamp – even if you’re a grass cutter you can tell someone how to cut their grass better than anyone else, and that’s the whole point behind BarCamp – the sharing of knowledge and ideas.

BarCamp’s two days from the post date on this.  Get pumped, get excited, and I’ll see you at the Ranch bright and early on Saturday morning!

Get. Stinking. Excited.

It’s that time again – as if BlogWorld New York wasn’t awesome enough, now I’m getting a double dose of awesomeness – west coast style.

I just got my acceptance email stating that I will be speaking at BlogWorldLA.  It’s November 3-5 at the LA Convention Center, and if it’s even HALF as awesome as New York was, it’s going to be a conference worth going to (hint: it’s going to be even better than NY, I can tell!)

I’m doing something different this trip: instead of staying in an expensive hotel, I’ve booked a room with someone else.  I used airbnb to find a private room near the convention center.  I found Shelly’s apartment, and she’s letting me crash there for the few days I’m around.  It’s just under a mile from the center, but at $55 / night, I can afford the walk (and it’s good exercise!) or take a cab (because I’m lazy!).

I’ve never done anything like room sharing before, but I’m always willing to try something new, and I’ve heard great things about airbnb, so I’m going to take a chance on it.  Shelly’s already contacted me about the reservation, so I’m pretty sure my hostess will be fantastic.

At any rate, I’ll be speaking on WordPress (as per usual) and making the most out of a WordPress blog.  I’m going to do it a bit differently though, so look to this blog for feedback on what to cover and things of that nature.

Here’s to a fantastic end to the year’s conferences with Blogworld!

(PS: If you want to attend BlogWorld, then by all means do it! – it’s worth every penny to go, and they’re discounted until September 21st!)

As you can see by the photos we are having a blast here at WordCampFayetteville.

It’s worth noting that there are quite a few WordCamps going on in the month of June.  There’s 3 in the US, and for those of you across the pond (waaaay across), there’s one in Thessaloniki (now that’s a camp I’d love to be “invited” to speak at!)

• Jun 4-5 WordCamp Reno-Lake Tahoe Reno, NV
• Jun 4 WordCamp Greece Thessaloniki, Greece
• Jun 11-12 WordCamp Kansas City Overland Park, KS
• Jun 17-19 WordCamp Columbus Columbus, OH

On a personal note I will be at the Columbus WordCamp later in the month doing a session on “WordPress as a CMS”, so I do hope you guys can make it.

Related articles

• Summer WordCamps 2011 (wordpress.org)

Ok, I promise this is the last post about BlogWorld… but I wanted to elicit a bit of a briefing from people who attended (or didn’t attend) my session.  Namely, I had a few questions I’d like to get some answers to:

If you attended…

1. Did you enjoy the session?
2. What was your WordPress knowledge going in
3. Did something I say or do convince you to switch to WordPress?
4. Was there anything I did or said that was incorrect or erroneous?

If you did not attend (or attended for only a short time)…

1. Did you consider attending, but reconsider later?
2. Did you attend and leave midway through
3. Why did you not attend / leave midway through?
4. What would have enticed you to come / stay?

Four short questions for each group.  You can leave your thoughts in the comments below and I’ll try to answer each and every one.

Thanks again, and see you in BlogWorldExpo Los Angeles (#bwela) in November!

This won’t be my last post about BlogWorld, but I think it will be one of your favorites.  While I was on the expo floor I got to meet up and talk to a lot of really great vendors (both of services and software) and see just what they were all about.  I wanted to share three of them with you because they really stood out.

Livefyre

I’ve already written a blog post about them, but they’ve basically replaced the commenting system in my blogs (formerly powered by Disqus). I love the fact that they utilize the WordPress commenting moderation system and only replace the visual element instead of having to learn a new panel to navigate through.

MapQuest

Yes, THAT MapQuest.  They’ve come out swinging with a new interface and one of the more feature rich map builders I’ve seen.  I’ll be doing a demo soon, but take it from me: if you do anything with maps and want a completely custom experience, then you should give their Map Builder WordPress plugin a go (once again – full review coming later)

WebDoc

HTML5 is coming through like a hurricane, and as more companies build in support our mobile devices become happier and better to use.  WebDoc takes a lot of the guesswork out of HTML5 by allowing you to create “WebDocs” with video, audio, photo slideshows, and even voting and counter widgets.  But it’s not just one – you can add any number of elements to a WebDoc.  Want a photo with a voting widget? Done.  A slideshow with a countdown? Perfect.  Simply publish and drop in the embeddable code into WordPress.

As an example I’ve dropped a few of my New York photos into a slideshow – I have to say, it looks “mighty fine”.

