Stuff I learned or figured out from ConvergeSouth

I had a great time at ConvergeSouth on Friday. Hosted again by NC A&T State University (Aggie Pride!!), the conference was a full day of ideas and accessible thought leadership, tip sharing and affirmation.

I'm sure it's being blogged about more articulately than I am doing here, but it was really interesting to meet Robert Scoble (who is sure to add my business card to his 8 or 9,000 collection of them, even though they are just cold artifacts and old technology that does not add to the dialogue) and learn so much more about broadcasting. Because, you see, that's what I am.

I'm a broadcaster without a studio, without audio, without video. And it sort of drives me crazy. After 20 years of "casting", I stopped when I left TV. I think that's why I've been dashing so hard towards web, new media, social networking and these tools. That's why I say you can take the girl out of the newsroom but not the newsroom out of the girl. That's why I've been telling people for three years (since BlogNashville 2005) that blogging is like our Founding Fathers -- it's like Benjamin Franklin getting his own printing press and spreading his message. (And didn't I just feel so vindicated when Chris Rabb said blogging was like what Thomas Payne did with his pamphlets?)

What makes it so tough for me is that most nights, not five feet away from where I type is a Sony DSR-500. And I can't pick it up or use it. My husband's still in TV and shooting video. He's editing stories and posting them to the web. And I couldn't.

But, actually, I can. I own a cheapie digital point and shoot camera. A Kodak Easy Share. With a big enough memory card, I can shoot some stuff and edit it together. It'll be kinda rough. No lavalier mikes = crappy audio. Oh well. No light kits, no mixing audio channels, I don't think. But that's okay. And now I've learned all the places I can post it on the web.

I sort of thought I was too late for the party. So many people are doing so many interesting things with these tools.

But Anil Dash spent a good part of his time at ConvergeSouth letting us know that it's never too late to join the conversation, and that you have to communicate in the way you love to communicate. Some of it could be broadcasting, some could be social media, some could be blogging and it is going to converge so that going from platform to platform will be more effortless.

So I met some new people, regrouped with others I'd met before, found some new people to follow on Twitter and have had some more follow me. (Confession: I totally love Twitter!)

There is just one thing left to figure out. When the heck am I gonna sleep?

Banners, we got banners!

Okay, it's really nothing to brag about. But I made the banner at the top. I wouldn't call it pretty. I'm certainly no designer. But I'm just so happy to have made something that fit up there, that wasn't too small or way too wide.

I'd like to give a shout out to The Pioneer Woman, who decided to share how she makes her banners. She posted instructions here, which took me through the patterns and basic backgrounds. Then I just started fooling around.

And while I'm thanking people, how about Cathy Zielske who not only inspires my scrapbooking but also linked me to The Pioneer Woman? Please visit them both.

So much to think about at Converge South

Scoble: great info about ways to broadcast video on the Internet. Sites to check out: stickam, ustream, kyte, mogulus. Need to ask Santa for a flip camcorder.

Anil Dash: Social media's future. It's converging. Don't rush to try to join every network, worry about aggregators, etc. The information you need will generally come to you through your network.

My Cousin the Saint Book Giveaway

And while I'm telling you about contests to enter, you should head over to Bleeding Espresso and My Bella Vita. Not only are these blogs written by fabulous women who are now living in Italy, but they are also giving away autographed copies of Justin Catanoso's My Cousin the Saint: A Search for Faith, Family and Miracles.

Full disclosure: I am helping Justin get the word out about his book, published recently by Harper Collins/Morrow. It is a wonderful story - part travelogue, part memoir, part quest for faith. I encourage you to read it!

Handbag Contest

Okay, so I totally entered the contest at HandbagPlanet to win one of their giveway handbags.

I would suggest that you enter too, but wouldn't that lower my chances of winning? Oh, shoot. Go ahead and enter. Just don't pick my lovely green bag!

Polite Punk

So you know my oldest goes to parochial school. We've discussed the plaid. It's coming up on Halloween and it's time to figure out the costumes. Which is getting kinda tough because although she's just made double digits, she's tall for her age and doesn't fit into kid sizes. Heck -- she's about 1 size away from fitting in my shoes.

And you know what comes after girl costumes don't you?

Teen slut costumes.

Sure, the name of the costume is Little Red Riding Hood, but it's the Little Red Riding Hood equivalent of a French Maid costume. Since when did Strawberry Shortcake become sexy?
And Alice in Wonderland is downright disturbing.


Luckily, the Tween picked being a punk rocker. Ordinarily, you wouldn't think that was such a relief, but it's better than any midriff-baring, stocking/garter skimpy thing that you can pick up at one of the Halloween stores that pop up in empty spaces in shopping centers this time of year.

So, we found the cutest punk rock shirt at T.J.Maxx. She already had jeans that feature a huge hole in the knee. A rummage through some costumes a friend gave us yielded fishnet and stripey hand warmer/glove things. I have a belt from the 80's. She has a headset/microphone from a friend's birthday party makeover session. We've got a punk in progress.

Things we need to complete the look:
1. Pink hair dye spray
2. Dog collar choker
3. Black nail polish
4. Willpower for her not to bite her nails for the next 3 weeks
5. Black jewelry

We did find some cute punky high tops tonight at Payless. High top converse-style, with some graffitti near the heel and black and gray laces. The Tween thinks she's so stylin! I'm calling her look "Polite Punk" since she'll get to wear her costume at school.