Marketing Technology Blog

Just wanted to invite everyone to Blog Indiana 2009! Noah and the team have graciously asked me to return – this year to lead a session on blogging for search! For those veterans of Blog Indiana’s first year (which was fantastic), this year appears to make this one of the best social media and blogging conferences in the country!

Here’s the Press Release for Blog Indiana 2009

Blog Indiana, founded last year by Noah Coffey and Shawn Plew, announced its second annual blogging and social media conference. The three-day event will be held August 13 through 15, 2009 from 9:00 am until 4:00 pm at the Informatics and Communications Technology Complex on the IUPUI Campus and will bring bloggers, marketers, and small business owners from across the state in an effort to promote education, innovation and collaboration. The conference is sponsored by the IU School of Informatics and Smaller Indiana.

“We want to help empower businesses and entreprenuers to take advantage of the latest in social media,” said Noah Coffey. “This conference will help do that by providing insights and best practices from local experts as well as help introduce novices to the whole concept.”

Blog Indiana 2009 is an all-day, three-day event for those seeking to capitalize on the financial benefits and brand exposure of blogging and social media. Topical sessions will be lead by successful social media experts such as Chris Brogan, Jason Falls, Chris Baggott, Brad Ward, Tom Britt, and many others.

Sessions will include discussions on hot trends such as Twitter, Facebook, and the social web. Other items such as blogging for beginners, using blogs & social media in your business, monetizing your blog, political blogging, and more advanced topics. Panel and group discussions will also be offered on Saturday.

Non-Profit Summit & Higher Education Summit

Due to popular request, this year will feature two 1-day summits with sessions geared specifically towards those in the non-profit and higher education worlds. The Higher Education summit will take place on Thursday, August 13th, 2009 and the Non-Profit Summit will take place on Friday, August 14th, 2009.

Ticket prices vary depending on which part of the conference you wish to attend. Early bird pricing ends the week of July 12th, 2009. Seating is limited. This conference is open to residents and businesses outside of Indiana. Tickets can be purchased online.

“In the past, most blogging and technology-related conferences have either been too expensive or too far out of state,” noted Shawn Plew. “Blog Indiana 2009 will bring a low-cost, high-value conference to Indiana.”

About Blog Indiana LLC
Noah Coffey is founder and president of Coffey Design. When not designing web sites, Coffey is blogging about it and the challenges of freelancing and being a first-time parent.

Shawn Plew is a web consultant for TGFI, Inc., based in Indianapolis. He blogs about his experiences as a first time father.

About IU School of Informatics
The Indiana University School of Informatics has set as its goal to be nationally recognized as the foremost in the country for excellence and leadership in Informatics programs, including undergraduate and graduate education, research, placement and outreach. These programs include opportunities for professionals trained in state-of-the-art information technology and science with an emphasis on creative human applications.

Last night I was given the opportunity to speak to the CIT 499 class at IUPUI for Dr. Thomas Ho. It was an engaged class, composed of some students that hadn’t entered the workplace, some who had, and some who were currently working in technology.

In speaking to them, I simply shared my experiences on how businesses are beginning to adopt (or being forced to adopt) social media for marketing. This marketing includes both retention and acquisition models. Businesses are trying to adjust, but we know how slow some companies are to change.

Our education system is being forced to change as well. I shared this incredible video that Amy Stark sent to me for the class:

I hope that I left an impression with the class on some very specific items:

• For our CIT graduates getting into Infrastructure, this is an incredible period we’re living in – where computing power is moving from purchased hardware to remote clouds. It’s changing how we’re building and delivering software, how we’re deploying that software, and how we’re starting new online businesses.

  I mentioned to the group that they should take a tour of Indianapolis’ own BlueLock to visit a managed hosting environment as well as Lifeline’s Eastgate Mall to visit the future of datafarming.

• For our CIT graduates getting into software, Software as a Service is the only future. The old model of building and deploying software on media is flawed, expensive, and lacks the unlimited potential that SaaS does.

  Many people still favor the old model of software deployment – I’d argue that the business of SaaS is an extraordinary model that allows businesses to fund growth quicker, become profitable sooner, and continue to enhance the user experience with minimal investment.

