I was a bit wiped when I got to SF WordCamp in Mission Bay yesterday, but woke up when Tim Ferriss, author of “The Four-Hour Workweek,” said he’d switched his presentation from the promised scaleable blogging talk to a conversation about “How to Blog without Killing Yourself.” Among the tips he’s gleaned from blogging about lifestyle design (which he says has been the best promotional tool for his book):
Find your best writing period: Not everyone writes best at night, and 7 AM EST may be the best time to reach your audience with new info or analysis.
Testing is important for comparing the performance of various types of content and can easily be done with free analytics monitoring.
Accept that there can be no correlation between the amount of time you spend editing a piece of video content and its reach. Ferriss said he was disappointed when a minute-long video he threw together about making a hard boiled egg generated many more views and responses than a well-edited five-piece series on chocolate tasting shot at Scharffen Berger. The discrepancy is something we’ve noticed in creating and publishing Women 2.0 In Conversation interviews with female company founders, and I think it speaks to the fact that good content is king (and media-agnostic).
Ferriss finished by telling the oversold crowd to “Think big, but play often.” Only blog if it’s enjoyable, he said. This echoes BlogHer co-founder Jory des Jardins’ observation that women in their network say their #1 reason for blogging is fun. And that’s something I can’t argue with.
Following recent WordCamps in Chicago and New York, SF will be privy to its own day-long workshop around blogging and usability trends. Domestic first-time WordPress users and experienced developers alike will be in Mission Bay for conversations about monetizing blogging and managing content (not to mention the allure of microcelebrity) before similar events occur in Milan and San Paulo late this spring. Tomorrow’s schedule includes talks by WordCast podcaster Dave Moyer, GeekBrief.TV producer Cali Lewis, and community guru (and Women 2.0 In Conversation interviewee) Tara Hunt.
WordPress and Automattic founder Matt Mullenweg says the camps, which were created using a BarCamp model and now number in the hundreds annually, are a great example of the platform’s main goal of democratizing publishing. Users from Manila to Dallas have organized their own WordCamps worldwide and pulled in local resources for co-education. Mullenweg, who curated the local WordCamp, says that product innovations have come out of the get-togethers (at which he’s been asked to sign more than a few laptops and iPhones). Not bad for someone who thought he’d never leave the Lone Star State.
When asked about starting a blog platform after studying jazz saxaphone at a Houston performing arts high school, Mullenweg said that practice has been the key to success in both his pursuits. “I think of jazz songs as frameworks,” he said, “and WordPress plugins require the same improvisation.”
Gay Talese’s writing is a treat, and his conversation with Men.Style. about his preference for and heritage of clothing craftsmanship is almost as delightful. Thanks to the Sound of Young America’s Jesse Thorn for the tip and Friday fashion-related distraction.
After finishing Junot Diaz’s wonderful novel “The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao” (a month after the book club whose meetings I don’t attend read it), I was thrilled to see that “Fukú Americanus,” a play adopted from the book, is opening in San Francisco in June. Intersection for the Arts, the city’s oldest community-driven art space, will be putting on the production at their Valencia St. location, but that’s not even the best part: the soon-to-open co-working space HUBsf will be hosting a pre-show mixer with its social entrepenurship-focused members on June 11. Afterwards community members interested in finding out about HUBsf (the newest addition to the London-originated set of international working and networking spaces) before it opens in the former New College building Berkeley will enjoy a private performance. With a show description that promises “a simultaneously epic and intimate tale about family histories, ancient curses, migration and ill-starred love,” who could resist?
(Full disclosure: I’m personally close with folks who work on the Hub and financing for Intersection for the Arts, and I’m independently excited about both organizations’ work.)
My video interview partner in crime, Saroj Yadav, published her conversation with Tekzilla’s Veronica Belmont on the same day that the Revision3 host and I were in Santa Clara last week for Intel’s Upgrade Your Life. The most recent addition to the Women 2.0 In Conversation series with tech experts and entrpreneurs features Belmont talking about the steps she took from interning at CNET to hosting Tekzilla and Qore (the most notable advice being “know what you’re talking about”).
