Purple Wren

SOBCon09 is Next Week!

Can you believe it's almost May?

SOBCon is next week. If you're serious about blogging - or want to be - you have to attend this event. Check out all the people who are already signed up. Look at all the opportunities to learn and socialize with other bloggers.

I still am unsure if I can attend. It's been a scary year so far for me and I have not been working as much as I would like. So my reasons for not attending have been based on finances. And then today a fellow blogger, Deb at debworks told me that Naomi from IttyBiz is unable to attend and is giving away tickets. You can be sure I went right over and signed up. And I told Jim about it because he really enjoyed SOBCon08.

I figure "if it's meant to be" we'll get tickets. It was a "meant to be" event that brought Deb and me together just as I am contemplating my future as a blogger.

Time is running out! Sign up today.

I'm sorry Naomi can't make it though. Be sure to check out the IttyBiz blog.

Restoration of Flood-Damaged Photos

Now that the flood waters are beginning to recede, people are able to get in and assess damage. One of the most heart-wrenching things is the loss of precious photos. They cannot be replaced. However, they may be able to be restored. There is an organization called Operation Photo Rescue that was started after Katrina and they are open to helping where they can in Iowa. They are a network of volunteers who can repair photographs damaged by natural disasters - at no cost to the owner.

And, there is a local photographer who is involved - Kevin Barber of Barber Photography. He is gathering other volunteers who may be able to help. Contact him today if you can help, or if you have damaged photos and need help.

Here's tips for salvaging flood and water damaged photos. It's important to take immediate action - and the right steps.

Angela's Raw Adventure

I'm teaming up with Angela Clark of enrgPATH. She is embarking on a raw journey for the next 90 days.

Are you interested in healing your body with food?

What's the big deal with raw food?

 

Join Angela's Raw Adventure via her blog at www.blog.enrgPATH.com to see how she is using local resources to eat a 90% raw food diet for 90 days.

• See Angela's "before" pictures 
• See pics of Raw Food 
• Get Information on Raw Food Demonstrations 
• Find out where you can join Angela for a meal
• Find links to raw food web sites, blogs, and recipes
• Find the local connections to raw food

 

The Big Dream Gathering is Tonight!

It's here! The Big Dream Gathering is tonight from 6:30 - 10 p.m.

Polk County Convention Center

501 Grand Avenue, Des Moines

SOBCon in Chicago

We're in Chicago at SOBCon '08. Had a great cruise last night and enjoyed great conversation and a mix of rain and clear skies and great lights.

Attendees 

• Cliff Atkinson
• Shashi Bellamkonda
• JJ Betts
• Chris Brown
• Chris Brogan
• Harry Brooks
• Anita Bruzzese
• Dave Bullock
• Mark Carter
• Brian Clark
• Tom Clifford
• Clay Collins
• Valerie Combs
• Chris Cree
• Lisa Cree
• Thomas Croghan
• Donna Cutting
• David Dalka
• Kevin Dixie
• Tim Draayer
• Monica Duncan
• Easton Ellsworth
• Kevin Ferrasci O'Malley
• Jonathan Fields
• Sarah Filipiak
• Mary-Lynn Foster
• Annie Galvin Teich
• Brian Gardner
• Chris Garrett
• Jon Gatrell
• Phil Gerbyshak
• Jared Goralnick
• Karen Hanrahan
• Joseph Hauckes
• Vicky Hennegan
• Scot Herrick
• John Hong
• Stephen Hopson
• Robert Hruzek
• Timothy Johnson
• Sara
• Pete Jones
• Todd Jordan
• Bob Kakoliris
  
• Christine Kane
• Adam Kayce
• Kristen King
• Scott Kolbe
• Jen Knoedl
• Stephen Koernig
• Bryan Kress
• George Krueger
• Amy L
• Tammy Lenski
• James G. Lindberg
• Eli Litscher
• Rick Mahn
• Sim Margolis
• Michael Martine
• Becky McCray
• Maria Meadows
• Cory Miller
• Ann Michael
• Dawud Miracle
• Debra Moorhead
• Matthew Murphy
• Paul O'Flaherty
• Tim Padar
• Jesse Petersen
• Melissa Pierce
• Wendy Piersall
• Sandra Ponce de Leon
• J. Erik Potter
• Karen Putz
• Susan R Quandt
• Levy Rivers
• Barbara Rozgonyi
• Jeff Sable
• Sheila Scarborough
• Mary Schmidt
• Derek Semmler
• Maria Sharon
• David Sherbow
• Steve Sherlock
• Brad Shorr
• Louise Silberman
• Sonia Simone-Rossney
• Julien Smith
• Stephen Smith
• Michael Snell
• Derrick Sorles
• Terry Starbucker
• Liz Strauss
• Jon Swanson
• Ruth M Sylte
• Windsor Tanner
• Michelle Vandepas
• Lorelle VanFossen
• Colleen Wainwright
• Denise Wakeman
• James D. Walton
• Randy Windsor
• Joanna Young
• Sandy Renshaw

Launching The Age of Conversation

The Age of Conversation has finally made it to the retail world. It's available on Amazon.