• For any college student, I can’t stress reputation management enough. Educating our students on building an online reputation – either by building projects and deploying them to the web, blogging about them, joining social networks, and joining professional networks to begin nurturing professional relationships are all steps needed to step out of college and step into a successful career.

  I think we’d all agree that, for the time being, the days of massive recruitment by companies to have you walk into a fat job are long gone. By getting online sooner, developing a professional presence, and beginning to meet and greet with regional professionals – you may have a shot at some few open doors.

Thanks to Dr. Thomas Ho and CILT Chair Stephen Hundley at IUPUI for the opportunity to share what I’ve learned with the class. I can’t say enough about how incredible the staff and the facilities are at IUPUI – and having them open up to regional entrepreneurs and social media folks like me shows how dedicated they are at moving education at the speed of technology!

IUPUI also has a special place in my heart because it’s where my son is currently going to school. Bill is an honors student at IUPUI in both Math and Physics, a Math lab tutor and he’s beginning to do some Physics research there. IUPUI has been an amazing institution – offering and encouraging my son to expand into new and challenging opportunities every day. He’s recently been nominated by the staff for the Barry Goldwater scholarship!

There are quite a few blogging conferences that happen around the country each year. The value of attending a blogging conference is enormous, exposing you to search engine optimization, copy writing, blog technology and how to make your blogging experience a profitable one. That’s why many attendees pay upwards of $2,000 to attend these conferences.

You don’t need to pay $2,000, though! How does $49 sound?

Local bloggers from across Indiana will gather at the IUPUI Campus Center on August 16-17th, 2008, for Blog Indiana 2008, a 2-day blogging and social media conference that aims to promote education, innovation and collaboration among Indiana’s fast-growing blogging community. The conference is sponsored by the IU School of Informatics.

Blog Indiana 2008 is a 2-day conference for both experienced and new bloggers alike. Sessions will include topics such as blogging for beginners, using blogs in your business, monetizing your blog, political blogging and more advanced topics. In the past, most blogging and technology-related conferences have either been too expensive or too far out-of-state. Blog Indiana 2008 seeks to bring a low-cost, high-value conference to Hoosier bloggers.

Who Should Attend?

Students, hobbyists and professionals are encouraged to attend to network and learn. Experience with blogging or social media are not requirements to participate; anyone with an interest in technology and new media is welcome to attend.

Attendees

Seating is limited to 200 attendees.

Location

The IUPUI Campus Center on the IUPUI Campus in Indianapolis, IN

Why $49?

That’s the million dollar question, right? This conference isn’t about paying exorbitant speaker fees for A-list bloggers. It’s about a collection of professionals here in the region trying to help other folks get this kick-started into Social Media and blogging. It’s also about connecting all of us who are actively blogging right now. No doubt you’ll walk away from this conference with $2,000 worth of advice and memories – but it’s not about the money.

Register while there are seats left!

Register Today! Seats are limited and they are going fast.

I’m sitting here at IUPUI’s School of Informatics (a beautiful building) and awaiting the start of BlogIN. You can still make it if you want to drop by! Here’s our list of attendees that have registered:

• Adam Small
• Rupa Chatterji
• Laura Arnold
• Juan Carlos Carrasquel
• Chris Baggott
• Michelle Hartz
• Randy Mershon
• Douglas Karr
• Bruce LaDuke
• Kevin Makice
• Rick Wilkerson
• Bruce Allen
• Woody Collins
• Toni Deckers
• Stephen James
• Barbara Jones
• Anita Sloat
• Steve Hall
• Joyce Boadt
• Jason Bean
• Roland Cole
• Amy Hensley
• Pam Weaver
• Faith Wesstrom
• Paula Henry
• Scott Abel
• Deb New
• Lois Wyant
• Joseph Kerschbaum
• Erik Deckers
• Amber Benedict
• Bree Dunscombe
• Linda S Fitzgerald
• Chi Sherman
• Joseph Dager
• Ken Zweigel
• Lorraine Ball
• John Uhri
• Noah Coffey
• Aaron Renn

It’s a beautiful day! I took this picture as I walked in: