Firecat Studio

March First Friday: Blogging for Business in WordPress and other Platforms

It's that time again -- this Friday, March 6, 2009, is the first Friday in March, and that means First Friday Coworking and Brownbag Lunch Session at Firecat Studio. This month's brownbag topic, selected by the Coworking community in Twitter, is:

Blogging for Business: WordPress and other Platforms

While it's hard for businesses to invest in technology right now, Firecat Studio and our other colleagues who create and manage business web presences are seeing a surge of interest in WordPress, Movable Type, and other blogging platforms. These inexpensive - even free - solutions offer a way to create and maintain a web presence very inexpensively. WordPress, Blogger, and TypePad/Movable Type were conceived as "blogging" platforms, but they can and are being used to create normal business websites.

Social media consultant and serial entrepreneur Julie Gomoll of LaunchPad Coworking will be on hand to demonstrate how she's using WordPress for the LaunchPad Coworking site. Several other regulars in our coworking orbit are building full business websites using WordPress -- so we'll have lots of examples, ideas, advice and war stories to share. Bring yours!

About Coworking

Once a month on First Fridays, we open up Firecat Studio to mobile professionals and knowledge workers in the San Antonio area. You're a mobile professional/knowledge worker if you can get some work done (any work!) with laptop, wifi and a cell phone. Coworking is a great way to put yourself in the mix of the vibrant business community to network, gather new ideas, and share what you know.

For the Brownbag session, bring a lunch OR feel free to partake of our light sandwich fare.

The Studio is open for coworking from 9 am - 5 pm. We expect 25-30 people here for the brownbag lunch session, but you're welcome to come earlier and stay later.

Hope to see you Friday

>> How to get to Firecat Studio
>> More about Coworking

@epodcaster and @firecatsue talk Twitter at Innotech San Antonio

Attend our Twitter Session at Innotech San Antonio

San Antonio social media consultant, trainer and podcaster Jennifer Navarrete (@epodcaster) and Firecat CEO Susan Price (@firecatsue) are hosting a brief panel at Innotech San Antonio.

What:	Twitter: Waste of Time or Great Business Tool?
When:	Thursday, March 5, 2009, 9am - 2pm. The Twitter panel is at 10 am.
Where:	Norris Conference Center, Crossroads Mall, I-10 @ Loop 410, 4522 Fredericksburg Rd., San Antonio, TX 78201

What's all this fuss about Twitter?

We're having a great time leveraging Twitter as a powerful tool to gather insights, network, keep up with the technology, find talent for projects, and most of all to build a robust PR presence for business with a flourishing network of early adopters, evangelists, and thought leaders -- both here in town and all over the world.

IABC Workshop: Stretch Your Budget with Integrated Online Strategy

I presented this workshop topic to the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) San Antonio chapter today. We had a lively discussion about using web + eMail + social media in interesting combinations.

| Get your Presentation Pack

IAs with Better Things to Do - Zoë Keating and her Cello

I'm often struck by the minds of information architects. Organizing information intuitively for other people requires a certain knack for seeing the world from multiple perspectives. It helps if you can quickly churn through many possibilities mentally, projecting each outcome in a quick, abstract way in order to zero in on the best option(s).

It's a kind of creativity that I love to study and aspire to.

Sometime information architect Zoë Keating uses her heart/mind to create stunning music. Notice the laptop she's using to lay down, loop and layer her self-accompaniment. Nothing is pre-recorded in this clip.



So today I'm celebrating the fact that Zoë had the geekness to master the technology as well as the courage to experiment with her own creativity. Her music is available through iTunes and Amazon, or order CDs through her website.

Cross-Channel Online Strategy: IABC Workshop Tuesday

The International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) has a robust chapter here in San Antonio, and we Firecats frequent their monthly meetings as a solid source of ideas and to meet talented communications professionals. They've invited me to present a session in their workshop this coming Tuesday, February 24, 2009. It's out at the Westin La Cantera resort - great view up there.

IABC Workshop: How Aligned Is Your Online Communication Strategy?

I'm kicking off the workshop day with an interactive session about getting web content, email and social media in full sync and working together. It's one of those topics I'm passionate about, and I'll be sharing specifics about the integrated campaigns that are getting great results for our clients on tiny budgets. Here's the official session description.

Susan Price: Stretch Your Budget with Integrated Online Strategy - 9:00 – 10:15 a.m.
With expenses are tighter than ever, each campaign has to pay off big. Extend your reach and power by synergizing web + email + social media. We’ll cover strategies for timing the use of these inexpensive online channels to drive measurable results.

Susan Price, founder and CEO of Firecat Studio, is an internationally recognized user-centered design and communication technologies expert with 20 years in the multimedia industry, both print and web.

I'm proud to be sharing the program with some of San Antonio's best local communications, PR and marketing consultants, including:

• Alan Weinkrantz from Alan Weinkrantz and Company, talking about social media strategy. If you've had the pleasure of Alan give his pitch about your personal online social brand,
• Scott Cytron of Cytron and Company giving tips for writing for online channels.
• A lunch panel about messaging for different generations -- and across generational divides.
• Lara August from Robot Creative to share the importance of measuring ROI, and techniques for exactly how to do that.

