Pay It Forward {Day 4/Year 2}

It's tempting to try and plan out ways to Pay It Forward every day, but I remember from last year that sometimes it's best to just be on the constant lookout for the opportunity to "do good".  I noticed several times today how good it feels to be looking for opportunities to pay it forward. It's one of the chief reasons that I decided to do this again for a second year. It just changes your my outlook for the better.

All that to say, that while I had an idea in mind for today I did look for other opportunities as well. A good friend of mine has been working tirelessly on the committee for a conference that I will be attending this weekend, she's even had to back out of some really fun things--(because she's awesome) and really did some amazing work on this conference.

She was really intrigued by the candy infused vodka that I made last weekend, so I made hers look a little more refined in these fancy flat mason jars and took it to give to her at the conference.

After about 30 minutes we finally saw each other and I held out the gift bag. Initially she asked if the bag was something someone else had asked me to drop off. When I told her that wasn't the case, she asked if there was any chance that it was candy infused vodka....and voila. Yes! Yes it was!

I was glad to bring a little sunshine to her stressful day and to see her enjoying some of it before the night was over.

I have also been meaning to give a shout out to Kelli over at Momma Needs A Beer who saw on Tuesday (the first day of my Pay It Forward project) that I was two followers away from 1,000 on Twitter and she very kindly tweeted out for her followers to give me a little "follow love" and help me break the milestone. Sure enough, buy the end of the day I was at 1,002. Thanks, Kelli!

The rest of this weekend should be a challenge as I am at non-blogging related conference and will be in sessions most of the day. I look forward to the challenge.

Type-A Parent: The Sessions

(@pattidigh)

Type-A Parent Conference '11 was held last week in Asheville, NC and I was lucky enough to attend.

I was lucky enough to have an entire week to myself and I won't lie, it was pretty awesome.

(@punditmom)

But, here's the deal...I know that I was lucky to go and that for one reason or another or heck maybe even a whole slew of reasons lots of others weren't able to go.

I did keep copious notes--so here's my offer.

If you are a blogger and are interested in hearing about any of the sessions that I went to in more detail, leave a comment with which sesssion you'd like to know more about and I'll email those interested with my take on the session and my notes. All of the sessions (with the exception of one) were incredible. It's been a long time since I have been at a conference where I have felt all the speakers were so well prepared.

All I ask in return is that if you have the opportunity to attend a conference in the future, you  pay it forward as well.

Personal Blogging Tribe Session

SESSIONS

• So You Want to Be a VideoBlogger? (@gregoryng)
• Blogger Outreach That Works (@cecilyk @tokissthecook @anarc @jennfowler)
• Traffic Building Bootcamp (@heathersolos)
• Writing A Pitch (@childhood)
• Clueless Is Not An Excuse: Numbers Matter (@ShellyKramer)
• Design and Usability: Make Sure People Don't Hate Your Blog on First Sight (@andrewghayes)
• Personal Bloggers Tribe (@chelechestnut @staceynerdin)
• Bloggers' Block: Writing Exercises to Beat Burnout (@pattidigh)
• Monetization Power Session (@dbinkowski @hollyhamann @momtalkradio @tvdeegan)
• The Myth of Doing It All (@mom101)

For more things Type-A, check out Type-A Parent: The Experience .

Type-A Parent: The Experience

Virginia Military Institute Barracks (VMI)

I took my time driving down to Asheville, NC for the Type-A Parent Conference. I stopped for the night in Lexington, VA where I had stayed once before. Woke up leisurely (7am) the next morning and made my way to the conference hotel. Aside from some user error with my GPS the trip was pretty and uneventful.

Just before the North Carolina line

 

 

 

I wasn't sure what to expect from the conference as my only previous experience was BlogHer '10 in NYC last year. I knew this would be smaller, but I wasn't sure what that meant. I was pleasantly surprised at the intimate sessions, knowledgeable speakers, friendliness of attendees and all that bacon! 

Not in fact bacon, but Blue Bunny ice cream. Yum!

I left his conference just as overwhelmed as after BlogHer, but I felt like I learned a lot more. I would definitely suggest this conference to all the parent bloggers out there looking for a laid-back conference in a funky little town.

Monetization Power Session

I had a really great time meeting bloggers that I only knew on-line and finding out they were even better in person. Wouldn't it be nice if that were the case everywhere in life?

Fadra Nally, @allthingsfadra

Stop back tomorrow to see how I'm going to Pay It Forward Type-A Style!

Smurfette, Ubisoft Party

Pick Me! Pick Me!

(Photo: Nick Hobgood)

Admittedly, I'm a little fish in the big pond of blogging. But, Nemo was small and look what became of him? Little fishy got himself a movie about his life story and some excellent merchandising profits. I mean, hellooo, he's on diapers, swimsuits and a made in his image stuffed animal just to name a few. All because he kept on believing in himself and changing things up a bit as his world changed.

He also made great connections with other fish along the way, like when he was in the aquarium at the dentist's office, which is a great correlation to me and this blog-- the little blogger going to the Type-A Parent conference. I might be little but I'm willing to learn, to change and to share what I know with other bloggers. No matter the size of our audience we all have the ability to share great ideas for content, layout, or a really great widget that makes our readers more engaged. This past summer I had the opportunity to attend a huge blogging conference where the connections I made were the big highlight for me. Those connections became relationships with women...with moms...who continue to inspire me to this day.

But, Nemo wasn't the only one with with a nugget of wisdom to share. I think Tortoise of The Tortoise and The Hare fame had it right too when he said "Slow and steady wins the race." It's so easy to get caught up in all the different on-line communities, to raise your Klout score, your Twitter followers, your subscribers--but if doing so causes you to lose focus and to alienate your readers--then what was the point to begin with? I believe in growing my blog organically and interacting with people, blogs and brands with whom I have a connection with. From everything I have heard out and about in the blogosphere, Type-A-Parent is just this kind of conference. A conference that is intimate enough that it can provide bloggers with strong connections and learning opportunities and large enough to pack in tons of fun.

Lastly, I'd like to talk about the wisdom of a non-animated celebrity, Sandra Bullock. I don't know if you remember when she just got started? When she was a little fish in the giant fish tank called Hollywood? I do. I remember clearly the stories of how she used to bring donuts to the set for the cast and crew. Not because she had to, but because she wanted to! She was excited to have this new opportunity before her, thankful to share it with her co-workers. And more than a little bit smart, I mean everyone loves donuts.

So, I'm not saying I will, but I'm not saying I won't.

But, pick me and there might be some free donuts in it for you.


Pick me! Pick me!



**The Type-A Parent conference is happening in Asheville, NC this June and I'd really love to go. Social Media Moms is hosting a competition amongst 33 bloggers, of which I am one. It's kind of like Amazing Race meets blogging, how cool is that?! We have four challenges to complete over the course of the next week. This post is the first of them, whereby we write about "why we are meant to win (using a dash of celebrity)".  If you'd like to follow on Twitter the hashtag is #TypeACeleb.**