Meet DigiSo, West Virginia’s First Co-Working Digital Studio

DigiSo is the result of collaborative brainstorming by the West Virginia State University Economic Development Center (EDC), Create West Virginia, and more than a dozen working professionals in media design, production and Internet technologies.

Cool, eh?!  You can meet here, rent out brand-new equipment, and find like-minded people to trade tips and swap ideas.

Hey Toronto pals – remember two years ago when social media really took off and everything changed?  They’re on the cusp of that (Charleston is the largest city in the state).

Thanks to these guys for making this happen!

And special thanks to Sarah ;)

The DigiSo space will offer drop-in work stations, and editing suite, voice studio, secure access and storage, all basic production equipment creates need, and meeting space ideal for large and intimate groups.

My second favourite room.

My first favourite room – the green screen studio.

Here we are inside, getting our group ‘Anchor’ shot.

Here’s how you know this place is class… see the arrow?

They thought to install coat hooks in the bathrooms.  Success is in the details.

Last minute presentation preparation.

Presentation.

This was right after the opening, the Charleston chapter of Ignite – a worldwide speaking group, tagline, “Enlighten Us, But Make it Quick”.  You get 20 slides and 5 minutes.  Here’s me prepping for it.

Click here: Digiso.org It’s a beautiful site.

Here’s the direct link to my page.

I spoke about how to build your brand online, and why having a blog is good for a human.

Oh, remember when I referenced I’d also built a green screen studio?

Here’s that video.

I’m an “Anchor” here.

What I’d like to share with you: what I’ve learned about blogging, social media, living online, and managing a brand online, all to help you find, or create, a job in this brand new industry.

I’d like to spend an afternoon together, help you create and build your online identity.  Show you how to manage it.  Make it so when I say, “I’m about to SEO the crap out of this post”, you’ll know what I mean.

Thanks for a great time, I’m pumped to be a part of DigiSo!  

And a huge congratulations guys,

your hard work paid off beautifully. 

 

PS – Yup, that was my big mouth on the invitation ;) (it’s from my airport post)

 

 

I Came South, and Don’t Even Like the Sun

I don’t.  I hide from it.

I’m like a future person that way.

If you follow my Twitter you’re familiar with me bugging you to wear sunscreen.  If you’ve been bugged, that’s good, means it’s working.

I wear 60SPF every day, even in the winter. The sun reflects off the snow and intensifies it, remember that.

My perfect temperature is: sweater over a sun dress in the day, warm up at night, cute shoes at any time because no snow.

It’s been aaaaamazing for the creative part of my brain to have left Toronto for a bit, changed my environment. It gets tough to constantly see new in the old and familiar, you know?

Next up: decorate my sidebars.

Then: I decided to build my new blogs on WordPress, not Posterous like I was going to, because I need to control the sidebars.

If you are even thinking, “I’d like to have my own blog”, yes do it, and use Posterous.

I built my Hippie blog using Posterous. Have you popped over there lately?  It might amuse you for a few sips of coffee – IAmNotAHippie.com

Look where I went, holy crap I love these places.

How do they get the ships in the bottle??

Answer: they are built with hinged masts, lying flat against the boat. Tie a piece of string around the top of each mast. Slide the thing into the bottle, pull the string, raise the masts, magic.

Now I’m going to tag this post with the phrase above that’s bolded.  I’m doing this in hopes when someone googles that phrase, they’ll find my blog.  And that’s what SEO is: Search Engine Optimization.

I’ll leave you with a few more photos.

The best part about these type of photos is they make a blog look so happy.

Have a great Friday!

I Went on URL Shopping Spree

I bought 20!!

I’ve been keeping a list for a few years, and an eye on whom to register with.

I like Hover for several reasons… they’re since 1999, they’re 100% Canadian, and when I call for help someone picks up in downtown Toronto. If you’re lucky, Mike picks up (he looks like this).

Starting at $15/year, privacy included!, and their interface is slick and easy.

 

Kay, ready for what I bought??

I made them into a beautiful Wordle…

There’s more not listed here, but that’s another Wordle for another time.

Full Disclosure – You bet I got a great deal, how else could I get so many? Thanks, Hover!

(this is the internet in an image)

 

Cycling Animated Gifs & SEO Experiments

There’s a reason I’m doing this.

I’m trying to rank for “cycling animated gifs”, because very few exist.

I like to see if I can rank for things, for kicks.

There’s the Barking Fish Cafe (7th), Skynet Becomes Self Aware (28th), World Planking Day (12th), and Big Mac Virus (3rd).

These are my SEO Experiments.

I have some things to say about SEO these days, I’ve got a half drafted blog post here, coming soon.

PS – if you’d like to see some REALLY nice animated gifs, meet From Me To You, they’re gorgeous.

PPS – Hope this didn’t load too slow, I made them small, I’m thinking about your load time! I always do.