All About BlogWorld

BlogWorld & New Media Expo will be hosting the 4th annual Conference October 14-16, 2010 in Vegas.  Having attended 2 previous BlogWorlds, I can give you the inside skinny on why you must be there and some helpful advice for attending.

Why Go?

Simply put, you can’t get this much value for the investment any other way.  In the past, I have had a chance to attend sessions with industry leaders like Jeremy Schoemaker (Shoemoney), Darren Rowse, Brian Clark, Chris Brogan, and Stephan Spencer.  Add in keynotes from Gary Vaynerchuk and Tim Ferris, and I got enough inspiration to get my blogging and social media skills kicked into high gear for some time.  It is not the same as sitting in front of your computer reading blogs and tweeting!  The networking opportunities are terrific.  Everyone is approachable and friendly.

Don’t Skip Thursday

The Thursday sessions are focused on corporate blogging, podcasting, social media and use of new media technology in business environments.  There is a much smaller attendance for this day which requires a full access pass.  Do not miss this day’s events.  The setting is more intimate for networking before the masses arrive, and you won’t be disappointed.  In 2008, Guy Kawasaki and Steve Rubel spoke during the luncheon (which is included in the price).

Twitter During the Event

Every room is equipped with a huge screen in the front that shows the latest twitter feed with the #BWE hashtag.  It is non-stop tweeting including to the speakers during the sessions!

The Trade Show

The trade show portion is an added bonus.  You get to meet a diverse group of vendors and check out new products.  Of course, be sure to have room in your suitcase for all the SWAG you will get.

Other Advice

Wear comfortable shoes.  Lots of walking on concrete.  Consider not carrying your computer around unless you have a lightweight machine.  Bring your camera, digital recorder and/or flip camera.   You won’t want to miss opportunities to record the important moments.

If you want to attend parties, tweetups, and more, be sure to sign up for all facebook groups and follow other attendees on twitter right before the event.

The hotel prices are very aggressive this year.  I prefer to stay at the Renaissance because it is so close to the South Hall, but the Hilton and Courtyard have really low pricing.

Be Sure To Sign Up Early for Price Breaks

Click here and use coupon code TWEET20 for 20% off sale.  Hope to see your there!  Tweet to @custommarketing or comment below to let us know if your are attending!

Special thanks to Rick, Libby, Dave, et al for a great event.

RedShoeWay, a many faceted blog, brings you wit, wisdom and whimsey!

Okay, I admit it.  I am a compulsive collector of free icons (and some paid ones).  Just always have to have one more set for the arsenal, and I have been known to stockpile.  What you have here is a list of some beautiful icon sets and many posts that have collections of icons for social media, web functions and applications.  All told there are over 1300 sets of free icons for you to bookmark or download.  Some of the compilations repeat sets, but I didn’t eliminate them if they had some unique sets that were worth noting.

Think of these sets as a good excuse to download a few and spice up a website or blog for free.  Don’t look like everyone else!  Hope you will retweet and share this post and please leave comments of sets I missed.  Always looking for more.    Thanks to those of you that put together some of these ensembles.

Royalty Free Icons & Clipart Stock Images ~ Icons Etc.

33 Free HD Icon Sets designed for Web

100+ Free Twitter Icon Sets

200+ Free Exclusive RSS Icons: “Supra” | Webdesigner Depot

21 Best Icon Sets for Designing Web Apps | Web Design Ledger

29 Free Stunning Web Icons Sets To Enhance Your Web Design | Onextrapixel – Showcasing Web Treats Without Hitch

33 Killer Web Icon Sets for Free – Web.AppStorm

365+ Free Best Twitter Icons And Buttons | Freebies | PelFusion.com

40 (NEW) High-quality and Free Icon Sets | Noupe

40 Extremely Beautiful Icon Sets Hand-picked from deviantART – Noupe

40 Free and Useful GUI Icon Sets for Web Designers | Icons

50 of the Best Ever Web Development, Design and Application Icon Sets : Speckyboy Design Magazine