Rather than just talking heads - this is a WORKSHOP where each session leader will share hands-on info that you can take away and implement.

>>IABC's Workshop Info & Signup

IABC Workshop Pricing:

Full Day - $125 (member)/$150 (non-member)

Half-day plus lunch - $75 (member)/$85 (non-member)

Lunch only: $30 (member)/$35 (non-member)

Hope to see you there! Drop me a DM through twitter @firecatsue so I can meet you in person at the workshop.

Firecat Sponsors FreelanceCamp San Antonio

Since our business uses freelancers on a regular basis, we were happy that Luis Sandoval stepped up to organize a Freelance Camp San Antonio. It's a chance to meet and network with other freelancers and folks who hire them, and share info regarding business, habits, techniques, how-to's, success stories and more. Tap into the vibrant heart of the San Antonio entrepreneurial community.

FreelanceCamp SA EventBrite Signup

When:	Saturday, January 30, 2009
Where:	Radius Cafe, 106 Auditorium Circle, San Antonio, TX 78205
Cost:	Free to attendees
RSVP:	http://www.eventbrite.com/event/222893681/invitefriends

If you're not yet familiar with the groundswell "Camp" unconference movement, it's worth looking into. Highlights:

• The idea emerged from folks gathering in a bar across the street from a big, expensive, formal industry conference.
• BarCamps (and FreeLance Camp SA) are free to attend
• The agenda, sessions or panels are decided on by the participants the day of the conference.
• Everyone is encouraged to present, but not required. Two-way learning and sharing is the focus.

February First Friday: Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Join us at Firecat Studio on Friday, February 6, 2009 for a free day of coworking. The brownbag lunch and discussion topic this month is:

Getting Your Business to Page 1 of Google Search

Web presence management specialist John Ray will join Firecat's CEO and chief web strategist Susan Price to discuss the many factors involved in optimizing a website for specific search terms.

Bring your questions and interesting problems. We'll discuss:

• Strategies for discovering which keywords your customers and other stakeholders use to describe your products or services.
• The difference between "natural" search and paid, or Pay-Per-Click (PPC) -- and when it makes sense to pay for clicks.
• Watching your website's traffic reports to see what's working for you.
• Simple coding guidelines to follow that can boost your rankings immediately, and make a better impression on site visitors.

The free brownbag session is part of our normal First Friday Coworking series. Bring your laptop, cell phone, or just a pad and paper. 

Five Minutes with Susan Price and Firecat Studio

Donna Tuttle from the San Antonio Business Journal kindly gave me a few minutes of her time to discuss coworking, social media trends and the like.

Five Minutes with Susan Price article in the San Antonio Business Journal.

Here's the article. I love talking about and learning about all this stuff, so feel free to contact me or comment here to discuss.

Thanks, Donna!

February First Friday Coworking: Getting Cozy with Google (SEO)

Firecat Studio's First Friday coworking session for February is on!

When: Friday, February 6, 2009 from 9 am - 5 pm. Open house format, come and go as you wish.

Where: 918 Nolan #104, San Antonio, Texas 78202. (map)

What: Coworking. Bring laptop, cell phone or just pad, pen and brain. Get some work done. Meet others. We provide the wifi. Suits, jeans and shorts are all fine.

Brownbag: Food is a very important part of the Firecat culture. At noon, we'll start our discussion of Search Engine Optimization, the art and science of getting Google to see and index the various parts of your own web presence. Bring your own to-go lunch or bag, or share the usual light sandwich fare we have on hand.

We had a record number of folks in December. We skipped January 2009's First Friday coworking session since it was the day after New Year's, and the Firecats were all on vacation. But we're fully in gear now, brimming with new ideas for turning a sour economy into sweet community and collaboration. The economic downturn means more freelance projects, more freelancers. Let's create interesting possibilities out of this -- together.

First Friday Coworking is Today (12/5)

We're holding Firecat First Friday coworking session, open house style (come and go as you please) between 9 am and 5 pm today at Firecat Studio.

At lunch, we'll start a discussion around noon about Intranets and Collaboration Portals, with the fabulous Ms. Daniella Matutes leading the discussion. Daniella is a talented user-centered designer with many years experience creating just such tools -- and a whole lot more.

What: Coworking. Bring laptop, cell phone or just pad, pen and brain. Get some work done. Meet others. We provide the wifi.

Where: Firecat Studio, 918 Nolan #104, San Antonio, TX 78202 (map) We're over n

When: Friday, December 5, 2008, 9 am - 5 pm. Come and go as you please, open house style. Stop by if you can, get a change of scene and meet some interesting folks. Brownbag lunch session around noon.

You don't have to be an internet geek, media person or a designer. We get all kinds: lawyers, accountants, job seekers, students, business people, homeschoolers, marketers, writers, teachers, coaches, psychologists, artists. Not all at the same time, and every mix is different.

What does it look like? We usually have between 15 and 20 folks; not all of them at lunchtime. Here are some images from our October brownbag. All day, pull up a couch or seat at a table and work on whatever you work on. You can talk with others who are there, or not. At noon, we eat lunch, and talk, share ideas.