Apologies for the lack of content last week–it was a raucous one (so much so that CBS’ Natali DelConte told me I reminded her of “organized chaos”). A quick run down of the ups and downs:
Our lovely home is breaking up (which is okay given the great time we’ve had living close to the park), so I’ve been on the 1 bedroom/studio/semi-affordable closet search.
My laptop and new Panasonic Lumix camera were stolen in a way I have to partially blame myself for. If you have been holding off on getting renter’s insurance, I implore you…get it.
Spending a day at Intel with female tech content creators last week was a great time to talk about education, gadgets, and careers in science and engineering. More on that to come.
A dear Texan friend came to visit and calmed me down about my landlord and Apple store visits. We got to spend time in the great outdoors (Mt. Tam and Tourist Club) and great indoors (Korean spa, my favorite type of pruning).
Needless to say, the holiday is a wonderful treat, and one in which I’ll try to spend as little time online as possible.
It’s a bit challenging to look beyond anything but the most revered of all SF outdoor occasions, Bay to Breakers, but local tech buffs and music makers will have something to look forward to the next day in Monday’s San Fran MusicTech Summit. The Kabuki Hotel will play host to the day-long conference about commerce, online offerings, music services, and entrepreneurship. The usual suspects–YouTube, Pandora, Imeem–will be on hand as sponsors and speakers, but I’m mostly intrigued about the conversations around song and artist recommendation engines and music activism. Music for Democracy’s Bear Kittay will be on hand to talk about their organization’s efforts to create a more economically viable market for artists by partnering with musicians, industry representatives and politicians. (And, like any good organization trying to get their peace and pennies message across, the group has a blog and logo that are quite well done.)
I’ve been a longtime fan of SF Recycling and Disposal’s Artist in Residency program since working with two of their former residents, furniture creator Mike Farruggia and artist John Brumit, in creating imaginative furniture from salvaged materials. It should come as no surprise that the City by the Bay’s dump is the only one in the US that invites artists to make trash out of treasure, and the results (whether they be in the form of collages, photography, or more “functional” pieces) are striking. It’s a long way of saying that I’m most excited for the program’s art show this weekend at their 503 Tunnel Ave. studio. The work of photographer Bill Basquin and fine artist Jane Kim will be showcased. It’s a recessionista’s dream.
My Outer Richmond post-ride meals have become a bit expected (you might call it the Java Beach and Beach Chalet blahs). Last weekend I was excited to eat at Outerlands, a new cafe a few blocks from the ocean on Judah, with its delicious menu of carrot soup, beet salads, and gourmet mac and cheese.
Owners David Muller and Lana Porcello decorated the spot with recycled wood they salvaged by looking over backyards from rooftops and by scouring beaches and Craigslist. “We took them down board by board, nail by nail and milled it all down to fit together in cohesive singularity,” said David, who pulled his skilled wood worker friends in to construct the driftwood and second floor loft. The result is a well-designed, cozy treat that we’ll worth the hike.
I tend to leave vinyasa classes in a state of semi-awareness and exhaustion, so it takes something truly unique to catch my attention on my way out of the Castro Yoga Tree. Wanderlust Festival is that thing: the SF set of studios are co-sponsoring the late July music and outdoors festival and promoting it with postcards (printed with soy-based inks?).
Described as “a boutique, three-day experience” at Lake Tahoe’s Squaw Valley, the festival will combine classes with Janet Stone (whose grace and goodwill are featured in this Girls are Champions piece) and performances by Jenny Lewis, Gillian Welch, and Girl Talk. Yes, please. Tickets go on sale Tuesday and start at $170 for a music and yoga weekend pass.
After finishing Junot Diaz’s wonderful novel “
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My Outer Richmond post-ride meals have become a bit expected (you might call it the Java Beach and Beach Chalet blahs). Last weekend I was excited to eat at 
