Q. What DON’T you do?
This one was asked at the swap meet. I was lucky enough to share a table with Mary Margaret. She came home and wrote a post that made me cry…and think.
Well, the short answer to this question is A LOT! One thing, I didn’t make all those lovely charms. I was representing Aimee’ Oelke…a multi-talented crafter who made them all by hand. Find more on her shop if you didn’t have a chance to buy one at the BlogHer08 swap meet, which was so well done, I can’t begin to express how impressed I was with it. Definitely start now getting ready for the swap meet next year if you’re a craft girl!
Q. What are the characteristics of an entrepreneur?
This was one very passionate session. One of my favorite at BlogHer08. Women entrepreneurs have a lot to say on the subject of “how to.”
Some of the points that came up. Characteristics of an entrepreneur include being:
-persistent
-willing to fail
-willing to ask for help
-willing to show all sides of yourself
I just want to elaborate on something I mentioned during the session. I believe people will hate on you, what you stand for (and that can be real hard), what you’re trying to create. The noise gets louder as you inch towards “success.” In fact, I look at the Hate-o-Meter to tell me whether or not I’m on to something. When the little red line moves up and people are bad mouthing me, I know something’s working.
The question was asked, I believe by the panel moderator, Susan Mernit (an excellent public speaker, in my estimation)…do you have to be a bitch to be an effective entrepreneur?
Some said “yes,” some said “whoa.” I say this: operate from your heart. When something throws you off your center, get back into your seat, your saddle, as it were. Your sense of self absolutely cannot be shaken by haters. Cry it out, find a mentor, give it up to God. Whatever it is you do, come back to your center. That’s the key. I’m seeing entrepreneurs, many of them considered to be highly successful, shut down and view the world as trying to “steal” “their” creations. Keep in mind that what you are bringing is a gift, see it as an offering and allow it to change shape. Watch it grow. Keep your ego out of it and it will flourish under a loving eye.
I could talk about this all day, but those are just a few thoughts. We’re called to be entrepreneurs for a reason. Each day we wake up to discover that reason within us and move from a place of love. Embrace the Hate and Move Forward with Love.
Q. Who is HE??
HE is Joel Longtine. He has six younger siblings, four of whom are girls, which makes him very comfortable around all us lady types. He is a Code Poet with Socialthing! which means he writes in Ruby, Java and whatever else is needed to get the job done. Socialthing! is one of the first digital life managers of its kind. It takes all the things you’re doing online (Facebook, Last.fm, Flickr, etc) and aggregates it, along with what your friends are doing (they needn’t be on Socialthing! to be in your lifestream).
It simplifies your online presence and life. Let me know if you need an invite (along w/yr email addy). Get to know Joel. He’s one of the good ones. (He’s also living proof you can be a computer programmer and still be way GQ.)
Q. Twitter. How do I get started?
Here’s what it is, in plain English. Get started + follow me for more. Ask questions (use the “@” sign followed by the username to do so)! We’ll help you.
Twitter in Plain English from leelefever on Vimeo.
Tweet Beep is this magical tool that finds everything being said about you in the Twitterverse and mails it, free, to your inbox daily! This lets you follow up with tweets you might have missed…and make new friends! Give it a try.
If you enjoy tracking yourself and others, as well as events, try Twitter Search. You can start by seeing all the tweets related to Blogher08…handy!
Q. You’re a Kirtsy Editor, right?
Right! I met the Kirtsy* crew, then Sk*rt chicks, at BlogHer 2007 in Chicago. It was a very humid day and I was laughing with a bunch of gals as we drank some oops! wine. Let’s just say, we laughed our way into each other’s hearts.
It’s been a huge year for Kirtsy. For a one sentence summary, Kirtsy is the place I go, daily, to find out what’s happening in the blogosphere. It’s a finger on the pulse of what’s happening online. BlogHer was like Kirtsy come to Life!
Can’t wait to see where Kirtsy is at for BlogHer09. Expect big things!
*Those of you who attended my panel will note that the correct spelling is _very_ important.
Q. I was at the DIY Content Syndication Panel and it was way over my head. Can you start at the beginning?
Sure. First, it’s about creating content. I have discovered some of my strengths and I create to share those strengths.
For photos I publish on Flickr.
For writing I publish with Wordpress.
For sharing links, rather than a static linkroll, I use Kirtsy and share the cool links I find. That and Del.icio.us.
Next, when I post a bunch of new photos or a spankin’ new blog post, I let people know. I tend to go for a very focused “blast.” I let my twitter followers know, I sometimes submit my own stories to Kirtsy (but I use the button and let others do it if they think it’s worth going on Kirtsy, typically). I have a link on my site that allows people to subscribe to my RSS feed but more people visit my site than read my RSS feed. (Check my sidebar to see where I publish.)
Q. I was at the DIY Content Syndication Panel and it was way below me. Can you give me some more advanced information?
Yes. But it would be a lot easier to hear some specific questions. If you have them, please email me {see the side bar} and let me know if it’s ok to publish them/your personal info. I’d love to keep this conversation going.
Thank you, everyone, for making BlogHer08 successful beyond what I had imagined. It definitely went above and beyond BlogHer07 and blew me away with how much solid content, intriguing discussions and upbeat love and energy there was. Stay tuned for more questions answered, blogs you should be reading and a project I’ve been pouring my heart into for a few weeks now…
Thanks for reading. Thank you for inspiring me.
