Why I Attended WordCamp

by Suzen Pettit at Omaginarium

One of the best and the most challenging parts of what I do is the constant upgrading and self-educating of my…professional self. In the field of online marketing, SEO and internet advancements, this world is spinning so fast it is hard-(really hard! )to stay ahead of the curve. Forget ahead, actually. I figure if I stay somewhat abreast of the most important elements — the things that are going to impact my clients, my own business and the future of our industry, I am doing my job. And it’s continuous! And it’s all good!

Beware the “online
marketing expert” who constantly thinks they know everything and has nothing to learn. Because as soon as we think we have it down — Google’s new algorithms, the newest of helpful plug-ins, the state of the legislature (remember SOPA?), the ever growing cloud based options, etc., the next wave, huff….puff….is upon us and we must adapt.

The good news here is that upgrades are a good thing. Ways to simplify, streamline and adapt without the historical pain, abound now and even though there are so many more choices, for the most part those choices are good ones (remember dial up? Banner ads popping up every 2 seconds, constant viruses and system crashes?) . A plethora if you will of choices designed to lure you in are out there now and technology is better because it has to be. they are Competition and choices is a good thing! Remember that, as it creates high expectations and excellence in our fields.

So, yes, this past Saturday I trekked into the city, registered and received my not 1 but 2 free tee shirts (see attached) and attended WordCamp 2012, the glorious culmination of so much WordPress and variations of WordPress knowledge in various forms that your head could split from all the cumulative brain power and magnificent choices someone like a total internet nerd like me…not you, I know, but me, had to choose from. WordPress, by the way, for those who don’t know, is a very rich, fabulous website and blog Content Management System (CMS) designed originally as a blog platform and now used worldwide with thousands of variations as the top of the line, most flexible, SEO friendly ( I believe) platform for anyone building a website today. Like a kid in an online candy store I attended 5 good workshops, my top 3 being:

-Increase Page Views and User Retention In 3 Minutes, by Neil Mody from nRelate.com — great tips and plug ins that hold readers and minimize bounce rate

-The Secret of Hyperlocal Success by Hal Goodtree founder and editor ofCaryCitizen.com, on what it takes to start a ‘hyper local” publication such as the one you are reading this blog post on now right now….full disclosure: I don’t know how I landed there — thought it was about Local Search, but it was very interesting…

and my all time fav…drum roll please:

-Google Loves WordPress/Blogging for SEO by my friend and colleague Alex Miranda from PRUnderground.com (this was my second time around for this presentation as I can never get enough of his Crazy Pet Trick of publishing a blog post LIVE in front of the class and watching it rise to #1 within minutes (usually) of posting). Do not try this at home! But do contact Alex for great social media press releases and amazing exposure!

So I am energized and stuffed like an artichoke with so many new and exciting gizmo’s and gadgets, as well as cutting edge techniques to pass on to y’all as well as implementing them myself first…always the gracious guinea pig….