Mitch Canter getting ready to speak (credit Dave Delaney)

Yesterday downtown Nashville was invaded by 600+ of the brightest and best geeks in town as the Cadillac Ranch opened its doors for the third annual PodCampNashville.  People turned out in droves to hear speakers talk on creativity, development, design, marketing, public relations, and all other manner of speaking sessions.

I spoke on WordPress, and how to use it to take a blog from being “just a blog” to running a fully functional website.  There were lots of other great sessions, but for me the biggest draw is seeing people I haven’t seen in a long time, and just catching up with fellow WordPress fans, bloggers, and businesses who are looking to get their website into the new age of content management.

A special thank you goes out to the massive team of planners, volunteers, and other speakers – without you PodCamp wouldn’t have been nearly what it was, and as always the event is the biggest and best in the southeast (I’ve researched – our camps turn 4x the numbers of most of the other camps in the area, mainly because the other camps limit attendance – so it’s something to be proud of)

You can see some of the pictures below from the various photographers who attended.

Photo credit: Wonderdawg777 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/wonderdawg777)

The Nashville PodCamp (coming up this Saturday) marks my 15th camp experience, both as a speaker and as a participant.  The past three years I’ve held privilege to attend camps all over the country, but the Nashville camps (and the southeast in general) seems to have the best handle on how to have a good time and teach a lot as well.

That said, there are some dos and don’ts I’ve picked up that can help you (both as a speaker and a listener) to get the most out of your camping experience.

1) Don’t go to every session slot.

Seriously.  Look at your nicely mapped out grid and see if you have an empty slot or two.  You don’t? Pick the session that 1) you know a lot about already or 2) that isn’t going to give you a lot of value and take it off your schedule – even if it’s mine .  Done that? Good.  Now use that slot to network in the halls, meet some new people, and get to know some of the people that make Nashville such a great city.  I mean, how can you meet new people when you’re too busy listening to people speak, right?  Feeling really frisky? Do it to one more and make it a point to meet someone new and learn about how you can work with them in your business or hobby.

2) Don’t spend all day on your phone or laptop.

Short tweets are good, but put your device down and get some face to face interaction in.  We have all year to talk to each other through Twitter and Facebook, but only a few opportunities to get some facetime in (lowercase facetime, you apple nerds).  Meet some new people, reconnect with old friends, or seek out people you’ve only talked to online – you’d be surprised how many you’ll recognize.

3) Don’t just sit there.

For the sessions you are going to still (after all, that’s what we’re here for, right?) be engaging.  Take some notes, tweet out a hashtag or two, and ask questions – there is no such thing as a stupid question, unless that question goes unasked.  Just make sure you’re paying attention, or you’ve wasted your price of admissions (…)

4) DO get there early.

There’s no better time to network than before this party gets started.  Doors open an hour before and that’s when the good swag is given out, and who doesn’t like getting free stuff?  Plus people are more likely to talk when they’re not scurrying off from one session to another, so you’ll have more chance to get a solid conversation in.

5) DO pack accordingly.

Make sure to bring a few essentials with you:

• Notepad and Pen
• Laptop / Smartphone (for notes, recording, tweeting, stalking, etc)
• Business Cards (to give out)
• Camera (to take photos and show people how much fun you’re having)
• Video Camera (if you’re speaking and can snag one, you can record your session)
• Power Strip (call me a boy scout, but I take these to *every* conference just because you never know how good or bad the power supply is)
• OPTIONAL: cell wireless card (we’ve been really privileged to have great wifi at the ‘Ranch every year, but you never know with so many people coming what will happen – best come prepared)

6) DO go to the afterparty

What? Really?  All these really fun things to talk about and I mention the afterparty?  Well, why not?  All the sessions are over, and the REAL networking begins here.  I can’t count the number of camps I see where people miss this aspect, but if you haven’t gotten it by now, here it is: the whole point of these camps is to meet people in person and socialize/strategize. If you’re coming just to learn some information, that’s great.  But if you can meet and mingle with some of Nashville’s finest, why pass up the opportunity?  You can grab a few drinks (or even a water) and sit down to talk tech and media with people who are out there doing it and living it – who could ask for a better lesson (or a lesson after the lesson, as it were).

So, I’ll see you guys all at the ‘Ranch on Saturday.  Bring your listening ears, your social attitudes, and get ready to get there and learn some stuff (and meet a few new people while you’re at it).

Last night I had the extreme privilege to speak at a “prep session” for anyone who was interested in speaking at BarCampNashville this year.  It was a great time, with great people (and the best drinks in Nashville!).  We covered lots of topics, and instead of trying to do it an injustice and recap, here’s the full video below for your viewing pleasure.

As always, I will be speaking (baby willing – and yes, Kieran’s coming a week before BarCamp so that is a very valid statement) at BarCampNashville, so I hope to see you there!