Sorry for the big lag between postings but you will soon see why. We have just finished our move to our new servers and are in the process of implementing the new look and feel of the website. In the near future you should find it both more aesthetically pleasing and easier to navigate. If there are any new features you would like us to consider implementing now is the time.
In the meantime I’ve continued to produce content on other websites that you might find interesting or useful. A few recent highlights include:
Registration includes a full day of programs, lunch, a brass band performance and lots of fun and surprises for an unbeatable price of just $30. REGISTER NOW to reserve your place at the table!
Here’s just some of what we have in store for you.
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS:
David Simon, creator and executive producer of HBO’s New Orleans drama Treme. He is a former journalist for the Baltimore Sun and writer and producer of acclaimed programs such as The Corner, The Wire and Generation Kill.
Richard Campanella, professor at Tulane University, geographer, and author of six critically acclaimed books on the physical and human geography of New Orleans: Bienville’s Dilemma,Geographies of New Orleans, Lincoln in New Orleans, New Orleans Then and Now, Delta Urbanism, andTime and Place in New Orleans.
Louisiana’s Coastal Health –Moderated by Alex Woodward, writer for Gambit, panelists include Len Bahr, founding editor of LACoastPost; David Hammer, contributing writer for the New Orleans Times-Picayune; Ann Rolfes, founding director of the Louisiana Bucket Brigade; Drake Toulouse, blogger atDisenfranchised Citizen; and Bob Marshall, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist for the Times-Picayune.
New Orleans Food Writing - Guests Peter Thriffley and Rene Louapre of Blackened Out and Offbeat Magazine will join Todd Price, author of A Frolic of My Own to discuss the eating out in New Orleans and writing about it, and the new generation of great online New Orleans food writers.
Brass Bands – featuring Lawrence Rawlins, band director of Roots of Music; Alejandro de los Rios, producer of the Brass Roots documentary; members of the TBC Brass Band Edward “Juicy” Jackson, Joe Maize and Sean Michael Roberts; moderated by writer Deborah Cotton; followed by a performance by the TBC Brass Band.
TECH SCHOOL:
Rising Tide is also proud to announce the addition of Tech School to this year’s lineup. Tech School will offer a second stage of panels devoted to hands-on, how-to style social media and blogging topics ranging from improving your photography, advanced WordPress techniques, the latest in web strategies and online tools. Presenters for Tech School include FSC Inter@ctive, the Louisiana Bloggers Network,Neighborland, Invade NOLA, Ben Varadi and more.
Google+ is on everyone’s minds these days, and with good reason.
Whether you’ve already gotten invited or are still waiting to see what all the fuss is about you’ll probably want to have some good “how -to’s” and info in hand.
The best one to start with is a recent slideshow created by Saidur Hossain – The Google+ Start Up Guide.
Investigative journalist Nick Davies holds forth on the phone-hacking scandal at News of the World. Few things could cast the need for ethics into sharper relief.
Judah over at Sindrian Arts is a friend, a client, and one heck of an inventor.
Don’t just take my word for it though, Cory Doctorow just blogged about his latest project on Boing Boing- Kickstarter project to make an open-source CNC router. Many thanks to Cory for helping to get it in front of more eyes!
A CNC machine? Many of you are probably asking “what’s that?” Well here is Judah’s answer to that very question from his latest Kickstarter update:
Put simply, CNC machines are one of the quickest ways to turn your ideas into physical objects.
When I was little I told anyone who asked that I wanted to be an inventor when I grew up. I would spend hours every day just staring off into space dreaming up everything from pedal-powered airplanes to Nerf-based siege weapons. I got into 3D computer modeling when I was around ten or so, and was amazed by how quickly I could take the images in my head and turn them into 3D objects on my screen. Years later when I entered design school and I was introduced to the school’s CNC machines, I realized that these tools could take the 3D objects on my screen and actually make them real.
I was in love.
I love working with people who have such a passion for what they’re doing! Of course I am also a well known proponent of both Open Source and DIY projects so it’s no surprise that I enjoy this type of project. Check out this video of the Kikori in action and if you’re inspired to do so drop by and add a few dollars to the funding. The minimum is one dollar and every dollar helps!
Rand from SEOmoz has a Whiteboard Friday that everyone working online should take a look at. It’s all about Google’s rollout of Panda, their new algorithm level changes in how Google searches the web. It’s been a rocky one so far, as many legitimate webmasters have taken a hit from the new search. It’s thrown SEO into an uproar as people in the field try to figure out what works, what doesn’t, and how to determine best practices when the entire field of play has changed.
User experience is moving to the fore, as this quote from the video shows:
So, Panda kind of means something new and different for SEO. As SEOs, for a long time you’ve been doing the same kind of classic things. You’ve been building good content, making it accessible to search engines, doing good keyword research, putting those keywords in there, and then trying to get some links to it. But you have not, as SEOs, we never really had to think as much or as broadly about, “What is the experience of this website? Is it creating a brand that people are going to love and share and reward and trust?” Now we kind of have to think about that.
If you are working with content online you should keep an eye these developments. They will directly impact your online visibility.