Go buy a copy today and help boost the book ranking.

More importantly, change a child's life.

All proceeds from book sales benefit Variety, the Children's Charity. Taken directly from Drew McLellan's blog, "Because we wanted the money to represent the international make up of our authors, we earmarked the money for one of Variety's programs, Lifeline. Lifeline's sole mission is providing medical assistance to children with treatable and survivable heart conditions in countries where the appropriate medical facilities, expertise or resources do not exist."

You'll find my chapter on page 82.

Age of Conversation 2.0

Last year more than 100 bloggers contributed to Age of Conversation. It brought in over $10,000 for Variety, the Children's Charity. Drew McLellan recently put out the call for writers for the next edition. You still have time to vote on the topic, too. Make sure you visit Drew's site by Feb. 3rd.

Psst... You can vote on the topic even if you won't want to be an author.

Here's some of the people who have signed up. (Thanks to Angela Maiers for the list.)

Drew McLellan, Luc Debaiseieux, Ryan Karpeles, Greg Verdino, Lori Magno, Gavin Heaton, Connie Reece, The Kaiser, Katie Chatfield, Tim Jackson, Doug Meacham, C.B. Whittemore, Becky Carroll, Gordon Whitehead, Daniel B. Honigman, Daria Rasmussen, Jay Ehret, Jasmin Tragas, Jamey Shiels, Organic Frog, Bill Gammell, Nathan Snell, Stephen Landau, Stephen Collins, Stephen Smith, Mark Earls, Steven Verbruggen, Neil Perkin, Brett Macfarlane, Dino Demopoulos, Chris Wilson, Asi Sharabi, Angela Maiers, Sandy Renshaw

Are you ready to add your name??

The authors from Age of Conversation:

Gavin Heaton
Drew McLellan
CK
Valeria Maltoni
Emily Reed
Katie Chatfield
Greg Verdino
Mack Collier
Lewis Green
Sacrum
Ann Handley
Mike Sansone
Paul McEnany
Roger von Oech
Anna Farmery
David Armano
Bob Glaza
Mark Goren
Matt Dickman
Scott Monty
Richard Huntington
Cam Beck
David Reich
Luc Debaisieux
Sean Howard
Tim Jackson
Patrick Schaber
Roberta Rosenberg
Uwe Hook
Tony D. Clark
Todd Andrlik
Toby Bloomberg
Steve Woodruff
Steve Bannister
Steve Roesler
Stanley Johnson
Spike Jones
Nathan Snell
Simon Payn
Ryan Rasmussen
Ron Shevlin
Roger Anderson
Robert Hruzek
Rishi Desai
Phil Gerbyshak
Peter Corbett
Pete Deutschman
Nick Rice
Nick Wright
Michael Morton
Mark Earls
Mark Blair
Mario Vellandi
Lori Magno
Kristin Gorski
Kris Hoet
G.Kofi Annan
Kimberly Dawn Wells
Karl Long
Julie Fleischer
Jordan Behan
John La Grou
Joe Raasch
Jim Kukral
Jessica Hagy
Janet Green
Jamey Shiels
Dr. Graham Hill
Gia Facchini
Geert Desager
Gaurav Mishra
Gary Schoeniger
Gareth Kay
Faris Yakob
Emily Clasper
Ed Cotton
Dustin Jacobsen
Tom Clifford
David Polinchock
David Koopmans
David Brazeal
David Berkowitz
Carolyn Manning
Craig Wilson
Cord Silverstein
Connie Reece
Colin McKay
Chris Newlan
Chris Corrigan
Cedric Giorgi
Brian Reich
Becky Carroll
Arun Rajagopal
Andy Nulman
Amy Jussel
AJ James
Kim Klaver
Sandy Renshaw
Susan Bird
Ryan Barrett
Troy Worman
Neil Vineberg

Related post:
The Age of Conversation if Available from Lulu

 

Try the NaBloPoMo Randomizer

One of the fun things about NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month) is the Randomizer. Click on the link to see a random blog that is participating in the challenge. The interesting thing is you don't know what site you will see next.

Did You Know About NaBloPoMo?

It's November and that means it's National Blog Posting Month (NaBloPoMo). The challenge is to post every day this month.

That's all there is to it.

It's not always easy though. I got so busy yesterday, the day slipped away and alas, no post.

It still good for me to participate though. Keeps me focused on posting, even if I'm not perfect.

How about you? Are you posting consistently? Would a challenge help you?  It's not too late. You can still join in in the fun for 17 more days.

The Age of Conversation is Available from Lulu

Have you got a copy yet? It was just released on July 16.

The Age of Conversation is available from Lulu in e-book, paper and hardback. It's the result of more than 100 authors from around the world contributing one page each - about 400 words - on the topic of "conversation."

All the proceeds are being donated to Variety, The Children's Charity. At last report (8/28), it has generated a profit of $9,695.11.

It's also generated a lot of friendships and collaborations as the authors continue to meet each other in person and online wikis.

Here's an excerpt from my page, Graphics and Conversations:

In a world where we have three seconds to make a good impression, the . . .

Order your copy today to read the entire book!