60 Free Vector Icon Packs for Design Professionals – VECTORTUTS

600+ Free Design, Twitter and Social Media Icons: A Collection Motherload

75 Beautiful Free Social Bookmarking Icon Sets | Blog Godown

Another great list of free social icons | OpenSourceHunter

Beautiful Twitter Icon Sets Mega Pack | W3Mag

Developer Icon Sets: Collection of the best free to both personal & commercial use Icon sets – aComment.net

Free Web Badges & Vector Icons | The Ultimate Free Web Badge collection! | ExposeIT

LBOI Design Blog » Tweet Me Up Scotty – Free Vector Twitter Icons

Round Ups Of Social Icon Sets For blogs | AntsMagazine.Com

Social Media Mini Icon Pack | Komodo Media Social Media Network Icons | Komodo Media

The 10 Best Free Social Bookmarking Icon Sets | TJ Dzine

Ultra Glossy Silver Button Social Media Icons | WebTreats ETC

This is a collection of 25 twitter apps, tools, resources, plugins, directories, and services that I have been collecting as bookmarks since I started using twitter over a year ago.  Hopefully you can find something on this list that makes your twitter existence easier or better.

• TwitThis
• Twitterfeed.com : feed your blog to twitter – post RSS to twitter automatically
• Twitter Grader – Measure Your Social Media Profile
• DoesFollow – doesfollow.com – Find out who follows whom on Twitter
• Flip My Text – Funny Text for Twitter
  
• Alt Codes – Alt Code Characters
• TwitterKeys: Enhance your Twitter conversations
• FeedBlitz
• Just Tweet It » THE Directory for Twitter Users
• FriendOrFollow.com
• TwitterCounter
• #hashtags.org
• TweetStats
• Mr. Tweet -> Your Personal Networking Assistant!
• Twitterholic.com
• Twitoria – How Many Twitter Friends Are You Really Following?
• WeFollow: A User Powered Twitter Directory
• Tweepular
• ExecTweets
• TweetLater.com
• Tweet This, a WordPress Plugin for Twitter
• Tweetmeme Plugin for WordPress
• Twitter Background Checker « twtbg.me »
• Ping.fm
• Twittervision

Here are a variety of articles (including some oldies) about Twitter including advice for business use, getting more followers and becoming a success on Twitter.

• The Ultimate Guide for Everything Twitter | Webdesigner Depot
• Twitter Guide: How To Do Things With Twitter
• 8 Useful Tips to Become Successful on Twitter
• 50 Ideas on Using Twitter for Business
• How to Change the World: Looking for Mr. Goodtweet: How to Pick Up Followers on Twitter
• 62 Ways to Use Twitter for Business
• Twitter’s Most Active Users
• How Twitter Can Help your Small Business | p2w2 blog
• Using Twitter to Find Work
• 1001 Twitter Users Who Will Follow You Back
• 27 Twitter Applications Your Small Business Can Use Today | SMALL BUSINESS CEO
• Twitter Traffic Explosion Being Led By 45-54 Year Olds
• 35+ Interesting Twitter services and applications
• Top 237 Twitter Users Who Will Follow You Back | Social News Watch
• Some most Productive & Fun to use Twitter Tool/Services | TechieSoul
• 10 Awesome Ways to Integrate Twitter With Your Website – Nettuts+
• The Ten Ways Twitter Will Permanently Change American Business – 24/7 Wall Street
• 50 Web 2.0 Twitter Applications & Sites | Showcases | PelFusion.com
• Twitter Guide Book – How To, Tips and Instructions by Mashable
• Twitter Tips

Besides being fun, twitter can enhance your business through customer service, branding and name recognition.  and don’t forget that there are some SEO benefits of twitter.  Be sure to link your website in your profile.

• Customized Premium WordPress Themes
• Websites and Blog Design
• Blog Refresh/Update
• Installation of WordPress and Themes
• Social Media Strategies
• Getting Yourself Noticed on the Web
• Populate and Customize Bludomain Sites
• Hosting and Maintenance
• Specialized Consulting
• Training

These websites can save you time and money when working on your own sites:

• Social Media Icons – A collection of the best free social media icons all in one place
• KnowEm – Checks user name availability on 120 social media sites
• PhotoshopGuides – Compilation of photoshop tutorials
• 37 Places to Get Free Stock Photos – The title says it all